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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

Text

Author: http://thehomoadventuresofroosterteeth.tumblr.com

Recipient: http://ddemonicpanda.tumblr.com

Summary: Things for Gavin and Ryan are pretty great: successful members of the Fake AH crew, loving relationship finally solidified, a GREAT sex life--but what happens when everything gets turned upside down? What happens when everything changes?

Warnings: N/A

WordCount: 5,707

For Gavin Free, nothing could quite compare to sailing down the main roads of Los Santos on the back of a motorbike, one arm wrapped tightly around his boyfriend’s waist, the other extended behind him firing shots at pursuing police units. The thrill of the chase, the wind whipping violently through his hair, the danger of it all--it was second to nothing, and he couldn’t get enough.

“Jesus, Gav, if you actually held onto me with both arms we might be able to get away a bit faster!” Ryan called over the roar of the motorbike engine. His voice echoed tinnily through the comm lodged in Gavin’s ear, and Gavin could pick up the distinct sounds of Michael and Geoff laughing. He grinned, aimed at a cop, and promptly shot off the man’s hat.

“You wouldn’t let me fall, Rye, I have complete faith in you!”

Ryan took a sharp turn down a sideroad and Gavin yelped, lurching forward to wrap his other arm around Ryan’s waist. He could feel the vibrations of Ryan’s deep chuckle as he flattened himself against the taller man’s back.

“Nevermind, you’re a maniac, I never want to ride with you again!” Gavin babbled, sucking in a sharp breath as a series of bullets whizzed past them. Shaking slightly--from the strange mix of fear, adrenaline, and unbridled excitement that he was absolutely used to at this point--Gavin lifted his gun arm and blindly began firing off shots behind them. The sounds of yelling and skidding tires was entirely reassuring.

“I can’t shake these assholes,” Ryan called out over the commotion as Gavin peeled himself off the older man’s back and actually tried to pick off the swiftly growing hoard of police behind them.

“Just keep going down the root, my trigger finger’s getting itchy,” Michael replied. Amid the action, Gavin spared a moment to imagine the redhead poised on a rooftop, detonator gripped tightly in his fist. The Brit grinned as he watched two cops on motorbikes collide as Ryan turned a sharp corner down a slim alleyway.

The day had been run-of-the-mill for the Fakes: bank robbery with a simultaneous jewelry store heist nextdoor. Gavin had put on the gaudiest gold from the front of the store before joining Geoff and Jeremy in the bank vaults. The metal hung warm and heavy from his neck and wrists as he helped stuff armloads of cash and valuables into crates, filling him with a particular sort of glee.

“Try not to blow the both of us up, Michael.”

“No promises, Ryan, Gavin stole my Elite controller last week and still hasn’t given it back.”

The easy banter flowing through the comms became distant background noise as Gavin focused on actually trying not to fall off the motorbike and do himself in on the rough pavement. When they emerged from the alleyway, two more groups of LSPD officers attempted to head them off. Gavin noticed several of the officers were Hybrids, which gave him immense satisfaction--if they had actually had call in Hybrid officers, the Fakes had to have every available member of LSPD on their tails.

A successful heist it was indeed.

“You’re coming up on the detonation point, head’s up.”

Michael’s voice tore Gavin from his own thoughts. Firing his last shot at a cop with rather unsightly antlers, he folded himself back against Ryan, looping both arms securely around the older man’s waist.

“Ready?” Ryan murmured, low enough that the comms couldn’t quite pick it up, and Gavin really felt it more than heard it.

“Always,” the Brit replied, grin spreading across his face.

The motorbike sped past a light pole, and then the world exploded into bright fire and noise and Gavin felt laughter bubbling up through him, roaring heat curling around him.

---

“That was bloody amazing,” Gavin said for the tenth time. Ryan smiled as he climbed off the motorbike and cracked his back. It popped with a satisfying click, and he let out a low groan--being hunched over the thing for two hours was killer on his spine.

“Shall we?” he said after a moment, offering a hand to the Brit. Gavin beamed and linked their fingers together, steering them toward the exit of the garage.

“That was insane, did you see how many cops we had following us?”

Ryan hummed in response, falling quickly into step with the younger man. Just in case, the Fakes had started storing their getaway vehicles in a seperate garage several blocks away from their main tower. Ryan didn’t mind walking the short distance back to headquarters. It gave him a chance to unwind after a heist--and usually a chance to spend some alone time with his boyfriend. Sure, they had plenty of time together, but the weeks before a heist were usually spent together as a crew, and Jack had made the two of them promise not to grope each other during another team planning session. It had been a bit since the two of them had any time to themselves.

The late afternoon sun gleamed bright, catching in the coif of Gavin’s blond hair. The gaudy gold jewelry the younger man had lifted during the heist hung off of him like part of a costume, reflecting the fading beams onto the pavement. Gavin was glowing.

“-and I shot that dude’s hat off, Ryan, it was so fucking funny, I wish you could have seen his face!”

As the two continued toward the main tower, Ryan noticed a hunched figure on the sidewalk up ahead. Wrapped in a shredded blanket and a hat with holes cut out to accommodate her large, rabbit-like ears, the homeless Hybrid looked pitiful. Ryan felt something tug at his heart. He nudged Gavin, who nearly tripped over his own feet.

“What, what is it?”

Ryan didn’t answer, as he had dropped Gavin’s hand and was already approaching the Hybrid. The woman, who had been staring blankly toward the ground, let out a high-pitched scream as Ryan came closer to her. Belatedly, Ryan realized he was still wearing his Vagabond mask and paint, which probably didn’t make him look as well-meaning as he intended.

“Please, ma’am, I don’t want to hurt you, I just wanted to help out,” he said softly, lifting up his hands, palms out. The Hybrid quieted, but her eyes remained wide and weary.

Ryan looked behind him and let out a soft, “Come here!” Gavin came closer, barely even looking at the woman.

“Gimme one of those stupid necklaces,” Ryan muttered. Gavin spluttered and grasped the chains around his neck in his fist.

“But Ryan--”

“Gavin, you have like, fifteen of them, surely you can spare one so a homeless woman can eat tonight,” Ryan deadpanned. Gavin groaned, rolled his eyes, and reluctantly began taking off one of the stolen necklaces, handing it to Ryan with a sigh.

“Thanks, fucker,” Ryan murmured sarcastically. He took a small step closer to the Hybrid, who hadn’t moved an inch. He carefully held out the gold to her, with a smile he knew she couldn’t see, but hoped she could sense.

Slowly, very slowly, the Hybrid stretched out her hand and took the offered necklace. She studied it carefully, then looked at Ryan, a calculating expression on her face.

“Thank you,” she finally whispered in a hoarse voice.

“No problem,” Ryan replied as warmly as he could. With that, he turned on his heel and took hold of Gavin’s hand, yanking him down the street.

“Jesus, Rye, what the hell was that?” Gavin yelped. Ryan rolled his eyes.

“It wouldn’t kill you to be kind to those less fortunate than you, Gav.”

“Yeah, but she’s a Hybrid, she’s just like, she’s not right, she’s a thing, yeah?”

Ryan huffed a sigh--Gavin wasn’t entirely wrong. After the virus had begun spreading into humans at a high pace a few years back, a social hierarchy had formed, with humans firmly on top. Most of the public considered Hybrids as simply intrinsically less, with a small by vocal group calling for group extermination. Ryan wasn’t sure where he stood on the whole Hybrids issue, but he figured no one should be made to starve, and certainly shouldn’t be killed for the sake of “maintaining the purity of humanity,” whatever that meant.

It was confusing as shit and Ryan often longed for the previous decade.

“Maybe I just wanted you to take off all that ridiculous bling before a crow came down to peck our eyes out,” Ryan said tiredly. Another grin spread across his face at the sound of Gavin’s spluttering.

“Hey, you take that back, this shit is fucking fantastic--”

---

“Now, that heist last week was super successful,” Geoff declared from the head of the long table. Michael let out a whoop and high-fived Jeremy, Jack shooting them a fond look. Gavin glanced toward Ryan, who was leaned back in his chair, a smug look on his face.

“But, but, we’ve got some other shit to deal with,” continued Geoff. Michael sobered quickly--kiss-ass, Gavin thought--and cleared his throat.

“What’s up, boss?”

“One of the other crews here in Los Santos, the Gremlins, want to meet up to discuss a possible truce. Apparently one of the local arms dealers has been screwing them on pricing and they think the influence of Fake AH could help persuade him to lower his rates.”

Gavin perked up, eyes darting over to Ryan, then back at Geoff. Truce talks mean negotiation, and negotiation means The Golden Boy and his personal guard, the Vagabond. Tendrils of excitement fluttered in his stomach at the thought of it.

“So we need to send in Gavin and Ryan first, see what’s up and figure out preliminary negotiations. After they get back we’ll get together again and see what we can do. If we can get the Gremlins on our side, even if it’s only for a bit, we could really make some headway on regaining our San Andreas territory.” Geoff had what Gavin called the ‘evil genius’ expression on--the look he really only got when the thought of total territory control sucked him in.

“Gavin, Ryan, do you want any of us to come with you? The Gremlins have a nasty track record of showing up with reinforcements,” Jack asked. Gavin shook his head, meeting Ryan’s gaze. They could handle it together.

“We’ve got this, thanks Jack,” Ryan replied from across the table.

“Jack, you forgot, this is Gavin and Ryan’s weird sex thing,” Jeremy said with a laugh, “You don’t want to be around them when they do negotiations.”

Michael promptly burst into a fit of laughter, with Geoff close behind. Gavin let out an exasperated sigh but smiled all the same. The others often poked fun at he and Ryan spending time together, but this far in the game, it really didn’t both him. Besides, the two of them could go for a nice evening on the town after the meetup, perhaps rent a room at one of the downtown highrise hotels and order the most expensive champagne on the room service menu…

Maybe Jeremy wasn’t entirely wrong about it being a sex thing.

---

Gavin had been Geoff Ramsey’s Golden Boy for years, and he loved it. The power that came from his status filled him with a kind of personal satisfaction that was rivaled only by giving Ryan an orgasm and convincing Ryan to do dumb shit with him.

Being the Golden Boy meant putting on ridiculously expensive clothing, styling his hair with an ungodly amount of product, and wearing the most horrendous golden sunglasses he could find. It was like armour, in a way--his protection against those beneath him, who would have him destroyed were it not for the sheer amount of power Gavin held over them.

Being the Golden Boy meant talking pretty, taking no shit, and getting what he wanted, whenever he wanted. And he was pretty damn good at it. The reputation he had garnered certainly helped--

Don’t piss off Ramsey’s Golden Boy, or he’ll set his Vagabond on your ass.

Don’t piss off Ramsey’s Golden Boy, or he’ll make sure the next Fake AH heist is pinned on your crew.

Don’t piss off Ramsey’s Golden Boy, or you won’t be walking around for much longer.

Power-trip didn’t remotely begin to express what Gavin experienced.

He loved living amid the whispered fear, his cold exterior proper protection against any and all who dared to oppose him. It had taken him so long, so many years to get to where he was, and he fucking loved it.

---

“I don’t like this,” Ryan murmured and he and Gavin approached the abandoned shipping port warehouse the Gremlins had requested as a meeting spot. Decked in his full body armour, assault rifle strapped to his back, Ryan felt out of place on the small pier, and a shiver of discomfort pulled in the pit of his stomach.

“They won’t try anything, Rye. And even if they do, we can handle it.” Gavin had already slipped into his Golden Boy persona, meaning his words were dripping with a elegant venom that Ryan thought was the funniest thing in the world.

(He had seen Gavin at 7 AM with wild bedhead cradling a cup of coffee, nearly drowning in one of Ryan’s shirts, looking at him with wide doe eyes glittering in the morning light like emeralds--soft, vulnerable, adorable, nothing like the sharp angles and cold metal of Gavin’s favorite presentation.)

Which also meant that he was going to be an awful prick for the next half hour, because Golden Boy Gavin was the ultimate, sure-of-himself, know-it-all asshole. It was arguably the worst part of being the muscle during the negotiation meetings.

“Whatever you say,” Ryan replied tersely, squaring his shoulders and wrenching the warehouse doors open.

They’re greeted by four members of the Gremlins sitting around a card table in the center of the warehouse, dim fluorescent lighting painting shadows along the walls. The crew members appeared to be playing some kind of game with throwing knives, with several lodged in a post several feet away. At the sound of the doors opening, a tall brunet looked up, knife poised above his head.

“Ah, the Golden Boy has arrived,” he announced, lowing his arm and indicating for the other Gremlin members to stand. Ryan scanned them quickly: two other men and a woman, all lean muscle and utterly blank expressions. Not too hard to take out if need be.

“Please, no need to stand. We’re just having a casual little chat, yeah?” Gavin said smoothly, his syllables drawn out ever so slightly. Ryan felt a sharp spike of admiration shoot through him like a lightning bolt as he watched Gavin’s controlled composure, the way he moved as if he owned the room and everyone in it. There was a reason they usually had sex after negotiation talks…

The meeting went about the same as others--the tall brunet making a request of a truce for a temporary period, Gavin explaining the usual Fake AH terms, all routine and something Ryan usually tuned out in favor of trying to intimidate the Gremlin guards.

It was slightly childish, but Ryan never claimed to not be immature, so he stood straight and proud and practiced spinning and throwing a small dagger he always kept strapped to his thigh. Gavin had gotten it for him when the two had gone on a weekend excursion to a renaissance festival in the northern part of the state, jokingly asking if Ryan could take anyone out with it before they left the faire grounds. He had refrained, but only because it was a nice weekend and it would have been a hassle to make a hasty getaway back to Los Santos.

“So that’s it then,” Gavin said loudly, signaling Ryan to be on alert just in case. Some crews would try and pull something right when they were leaving, which Ryan thought was just dirty and wrong.

“Actually, there’s one more thing,” the brunet said, standing and motioning for one of the other crew members. Ryan watched carefully as the woman nodded and walked swiftly over to one of the warehouse walls. The sound of mechanical beeps echoed through the empty space, and Ryan realized with a sinking heart that there must have been some sort of control panel on the wall.

“Nathanial, what exactly are you--” Gavin started, a hard edge in his voice. Ryan tore his eyes away from the woman to Gavin and the taller man, ready to jump in should the need arise.

“I’m so sorry, fellas,” the brunet said conversationally, reaching under his seat and withdrawing what appeared to be a gas mask, “But you see, we don’t actually have any problems with any arms dealers. We just wanted to get some Fake AH members down here so we could test out this concentrated virus sample we got our hands on. It was fucking expensive, so it’s a good thing we got ourselves the Vagabond and the Golden Boy, huh?”

Ryan was debating the relative merits of just throwing his dagger at the woman over at the wall when a faint hissing noise began emanating from the ceiling. All of the Gremlin members had donned identical masks, and the brunet’s eye gleamed from beneath his.

Not quite thinking, Ryan threw himself forward and grabbed the stunned Gavin by the wrist--unfortunately, his reaction times tended to suffer when he got into the Golden Boy headspace--and ran toward the warehouse door. He didn’t stop running until they were back in the empty lot they had parked in.

The ride back to base was silent. It usually took a bit of time for Gavin to return to what Ryan categorized as “normal,” and when things went wrong, that time usually doubled. Ryan, meanwhile, usually brooded over his own mistakes, thanking everything under the sun that Gavin hadn’t been physically injured.

“We need to check ourselves into quarantine,” Ryan finally said as he navigated the car into the garage. This seemed to snap Gavin out of whatever dimension he had slipped into, as his head whipped around to face Ryan and his mouth dipped into a deep frown.

“Ryan, the absolute last thing I need right now is to be put in a sterile room and poked at by people in protective gear,” he growled cooly. Ryan matched his frown, wishing he could let himself and Gavin curl up in their shared bed as they decompressed.

“Gavin, we were just exposed to some sort of mystery virus. This could be anything, it could be lethal, we need to get checked out and make sure we aren’t the fucking, typhoid Marys of the demon disease apocalypse or something.”

Logic rarely worked on Golden Boy Gavin, and now was no exception. Gavin remained nonplused, and Ryan let out a huff through his nose.

“I swear to God, Gavin, if you don’t come to quarantine I’ll carry you there myself.”

---

Gavin woke in stages. Everything felt hazy and weird and he couldn’t quite remember where he was. His eyes peeled open slowly, and the harsh fluorescent lights made his head pound.

That’s when the last few days came back, clear as a bell: the negotiation with the Gremlins that went wrong, the admittance into quarantine, the repeated battery of tests for foreign pathogens. Caleb and the rest of the med team couldn’t find anything wrong with either of them, but decided keeping Gavin and Ryan in quarantine for a few days wouldn’t be the end of the world. Gavin just wanted out so he could talk with Geoff about just how to get back at those lying little shits.

Then Gavin got tired--a bone-tired that felt like his entire being needed to go to sleep for years. He couldn’t tell if hours or days had passed since he let himself fall into the inky depths of sleep.

He shifted on the cot, uncomfortable, then promptly froze. Something was sticking into his back. Something boney and angular and soft--

Gavin tilted his head and felt his entire body still.

He had wings.

He hadn’t had wings when he had gone to sleep. He certainly hadn’t had wings when he went to go talk with the fucking Gremlin negotiators.

He had wings.

Thoughts refused to process. A few moments later, stunned and angry and scared, Gavin faded back into deep, dreamless sleep.

---

Ryan stared at his reflection in the polished hospital bay mirror. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t make the horns on the top of his head go away. They were stark white, curved inward, and sharp as a knife. He had nearly drawn blood when he first touched them.

The Gremlins had somehow gotten their hands on a concentrated hybrid virus sample, the bastards. Caleb had explained that, in the grand scheme of viral warfare, they could have gotten into something much worse. Ryan had just nodded and marveled at the strange experience of having a fucking tail.

It hadn’t occurred until he was alone that, for all intents and purposes, the Vagabond was dead.

For years, Ryan had been the Vagabond: the enigma, the night-terror, the masked assassin who could kill you in one hundred different ways of varying creativity. Everyone feared the Vagabond. Gavin had been absolutely terrified of him when he first joined the crew. Admittedly, he had rarely taken on off his mask around anyone, and the mask was an important element of being the Vagabond.

He had liked that power, in the same way he assumed Gavin enjoyed the power of his whole Golden Boy persona. He liked that he wasn’t pushed around, wasn’t underestimated. People feared him, yes, but respected him all the same. Everyone knew not to get on the Vagabond’s bad side.

And now the Vagabond was a Hybrid.

No one respected Hybrids. Sure, lots of people pitied Hybrids, sympathized with them and felt bad for them, but no one respected them. They were jokes, less-than, creatures. There were crowds of people calling for segregation, removal of rights, extermination--

The Vagabond was dead. The Gremlins had killed him.

---

When Gavin woke again, it was to the feeling of someone carding their fingers through his hair. The comforting gesture eased him gently out of sleep, and for a moment, everything was normal.

Then his back twinged in discomfort and everything crashed down again and dammit, he was crying.

“Gavin--” Ryan started, his hands coming to a stop on Gavin’s head. The younger man flipped heavily onto his side, back toward his boyfriend, and silently willed Ryan to go back to stroking his hair as tears streamed steadily down his face.

For a few moments, the two stayed still. Gavin watched blankly as his vision blurred, his mind entirely blank.

“Are you alright, Gavin?”

Ryan’s voice was soft, but it cut through the quiet of the room like a knife. Gavin’s still, silent meltdown shattered like glass, giving way to an intense fury and frustration that distantly shocked him. He sat bolt upright and turned to face Ryan, eyes burning and heart pounding.

“No, Ryan, I am not alright,” he said thickly, fighting around a lump in his throat, “Because I’m a bloody Hybrid and I have lost literally everything I’ve fought for. You think I can go out and be a powerful negotiator with these fucking wings? You think anyone will ever take the Golden Boy seriously if he’s got feathers flapping behind him?

No one gives a shit about Hybrids. It’s easy to take down a Hybrid. They’re weak, they’re useless, they don’t have power or glory or respect. I’ve lost fucking everything that Geoff helped me get. I’ll end up back on the streets, just like before, picking pockets and eating scraps and getting kicked and beaten because of this virus. I’ve got nothing.”

Gavin quieted as a round of heavy sobs ripped through his throat, overcoming him. He hunched forward, his crying turned harsh and ugly and raw. The entire time, Ryan remained quiet, and Gavin almost started yelling again, because Ryan always had some sort of logic to apply to a situation. His continued silence just further confirmed everything Gavin feared.

After what felt like an eon, Gavin felt himself run out of tears. It was like someone had turned off a faucet--one moment, water streamed from his eyes, the next, nothing. His breathing evened out, and his lungs ached for air and water. Through it all, though, there was an underlying feeling of relief, but Gavin stubbornly ignored it.

“You didn’t lose everything.”

Gavin quickly looked up and blearily stared at Ryan. He had almost missed the older man’s words.

“You didn’t lose everything, Gavin.”

Suddenly, Gavin was being wrapped up in Ryan’s arms, the older man sliding down onto the bed and pulling the Brit into a tight embrace. Gavin felt his hands briefly sweep past the wings on his back, pulling away quickly each time he touched them as if they had burned him. All the same, Ryan held him, cradled him in his arms and melded their bodies together. Gavin buried his face in Ryan’s neck, sniffling.

“What do I have left?”

“Me, you idiot.”

Gavin huffed out a laugh and nuzzled into Ryan’s neck, nearly buzzing as Ryan rubbed soothing circles on his lower back. For a while, the two lay together, wrapped up in one another. Gavin felt his breathing hitch every so often, a soft hiccup catching him by surprise more than once. Soon, though, he was able to match Ryan breath for breath, and a sort of numb contentment flooded his body.

It was only then that he realized Ryan had horns.

---

Things were slow going for a while. When the others first saw them, Gavin couldn’t help but feel hurt by their stares. He knew, deep down, that the other four couldn’t give less of a shit if they tried, but deep social prejudice is hard to beat. Gavin was still struggling to wrap his brain around it.

But after a while, things returned to vaguely normal. Heists were planned, video games were played. Michael and Jeremy wrestled with Gavin after dinner, rolled around on the ground with him and Geoff egged them on and Jack rolled his eyes and Ryan ignored them in favor of cleaning his guns. But it still felt off.

(Gavin had to cut holes in all his shirts and jackets. Well, in honesty, he convinced Lindsay to do it for him, because he was notoriously bad at cutting straight lines, and he would rather not accidentally shred his entire wardrobe.

Taking showers was admittedly easier than he expected. His shower was spacious enough to accommodate the wings, and said wings were rather water resistant. He probably should have done a bit of research on birds, but the thought of doing so made his stomach turn uncomfortably, so he supposed he could figure shit out himself.

He wondered, occasionally, if he could attempt flight. But then he remembered that he wasn’t the hugest fan of heights in general.)

Gavin struggled through the foggy depression that had settled over him. Things became rather difficult, he realized, when your entire life changed. When every stigma and prejudice he once held was suddenly turned inwards. When he couldn’t walk down the street without feeling the judgmental stares of hundreds. When he caught sight of his sunglasses and hair gel and a cold, isolating hurt settled into his bones.

The Golden Boy was no more. Everything Geoff had given him, everything that he had built up and the reputation he had worked so hard to maintain, was gone. The power, the glory, the legend, it was all gone.

Because no one listened to a Hybrid. No one respected a Hybrid. No one held a full conversation with a Hybrid. The Golden Boy was a Hybrid now, and that was as good as a death sentence.

The final nail in the coffin was when Geoff sent Michael and Jack to the next negotiation talk.

“It would probably be for the best they went,” Geoff reasoned, eyes soft and pitying, making something deep in Gavin burn bright hot with anger, “We’ll figure this out Gavin, but just, for right now, let’s do it this way.”

So things weren’t great.

---

Ryan gave himself two weeks to feel sorry for himself. For two weeks, he moped around the tower, cleaned his gun repeatedly, and played through the entire campaign of Skyrim--twice. At his final count, he had consumed forty-six cans of Diet Dr. Pepper.

But after the two weeks were up, Ryan went back to his normal schedule. He woke up early, he worked out, he ate breakfast, he went about normal business. Everything was normal. Everything was fine.

Except it wasn’t.

Every time he picked up his Vagabond mask, he felt nauseous. He thought of how he horns would protrude through the top and it made his head throb. While Geoff hadn’t outright said it, Ryan could sense that they were going to need to discuss the Vagabond’s involvement in further heists. Perhaps Ryan would participate maskless...

He couldn’t imagine anything worse than that.

He supposed the worst thing to come out of this whole thing was that he and Gavin had barely spent any time together whatsoever. They had both retreated to their separate rooms after being released from quarantine, but that was weeks ago, and they hadn’t said more than three sentences to each other since that afternoon in Gavin’s hospital room.

It was starting to drive Ryan insane.

The two of them had only been dating for a few months before this whole thing happened, and now, Ryan feared, it seemed like it was all over.

So he gave himself a week to wallow before resolving to actually fucking talk to Gavin so he could figure out if he needed to mourn their relationship and move on or what.

The hard part was plucking up the courage to actually talk to Gavin. It seemed as if the younger man had put up walls to go along with his wings, because he never once looked approachable. Even when Michael or Jeremy had him pinned to the floor, the smile on his face didn’t quite reach his eyes, and Ryan hated it. He missed Gavin like a hole in his goddamn heart, and he need him, dammit! Had he not also just gone through a huge emotional and physical trauma?

He needed the comfort of his boyfriend as much as his boyfriend probably needed him.

---

Gavin was nuzzled into the couch, tapping away at some dumb game on his phone, when he felt the cushions dip next to him. Locking his phone, Gavin turned to face his visitor and felt a bit shocked to see Ryan sitting on the couch next to him, looking nervously at his hands.

The man looked slightly gaunt. A healthy dusting of stubble had sprouted along his jaw, and his hair was mused and slightly wild, the bright-white horns nestled in it poking out proudly. Gavin realized it had probably been a week since he had focused his attention on Ryan, let alone had a conversation with him. An anxious guilt spread through him.

“Hi, Rye.”

The words shocked him as they came out, as he hadn’t thought he was going to say anything. Ryan seemed equally surprised, looking up and meeting Gavin’s eyes. A warm spark of joy bounced around Gavin’s chest at the familiar gaze.

“Hi Gavin.”

Gavin let out a soft laugh at Ryan’s soft tone.

“So, we haven’t had much of a talk in a while, huh?”

“You could say that,” Ryan said with a sigh, tilting his gaze back toward his hands. Gavin mourned the loss of it before continuing.

“Well, I guess we should talk now, then.”

“We should.”

Another bout of silence filled the living room.

“Okay, look, we’re both fucked up right now. This is just, a really fucked up situation. We’re both too inside our own heads and everything’s been turned sideways and we both just want everything to go back to normal.”

Gavin smiled widely at Ryan’s words, and motioned for him to continue.

“So I’m going to be honest. I...I don’t know how to fix this. I feel so goddamn lost right now, because I can’t be the Vagabond anymore, not the way I was before. And I know you can’t be the Golden Boy or whatever, either, because humanity sucks and people are assholes and there’s nothing we can do to fix that right now.

But I know that I really fucking miss me and you. I miss holding you and kissing you and arguing about dumb shit together. I miss my boyfriend. I miss you, Gavin.”

“I miss you too,” Gavin whispered, heart beating fast for some reason. He hadn’t realized just how alone and scared he had been for the past few weeks until Ryan said it, vocalized his fears and everything he was thinking. Gavin loved how he could do that, put things into words and make it pretty and simple, even though this situation was everything but that.

“Then let’s get through this together,” said Ryan, taking Gavin’s hands in his own and leaning their foreheads together, “Let’s stick together and figure out how we fix this because we have each other and no one can take that away from us.”

“Okay,” Gavin murmured, pulling away slightly, “Just don’t gouge my eyes out with those.” He eyed Ryan’s horns jokingly, and Ryan let out a loud laugh before pulling him into a deep kiss. Gavin groaned, eyes slipping closed, and he felt every bone in his body relax as he returned the kiss. It was passionate and slow and full of promise, love.

Even as Gavin swiped his tongue playfully against the seam of Ryan’s lips, he knew that this wasn’t a precursor to sex. It was a precursor to their new future, the new start for both of them. They could, they would get through this, together. The Golden Boy and the Vagabond would pull through.

(Alright, maybe it was also a precursor to sex, but that’s not as beautiful and poignant.)

#Ragehappy #Freewood #thehomoadventuresofroosterteeth #ddemonicpanda #rhss17

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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

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Artist: http://ludomoose.tumblr.com

Recipient: http://gala0apples.tumblr.com

#Ragehappy #Megvinsay #ludomoose #gala0apples #rhss17

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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

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A New Ghostmate

Author: http://jetblacknova.tumblr.com

Recipient: http://rayaotic.tumblr.com

Summary: Barbara gets a new roommate and makes a new friend.

WordCount: 985

Pairing: Barbara/Mica

A New Ghostmate

It was supposed to be a joke. Haunted houses aren’t real. Yet here Barbara was, playing Mario Kart in her new house with her ghost roommate.

“How do you play this game Babs?” The ghost said, crashing into every obstacle and banana. “I have no idea what this console is. You called it a Switch?”

“Yeah Mica. It’s the latest Nintendo console. Do you know what Nintendo is?” Barbara asks.

“I’m not an idiot Barbara. I know what Nintendo is. I just . . . haven’t played a console since the Super Nintendo.” Mica replied, trying to adjust to the motion controls.

“Well Mica, you need hands first. And please don’t call me Babs.” Barbara says, pointing at Mica attempting to play with transparent stubs. “You really shouldn’t look like a stereotypical ghost to play games. Kind of no fine motor control.”

Mica scoffs. “I guess I could mimic what I looked like in life, but it’s been a long time. My human appearance wasn’t great for scaring people.”

Barbara can’t help but chuckle at this. “What, a withered old lady ominously floating around, moaning and groaning, spewing ectoplasm isn’t scary? Afraid your ghost form will have brittle bones too?”

Mica looks down. “I was 23 when I passed. I had come home after college for break . . . we were asleep when some racist jackass who had a grudge against my father decided it’d be a good idea to burn my house down. We never made it out.” She says quietly.

Barbara can’t speak. She felt awful for making jokes and not thinking about the fact that no matter what the reason, Mica is still a ghost, which means she died unfulfilled in life.

A period of silence passes before Barbara claps her hands together. “Say, what if I help you pass on? That’s why you’re a ghost, yeah? You never achieved your goals or some shit.”

Mica looks up. “You know, that’s a swell idea! I wish I had thought of it!”

Barbara smiles. “So . . . what did you want to do that you never did? Skydive? Run a marathon? Eat really good hummus?”

“I never got to go on a date. I was too busy with my studies and the options I had weren’t that great.”

“I can’t believe there weren’t any good looking guys for you to date. Though I’m not sure why, given I don’t know what you look like.”

Mica laughs at that. “Oh, let me focus for a second.” She says as she begins to glow and shift. The standard sheet appearance began to slowly dissipate, revealing a very attractive, dark skinned, young lady. As the sheet finishes dissipating, a large swath of luxurious hair falls to Mica’s shoulders and she opens her eyes. “How do I look?”

Barbara looks Mica over before quickly averting her gaze. “You might want to make some clothes up Mica. Looks like you appear exactly as you did in life before you died.”

Mica looks down to realize she’s stark naked. She quickly manifests a blouse and long skirt. “Listen it’s hot during the summer in Texas! It was easier than running the A/C or that obnoxious fan all night.”

“It’s okay Mica. Now why couldn’t you get that date? You’re gorgeous. Every guy must have been drooling over you.”

“It wasn’t the guys I wanted drooling over me.”

“Oh. Oooohhhh.” Barbara responds in realization. “You play for the other team. Tell you what, I’ll take you out on that date you want.”

“Will you really!?” Mica exclaims. “That’d be so wonderful Barbara! But I don’t even know what I want to do on a date. Like I said, never got to go on one.” “Oh wow. You’re really serious. Okay, uh . . . .” Barbara sat there, pondering. “Can you leave the house or are you stuck here?” Mica sighed. “I can’t leave the premises. The yard, the house, I have free reign but beyond that I’d need a body or something. Maybe, not sure. Never tried.” Barbara laughs at that one. “You’re pretty funny. Okay, how’s this for a date? What’s your favorite meal?” “I like a nice beef wellington. Ooh, and maybe some ceviche or something. I also really really like sushi. I also can’t say no to nice apple pie.” “Okay, uh . . . I’ll Google how to make those things and then I’ll go to the H.E.B., get the ingredients, and make you your favorite dishes, which by the way were you guys rich or what because those are really fucking fancy dishes.”

“We weren’t poor but we had a comfortable life. Got to have fancy meals for nice events. Perks of your parents being a couple of attorneys.”

“Oh wow. Okay. So yeah, I’ll get the ingredients and make you all that delicious food, then we can chill and watch a movie. I have Netflix!” Barbara says cheerfully.

“What’s Netflix? Is it like Blockbuster?” Mica replies, confused.

“Oh my you really haven’t been able to get out of this house in twenty years, have you? It’s like Blockbuster but all online. Don’t have to go out to a store or anything.”

“Oh wow! That’s so cool. Must take forever. AOL is so slow to start up.”

A cold chill fills the house as Barbara takes a minute to recompose herself.

“Okay, no. Like Nintendo, the internet has updated and improved in the past twenty years.” Barbara finally replies. “But getting back on track, yeah I’ll make your favorite foods, we’ll watch a movie, cuddle, and then maybe go lie down in the backyard on a soft blanket and stargaze. How does that sound?”

Mica’s eyes start to water. “Barbara that sounds perfect. I cannot believe you’d do something so nice just for me! I really, really, hope this will be the best date ever!” “I’ll make it happen, my dude. But first let’s finish this game of Mario Kart.” “You’re on!”

#Ragehappy #BarbaraMica #jetblacknova #rayaotic #rhss17

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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

Text

Author: http://double00mogar.tumblr.com

Recipient: http://tiikeria.tumblr.com

Summary: Gavin is stuck in a pretty empty world with four friends, trying to build the place up into something worth living in. It's a bit boring, but at least he's blessed by a god and has Jeremy with him, right?

Warnings: Mentions of blood and blood altar related harm, rated mature

Word Count: 18,460

Gavin was sure, one hundred percent positive, that whoever created this world had begun to regret their decision by now. It was possible, of course, that they were simply a sadistic bastard who enjoyed seeing them struggle to survive in the... well, the nothing that they'd been dropped into so many days ago. But there had to be a damn limit. They'd been floundering around like idiots for so long now, attempting to make something out of the nothing, that surely it wasn't worth watching anymore.

No, whoever their god was, they had to be crazy.

But they all still prayed. Of course they did. No matter what kind of world it was, and how little they'd been given to start, they were still alive here. And they had started to make progress. They had metal, and ways to process it. It was all manual labor, and took far too long, but they were getting there. Where, he didn't know, but he was sure that it was somewhere.

Despite initially giving them so little, surely all they'd done so far had been overseen and favored by the god who'd made them this world? Gavin doubted they'd all still be alive now if the divine hadn't allowed it. They'd had so many close calls, especially in the beginning when there had barely been a floor to stand on. He and Jeremy most of all, thanks to clumsiness and a fondness of taking risks, respectively.

Gavin liked to think that their god was actually quite fond of them. He was sure he'd fallen from deathly heights that could have killed him instantly. And yet, he'd managed to survive each time. Not without some bad injuries, of course, but he would take those over dying, easy.

He was being ridiculous, he knew. He was probably just extremely lucky, not experiencing any sort of godly interventions.

The thought got him through the frustrating weeks where they just seemed to be farming for materials like dirt all day, though. Today was, unfortunately, another one of those days.

Dirt duty. His favorite.

He stuffed leaves into the line of barrels with a light scowl etched onto his face. Normally he was in a good mood, but he hadn't been able to talk to anyone all day, and his leg hurt from the old break it was still in the middle of recovering from. overall, things weren't exactly going his way as of late.

"Gavin!" A voice called, the sound of footsteps pulling his attention away from the dirt-making process.

"Hey, Jeremy," He replied, pulling his expression up into a grin at the sight of the other man. "What's up?"

"Well, I need dirt," he said bluntly, tilting his head towards the large pile of it that Gavin had begun building.

"Oh," he muttered, disheartened, and turned back toward what he'd been doing. "Yeah, take whatever you want, J."

"Hey, c'mon," Jeremy frowned, leaning forward in what Gavin assumed was an attempt to see his face. Unsuccessful, he leaned back again with a small huff. "How's your leg doing today?"

Gavin shuffled his stance a bit, testing the strength of the leg he'd been taking it easy on since it broke. He could walk around well enough, but placing his full weight on that side still caused pain. "Doing alright," he said with a shrug.

"Knowing you, it'll probably be healed in only a few days," the man chuckled with a shake of his head.

"What?" he exclaimed, jerking his head towards Jeremy in surprise. "No it won't!"

"Yes it will! You're fucking blessed, dude. You absolutely should have died at least fifteen times by now, getting attacked and falling all over the place like that."

"Blessed?" Sure, he liked to think that their god liked them, but to actually consider himself blessed seemed wrong. The divine had no reason to favor anybody, especially not Gavin, considering that he actually hadn't contributed much to the development of this world yet. "If I'm blessed, then so are you."

Jeremy scoffed. "How?"

"You know everything! I'm stuffing leaves in barrels to make dirt by hand and you're over there making metal and automating shit!" he huffed. "You're like some... some little genius or something."

He saw the man's face scrunch at little, but he didn't comment. Jeremy was far too used to it by now, and Gavin doubted he was ever really bothered by it in the first place. It's not like he ever meant it in a bad way, either.

"That doesn't mean I'm blessed! I'm just throwing shit together with dumb luck. It's different than falling off the damn world and living to tell about it, Gavin."

"Why would I be blessed, though?"

Jeremy's lips pulled downwards into a small frown. "Well, I mean, I don't know. The god must like you." He shrugged.

Gavin snorted indignantly, shaking his head.

"Hey, Gav," he said, pausing until he was given full attention, "I'd bless you if I were a god."

Outright laughing, Gavin turned away again, but his smile lingered far after the giggles had faded into silence. "Sure, thanks, J." He still didn't really believe there was any real divine intervention keeping him safe. And, if there was, he stood by the fact that Jeremy had some too. But joking around with the man did make him feel rather better about it.

"What the fuck's taking you so long to get some dirt?" a new voice thundered, and both of their heads jerked to the left to see Michael walking towards them.

Rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, Jeremy grinned. "Sorry, Michael. I'm getting it now."

"No flirting on the job, boys," he teased with a slightly annoyed huff. Shaking his head, he walked away again, not even bothering to make sure Jeremy actually wasgetting the dirt. Gavin didn't even bother to refute the words. Not because they were flirting, but because he knew that none of them would listen, anyway. If they wanted to tease, they would tease.

"See ya later, Gav," Jeremy hummed, and Gavin turned to see him hefting up a large sack of dirt. It looked to be almost all that he could hold.

"Need help?" he asked, raising his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected him to take that much.

"Nope. I got this," he huffed, but Gavin heard the strain in his voice as he took the first step forward. "You just," a step and a grunt, "Keep at it."

"Jeremy," Gavin said, disbelief in his voice, but he didn't move forward to help, and instead let the man do as he pleased. If Jeremy was in the mood to throw out his back, he'd be damned if he let anyone stop him.

Alone again, he sighed. Gavin missed the company of his friends. Before, when they'd only have a few feet of space to move in, they'd always talked and joked together. There was never a moment of peace. Sure, they got on each other's nerves a lot, especially whenever someone had made a mistake, but he was a very tactile person. Gavin didn't like being left alone for too long. Now that their world had grown so much, and most of them had discovered something specific that they could put their attention to, he was left by himself a lot more often.

He got used to it, though. Really, he had not choice but to accept it, even if he sometimes wished things were like they used to be. As it was though, things were only going to keep moving forward.

~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin knelt before his bed, elbows resting on the mattress, his hands clasped together in front of his head, which was bowed downwards in prayer. He did so every night, and it had become such an ingrained habit that he no longer needed to think about it.

Still, he didn't exactly know if he was doing it properly. He knew how to pray, but the fact remained that they knew next to nothing about their god besides the fact that they were the one to build this world. Or - create it. The building itself had been left up to it's inhabitants. Whether that was from uncaring, cruelty, or just a boredom that begged for entertainment, Gavin had no idea. Did gods even get bored? Surely they must, right?

Either way, he chose to not dwell on it and give their god the benefit of the doubt, if only to keep himself in the deity's favor. He didn't want to insult such a high power, after all. So, he prayed. It was likely all meaningless, but he felt as though it was somehow important. Like he was benefiting them all by giving thanks for what they'd been given.

At the very least, it made him feel good, and gave him something to cling to.

He whispered easy words about the day's activities and the things they'd discovered or built, thanking the god for giving them the knowledge and materials. He also spoke of difficult things; the pain of any recent injuries, or the loneliness he often felt, and the words were thick and difficult on his tongue as he asked for guidance.

No response ever came, of course, but he liked to think the god was at least listening. He certainly wasn't blessed, but if they were even hearing his words, then that was good enough for Gavin.

Ending his nightly prayer with a yawn, he slipped into bed and easily fell asleep.

He woke up to screaming.

With a jolt, he was sitting upright and shaking the fog out of his head. At first, he wasn't quite sure if it had been real or just a dream, but after hearing it a second time, he was jumping too his feet and running, despite still being in his nightclothes. At least he had the presence of mind to grab his sword and bag as he left.

The scream had definitely belonged to Jeremy. Gavin ran towards the sound, though it sounded faraway, and at first he hadn't been sure where to go. A look downward confirmed the worst of all possible scenarios.

"Jeremy!" he yelled, leaning over the edge of the cobblestone, down into the pit that was dark enough to look endless. There Jeremy stood, on almost invisible ground, attempting to fight off what looked to be a horde of monsters. Where the hell was everyone else, and why weren't they here too?

"Gavin?" he replied, sparing a glance upwards and earning a lunge forward from a spider in return.

The sight urged him to action, and he made to follow down after the man. He'd ended up down there enough times, along with some mishandled objects, that they'd all resorted to jut building a hatch and a rope going downwards. The problem, he realized, was that the rope was now gone. No wonder Jeremy hadn't been able to escape the mob horde.

Afraid of being too late, he scrambled through a nearby chest where he was sure - he hoped - that there had been some rope. Thanking the god above with a joyous cry, he hastily tied it off to the old hatch, and let it fall downward. Before even bothering to make sure it went all the way to the bottom he jumped and slid down the rope, ignoring the burn on his hands that came as a result. That could be dealt with later.

"Jeremy!" he called again, waving his hands around in an attempt to get the man's attention. "Come on! The rope!"

"Does it look like I can get over there?" Jeremy yelled back, his voice breathless and strained as he swung his sword to keep the monsters at bay.

Frustrated and out of ideas, Gavin did the dumbest thing possible and rushed towards them all, attacking them with vigor as he tried to draw their attention to himself. If they looked his way and weren't so focused on Jeremy, then perhaps the man could find a way to escape from them and run to the rope and get to safety.

By some miracle, it kind of worked? At least half of them turned to advance on Gavin instead, and it was with a lot of cursing and various grunts of pain - the causes of which would be worried about later - that Jeremy slowly made his way to the other side of the horde, where Gavin and the rope both waited.

"Come on, Gav," the man called, "just run!" Running wasn't exactly an option, since his leg was still injured from before, and he'd exerted it so much by sprinting without thinking, but he limped as quickly as possible to the escape route he'd left for them as Jeremy urged him to hurry. Who was saving who, now?

With adrenaline thrumming through their veins, they climbed back up to safety, and collapsed on the cool cobblestone ground next to one another, breathing too heavily to even speak properly.

"Are you," he eventually gasps between breaths, "alright?"

Jeremy lifted his head to look down at himself. "I, uh, think so?" He was breathless, and his words weren't coming out as clearly as they could have, but Gavin still heard the questioning lilt to his tone. "Are you?"

"Yeah. Think so," he said, simply repeating the man's previous words. To be honest, he wasn't sure. His leg kinda hurt like hell, but that was his own fault. He didn't know if the monsters had done any damage.

Gavin forced his body up into a sitting position and looked down to inspect himself, running his hands down his chest to feel for any twinges. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jeremy as he did the same.

"M'clothes are a little torn but I think I'm good," he murmured, the words a bit slurred as they were interrupted with an exhausted yawn. The adrenaline had finally begun to wear off, and it left him feeling drained. He looked to the other man to see how he was, and his eyes widened. "Jeremy," he gasped.

Rips and tears littered his shirt and pants, loose bits of cloth clinging by threads and threatening to fall apart. Gavin had gotten a few cuts but that was nothing compared to this. Unthinkingly, he surged forward and tugged at the fabric. it was ruined anyway, so there was no point in being gentle with it. He just needed it out out the way. He needed to see if Jeremy was okay.

He blinked owlishly at the skin there. There were cuts and scratches littering Jeremy's chest and arms, but they were small and insignificant, barely bleeding and practically healed already. And well, they've lived in close quarters for a while now, have definitely all seen one another shirtless, so Gavin was positive these hadn't been there before.

Not that he ever stared or anything.

"It's, you're, uh," he stuttered, unable to think of something to say as he looked over the man's chest in shock.

"What the fuck," the man breathed in reply, and that at least made Gavin feel a little better, as if ripping apart what had been left of Jeremy's clothes hadn't been completely unfounded. Gavin looked up to meet equally wide eyes. "It, it had been worse," Jeremy whispered, gingerly poking at the small wounds.

Gavin was still stunned silent. He had no idea what to make of any of this. He'd rushed down, certain that Jeremy was dying and, well, maybe he had been, but there was nothing to show for it now. No reason to worry, as if all injuries had simply been whisked away. A sudden relief washed over him as he finally accepted the idea that Jeremy was alive, and then he giggled, laughter bubbling from his chest unbidden and unstoppable.

"Gavin?" Jeremy asked, confusion clear in his tone. Still, the laughing didn't stop until tears had fallen down his cheeks and the corners of his mouth ached. He must look like an idiot, but honestly he was just so relieved. Jeremy was here and alive and he could barely believe it.

When he'd heard that scream, and then when he'd seen that horde cornering the man, a small part of himself had been sure Jeremy would die. He'd been so afraid, and that had been what spurred him to action without thinking. But now, to see that he was completely fine? Gavin couldn't do anything but laugh, it was so ridiculous. It felt so good though, the elation of knowing that Jeremy would live.

"Who's blessed now, J?" he chuckled brokenly.

Jeremy laughed at that, though it sounded like it had been torn from his throat. "Still you, Gav," the man murmured, poking at a particularly long tear in his shirt. Gavin tugged at it to see the skin underneath, surprised - or maybe not, really - to see a small cut, similar to Jeremy's own. Briefly, he remembered the painful sting of a sword, but now any evidence it had happened was gone.

"Oh," he mumbled. "I guess so." He'd gone compliant with the situation, a small part of his mind realized. It was too much, and he was far too strung out and exhausted to even begin to properly comprehend everything. He was defaulting at acceptance, and he wasn't sure if that worried him or not.

"How's your leg?" Jeremy asked, leaning over to inspect the limb even though he wouldn't be able to see any damage, anyway.

"It bloody hurts."

"Well, what'd you go running around for?" It was a weak attempt to make a joke out of the situation, but it made Gavin's mouth twitch upwards anyway. "Come on," Jeremy huffed, pushing himself up to his feet, "I'll help you walk back."

He leaned heavily on the shorter man as he limped back, but Jeremy's support never wavered. "What the hell is everyone else doing?" Gavin grumbled angrily as he noticed Jack's farm in the darkness of night.

"Sleeping, probably," Jeremy huffed in reply.

"So was I."

"Really? How'd you know I was down there?"

Gavin turned his head to look at the man in surprise. "What do you mean? I heard you."

"Huh. Good ears, Gav," Jeremy murmured.

"Better than everyone else's, apparently."

They made it to Gavin's bed with no problems, and thankfully, neither of their legs had given out on the walk. He dropped himself unceremoniously onto the mattress as soon as Jeremy loosened his supporting hold, groaning in discomfort. He had no fatal injuries, but was still exhausted and sore. "Thanks for walking me back, J," he hummed.

"Yup. I don't want you falling over or anything."

"Ha ha," Gavin grumbled in irritation, although a small smile could be heard in his voice, even if he was too tired to show it on his face.

Jeremy chuckled. "Night, dude. And uh, thank you for going down there after me."

He lifted his gaze to see the man's face. "Don't make me do it again," he teased softly.

"Eh, we'll see." Jeremy gave one last tired wave of his hand before he turned and left. He was long gone by the time Gavin remembered that he'd never even thought to ask why the man had been down there. As it was at the moment though, he was already falling asleep, so figuring out could wait.

But, he did remember to send thanks to their god for keeping Jeremy safe before he finally drifted off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

Gavin had weird dreams that night. His sleep was restful still, and by the time morning came he could barely remember them, but he was left with a strange feeling that lingered through the beginning of his day. He struggled to grasp at the memories, but that only sent them further away, and he eventually gave up trying with a frustrated huff.

His leg was sore, but he could use it well enough, and he found himself walking around, looking for Jeremy.

"Gavin!" A voice called out, and he turned to see Michael approaching.

"Hey, Michael."

"What the fuck happened to your leg now? It looks worse than before!"

"It's alright. I just..." he paused, searching for an explanation that didn't make it sound as though it was his fault. (It technically was, of course.) "I used it too much yesterday."

"You were standing in one spot all day, Gav," Michael said, narrowing his eyes suspiciously. Damn. They were too good of friends for him to easily believe the lie.

"Standing hurts!"

"Bullshit. What did you do?"

He was quiet for a moment. "Ran," he finally replied in a nervous tone.

"What? Why?"

Gavin sighed. "Last night, Jeremy was stuck down with the mobs."

Michael's eyes widened, and he practically gasped. "Why the fuck was he down there?"

"I don't know! I just, dunno, I heard him down there last night. It woke me up and I didn't really have time to think about it."

Michael seemed, surprisingly, stunned to silence. Usually the man could always find something to say, but now he was eerily quiet. Gavin understood. He and Jeremy both could have very easily died last night, and nobody would have realized until the next morning when they were already gone. It was a painful thought.

"Where's Jeremy now?" he finally asked.

"I was looking for him."

The man huffed angrily. "Was he planning on telling us? You both could have been killed, you fucking idiot!" And then, he turned to stalk away.

"Michael?" Gavin called after him, attempting to keep up despite the sharp pain in his leg that came with every step. It was bearable though, and the man seemed mad enough that following him felt necessary. They walked all the way to the area where Jeremy chose to reside, Michael rushing and Gavin struggling to just barely keep up.

"Jeremy! Where the hell are you?" Michael shouted, barging in. His bed was empty, but the man was not missing, and he turned from what he was doing in surprise at the shout of his name. Gavin could see the wince when Jeremy noticed who was there for him, like he knew exactly what the conversation was going to be about. Though, it was a bit obvious, really.

"Oh, hey Michael," he said, offering a smile to them both as he walked over to meet them.

"Why didn't you tell me you fell off the fucking world last night?" Michael demanded, not wasting any time with small talk and Jeremy's obvious stalling. Gavin stayed silent, shuffling nervously as he stood behind the angrier man.

"Well, I mean, I was going to?" he said, his voice uprising in the tone of a question.

Michael scowled. "How did you even stay alive down there?"

Gavin doubted either of them had an answer for that. Well, there was one, but he was still doubtful about the whole thing, and Jeremy only ever joked about it anyway. At least, he was pretty sure the man had been joking about it before. He wasn't sure what to think of the situation now, after what had happened to their injuries last night, and Jeremy was likely facing the same dilemma. He'd wanted to perhaps have an actual discussion about it, but unfortunately, he'd run into Michael first.

"Gavin came to my rescue," he laughed, with all the bravado of certainty. Gavin didn't think he'd done much saving, but it was nice to be given some credit for his mostly meaningless efforts.

"I just distracted them a bit," he murmured.

"You brought the rope back down," Jeremy insisted, and okay, maybe that part was true.

"Why was the rope gone?" Michael questioned, his eyebrows raising.

Jeremy rubbed at the back of his neck, biting his bottom lip before chuckling lightly. "It snapped when I was climbing down there."

An unreadable sort of expression crossed the man's face as his eyes flicked between the both of them. He spoke to the pair, "don't fucking go down there by yourself next time," then sighed. All anger seeming to drain out of his body at that moment. The thought of someone dying in the quiet of night was too much for any of them. "And you have to tell Geoff and Jack."

"I was going to," Jeremy nodded. Gavin couldn't help but feel like they were being scolded, but then again, Michael tended to have a very fatherly nature at times.

"Just, fucking, go back to whatever you were doing, idiots," he grumbled, and left them standing there.

They watched him leave in silence. "That went well," Jeremy hummed, finally breaking it.

"You're joking." Gavin looked over in surprise.

The man scoffed. "Well, obviously." Then, he sighed. "How are you, Gav?"

"I've been better."

With a shake of his head, but grinning just slightly, Jeremy said "Yeah, me too. Last night was just ... insane."

"That's one way to put it, sure."

Jeremy was silent for a few moments, glancing around like he was looking for some sort of way out. Gavin couldn't exactly blame him. Everything about what had happened down with the mobs the night before was difficult to think about, let alone talk about. He'd like it if they could just forget the whole thing happened, but he doubted anything good would come of doing so.

Eventually though, the man spoke again. "I'm still surprised you managed to hear me and then get to me so fast."

"You screamed, didn't you?" he asked, slightly confused. Yeah, Jeremy had been very far down from where they stood now, on actual land, but screaming was something that tended to carry pretty well.

"Yeah, but it's hard to hear from up here when someone's all the way down there. Michael says that's why we never hear the mobs, and why two people should always go together."

"Michael goes down there by himself," Gavin huffed.

"Well, he's Michael. He doesn't give a shit."

"You must have screamed pretty loud then, J."

He frowned. "Or, you just can hear extremely well."

Gavin furrowed his brows. He doubted that was the case. In fact, he probably had only average hearing at best. "I don't think so."

Jeremy looked like he wanted to protest, but clamped his mouth shut, his jaw visibly tight. Gavin didn't like that. He wanted the man to talk to him properly, not keep secrets all bottled up. Still, he didn't push the subject, and instead let their current conversation fall away into silence.

"You ran pretty fast on that leg too. I saw you limping today."

"Eh, its alright. Worth it, innit? You could have died if I hadn't gotten there fast enough."

"Would have died," Jeremy corrected. "The rope had snapped. Even if I had been able to get away from the mobs that were cornering me then, there was no way for me to get back up. I still would be stuck with them all."

"Jeremy," Gavin began, but the man shook his head.

"Gavin. Come on, man. You saved my fucking life."

Nervously, he pressed a finger against Jeremy's chest. "What about those? I didn't do that." It was vague phrasing, but he knew that the man knew exactly what he was talking about.

"I uh, I don't know about that," he muttered, looking down at his own chest before taking a glance at Gavin's too. They were both clothed, but knowing what was there - the already healed cuts - meant it didn't matter much. They didn't need to look again.

"I think you're the one that's blessed here," he said, attempting to make a joke, but sounding far more serious than he'd intended.

Jeremy simply scoffed. "I doubt it."

"What, why?"

"I already told you, Gav. Why would I be?"

Why would I be?" he countered back. Jeremy like to claim he was, but there was no more reason for him to be than the other man.

"Because you're likable."

Gavin blinked, caught by surprise at the words. He extremely doubted that. He knew that they were all friends, but he also knew that he was the biggest piece of shit out of all of them. He was the only one without a dedicated job, and got bored easily. A bored Gavin tended to mess with the people around him, and that often ended in anger. "You're out of your mind."

"No, I'm serious!"

"Why would the god like me enough to bless me? I don't do anything. At least you all are doing something to make this place better, building and inventing shit."

"Just because you're not out on a farm all day like Jack doesn't mean you don't do anything. Without you making stuff, we wouldn't be able to build anything. Besides, you're nice to have around."

A light flush bloomed on Gavin's cheeks. "You're full of shit," he muttered, but he was trying not to grin.

"I am not! The god likes you, dude."

"I don't offer them anything worth liking."

Jeremy hummed. "You're you."

"That's-" he began, but cut himself off. He didn't exactly know how to respond to that. It was oddly heartfelt. "Thanks, J."

"Anytime," he chuckled.

"I still believe what I said, though."

"What, that I'm blessed too? I don't think so," the man chuckled.

The corners of Gavin's mouth turned downwards in a slight frown. "You shouldn't be so doubtful."

"Like you're not doubtful?"

"I'm just unsure."

Jeremy outright laughed. "That's basically the same thing."

"No, it's not!" But the man was still laughed, so he sighed, giving up. After all, he couldn't exactly make Jeremy believe he was blessed or not. It was nothing short of a miracle that they were both alive right now, but realizing that, and believing it's a blessing were two completely different things. Besides, he'd meant what he said about still being unsure. Being blessed by a god sounded great, but it was still so unlikely that he wasn't going to put his faith into it. He was probably just really lucky.

"When are you going to tell Geoff and Jack about what happened?"

"Oh, damn." He'd obviously forgotten he was supposed to. "Never?"

"Michael would kill you."

He groaned. "I guess the next time I see them."

"Good luck."

"Yeah, thanks," Jeremy grumbled, but he didn't sound very thankful at all. Gavin understood, though. Explaining what had happened to Michael had been terrifying enough.

"You're not going to avoid them all day, are you?"

"No?"

"Jeremy, " Gavin chided.

"Alright, alright. No, I'm not gonna avoid them."

"Okay, good."

"Yeah, yeah. Just get out of here now," he grumbled, effectively kicking Gavin out. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"When you come to get more dirt?" Honestly, Gavin still wasn't very fond of his current job, but Jeremy had made him feel better enough about it that he felt free to joke and tease about the situation now.

"You know it."

He took his leave then, slowly finding his way back towards where he was meant to be. The limp made it difficult to walk around properly, but he wasn't in too much of a hurry. Geoff, Michael, and Jack were obviously all already busy, and Jeremy would surely be joining them in that regard.

Once he'd arrived at the barrels and sifters, he began putting them to work. And, like promised, he was visited by Jeremy a few times that day, along with one very disgruntled looking Jack.

"I heard you and Jeremy had quite the adventure last night."

"Oh, he told you."

Jack nodded. "He came to the farm."

"Yeah, Michael found out when he saw me limping around and made sure that Jeremy promised to tell you and Geoff. I mean, I think he was going to anyway, but."

"Michael," Jack filled in as an explanation, and Gavin nodded with a laugh.

"Michael," he agreed.

"I'm glad you're both okay."

"Thanks, Jack. Uh, what did you need?"

And so his day went, until night fell once again. He took the time to pay a visit to Jack in turn to grab some of the corn he was growing, and ate it while he limped around, chatting absentmindedly with the others. He enjoyed the relaxing conversations that came with the evening, once they'd all grown tired of working. Geoff had been the most stressful to talk to, since he'd been the only one Gavin hadn't seen since Jeremy told everyone what happened, but he'd relaxed soon enough. Michael had by far taken it the worst out of all of them.

Once he'd finished eating, and everyone else seemed to be growing tired too, Gavin retired back to his bed, easing himself down onto the mattress. Like the night before, it didn't take much time after he prayed before he was falling asleep again.

His dream that night was weird as well, but it felt more tangible - not so far out of his grasp. In fact, he felt as thought he remembered pieces of it. They were incomprehensible, just little flashes of light, and something like a voice, but it was still better than what he'd had before.

At least it was something.

That morning after he got dressed, he was immediately greeted by Jeremy. He hadn't even made it downstairs to the sifters and his forever waiting pile of dirt, but the man caught him on the start of the journey there.

"I got something for you, Gav," he said, bouncing on his feet and excitement clear in his voice. His hands were behind his back, and Gavin attempted to peer around and see what he was holding, but to no avail.

"Well come on then," he said with impatience. "What is it?"

With a flourish, Jeremy swung his hand forward and presented him with ... a ball of fabric? It looked a bit like yarn except ... harder. He must have been staring for too long because the man sighed.

"Its mesh, see?" he explained, grabbing onto a small portion and letting it collapse downwards. When it wasn't crumpled up, he could see the full vision.

"Oh! Oh, Jeremy! That's amazing," he cooed, reaching out and grabbing the material. It was rough and felt sturdy, nothing like the string that was currently on their sieves. "How'd you make this?"

"It's stiffened with metal. I'm hoping that it'll do a better job than what's there now."

"Brilliant, Lil J," he grinned, carefully taking the gift in his hands and gently running his finger over one of the wires.

"It's nothing," the man laughed, seeming pleased. "Let me know how it does, okay? I might be able to make an even better one if that works out."

"I will. Thank you very much, Jeremy," he hummed, and walked as fast as his leg allowed down to the sieves. He was excited. The string did an alright job, but it got tattered and didn't hold very strong. This metal that he held in his hands now was going to make his job so much easier.

He tore the string free, and carefully attached the new metal mesh, making sure that it was as tight as possible. Then, eagerly, he put it to the test.

Almost immediately, he was able to grab new items as the sand fell. He inspected each thing, turning it in his hands before dropping it into a bag. He'd bring it all to Jeremy for the man to look at. More than likely, he'd be able to use some of it to make something new.

As expected, Jeremy was standing over a furnace, watching it intensely. "Waiting for something?"

He startled, jolting as he turned around to look Gavin's way. "Hell, dude," he laughed.

In response, Gavin dropped the bag with a loud thud. "The mesh works," he explained happily, as Jeremy opened up the bag and began to look through it all, pulling out new items and placing them down before eagerly taking the next thing.

"I guess it works faster too," he observed, and Gavin nodded in agreement. "Ooh, I can do so much more shit now!"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah! Thanks, Gav."

He laughed. "You built the damn thing. I just threw the sand through it."

Jeremy just waved one hand dismissively, his face still practically buried in the bag of new items. Gavin would be more inclined to argue, but he let it go this time. They were both in too much of a good mood to ruin it. So, he stood there and listened as the man looked over each item, and speculated about what it could be used for. Jeremy was smart, he realized. Well, he'd known it before, but Gavin had never seen him so deeply engrossed in his work before.

Each item he considered carefully, and occasionally jotted down notes about for later. It was incredibly ... amazing to watch. Jeremy put so much thought into everything that he did, and he knew that the man had definitely been lying when he said he was just throwing things together and getting lucky.

Eventually though, they were interrupted as Jack and Geoff both came over looking for more materials to build the farms up. Gavin had to lead them back downstairs and show them the new mesh that they could use now, and give them all the dirt they needed.

By the time he was free to go back upstairs, Jeremy was deeply focused on building something, so they weren't exactly able to hold a proper conversation. Once he was working something, he wasn't easily distracted.

So, sighing, he went to find Michael. He hadn't spent much time with his Boi since he and Jeremy had fallen off the world, and Gavin wanted to make sure that his friend wasn't still mad at them. He had a temper on the best of days, and that was fine enough to handle. But when he got so mad that he went silent, that was difficult.

He found Michael digging through a chest, fuming. Somehow, that wasn't surprising. "Where the fuck is it? I know I put the damn thing in here."

"Uh, what are you looking for?"

Not looking up, the man huffed angrily. "A sword. I thought I put it in a chest somewhere but now I can't fucking find it."

"Are you sure someone didn't take it?" Gavin certainly hadn't. He'd had the same one for a long time now, since he barely ever used it. It had been the first time in a long time when he went down after Jeremy, and it didn't break then, so with him it stayed. Still, it was always possible that the others had needed one. They all tended to just grab whatever they could find in the chests that they needed.

Sighing, he stood up straight and turned around. "I'll just make another one," he frowned. "So what's up, Gavin?"

"Jeremy made a new mesh for the sieves today," he said with a smile.

"Damn, how's it doing?"

"It's really good! I think he's still looking through all the new stuff I got from it."

Michael chuckled. "Sounds like you really made his day."

"You think so?" he replied, laughing along.

"Yeah. So, when are you two gonna bang, then?" Michael suddenly asked, one eyebrow raised and a teasing grin warping his features.

Gavin, in response, sputtered and nearly choked on his own spit. "M'sorry, what?"

Michael, the bastard, just laughed. "What do you mean 'what'? We all have to watch you two dance around one another like some awkward version of gay chicken. At least get to the good part and finally fuck."

"But - But -" he scrambled for something to say, but was left in silence. He liked Jeremy, sure, but he hadn't thought that he was being obvious about it or anything. Certainly not enough to be cornered by Michael. Besides, they were always so busy that they practically never saw one another. How would anyone realize that Gavin had a few small feelings for the man?

"Come on, Gavin. You're not that hard to read."

A momentary spark of fear hit him then. "So then Jeremy knows too?" he whined.

"You're admitting it?" he chuckled. "No, I don't think he does."

"Thank god," Gavin muttered, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. He didn't think he'd be able to handle it if he found out that Jeremy actually did know something about his feelings. "Wait, no! I'm not admitting anything!" he cried, suddenly realizing what he'd said.

"I think you just did," Michael teased

Frustrated, he collapsed down onto the chest that Michael had just been looking through. "Look, you can't tell him, okay?" Gavin was in the middle of coming to terms with it himself. He didn't need anything forced on him just because his friends decided to pay matchmaker.

"Why can't you just do it? It's not my job to," Michael said with a scoff, and he breathed a sigh of relief at the words.

Gavin was silent for a moment, thinking. Honestly, he really wasn't brave enough to do it. Jeremy was so ... wonderful at everything, and he couldn't compare to that. Besides, what if the man turned him down? He didn't want that embarrassment. Unfortunately, his words didn't reflect his thoughts well. "Because it's Jeremy!"

Michael, in response, just raised an eyebrow doubtfully. "That makes sense."

"But Michael! You know what I mean."

He laughed. "I actually don't. I'm not the one with a crush. And you're being pretty damn loud for someone who wants to keep a secret."

Gavin huffed, crossing his arms petulantly. "I don't know how to say anything to him about that."

"Uh, just say it? 'Hey, I really like you, now please fuck me?'"

"No!"

"I don't think he'd turn you down, Gavvy," the man hummed thoughtfully. He sounded very sincere all of a sudden, for all of the joking he'd done so far. "I meant it when I said you were both playing the gay chicken game."

"He's not into me, Michael."

Sighing, he shrugged. "Suit yourself," he said. "I've got to get to making that sword now, but you should think about it."

He waved a silent goodbye to his friend as he walked away. He would consider it, but there was really nothing to think about. Jeremy hadn't done anything to prove that he was romantically - or sexually - interested in Gavin. It was a frustrating situation.

But, they were perfectly fine as friends. The two of them got along and fit in well with the entire group. There was no reason for Gavin to go and ruin that. He could easily ignore the whole thing and just let it blow over.

With newfound confidence, he strolled to the area that Geoff had designated as the 'animal farm'. There was nothing there yet, but they were hopeful still that they'd have something soon. He spent the rest of the evening chatting with the older man, since everyone else was too busy to relax until late into the night.

That night, Gavin went to bed, and for some reason he couldn't stop thinking about his conversation with Michael. He'd resolved to do nothing about his feelings, but that didn't mean that they easily left him alone.

After tossing around for what felt like hours, he eventually prayed that he'd just pass out.

It must have worked, because not too long afterwards, he felt himself drifting off to sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~

The last few nights, his dreams had felt faraway, barely tangible, as if he was simply floating in between sleep and consciousness. This time though, it felt far too real.

Gavin wasn't one for lucid dreaming, but as soon as he opened his eyes, he knew that wherever he was, it wasn't real. He was still on his bed, but what seemed like fog had covered the entire area, and anytime he focused on something, it seemed a bit fuzzy at the edges.

It was just strange enough to be a little frightening. It wasn't the type of dream that he normally experienced, and he was honestly lost in it. It just all felt ... off.

Despite what was probably his better judgement, Gavin found himself standing, and he walked slowly as he looked around. Everything had the same out-of-focus aura, but it all seemed to be the same as it was whenever he was awake. Nothing was different, or out of place. Well, except for one thing.

Nobody else was here. Walking around, he didn't see any of his friends anywhere; not in their beds, or even working on something late at night. It was eerie. Perhaps it was just due to being in a dream, but it was still odd that he'd be completely alone and lucid.

He could feel his heart rate spike, and was honestly just trying to keep himself calm by remembering that nothing was wrong. He'd wake up later and laugh that he was ever worried about a dumb dream.

"I'm sorry it's not exactly right. It's been quite a long time since I've done something like this."

Gavin screamed. Fast enough that he probably could have broken his neck, he spun around, finding himself face to face with an unrecognizable man. He wasn't really any taller than Gavin himself, but he boasted an imposing figure nonetheless. His light hair looked like it had been permanently blown back by a strong wind, and his eyes were the brightest blue that Gavin had ever seen. They were unnatural - practically glowing - and beautiful.

Damn, he really was dreaming. He stared, shocked still and unblinking, jut taking in the sight before him. Whoever this person was, he carried himself with a dignity and strength that wasn't only visible in stance. It could be felt too.

"Uh," he said, attempting to force the words out of his throat once he belatedly realized that what had scared him was this man speaking - saying something to him. "What?" he finally asked, taking a step back. he felt too close to this stranger, and it was suffocating. The weight of his presence was almost too much to bare, and Gavin was suddenly forced to come to terms with the fact that he might have not dreamt this up at all. Was that even possible?

"I'm sorry," the man repeated with a patient look on his face that said he'd likely expected to have to say the same thing twice. Well, that was just his own damn fault. With one hand, he gestured to the area around them. "This place, it looks the same, but it's not really complete. It's been a long time since I've needed to make a copy."

Gavin felt like he wasn't quite understanding the words that were being spoken to him. They were English, sure, but they held no meaning in this situation. "A copy?"

The man raised an eyebrow, and damn if that wasn't the best eyebrow he'd ever seen. "Yes? You live here, don't you? But it's obviously not the same."

Gavin, still lost, glanced around like there should be something off, but then it came to him. Of course it was all wrong! He'd noticed it all already! "Oh! You mean the ... fuzziness? And everyone's missing too."

The stranger smiled, obviously pleased that he'd figured it out. "That's it," he confirmed. "I'd wanted it to looked better but, well, I guess I'm out of practice." He chuckled then and sounded, somehow, bashful.

"Who are you?" Gavin asked, tired of being confused by this man who claimed to have created this place.

"Who am I to you?"

He blinked, shocked by the rebuttal, and the strangeness of it. "Uhm. Nobody? I don't know you."

He frowned then, crossing his arms over his chest. Gavin noticed his clothes then. They looked old. Not in the sense that they were tattered and worn, though. No, they were in impeccably perfect condition. Just ... vintage. Almost regal, in a sense. All black, red, and gold flowing fabric.

"Think about it," the man urged. "Who do you know that could make an entire world?"

It seemed almost like he was being teased, but Gavin obeyed anyway. Luckily, it didn't take long to find an answer. Who could make a world? Only one person - if they could be even called that - could accomplish such an act. "Are you," he paused, unsure for a moment. He still doubted that this was completely safe. "Are you the god that made this place and brought us here?"

"The very same," the god nodded.

"The one I've prayed to?"

"That's me."

"You bastard!"

It was a bit satisfying to see an expression of shock cross a god's face. Weren't they supposed to know everything?

"Excuse me?" he asked, eyes wide.

"You left us with nothing! Just a block of dirt barely wide for all of us to stand on! Aren't gods supposed to be helpful?" Perhaps this was a dangerous course of action. If this guy was a god, then he could obviously do a multitude of things to end Gavin's life without even lifting a finger. But, well, he'd done his praying, and his faith had technically been validated. If the guy's gonna come and appear in a mere mortal's dream, he might as well answer some damn questions.

"Gavin," he began, in a tone that seemed far too gentle of a response to yelling. "I've done many thing for you. I'm sure you can think of a few, though there are some I'm sure you never realized." He moved - with perfect grace, and Gavin was transfixed - over to a chest, and seated himself on top of it, crossing his legs at the ankles, and leaving his arms crossed over his chest. Gavin, for his part, stayed standing in the same spot, not willing to move.

"Gods' powers are more limited that you likely realize. We're not perfect beings. Powerful, yes. I can create worlds at will, as I've shown you twice. But I can only do so much. Gods rely on mortals a lot."

"What could you need from us?" Gavin asked, doubtful.

"Belief," the man replied, shrugging. "I need your faith. Your trust. Prayers, thanks, wishes," he listed, counting them off one by one on his fingers.

Gavin blinked, surprised. He was unsure exactly what to make of that. What benefit did belief and prayers give to a god? They were immortal and powerful already.

"Think of it as an exchange, if that helps you understand it."

"What?" Had the god read his mind?

If he had, he did't comment, or give any answer regarding it. "I can make things for myself, like an empty world. That's easy. But to do things for you, that's harder. I need something in exchange, or it doesn't work right. It's honestly just a real hassle." He stopped then, humming like he was thinking over something. "Jeremy and the others like to tell you that you're blessed. You get luckier, heal faster. Do you know why?"

Gavin didn't have to think long about that one. "Because I pray."

"Yes, you pray. Not just when you need something, or when your life's gone wrong. Everyday I hear your thoughts and feelings. I'm able to help you more than anyone else because, even when you weren't sure if there was someone there listening, you still spoke to me." The god smiled gently. "Thank you for that."

He blinked, surprised. "What're you thanking me for?"

The god smiled, and it almost looked sad. "I'm not the most well worshiped god, you know. It's nice to have someone speak directly to me once in a while."

"Why're you not worshiped?" Gavin prodded, curious now, and unable to stop himself from seeking any information that the strange man - god - would willingly give.

He chuckled. "There's not that many of you here, you know. Other gods, in other worlds of their creation, have many more mortals who pray to them regularly. Besides being so few, most of you aren't that devout."

"Wouldn't that be easy to fix? Just preform a miracle or something," he said, waving one hand around, as if it would add to the importance of his point.

"Exchange, Gavin," the god said, and he pouted upon remembering the purpose that the prayers had in the first place. "Besides, I've already preformed more than one miracle."

He looked off then, over Gavin's shoulder, and sighed. "I believe you're due to wake up, now."

"Wait, no!" he exclaimed, not quite ready to end this conversation yet. It all seemed to be going by too fast. "Isn't this a dream? Can't those last longer than real life? It can't be time to wake up yet."

"This isn't technically a dream. It's a form of reality."

Well, that was a borderline cryptic answer, and Gavin pursed his lips in response. "But I wasn't done talking."

To his surprise, the god suddenly laughed. It was loud, like he hadn't expected it any more than Gavin. It was also one of the most wonderful things the mortal had ever heard. Once again, he was struck by a sense of awe. By just talking, one couldn't really get a sense of the difference between a human and a god, but in moments like this, it was clear how superior one was to the other. He could only stare in wonderment.

"If you'd like to talk to me more, I'll visit you again," he said with a sly smile. "I obviously need to work on my world building a little anyway." As he spoke, he gestured with one hand around himself. The fuzziness of everything was still very prevalent. In fact, it seemed to be getting worse. "It's time to wake up now, Gavin."

"Wait!," he said, again, and the god raised an eyebrow. he wasn't clamoring for an excuse to have extra time or anything, really. "You didn't tell me your name or anything!"

"Ryan," he replied, and it was strange. So simple. So human, but Gavin grinned anyway.

"Okay, Ryan," he said, repeating the name and testing how it felt on his tongue. It was good, a lovely name.

The god - Ryan - in an absurdly human gesture, waved goodbye, and Gavin couldn't help but to grin and wave back.

~~~~~~~~~~

He opened his eyes, which he hadn't even realized he'd closed, and found himself staring at the bright morning sky, like he hadn't just been up speaking with a god.

Another form of reality, he reminded himself. He was inclined to believe Ryan, even though he'd said it hadn't been a dream and Gavin still somehow felt like he'd slept. Some questions were just too great for mortal understanding, it seemed.

He practically had to drag his own body out of bed in order to stop himself from simply laying there. If he waited long enough and eventually fell asleep, he wondered, would Ryan be there again? It was an odd feeling; to be suddenly so obsessed with someone he'd just met. Gavin would be the first to admit that he was rather quick to get along with certain people, if they clicked together right, personality-wise. Maybe Ryan was that kind of person?

Then again, he was a god, and Gavin wasn't sure if that could really apply to him. Was it possible to click with a god?

It was frustrating. He'd been getting answers, having a conversation, only to be suddenly pulled away and snapped back to the true reality that he knew. Now he was just left with the memory of speaking to something much greater to himself, and nobody to share that knowledge. Ryan had been right; Gavin really was the only devout one among them.

Although, Jeremy was ... more likely to believe than the rest. Ryan had said he'd preformed miracles already, and Gavin could think of a very recent one. They'd joked about it at the time, but of course it was just their luck that it would turn out to be true.

A god had saved them.

And, if what that god said about exchange was true, then maybe there was more than one believer among them.

With that thought in mind, he was finally eager to get moving for the day. And for once, he was thankful for the fact that they all tended to work so far apart from one another. Normally, he didn't like that Jeremy was so far away from him, but Gavin would be going to the man, and he was quite glad for the bit of privacy. He didn't even know what the others would say if they heard him talking about meeting their god. Thinking about it almost made him laugh, in a very 'it's not funny' sort of way.

He found Jeremy hunched over a book, his eyes trained on the words written upon the pages. "Jeremy?" he probed, and the man looked up suddenly, having obviously been caught by surprise.

"Hey, Gav!" he said, smiling widely. "What's up?"

"What are you reading?" he asked, momentarily curiosity taking precedence in his mind. He couldn't remember ever seeing that book before.

"Oh, this?" he asked, tapping a finger on the open page. "I don't know yet. It's like ... a guide to build something. I'm not sure what it is yet, though."

"Is it safe?"

"Should be. Doesn't look too dangerous so far," he shrugged, finally flipping the cover over and closing the book. The front was remarkably plain and unrevealing.

"Where'd you get that from, anyway?"

"Michael gave it to me. Apparently, one of the monsters dropped it."

Gavin snorted in laughter. "Was it reading?"

Jeremy laughed along with him, shaking his head. "What would it need to read?" he finally hummed, once their giggles had subsided. "What're you doing over here, though?"

His curiosity sated for the moment, Gavin recalled why he'd walked over in the first place. (Not like he'd forgotten, of course. Not really. He just got momentarily distracted.) "You won't ... tell anyone, right?" he questioned, suddenly very serious. He trusted Jeremy as much as one person could trust another, but it was still better to check and be safe. Gavin still wasn't positive that he was sane at this point.

Caught off guard, Jeremy's eyes widened. "Uh, no? No, of course not. Why?"

"Because it's crazy, Jer!" he murmured in frustration.

"Gav, what happened?"

Sighing, he took a moment to collect his thoughts, inhaled deeply, and began the story of last night's dream. He attempted to be as detailed as possible, but some of it seemed to be a bit lost in his memory. He'd been scared at first, and then just absolutely shocked. The minute details of the situation hadn't seemed important at the time, but now that he couldn't recall them properly, Gavin began to doubt the reliability of his memories.

He didn't share any of those thoughts with Jeremy, though. Just the dream, or 'altered reality' he'd experienced.

After he'd spilled all that had happened before he'd woken up, the man remained oddly silent. After seconds ticked on into minutes, Gavin began to feel a bit worried. "Jeremy?"

That, at least, seemed to shock him out of the silent trance he'd appeared to be under. "What the fuck." he whispered, voice monotone and flat. "Are you serious? This isn't some joke, is it?"

Gavin didn't know how to reassure him that it had all been real. "You know it isn't."

"You met a god, and his name was Ryan. And this god came to thank you for praying and allowing him to preform miracles?"

"I - I guess? I mean, that's what he told me, but I don't know if that's why he came," Gavin replied with a frown, crossing his arms over his chest. "He was cryptic."

"No offense, but that sounds absolutely insane."

Gavin's face fell, and his chest felt like it was breaking apart. He wouldn't have been surprised if his heart stopped beating for a second or two as well. "What?" he whispered. Had he been wrong to think that Jeremy could understand, and maybe even believe him?

"But," the man sighed. "I trust you. It'd be a little weird if I didn't, since it's a miracle that I'm even alive right now."

Instantly, Gavin's eyes drifted down to Jeremy's chest. The sight of those barely healed wounds had been frightening and heart wrenching, and he still didn't like to think about them. About Jeremy dying.

"You do?" he asked, nervously lifting his eyes back up to meet the other man's.

"Well, yeah," he shrugged. "I don't have a reason not to."

"Besides the fact that it sounds absolutely insane?" Gavin asked, chucking weakly.

"Besides that," he confirmed. "I believe you. I doubt that everyone else will, though."

"I wasn't going to tell them," he said, feeling so overwhelmingly relieved that Jeremy wasn't dismissing everything he'd said and calling him crazy. The weight on his chest disappeared, and finally he felt as though he could breath easy. "But thank you for trusting me."

Jeremy grinned. "No problem, Gav. Y'know I've always trusted you, it'd be stupid to stop now."

Gavin raised his eyebrows, surprised. Always? He was doubtful of that. Why would Jeremy trust him, even way back before they were actually good friends?

The man seemed to sense his disbelief, because he laughed, rubbing his hand over the back of his neck. "It's true," he defended.

"Are you sure?"

"What? Of course I'm fucking sure!"

The intensity of the declaration made him smile. "Alright, alright," he conceded, putting up both hands in 'surrender'.

"So, what are you going to do about it?"

"What do you mean?"

Jeremy shrugged. "I mean, you talked to God. Are you gonna keep praying?"

"Of course. I prayed when I didn't even know he was real. Why would I stop now?"

"But wasn't it weird? Talking to a god?"

Gavin frowned slightly. It had been weird. The feeling of coming face to face with something much more powerful than yourself still rested in his gut, like a lingering anxiety that something would go wrong. But, at the same time, Ryan's personality didn't seem to fit his image. Of course, that could have all been a lie, but Gavin was willing to take the risk. He still had questions, after all.

"Yeah, it was, but it's also cool, innit? Not everyone gets a chance to talk to a god."

Jeremy laughed. "It was cool," he mimicked, obviously amused.

"You don't think so?"

Jeremy was silent for a moment "... kinda," he grumbled, and Gavin smiled like he'd won.

"See? I bet you want to talk to him too now."

"Listen, if a god made a new reality or whatever the fuck, just so they could speak to me, I wouldn't tell 'em to leave."

"Do you think he'll come back?"

"Seriously? Why wouldn't he? He said that he would."

Gavin nodded slowly. Jeremy was brilliant at reassurance. "You're right."

The conversation slowly dissolved after that. They had nothing left but speculation anymore, since Gavin had shared everything he knew. He was thankful though, that Jeremy had been so willing to listen and believe in him. Even as someone who prayed, it still seemed crazy. He couldn't understand why either. Ryan had said that he didn't get worshiped much, but did that mean he needed to pay a personal visit to the single person that spoke to him? It was too crazy.

He settled for letting things be, though. What had happened had happened, and Gavin didn't feel as though it would be wise to question the whims of a god.

Eventually, he left Jeremy to whatever instructions were written in the book Michael had found, and went back downstairs to his usual jobs. Absentmindedly, he speculated praying to Ryan for a better set of responsibilities. If the god was in the mood to give to the people that believed in him, then maybe he'd be willing to send Gavin a spark of inspiration?

He wistfully ruminated on the thought, but eventually let it go. It felt wrong, like he would somehow be taking advantage of the god, just because Gavin knew he really existed now.

Instead, he settled on something better, but similarly distracting. He though about his conversation with Jeremy. He was so, so glad that the man was eager to trust him. Honestly though, it didn't help to diminish his growing feelings that he was desperately trying to ignore. No matter what Michael said, he still didn't have the courage to say anything. They were friends.

Just because Jeremy was willing to believe he'd had a conversation with a god didn't mean that he liked Gavin. He refused to put his faith into something so unlikely.

The rest of the day passed by slowly as Gavin impatiently waited for night to fall. He wanted to fall asleep again and see if Ryan would show up like the night before.

He could tell the others thought he was acting strange - he tended to talk with them much longer - but he excused himself as early as possible, feigning a headache, and retired to bed.

To his surprise - or, maybe not - he opened his eyes to a fuzzy sky. It seemed as though Ryan hadn't fixed the quality of this copy world he'd made. Gavin didn't care though. He wasn't here to see the scenery.

This time, when he heard a voice, he didn't jump. Well, he did, but it was more from surprise than actual fear this time.

Ryan appeared before him, showing off as he seemed to materialized from the air itself. "Hello, Gavin," he greeted in a pleasant, even tone.

"Hey, Ryan."

"I have a gift for you," the god said with no preamble as he settled down, seating himself upon a furnace this time. Gavin couldn't help himself from wondering if he'd even notice whether the fire was on or not. It wasn't, of course, but could fire even harm a god if it had been?

"What is it?" he asked, unable to stop himself from being excited.

With a flourish, Ryan reached one hand behind his back before pulling forward a giant book. "I hear your wishes and desires, you know," he hummed.

Carefully, Gavin stepped forward and took the book - using both hands of course because it was fucking heavy. He stared at the cover, but it was blank, much like Jeremy's had been. "What is it?" he repeated.

"A new job," Ryan answered simply. "Open it."

Placing it down on the nearest surface, which happened to be a chest, Gavin slowly opened to the first page. "Solar?" he read, questioningly looking up to the god.

"You wanted something to do that was a step up from dirt. I think you'll enjoy this."

Gavin looked back down and began to read, eagerly absorbing all the information from the book. Flipping through it, the meaning of the words on the latter pages was lost to him, but he gathered a simple understanding of the first few. "We can gather energy from sunlight?"

"With these panels you can," Ryan agreed with a nod. "This book will tell you everything you need to know about solar energy and how to make the panels you'll require to gather it."

"I - thank you," he stammered, unsure of what he could say that would properly convey how grateful he felt.

Ryan smiled wide, his eyes practically shining. "You're welcome, of course. I think you still have questions for me, though."

"How could I not," Gavin murmured. He was speaking with a god; immortal and all-knowing. He couldn't see himself ever running out of questions.

"Then ask," he chuckled.

"Have you been the god of other worlds?" Really, they hadn't been here all that long, and were, in fact, just beginning to figure out how things worked. If Ryan was an immortal, then surely he had to be doing something before them.

"Many, years ago," he replied. "Perhaps you'll be pleased to know that you five are my only responsibility, currently."

Gavin smiled. "I kinda am, actually. What happened to them?"

"The other worlds?" At Gavin's nod, he continued; "They all fell eventually. Centuries, millenniums, eons pass, but one day, all worlds come to an end."

That wasn't really an answer than he liked, and the sudden darkness that overtook Ryan's tone was frightening, but he understood, too. Gavin wouldn't deny that all things came to an end, eventually. Life was just like that, no matter how long one tried to prolong it. "Did you get worshiped more in those worlds?"

Ryan hummed. "Something like that, yes."

Cryptic. Again. Were all gods like that, or was it just this one?

Other gods ... "Do other gods go and talk to people who pray to them?"

He raised an eyebrow, grinning like Gavin had said something funny. "Ah, not that often. As I said, most have more subjects who are devout. That'd be a big responsibility, don't you think? I don't believe that they're adverse, though. Just ... content with the worlds they've got."

"Are you not?"

"Oh, no, I am. You all have a long way to go, though."

"Like with these?" Gavin asked, pointing to the book that still laid open on the chest.

"Those and a lot more," he nodded. "Jeremy is ... on the track of something as well." Ryan's face took on a distorted expression as he spoke, almost as if he was uncomfortable, and Gavin frowned in confusion.

"Is it something ... bad?"

"Not necessarily. I just didn't think he'd figure it out so soon."

Gavin thought then, his mind drifting back to the book he'd seen Jeremy so focused on. He realized now that it looked remarkably similar to the one Ryan had given him now. "Did you make that book? Like this one?"

"Yes. I expected that it would find its way to Jeremy."

"Expected, or did you just make it find him?"

Ryan grinned. "You'll never know," he replied with a wink.

"What?" he cried. "I though you said I could ask all my questions!"

"You can. I'm answering them, aren't I?" Ryan said, a sinister grin on his face that Gavin most certainly did not like. Nope. Not at all.

"Not properly. Are you being mysterious on purpose?"

"I'm immortal. Can't I have some fun once in a while?"

Gavin sighed, but conceded. He didn't have any good retorts to that. "What about the the other guys. Are they on the track of something?"

Ryan nodded. "In general, yes. Some of them have a longer way to go than others."

He raised his eyebrows in curiosity. "Really? Who is it?"

"Gavin, I can't spoil the whole future for you."

He pouted, crossing his arms lightly. "Can't you give me a hint?" he tried to bribe.

Ryan, in a very ungodly manner, rolled his eyes. "One of them will develop a strong love for chickens," he said, a proud smile on his face, like he just knew Gavin would be caught off guard by the statement.

He probably had known, the bastard. Then again though, it was very unexpected. "A love for ... chickens," Gavin repeated. "That doesn't sound like a good future at all."

"Eh, it's not so bad," Ryan chuckled.

"I know you're not talking about Jeremy or Michael." After all, Jeremy had whatever was in that mysterious book, and Gavin would be damned if Michael developed any sort of strong attachment to a chicken.

Ryan just grinned again. "You'll find out eventually."

"So, do you know everything about the future?"

"No. Not everything. Small details, if I have no direct influence on them, can change easily. That's why Jeremy has the book now, rather than later. I planned on it being found, just not the specifics of how."

"Wouldn't that effect the things you do plan on?"

"It doesn't matter much how you get there. It's the end result that matters, and that always remains the same."

"If you want it to."

"If I want it to," he agreed with a nod.

"That's brilliant."

Ryan seemed pleased. "You think so?"

"Of course I do! You can do whatever you want!"

"Well, I am a god."

"Bloody lucky is what you are."

He frowned slightly, but didn't voice any disagreement. Gavin got the idea though, from his changed demeanor, that Ryan didn't really agree with that statement. He couldn't think of why. Gods seemed like they had the most convenient lifestyle; far superior to a mortal's.

"Do you have any other questions? I believe it's time I left for the evening."

Gavin blinked in surprise. "What? Already?"

"You do need to properly rest, Gavin."

"Will you come back tomorrow night?"

Ryan chewed his bottom lip for a moment. "If you'd like me to."

"I do!"

"You just have more questions about the future, don't you?" the god asked in a knowing tone as he stood from his seat upon the furnace.

"No!" he retorted, falling quiet for a few seconds. "Some of them are about the past, too."

Ryan laughed. "Go to sleep."

"Wait, what about this book?" he asked, closing and picking up the one he'd been given. If this world wasn't the same as the one he normally resided in, would he still have it whenever he woke up?

"It'll be with you."

"Thank you again, Ryan."

"You're welcome. Good night, Gavin," he said with a smile, waving goodbye, just like he'd done the night before. In one blink of an eye he disappeared from sight, and Gavin felt himself quickly growing tired as the clarity of the world gradually worsened. As his surroundings started to fade, he slowly fell asleep.

-Chapter 2-

Over the next few weeks, Gavin devoted himself to following the instructions laid out in the book Ryan had provided him. Upon waking up that morning, he'd found it on the floor next to his bed, and had immediately gone to work on the first steps of building a solar panel. It was ... difficult. At first, he didn't have all the materials, and he'd needed to rely on Jeremy to help him figure out where to find them.

They all seemed to make great strides toward larger projects. Jack's farm grew large enough to support them practically endlessly, and Michael had managed to take a bunch of torches down below them, effectively lighting it up enough that if anyone needed to go down, they wouldn't be ambushed.

He even figured out who the chicken lover was. unsurprisingly, it had been Geoff, who figured out he could keep and breed them to discover new types, which laid different items. Gavin himself was skeptical about how these chickens came to be, but he let it go. The older man seemed content to stay on his farm at all times, and nobody ever bothered to interrupt him.

Jeremy was the only mystery. Gavin continuously saw the progress on whatever he was making from that book Ryan had sent his way, but he never seemed willing to say what it actually was. Eventually, he gave up on asking.

It hurt a little bit, since he always shared the progress on his solar panels, but he let it go, assuming the man would tell him whenever it was finished. It seemed to be much more complicated than the panels, at least.

And Ryan was something new that he was growing used to as they days went on. The god seemed to be a constant presence in his life now, appearing every night to speak with him.

Mostly, their conversations consisted of Gavin asking questions, and Ryan picking and choosing which ones he wanted to answer. Specifics about the future were a no-go, as were most things about the god's past. He refused to answer anything that he claimed 'gave away too much information'. Anything else though, was completely welcome. Even stupid rhetorical things that had no point.

And Gavin enjoyed it. As weird as it was, he considered the god to be a close friend. Not only did he pray, he also found himself talking to Ryan at random times during the day. Whenever he was alone, fiddling with the solar panels or trying to build something else new, he would talk in his head, the thoughts directed at the god rather than himself. He knew Ryan was listening, after all.

Unfortunately though, that would sometimes backfire for the both of them. Gavin sometimes forgot in the middle of doing something that he'd actually been speaking to Ryan, and would interrupt his own thoughts with some random song or idea, which the god would then claim got stuck in his head. Out of annoyance, he would refuse to answer any fun questions that night. Even Gavin's pouting did nothing to change his mind.

All things considered though, Gavin was happy.

Happy except for one thing. "It's been weeks, Gav! Say something already."

"Michael, I'm not going to and you damn well know it," he insisted as he walked with the man across the downstairs area of their rapidly growing world.

The man huffed, a frown clear as day on his face. "Why not? Jeremy would die for you, dude! Ask him the fuck out."

"No!"

"Why?" he repeated.

"I still don't think he's interested. I mean, he won't even tell me what he's been building all this time." Sure, Gavin attempted to stay positive about it, telling himself that Jeremy would reveal everything when he was ready, but it was still discouraging. Maybe that was just selfish, though.

"So what? You still want to fuck him. Just do it."

"You're the worst, Michael. Shut it."

Michael, in response, ignored the protests entirely and just laughed. "Why would I do that?"

"Ugh," Gavin scoffed, but he was smiling. As annoying as it was, he knew that Michael meant well and wanted him to just go after what he wanted. Honestly though, he was perfectly happy with what he had. Jeremy was a friend, and that was all he needed.

He absolutely didn't need anything more.

Not at all.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm tired of hearing you think about Jeremy, Gavin. Just tell him you like him, already."

"Not you too," Gavin moaned, collapsing down onto the bed. He stared up at the wall, which had grown much clearer over time as Ryan perfected the little world he'd made for them to talk in.

"You can't keep it a secret forever," the god huffed from the wall that he'd sat upon. Long ago he'd claimed to have grown tired of just appearing behind Gavin like some sort of ghost, so now he took to showing up wherever he pleased.

"You keep secrets," he countered, tilting his head back to glance up at Ryan.

"I'm entitled to my secrets."

"That sounds hypocritical."

"This is a secret you have no reason for keeping besides the fact that you're nervous."

"Shut the hell up, Ryan!" he shouted, receiving only giggles in return. He felt the bed dip down, and knew that the god had sat down next to him.

"I'm quite serious, Gavin. I would like nothing more than to see you happy." the god's tone had changed dramatically between the two statements, instantly drawing Gavin's complete attention.

He lifted himself back up into a sitting position where they could properly face one another. "Would he really not reject me?"

Ryan ran a hand through his hair, sighing. "He wouldn't."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Seriously?"

"Gavin," he said, voice harsh and commanding, eyes glowing. Gavin's mouth snapped shut. "You're not proposing to him, you know."

"I know," he muttered, dropping his gaze to his hands, where he twisted the bed covers nervously. He wanted to, of course he did. It was just difficult to bring himself up to the task. Ignoring it was just far easier, even if it hurt worse over time.

He supposed though, that it might be best to listen to a god. Ryan had never steered him wrong before. His assurance was actually a large confidence boost, and Gavin fell asleep that night with a new determination.

In the morning, he walked over to where Jeremy was working on his mystery project with no doubts that the man would be there. As expected, he was right.

"Hey, Gav," Jeremy called with a wave when he noticed Gavin's approach. "What do you think?" he asked, gesturing to whatever he was building.

Admittedly, it was impressive, even if Gavin didn't know it's purpose. Although, it did have a bit of a foreboding aura. He had to wonder if it really wasn't dangerous. "Looks good, J. Still don't know what it is, though."

"You will soon. I'm almost done with this part of it."

"Finally?"

"Yup!" he declared with a proud grin, his hands resting on his hips. "Just a few more blocks and then it's ready."

"Well, congratulations, then," he hummed.

"Thanks. What did you come here for, though? Need something else for a solar panel?"

"Not this time. I actually wanted to ask you something." Ah, there were the nerves again. Despite the fact that he'd chosen to believe in Ryan's words, he still hadn't completely erased all of the worries. The churning in his gut almost made him take back the words, but he forced himself to keep going, even if it was only to stop the nagging.

Jeremy waited patiently, a curious look on his face as Gavin struggled through the first few words. "I uh ... would you maybe ... I wanted to say .. Dammit!" he complained, frustrated at himself. "Look, I don't know a good way to say this, alright? I'm really nervous right now and I like you a lot, Jeremy."

His face was beet red as he waited for a response. Jeremy was silent for a long time, and Gavin was pretty sure that he'd shocked him.

"Uh, like me like ... like like me?"

Gavin nodded, and the man's eyes widened, his mouth falling open slightly.

"Fuck I- damn." he laughed, scratching his chin. "Now you've made me nervous." With a deep breath, he looked Gavin directly in the eyes, his gaze heavy. "I like like you too," he said, a small smile growing at the corners of his mouth.

"What? You do?"

"Yes, you idiot! Of course I do!"

Gavin couldn't stop himself, even if he'd wanted to, from squealing and throwing himself at Jeremy. The shorter man easily held up his weight though, even if he did have to stumble back from the unexpectedness of it. "You're heavy, Gav," he muttered.

"You can hold me up easy," he replied, feeling as though they had to whisper because of their new closeness to one another.

Jeremy seemed to feel the same, because his reply was at the same volume. "Not for long," he hummed, slowly dropping his arms, letting Gavin slide down his legs.

"No, Jeremy, no!" he giggled, dropping his feet at the last moment to stop himself from landing on his ass. "You dropped me," he whined, although he still sounded too happy for that play to work.

"Yup," the man replied, sounding like he didn't regret a thing.

As he gazed at the other, Gavin couldn't stop the incredibly relieved feeling that washed through him. "I'm glad I finally told you," he admitted quietly.

"How long have you waited?" Jeremy asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Weeks. Probably longer, I dunno."

"Fucking weeks?" he asked, astounded. "Shit dude, you could have told me ages ago!"

"I didn't know how you'd respond," he grumbled, and Jeremy walked closer, wrapping his arms around Gavin's waist and tugging until their chests were pressed together. Gavin draped his arms across the man's shoulders, and enjoyed the fact that they could be this close now, or whenever they wanted! It was amazing.

"The same as I did now," he replied.

"You're lying!"

"Not at all," he grinned, his head tilted up to see Gavin's face as they spoke. "Did anyone else know?"

"About me liking you? Michael did, and he said Jack and Geoff did too, but they never said anything to me. Oh, and Ryan too."

"Ryan did?" Jeremy questioned. "Well, I guess that's not surprising, since he'd a god and all."

Gavin chuckled. "He's the one who finally got me to ask you."

"Oh? I'll have to thank him, then." He lifted himself up further, and Gavin smiled, wondering if he ever did actually speak with the god. Neither of them had mentioned it, but it could just be another secret. He was in too good of a mood to ponder too deeply, though.

"What d'ya want, J?" he asked with a laugh.

"Get down here, loser," the man complained, and Gavin easily followed the request, tilting his head and pressing his lips gently against Jeremy's. They kissed for a few long moments before slowly pulling away.

"Someone's gonna come over here and see us," Gavin murmured.

"So?"

Well, he didn't really have a so. It was just a comment. He wasn't exactly sure if he wanted the others to find out they were together by walking in on them kissing, but he wouldn't be angry about it, either. "Nothing. Just saying."

"Hmm." Jeremy released his grip on him then, taking a step back. "Geoff needs some wood for his chicken pens and I promised I'd get it for him before noon."

"Oh, okay," Gavin nodded. "We'll talk later, right?"

"Huh, of course?"

"Well, I'll go bother Michael until then, I guess."

Jeremy laughed. "Hey, if you come back here later tonight, I'll probably be done with this thing," he said, gesturing to the large structure behind him.

"Oh? Will you finally tell me what it is?"

"You've earned the right now, I think."

"Oh, do I finally have security clearance, Mr. Dooley?"

"You do, Mr. Free. Access granted," he teased. "Seriously though, once it's done I can actually show you what it does. As long as it works ..."

"Nice confidence."

"Well, I haven't had a way to test it yet."

"I'll be sure to be back here later, then," Gavin promised. He was a bit excited now, if he was being honest. Not only had he finally gotten to tell Jeremy how he felt, he was finally going to discover the purpose of the mysterious structure the man had been working on for the past weeks. Ryan had admitted to writing the book, but hadn't given any hints on what it was. He hadn't even ever commented on the man's building progress.

He bid Jeremy goodbye then. They didn't kiss, but Gavin felt as though there was a silent promise of more later. He looked forward to it as he walked back downstairs.

On the way, he ran into Michael. "What're you doing down here?" he asked.

"Looking for you," he replied, looking Gavin up and down. "Jack wanted to know if he could have a solar panel to use."

"Why couldn't Jack ask?"

"Fuck if I know. He's too lazy to leave whatever he's doing, I guess. Him and Geoff are just the same, honestly." Gavin could sense the annoyance, and honestly, he understood it. As they developed new things and created more space, they grew further and further apart.

"Sure, I'll make him a solar panel. Does he want a strong one or what?"

"Does it matter? Just make him whatever."

"Michael, are you in a bad mood today?"

"What? No," he insisted.

"If you say so."

"Well, I had to wait for your late ass. Where the hell were you?"

"Hmm, talking to Jeremy," he replied, looking into a chest for the materials he would need to craft a solar panel. Unfortunately, he didn't have any spare ones he could just give away. Fortunately, the build would be something to distract him until he went to see the man again later.

"Oh? How did that go?"

"It ended with making out, so pretty good." It hadn't been anywhere near intense enough to qualify as making out but he wanted to see Michael's reaction. It was worth it too.

Uh, What the fuck? Are you serious?" he shouted. "I'm gonna kick your ass! You could have been gross and making out for weeks now, but you were too chickenshit to listen to me!"

Gavin laughed loudly, clenching his sides as he watched the expressions shift across Michael's face. At first he seemed legitimately angry, but eventually he began to smile, and even laughed too.

"Damn, Gavin," he muttered, obviously annoyed by how stupid he'd been, despite laughing. "I'm happy for you, though. Don't have sex where I can hear."

A furious blush overtook Gavin's face and he frowned. "Shut up," he grumbled, officially done with this part of the conversation. He didn't want to talk about his love life with Michael anymore. Thankfully, they easily moved on to another topic as he began the construction process of Jack's solar panel.

The day passed easily as they kept one another company, and it wasn't long before he finished a nice, second level panel. It wasn't the strongest, but he had no idea what it was needed for, and higher levels were still difficult or even impossible to make. If Jack needed more power, Gavin could just make more panels.

"I'll take this to him, Gav," Michael offered.

"Really? Thanks, Boi," he replied, handing over the panel to the other man, who held it carefully with both hands.

"No problem. Go hang out with your gay boyfriend," he teased.

Gavin just stuck out his tongue. "I will, thanks," he laughed. He watched as Michael left with the solar panel before throwing all the unused materials in the chest they'd come from. It was a bit of a rushed job but, well, he was excited, okay?

Once everything had - only mildly haphazardly - been put away, he made his way over to where Jeremy worked. He found the man laying a block down on his project, which looked a lot more complete than when he'd seen it just a few hours ago.

"Oh, Gav! You're here," he called, looking up from what he was doing.

"Do I get to hear about this, now? Are you finished?"

"Yup, you got here just in time," Jeremy replied, standing up and walking over to stand before Gavin. He reached out and locked their hands together before pulling him forward. "Come look."

They stood together on the red stone as Gavin took in the sight of ... whatever it was. This was the closest he'd ever been to it. "What is it?" he asked.

Jeremy was silent for a few seconds. "You won't freak out, will you?"

Gavin furrowed his eyebrows together, confused. "Freak out? Why? What is it, Lil J?"

"It just sounds weird it all," he chuckled nervously, using his free hand to run at the back of his neck. "It's called a blood altar."

Gavin blinked, opened his mouth to respond, and then shut it again. He didn't exactly know what to say to that. He couldn't figure out if he was mad, scared, or intrigued. He settled on all three and eventually stammered out a "w-what?"

"A blood altar. The book Michael gave me, it was all about blood magic, but to do any of that, you need to have one, so I built it."

"Ryan wrote that book," was the first thing he could think to respond with.

"I know," Jeremy nodded.

"Wait, you do?"

"Mmhm," he hummed.

"You talked to him?"

Jeremy smiled sheepishly. "Once or twice. He doesn't visit me every night like you."

Gavin was astounded, and once again, he couldn't figure out if he was mad or not. "He never told me."

"I know," Jeremy repeated, rubbing his thumb across Gavin's as he spoke. Somehow, that managed to relax him a bit.

"Well, how does it work, then?" he asked with a sigh.

"The altar?"

"Yeah. What do you do?"

Jeremy took a few steps away and walked to the chest he had nearby. he rummaged through it for a few seconds before pulling something out. "First, you need one of these."

As Gavin focused on the object, he realized that it was, in fact, a knife. Or, more accurately, a dagger.

"It's called a sacrificial dagger," Jeremy explained, walking closer so that Gavin could see it properly.

"What, a sword or something won't work?" he asked, frowning at the blade.

"Apparently not," he shrugged. "The book doesn't specify why. Ask Ryan."

"So then what?"

"Then you bleed. See that dish?" he asked, pointing to a shallow pot at the center of the altar. "The blood goes in there, and then you can use it for magic and stuff."

"You have to ... cut yourself. And bleed into the bowl," he repeated, staring at it suspiciously.

"Basically."

"That's ... damn. That's bloody frightening, J."

He nodded. "I know. I wasn't worried about it when I was building it, but its a lot scarier now," he said, chuckling nervously.

"You're not gonna actually do it, are you?"

"Yeah, I am," he said, after only a moment's hesitation.

"Wait, seriously?"

"Well I spent all this time building this damn thing, I'm at least going to see if it works."

"But Jeremy! You can't just injure yourself like that," he protested, worrying furiously at his bottom lip.

"The first spell doesn't need a lot of blood. It'll be fine," he said, stepping up to stand before the bowl.

Gavin only watched in worry, forced silent by the fact that he knew Jeremy wouldn't listen now that he'd set his mind to this. He spent all this time constructing the altar, knowing what it was. He'd obviously been planning on doing this for a long time.

Jeremy took a deep breath and extending his arm out over the bowl, holding the dagger tightly in his other hand. "Ready?" he asked, looking over at Gavin.

"What are you asking me?" he replied, swallowing nervously.

He shrugged once, before closing his eyes and dragging the blade's edge over his skin from his elbow to his wrist. Gavin flinched at the sight as he watched the blood fall onto the altar. The stones glowed faintly at the first drop; a horrifying dull red that illuminated Jeremy's face and arms. It glinted off the shining metal of the knife, and Gavin tore his gaze away, unable to look any more as the blood continued to flow.

It hadn't been a life threatening cut, but Jeremy had still gone deep across his entire arm. After a few seconds, he chanced another peek, and he saw the man still standing there, his hand curled tightly into a fist and a pained scowl on his faced as he watched the blood drip, drip, drip down and collect into the bowl. It filled up quickly, and then Jeremy was pulling his arm back. He dropped the blade and it clattered on the ground as he pressed his own arm into his chest in an effort to stop the blood flow.

Gavin rushed to his side and pulled off his shirt without a second thought. He tugged at Jeremy's arm, urging the man to allow him a look. He complied, and Gavin inspected the wound. It was deep and still bleeding freely, but hopefully Ryan would heal it. Without waiting for any miracles though, he wrapped his shirt tightly around Jeremy's arm, covering the entire cut. "There," he whispered, still cradling the arm in his two hands.

"Thank you," the man murmured, slowly pulling back until it was just his hand in Gavin's grasp.

"Why would you do that?"

"Wanted to test the altar," he murmured, obviously feeling some sort of effect from the blood loss. The shirt on his arm hadn't been stained red yet, at least. Hopefully the bleeding was slowing down.

"Idiot Lil J," he replied. "Let me bleed in the bowl next time instead."

"You're not gonna cut yourself," Jeremy protested in disbelief.

"I will," he insisted, lowering his head so it rested atop the other man's. It was comforting, standing close together. Gavin didn't like seeing Jeremy get hurt. He didn't know if he could take seeing something like that again. He'd do it himself in a heartbeat before watching. "I think you need to go to bed."

Jeremy, as if on cue, yawned. "I think you're right," he laughed.

Gavin followed closely behind him as he walked to the bed, not trusting the man to not fall over on the way there.

"Goodnight, Gav," he finally murmured, once he was nestled tightly under the sheets.

"Night, J," he replied, turning to leave.

"Wait," the man interrupted, annoyance in his tone. Gavin turned to see him with one hand up, beckoning him closer. Gavin walked forward, and then gasped in surprise when Jeremy grabbed his waistband and pulled harshly. The sudden tug jerked him forward and he lost his balance, falling down over Jeremy. He managed to catch himself from collapsing on top of the man completely by sticking his hands out on either side of his head.

Jeremy laughed, and sat up just enough to connect their lips. He kissed much more fiercely than he had the first time, but seemed to move away twice as quickly. Gavin frowned and followed him forward, but Jeremy released his grip on his waistband and relaxed against the pillow again. "Goodnight, Gavin," he repeated, a teasing grin on his face.

Gavin huffed. "Yeah, yeah," he muttered, pushing himself up to standing again.

He was tired himself as he left, and so he chose to retire for the night as well. Besides, he had some things he wanted to say to Ryan.

~~~~~~~~~~

As soon as he fell asleep and was positive that he wasn't in a real dream tonight, Gavin sat up in the bed and looked around for Ryan. The god was out of sight, but he knew that he was there. "A blood altar?" he immediately asked.

Thankfully, Gavin didn't have to speak to nothingness for long. Ryan appeared, standing directly in front of him for once. "Yes," he replied, in lieu of a proper greeting.

"Why'd you give him a guide to ... blood sacrifices?"

"Because he would have found it eventually anyway. Just because I don't give you a book on something doesn't mean it doesn't exist."

"You wrote that book!"

"Yes," he repeated, agreeing once more.

"Why?"

"Because I'm a god. People sacrificed to me once, a long time ago."

Gavin blinked, taken aback. "What?" This was something he'd never heard before. He'd barely managed to get any details from Ryan about his own past before.

The god nodded. "Once upon a time, the way the people worshiped was through sacrifices. That book embodies the technique, and a way to get the rewards without a god actually there to give them."

"So it's ... updated? The new way to sacrifice?"

Ryan frowned slightly, tilting his head to the side. "Sure? It removes the god from the equation, so I guess."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to see if it would work." Sometimes Ryan had such frightening answers to questions that Gavin wondered if he really was as kind as he seemed.

"Did you at least heal him?" he asked after a few moments of silence.

"Jeremy? Of course I did," he said with a huff, as if that was so obvious Gavin shouldn't have even needed to ask. "Speaking of him though, congratulations."

"Oh, uh, thanks," he muttered, adverting his gaze to the floor. "You didn't tell me that you talked to him, though?"

"He asked me not to."

"He did?"

"Yes. We mostly talked about the altar, and he didn't want anyone to know about that yet."

"Bastard," Gavin grumbled, frowning.

"You're not really going to use the dagger, are you?"

"Why don't either of you think that I will?" he countered, finally looking back up at the god. Surprisingly, he looked worried.

"You don't seem like the type who would willingly sacrifice."

"If it means I don't have to watch Jeremy do it, then I will."

Ryan smiled, but it looked a bit off. "Aw, that's sweet," he murmured, taking a few steps forward. To Gavin's surprise, he grabbed both of his hands, pulling him up to a standing position where his face was alarmingly close to Ryan's. The god didn't let go, and he was forced to meet his piercing blue eyes. His gaze was unflinching, and the fierceness of it sent a shiver down his spine. "Be careful. The dagger is dangerous. Don't let it take too much from you."

Gavin, out of shock more than compliance, nodded. Only then did Ryan finally let go and take two steps back. "Be careful," he repeated. "Don't get yourself killed."

"I won't," he promised.

Slowly, Ryan nodded. "Okay. Remember that."

Gavin wasn't sure that he could every forget.

~~~~~~~~~~

Over the next few weeks, Gavin's days were split into three major parts; he built solar panels and worked on powering all the machinery and devices that required energy. He spent time with his boyfriend. And, he poured all the blood he could spare into the blood alter.

He tried to heed Ryan's warning as best as possible, and never gave too much to the dagger, but it still felt draining. He was sluggish and slow the majority of the time. He devoted less time to building, slept more, and saw Ryan less. The last time he did, the god had claimed it was because he didn't want their time together to take away from the real sleep that Gavin 'obviously needed'.

Gavin didn't push it though, because he could tell that it was only through Ryan's work that he was alive. Despite trying to moderate how much he gave each time, he still wasn't getting his blood back fast enough.

"Gav, Gav, you gotta stop," Jeremy said one night as he watched his boyfriend's blood drip into the bowl. "I'm sacrificing too, you don't need to give so much." Despite his attempts, he couldn't stop Jeremy from using the blade as well.

"You need it though."

"Not this quickly! I can wait. You don't need to push yourself like this. Ryan's a god and he can barely keep up." Jeremy pulled him away from the bowl, crushing Gavin tightly against his chest. "Please. I know I need the blood, but you're going to die."

"Ryan can keep me alive."

"Ryan won't forever. You know that he doesn't like this either."

Gavin did. Of course he did. Ryan had been unhappy with the idea the first time he'd heard it. Gavin hadn't forgotten the worry that had plagued the god's face upon hearing he was going to use the dagger.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Jeremy questioned, pressing his face into Gavin's chest.

"Because I know you want it," Gavin answered easily. He knew better than anyone that Jeremy wanted to see how far he could take the magic, and how much he could get out of the altar. The only unfortunate bit was just how much blood it required.

"I'd rather have you alive," Jeremy said weakly. "Ryan would too. He comes and talks to me now, since he doesn't want to interrupt your sleep," he admitted.

"Tell him to visit me once in a while. I miss him," Gavin chuckled.

"Actually stay awake for once and he will."

"Fine, fine," he grumbled with a lopsided smile.

"You should spend more time on your solar panels than on this alter."

Gavin pulled away so that Jeremy could see him nod. "Okay," he conceded. "You're right."

"'Course I am," he murmured, gingerly inspecting Gavin's arm. Ryan was working like only a god could on healing it, but faded scars still littered the surface. Sighing, he took some of the spare cloth that he kept with him and wrapped the injury with it. "Now go sleep. You look exhausted."

Gavin nodded in agreement, and leaned down to gently press his lips to Jeremy's. "I'll see you in the morning, J."

They bid one another good night, and Gavin fell asleep quickly once he made to his bed. For the first time in days, he opened his eyes to a blue sky in another reality. This time though, he didn't have to wait for Ryan to appear. The god was there, sitting on the edge of his bed.

"Are you tired?" he asked.

Gavin hummed. "A little. Not too bad, though."

"Do you want me to let you sleep?"

"No!" he exclaimed. They barely saw each other now, and Gavin knew it was mostly his fault, but he'd be damned if he let Ryan leave again.

The god sighed in a way that sounded like disappointment, but didn't move. It was silent for a long time before he finally spoke up again. "Do you want me to tell you about how I became a god?"

Gavin blinked, unsure if he'd even heard right. Became a god? Was he actually dreaming?

"Gods aren't ... always gods?"

Ryan shook his head. "Some of them aren't. A long, long time ago - I can't even remember when now, it's been so long - I was mortal too."

"Wow," Gavin whispered, completely shocked.

"I wasn't a god, but I was a king. Perhaps not the best, but I tried my best. Or, well, maybe not. I was having more fun fooling around than being a proper king, but it was fun at the time."

"Why were you messing around?"

"I was young and mad with power. It's been so long now I don't remember very well. It was a different lifetime. As a god I can remember things easily, but the memory of my life as a mortal has faded over time."

"Mad?" Gavin asked, attempting to keep Ryan on track with his story. He was so curious he wanted to hear it without distractions.

"Mad, insane, lost. They named me for it, actually. The Mad King, with his cracked and crooked crown," he said, chucking at the words like they were somehow humorous. Gavin, honestly, was just shocked. The Ryan he knew wasn't crazy. He was kind, cautious, and goofy. Sometimes he came across as intimidating, yes, but certainly not mad.

"How'd you go from a king to a god?"

"Sacrifices. I bought my way from another god. I was so drunk on power that I only desired more. What's more powerful than a god? I wrote that book on sacrifices because I developed most of them for my own use. I only changed it recently to remove the necessity of a god that received them."

"For Jeremy to use?"

He nodded. "I don't want sacrifices anymore. I'm much happier with your prayers."

Gavin was attempting to absorb the information, so he sat there and nodded dumbly as he thought it over for a moment. "So you can become a god?"

"If you give something in return, yes."

"Does it have to be sacrifices, or would prayers work, like with the miracles you do?" he asked curiously.

"Anything works, you just have to give enough. Becoming a god has a steep price."

"How much did you give?" he questioned, even though he was a bit afraid to know the answer, considering that he knew what Ryan had given.

As telling as it was, the god was silent for a moment before answering. "Too much," he sighed.

"Was it ... worth it?"

Gavin watched as, slowly, he shook his head. "For a long time, no. I'm pretty glad to have met you, though. And Jeremy. But being a god? It isn't worth that much. Watching you and your friends grow and expand this world is the most fun I've had in centuries."

Gently, Gavin smiled. "As far as gods go, you're not that bad yourself, Ry."

"You don't know any other gods, Gavin," he chided, a small smile gracing his features.

"But I'm right, aren't I?"

"Well I'm not going to say no."

He laughed then, pleased that he'd seemed to have managed to improve Ryan's mood again.

"You should sleep Gavin, now that I've told you your bedtime story."

"I'm not a child, Ryan," he pouted.

"You act like one," the god countered.

Gavin didn't bother replying to that, since Ryan would probably have some comeback for whatever he said anyway. Instead, he let the god leave, and slowly drifted off to sleep as the altered world around him disappeared.

He had an idea now though, all thanks to Ryan.

Instead of donating blood continuously to Jeremy's alter, he focused back on his solar panels. As they developed new technology and found more materials, he was able to progress further and further into the book. It felt nice to be working on them again, and he was relieved to see Jeremy abandon the blood magic for a while as well. they both still bled for the alter occasionally, but nowhere near as much as before. Instead, Gavin devoted himself to energy, and Jeremy assisted Michael with the botany projects he'd recently become invested in.

Things felt like they were back to normal again. Without the constant blood loss draining him so much, Ryan started to visit him more frequently. He never talked about before he was a god anymore, but Gavin didn't need to hear it. In fact, he didn't want to. The Ryan he knew wasn't mad.

One night, when he opened his eyes to the world Ryan had made, he was greeted with a familiar face that didn't belong to their god.

"Jeremy!" he exclaimed, jumping out of the bed in excitement. "Am I dreaming?"

Ryan spoke from atop the nether portal, a wide grin on his face. "Of course not. I visit both of you, why bother making two trips?"

And it was like this that they lived. The night was a retreat where he could spend time with both Jeremy and Ryan, his two favorite people. (Not that he'd ever admit that to Michael, of course.) He couldn't imagine spending his future with anyone else.

It was months later before his plan finally came to fruition. "How much did you give, Ryan?" he asked one day when the three of them were together that night.

Ryan, to all his godly credit, knew exactly what he meant. "Are you planning on making an exchange, Gavin?"

"How much to make me a god?"

Jeremy chucked. "You know what, I was going to ask him the same thing."

#Ragehappy #Jerevinwood #double00mogar #tiikeria #rhss17

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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

Text

Author: http://ddemonicpanda.tumblr.com

Recipient: http://kingvav.tumblr.com

Summary: Gavin Free has a soulmate. Michael Jones does not. Somehow, they make it work.

Warnings: None

WordCount: 2,638

---

Michael Jones is not the name that trails up Gavin's thigh, just before ending at the bottom of his hip. It's not the name Gavin's destined to meet, not the one he's destined to love, not the one he's destined to live the rest of his life with.

But it's the name of the person who never fails to make him laugh. It's the name of the person who understands him the most. It's the name of the person he chose to live his life with.

---

Gavin Free is eight when he realizes that soulmates aren't as wonderful as they're made to be.

In school, he's taught nothing but the good in soulmates. Every person is born with at least one little black blob on their body, and as they get older, their person's name gets easier to read. He's taught to constantly ask people's name. If it's The Name, his soulmate mark would burn brightly, and a sense of completeness would wash over him. (And Gavin's thankful for that, it would be embarrassing if he needed to look down his pants every time he asked for a name.) He's taught that a soulmate is literally the missing piece. Nothing but happiness awaits whenever a soulmate is found.

By age eight, Gavin knows that it's all a load of toss. If a soulmate meant nothing but happiness, why did his parents fight? Why did his mother cry so much, why were there some nights his father refused to come home? He asked his teacher one day. She smiled at him as she bent down, ruffling his hair.

"They're soulmates," she had said simply, "Don't you worry, they'll make up. Everything will be alright, in the end."

Except it didn't get better. His parents screamed at each other. Gavin can't understand what they're saying, he doesn't understand the meaning of the words, but he knows that it's certainly not good. Somewhere during their fights, both of them realized that their words weren't working, so they stopped talking altogether. It lasted a full month before Gavin's dad brought home the papers.

Divorce isn't illegal. It's looked down upon, sure, but it happens. Gavin's heard of it in hushed whispers around the playground, seen the dirty looks the kids would shoot at victims of it, but it's certainly never affected him. And when everything is finalized and his dad leaves, it still doesn't feel real. That wasn't how love happened in the books. Where was the part where everyone made up, like his teacher had said? Wasn't his dad supposed to rush in suddenly one day, and profess his undying love for his mom?

Gavin holds on to the thin glimmer of hope for six months, hoping, praying that his dream will come true, just like in the movies, before it withers out and dies.

-----

Michael presses a lazy kiss to his cheek on one morning. Or, at least, he tries. He's groggy from sleep and ends up kissing Gavin's eye, but Gavin appreciates the sentiment.

"'Ello," he mumbles sleepily, blinking multiple times until he can actually see Michael.

"I didn't know it was possible, but your nose's even bigger in the morning," Michael replies, much to Gavin's confusion.

"What are you on about? A nose can't just grow in the middle of the night!"

"Yours did," Michael says, before rolling over and giving a loud groan and a stretch.

Gavin rolls his eyes and watches him. It's been… god, it's been years now, hasn't it? since he and Michael had gotten together. It's almost worrying to think about all the times he's woken up in Michael's arms. Worrying, but not off-putting.

His soulmate still hasn't shown up yet, and Gavin's thankful for that. He doesn't know what he'll do if he does meet the owner to the Name. He glances at it, frowning, pondering endless what-ifs and hypotheticals he knows he won't have the answer to. When he glances up, Michael's staring at him, before abruptly turning away and grabbing some clothes.

"You getting ready soon?" He asks, as if he hadn't been looking. Gavin nods, as if he hadn't caught Michael looking, and gets up.

"Yeah, yeah," he mumbles, and begins his day.

It's always like that. Gavin pretends that there isn't a real person attached to the Name that burns on his skin, he always hopes that his soulmate doesn't just naively believe. He tries to justify his reasonings, yet every single time, he ends up the loser. After all, he was the one who chose to throw away what destiny called perfect, and screwed his soulmate up in the process.

It's my fault, Gavin thinks to himself, absolutely certain that it's the truth. But when he steals a glance at Michael, who's stolen one of his oversized sweaters, he can't help but add, But I wouldn't change it for the world.

-----

Approximately 97.37% of people have a soulmate. That's another thing Gavin's learned from school. He also knows that Michael is part of 2.63% that doesn't.

Gavin knows that little fact because he asked about it one day, completely drunk while partaking in some swimmy bevs.

He's already shared his sob story, so in his drunken state of mind, he feels Michael should do the same. "Can't, you fucking asshole," Michael groans, pushing Gavin's squirmy body of of him. Gavin flops back-first into water, though he immediately tries to get up and cling on him again, as if it would be convincing.

"Michael, why not, Michael?" Gavin prods at his cheek. "Do you not love me?"

If Gavin hadn't been wasted, he might've felt the way Michael stilled. "Course I do," Michael speaks with an easy confidence, "Doesn't mean I'm going to tell you."

"But why?" Gavin is practically draped across Michael's back. But Michael strong, and the water makes him lighter, so he's sure Michael can handle it. "I told you 'bout mine!"

"I never asked you to!" His voice rises higher in pitch, "You shared it out of your own… volition!" Drunk Michael struggles with the word.

"But it's not fair, Michael! I shared!"

"I just said no one wanted you to-"

"But I did, Michael!" Gavin insists, "I shared!"

"Oh my god, fine!" Michael lets out a huff of exasperation while Gavin cheers victoriously. But he does settle and lean off Michael as he gets up and exits the pool. Gavin frowns. Surely Michael wasn't upset with him?

"I can't share my soulmate's name cause I don't have one," Michael doesn't say it with any anger, he just states it like it's fact.

"Oh," Gavin retreats. Now he's made things awkward. Inwardly, he kicks himself for pushing Michael.

But Michael's continuing, "It's so fucking stupid, how everyone really pushes that soulmate stuff down your throat, when nothing's ever that perfect."

"Yeah," Gavin agrees softly, because that's his sentiments exactly.

"Don't pretend you understand," He hears Michael mutter under his breath.

Gavin all but flails indignantly. "I do understand!" He insists, continuing in a lower tone, "I told you, remember?! My parents are divorced!"

He turns away quickly, not wanting to look for Michael's reaction. They both fall silent, but surprisingly, it's not awkward. Gavin plops up to sit on the edge of the pool and Michael does the same, and they both stare off into the distance.

"I'm sorry," Michael says eventually. There's no pity in his voice, and Gavin couldn't express how thankful he was for that. It's not some token apology either, something to say just to fill up dead air. It means something, Gavin can feel it, so he clears his throat before replying.

"Yeah," he agrees, "me too."

-----

Months afterward, he realizes he loves Michael.

Of course, it's not phrased like that in his mind, it's more like an accumulation of little thoughts, like, how much he likes Michael's hair, or how he really wants to make him laugh, or how he likes the way Michael's face crinkles up when he smiles, or that he just likes Michael, he really likes Michael…

And then Gavin realizes he's got it bad.

Then there's the messy problem of his Name. It burns almost painfully whenever he thinks of Michael, reminding him that, somewhere, his soulmate is waiting. And a part of him feels guilty, because what if his soulmate's actively searching for him? What would he do if his soulmate showed up?

So Gavin keeps his mouth shut, content to just ignore the problem in hopes it would go away. But despite all that, Michael's the one to confront him. "Alright so," he begins, putting down his headphones, "What the fuck is up with you?"

They're in the Achievement Hunter office, months after what Gavin dubs, 'the Pool Incident'. For once, it's quiet; everyone's gone out for lunch. Gavin (and apparently Michael) had stayed behind to finish editing some videos.

Gavin debates on whether or not he should pretend he didn't hear Michael. He had been dancing around him for the past couple weeks, for two reasons. One, he was in love with Michael. Two, he was in love with Michael.

But, like an utter fool, he finds himself glancing up to face him. He's frowning, looking pointedly at Gavin.

"What do you mean?" Gavin's throat fails him, cracking as if he were a teenager.

"You're won't stay in the same room as me, you don't answer my texts, you barely talk to me during recordings," Michael rattles off, like he prepared for Gavin's answers, "Don't give me shit excuses."

Gavin opens his mouth, but then closes it, thinking. Soulmates were utter crap, he knew that, but they were easier than confronting people. If Michael didn't like him back, then their friendship would be intensely awkward, assuming they would have a friendship at all. Keeping his mouth shut would meant that things could go back to normal. And yet…

"Okay," Gavin agrees, nodding slowly, "It's…" he begins, before trailing off.

Michael continues to stare expectantly. Gavin awkwardly clears his throat. "Um, do remember that time we were having swimmy bevs, and you told me about… you know?"

"Is that what this is about?" Michael doesn't sound angry, he doesn't have any tone at all, and that's what scares Gavin. "That happened months ago."

"No, no!" Gavin backpedals hard, "I don't mean that!"

"Then what do you mean?" Michael asks plaintively.

Shakily, Gavin stands to his feet, figuring he might as well look Michael in the eyes. "I mean… um…"

Silence. Gavin fumbles with words without even getting one out. Michael continues to stare, waiting. Softly, the old analog clock ticks.

Until finally, Michael throws his hands up. "For fuck's sake, I guess I'll do this."

And suddenly, Michael's lips are on Gavin's, more tender than Gavin could've imagined. Gavin's mind grinds to a screeching halt. He can't register what's happening, or how long they've kissed, or how his nose did not get in the way, but somehow, Michael pulls away.

"Oh," Gavin says dumbly, because oh. Out of all the things Gavin was expecting, a kiss was not one of them. He wants to ask a lot of questions, but instead, he just settles for one. "Why?"

"I'd hope it'd be obvious," Michael shrugs. "Do I need to do it again?"

"Maybe one more time, yeah," Gavin grins dopily, because wow he was not expecting any of this and wow Michael was a bloody good kisser.

Michael complies, and Gavin feels like he's ascended to heaven. It's not as tentative as the first time, but it's just as sweet. Gavin's nose doesn't get in the way this time either.

Things devolve from there. They don't shag in the office, (because it's the Achievement Hunter office and there are already enough suspicious stains on the carpet) but the group seem to know what's up when they enter after lunch. Geoff gives a shit-eating grin upon seeing them, Ryan and Jack share a knowing look, and Jeremy pretends to be all-knowing and wise by nodding sagely.

It's a good day.

--------

They're at Michael's pool again, and it's years after that exchange, but they're both very much sober. No bevs have been drunk, no dives in the pool were taken. They're both just sitting on the edge of the pool, with their legs absentmindedly kicking in the water. Michael's nursing a can of soda, while Gavin opts to drink no liquid, drinking in the beautiful view of the sunset instead. The sky's filled with warm hues everywhere, and Gavin can't help but soak it all in. His eyes scan everything, before settling on the wonderful view of Michael's face against the sky, staring at him dopily for a while. Michael definitely takes notice, but doesn't say anything until a couples seconds later.

"You gonna stare at me all night, or do you actually want to talk?" He asks, sounding slightly annoyed.

"I can't do both?" Gavin says nervously. Michael rolls his eyes and that reassures Gavin, but he knows if he doesn't start talking now, he never will.

So he clears his throat obnoxiously before starting, wishing he were a little drunk to be more confidant. "So, um, Michael… I love you."

He pauses, trying to think of where he's trying to go. This would be so much easier with a bit of booze in his body.

"Well, I sure hope you do," Michael breaks the silence, "It'd be kinda awkward if you didn't."

"That's not what I meant-"

"Oh, so you don't love me?" Michael feigns shock, "And after all this time-!"

"Michael, shut up you bloody tosspot, that's not what I'm trying to say!" But Gavin's grinning now, and he feels a lot more at ease.

"I love you," he repeats, softly, "I love you a lot. And I want this to last forever."

He doesn't say marriage, nor does he give him a ring, because all marriage has given him is sorrow, but he looks at Michael and he understands. And the Name burns from his side, but he doesn't care. Michael makes him happy, and he wouldn't give that up for anything.

The sun sets and Michael kisses him deeply, and Gavin Free is happy.

#Ragehappy #Mavin #ddemonicpanda #kingvav #rhss17

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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

Text

Author: https://oxfordsemicolon-rebel.tumblr.com/

Recipient: http://redvsvblue.tumblr.com

Summary: When Gavin goes missing while searching for Enderpearls from Achievement City, Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Michael and Jeremy set out to find their favourite Brit.

Warnings: minor injury

WordCount: 1, 863

"Where the fuck did Gavin go?"`

Jack sighed, stopping his farming and turning to watch as he heard Geoff yelling about the young Brit.

"What did he do this time?" Jack said as Geoff came up to his garden.

"There's fucking lava in my house! And the only one who can't be found is that little shit. So, have you seen him?"

Jack sighed; just a prank, then. "No, Geoff, I haven't seen him. Check with Michael, you know those two are always together."

Geoff groaned. "I know. That's why I checked with him first. Nada." Jack felt the stirring of something in his stomach. Geoff went on "…same thing with Jeremy. Said he hadn't seen him since yesterday"

Jack asked, the ‘something’ solidifying into worry. "And Ryan? Did you-Have you asked him yet?"

Geoff huffed, oblivious to the trepidation spreading through his bearded companion. "He's next on my list, if you're sure you haven't seen him? If you're covering for the little prick he won't be the only one to pay the price"

Jack cut him off; "No, I definitely haven’t seen him. Do you think…do you think something might have happened?”

Geoff, understanding why the ginger was so nervous, felt the beginnings of concern. “No, no I’m sure he’s with Ryan, or off hiding somewhere because he knows I’ll beat his ass when I find him.”

Jack look unconvinced, but replied nonetheless “Yeah, I’m just being silly. But let’s go ask Ryan…just in case.”

“Yeah”

Ryan was completely engrossed in his work when the two older men approached. He seemed to be building some sort of underground chamber, and neither Jack nor Geoff wanted to know why he needed a giant stone glass ceiling-ed room.

“Ryan.”

The tall blonde turned around, a flicker of concern crossing his face when he saw the two older men’s tense stances.

“What’s wrong?”

“How did you-why do you think somethi-” Geoff began spluttering, before being cut off by his bearded companion.

“Have you seen Gavin?” Jack asked, getting straight to the point.

Ryan’s face immediately grew more concerned. Though he would vehemently deny it, they all knew he had a soft spot for the Brit. “He’s not with Michael? Or Jeremy?”

“No, and if he’s not with you either, no one has seen him since yesterday morning.” Geoff responded, worry for his surrogate-son clear on his face. “He set my house on fire, but it’s burned enough he could have done it even before then, I was building an underwater house last night, I haven’t been home in 2 days.”

“And I haven’t seen him since he was talking to me about getting some ender pearls…oh. Oh shit.” Jack said, realization dawning.

“Oh shit” Ryan echoed.

The three men looked between themselves, before simultaneously coming to a decision.

“Well, if we’re gonna do this; we had better go grab the lads.” Geoff announced, his tone brooking no arguments, though his fellow gents had no protests. They were both keenly aware of the extents they would go to for the youngest of their mish-mashed little sextet.

Jeremy and Michael are together when the Gents come stalking up, looking for all the world as though someone has died; their gazes dark, their shoulders slumped, their steps laborious. Both the lads’ minds immediately jump to the last time one of their own had looked like that, remembering watching as Ryan didn’t look close enough, as he was taken by surprise by a skeleton archer, and sent careening over the edge of a cliff, and both Michael and Jeremy suddenly become acutely aware of the one member missing from the gathering.

“Where’s Gavin?” Jeremy asks, trepidation clear in his voice.

“We think he might be…that is to say, we’re fairly sure he’s bee-”

“The idiot got himself stuck in the Nether.” Ryan cuts off Jack’s stuttering, though he looks at the man apologetically. Jack, of course, understands. Each member of their little troupe deals with their concern differently; Jack gets anxious and nervous and worried, becoming over-protective and mothering; Ryan lashes out, goes short-tempered and impatient to hide his fear.

“Well fuck” Michael lets out.

“Couldn’t have said it better myself. Which is why we’re about to go after the little shit and help him with all whatever trouble he’s gotten himself into.” Geoff says, before turning on his heel and stalking off.

The four remaining hunters share a look, communicating without words; they all saw the way Geoff’s eyes betrayed his concern before he turned away, and they all know they’ll have to look out for him. Where Jack frets and Ryan angers, Geoff becomes ruthlessly efficient, working and fighting while completely ignoring his own needs. It will only be worse with Gavin, whom Geoff has always been more protective of, and the men all make a silent vow to make sure Geoff is okay. Of course, Geoff isn’t the only one who has a soft spot for the Brit, and, as each man’s gaze meets the others’, each can see the resolve hardening in their compatriots’ eyes. They’ll all make it out of this unharmed, Nether and monsters be damned.

The 5 of them walk through the nether, heading away from the only entrance and exit and towards what Jeremy eloquently put as “our impending doom.” The boys’ usual boisterous humour was noticeably missing, only adding more tension to the already downcast group.

Geoff headed the group, walking determinedly forward, as though knowing exactly where he would find their missing lover. Jack walked next to him, clearly following Geoff but striding directly by his side, not a step behind. Jeremy walked behind them, eyes running over each and every pile of dirt, monster and lava pool with a frantic attentiveness that spoke of his fear. Michael paced around the group, breaking through anything obstructing the path or around it, his frustration being taken out on the unfeeling piles of dirt and monsters roaming the dark world. Ryan pulled up the back of the troupe, not interacting with the others in the slightest, a tight hold on his emotions in an attempt to keep himself from breaking down. His eyes watched the backs of the 4 men he called his own, trusting them to be looking for their last member, but unable to look away for fear of another of them disappearing.

They were all getting more and more anxious as the minutes went by with no sign of Gavin when a muffled shout came from just over the horizon. Five heads snapped towards the sound, stopping in their tracks.

“Is that-”

“That’s gotta be-”

“Sounds like-”

“Oh my god-”

“Gavin!”

Suddenly the cry came again, still muffled but slightly louder, and with the tell-tale squawking of one very unique man.

The group looked at each other before rushing towards the sound, jumping over pools of lava and rushing uncaring of pig men and endermen, cutting and hacking as the yelling got louder, though it was no more legible the closer they got to it. Eventually, it became clear the noise had some sort of rhythm to it. In fact, if Jack didn’t know any better, he’d say it was…

“Is that fucking asshole singing?” Michael asked, relief mixing with anger over what was, yes, becoming more and more clearly Gavin’s nasally version of singing.

As the group approached, they could finally make out the loudly sung and worryingly slurred lyrics of the tune.

“-end Her Victorious

Happy and Glorious

Long to Reign Over Us

God Save The Queen!”

The band of men finally made it to the source of the sound, a large, very deep obsidian hole, with a sandy-haired figure at the very bottom of it. The figure, quickly identified by his lovers as Gavin, was lolling about with one of his legs at a very unnatural angle. He had paused for a moment, as though in deep thought, then, after a deep breath, has taken up the tune again.

“Our Albert Edward Bless

God Grant Him Happiness

God Save the Pr-”

Gavin’s rolling eyes finally stopped on the five faces peering over the edge of the hole, mouths and eyes wide with shock, though whether over Gavin’s song or the fact he was singing not one of them could say. Unfortunately, or fortunately, depending on your perspective, befor they could regain their wits, the thin man spoke again.

“Oh bollocks” He said, speech only becoming more unintelligible as he continued, “you all missed the first verse. No matter, I’ll restart.” Then he took a deep breath, clearly intent on doing as he had said he would.

Before he could get a word out, thought, there were a series of thumps around him as Geoff, Jack, Ryan, Michael and Jeremy jumped into the hole. Geoff grabbed the young man, pulling him into a hug before the Brit flinched violently and rolled over the throw up. Jack petted his back soothingly, before he, with Geoff’s help, got Gavin settled with his head in the tattooed man’s lap.

“Gav?” Michael asked, tentative.

“Hey Micool” he replied, voice slurring the already horrid pronunciation even further. “What’re you guys doing here?”

“Saving your ass” Ryan instantly replied, continuing “How the hell did you get yourself stuck in an obsidian hole.”

“No’ enough…blocks n’ the food… the food ran n’out” Gavin, voice filled with exhaustion, muttered out.

“Well you fucking dick, next time maybe you should think of that before GOING INTO THE NETHER ALONE!” Geoff cried, voice lacking heat but filled with worry.

The smaller man just mumbled and turned his face into his stomach, curling around Geoff as Jack kissed his head while Michael took up the post of rubbing his back. Jeremy stood by, lightly resting a hand on his shoulder, while Ryan stood, still agitated as one of their party was hurt.

After a moment of silence, Gavin mumbled something again, the only word that was understandable being “…home?”

Geoff visibly softened, tense lines from his, and the others’, worry fading out as he gently lifted the clearly concussed young man.

“Yeah Gav, we’re gonna bring you home.”

Slowly, the six made their way out of the hole, building steps for Geoff to climb easily with Gavin still encompassed in his arms, shuddering lightly.

“’Ere was…”

“There was what Gav? C’mon, love, it’s okay.”

Gavin’s body was racked with a shudder again. “All ‘ight long…cryin’ out…bloody terrifying”

It was Geoff’s turn to shiver. “Who?”

Gavin turned into the larger man’s chest, the name just barely above a whisper. “Enderdicks”

Geoff’s arms tightened as, to his left, Jeremy let out an incredulous laugh. Geoff turned to look at him sharply, but the young man was already explaining himself.

“It’s just… no matter what happens, he’s still Gavin.” Jeremy shrugged helplessly.

And as the group finally exited the red-bathed world for their own-as they laid Gavin down in bed, as Michael and Jeremy reached for his hands, Geoff and Jack sitting next to his legs, and Ryan sitting by his head, just close enough to feel his heat but not quite touching. As they finally settled down together, just as it should be- Well, Geoff couldn’t help but agree.

#Ragehappy #AH OT6 #oxfordsemicolonrebel #redvsvblue #rhss17

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ragehappysecretsanta · 6 years

Text

Author: http://achieve-hams.tumblr.com

Recipient: http://wtfmrk.tumblr.com

Summary: King Jeremy finds himself lost and weak in the forest only to be saved by some townspeople. In this town, he learns about corruption, family, and loss. All the while missing his Ryan, who is trying to deal with Jeremy being gone. Who will believe who? Who trusts who? Does Jeremy even know his own people?

Warnings: Non-graphic violence, semi-graphic violence, vague mention of torture, mentions of blood

WordCount: 18,422

Jeremy’s feet could barely keep up with how fast his legs were moving. His feet kept catching on the underbrush and roots but his mind was too scrambled and exhausted to even acknowledge them or correct his mistakes as he kept moving.

Jeremy tripped and stumbled into a tree for what felt like the hundredth time. He quickly used what little strength he had to push off the tree and keep running. His leg caught on a prickly bush and it added another couple of scratches and wounds to his collection. Part of his brain wondered how much blood he could stand to lose before his legs gave out.

The rest of his brain was focused on keep running, keep moving and the more distance you put between you and them, the harder you are to hit.

The second part sounded an awful lot like Michael.

Jeremy was panting hard. Trying to remember to keep breathing as even as possible as he ran but he was just so exhausted. The mix of not eating anything since this morning and not having any water combined with the slow bleeding was doing nothing to help him.

Jeremy slowed down a fraction and tried to listen. He couldn’t hear any more creepers chasing him, the clomps of their feet having died out, but he could still faintly hear the clack-clack of the skeletons. Jeremy thought it was safe to slow down some.

Then he felt an arrow whiz right by his head. He took off in a sprint again.

Jeremy felt like he could cry. He just wanted this to be over! Why wouldn’t they LEAVE HIM ALONE! GODDAM-

Jeremy’s foot caught on a tree root and stumbled again. Except this time, instead of being able to push off a tree or quickly get off the ground, he kept stumbling and rolling. He hit every body part imaginable on rocks and branches. He felt his skin being torn into by branches and bushes. The hill felt never-ending.

And then he landed hard on solid ground. Jeremy was staring at the sky. It was cloudy out.

Jeremy didn’t know if he had hit his head so hard he couldn’t hear anymore or if he finally got away from the skeletons.

He told himself he was going to get up and find out, but then he heard voices and fast footsteps. And everything went black.

Jeremy felt like he was floating as he looked at Ryan. He was smirking at him from his horse as he ate an apple. Ryan was able to reach from the tall apple trees better than Jeremy, even though he was on a horse. Jeremy glared back at Ryan when he laughed at Jeremy trying to stretch to get one.

Jack was busy watching Michael and Gavin playfully joust at each other as they ran circles around Geoff; who was less than happy to be in the middle of their antics.

Ryan shook his head at them, barely jostling his crown, before throwing an apple at Jeremy which he quickly caught without fumbling it. Jeremy stuck out his tongue childishly at him before he bit into the apple.

Then, Jeremy felt a sharp and sudden pain in his shoulder.

“What’s your name, sweetheart?”

Jeremy felt himself fall sideways off his horse and hit the ground on the shoulder where the pain was. Jeremy cried out and looked to see an arrow sticking out of his shoulder. He tried to roll onto his back but that just pushed the arrow in more and he cried out again. He saw his crown roll off into the dirt next to the side of his head as he tried to look around.

That’s when they all heard them. Creepers and skeletons. They were about to be stuck in between a fight.

He could hear Geoff telling them all to run back to the castle. He could also hear everyone drawing their weapons. Jeremy quickly reached up and snatched his bag off his horse before she got spooked and ran. Jeremy forced himself to stand up and start to run.

He didn’t realize he was running in the wrong direction until he heard Ryan’s shouts for his name become quieter and the sound of creepers and skeletons chasing him become louder.

Jeremy!

“Jeremy.”

The first time Jeremy remembered waking up, he wasn’t alone. There was a girl asleep in a chair next to him.

He was laying on a less than soft bed with two blankets covering him. Besides the chair which the girl sat on, there was a desk with notebooks and papers scattered everywhere on it, a small dresser, and what Jeremy recognized as his potions bag resting on top.

Jeremy sat up as quietly as he could, wincing the whole way. He simultaneously felt well rested and fucking exhausted.

Jeremy knew he wasn’t in his castle or any castle for that matter. There were many cues for this. The fact that the room (house?) was made of wood and not stone was the main one. Along with being able to see the forest clearly through the window and there being no noise besides the girl breathing next to him.

He looked down to see he was shirtless beside the bandages wrapping around his left shoulder and mid-section. He also had a splint on his right wrist. Jeremy tugged off the covers gently to see he thankfully still had pants on (not his own, he noticed), but there were bandages peeking out from the holes in them.

The thing that scared Jeremy the most was not remembering what happened to gain all of these wounds and where he was. The last thing he remembered was trying to sneakily kiss Ryan without falling off his horse and before the other yelled at them to stop being gross and catch-up.

Before Jeremy’s mind could run away with the possibilities that could have happened to him, the girl woke up.

“You’re awake!” she shouted as she sat up properly.

Jeremy flinched hard at her tone, not realizing how much his head hurt in the silence of the room. He hit his bandaged shoulder on the wall as he flinched which made him cry out.

“Oh my gods, I’m so sorry!” She quickly scrambled out of the chair and onto the bed, her eyes wide with panic as she tried to look over the bandages to see if anything was bleeding again.

“I didn’t mean to scare you but you just looked so aware this time, I got excited.” The girl was smiling at him now but she was a little too close for Jeremy’s comfort.

"Where..." Jeremy's voice was weak but the girl understood what he was trying to ask.

"Where are we? Well, that might be hard –"

"Marissa!" The door banged open to reveal a man with a scowl on his face, but the effects were damped by how carefully he was holding a bowl of soup.

They both jumped but the girl – Marissa – looked over a glared back.

"He's not a prisoner, Jared."

Jeremy hadn’t even thought of that.

"He's right Mari, let us question him before answering anything." An older woman pushed Jared out of the way. "It's only fair since he owes us for patching him up."

Jared glare shifted to the women after he stumbled and spilt the soup on his hand, but it had a more playful tone.

"Mama," Marissa whined.

"No Mari. We’re going to feed this man some soup and water then find out where all those fancy clothes came from.”

Jeremy suddenly felt as though he was the farthest away from the castles as he could ever get.

The woman came over with a pitcher of what Jeremy presumed was water and poured out a glass before handing it to him with a slight tremor in her hands.

Jeremy sniffed it before drinking, something Ryan had told him to do when taking drinks from strangers. You never know who would want to kill a king.

Jeremy’s heart panged painfully. He needed to figure out how to get back to them, to Ryan. He needed to find out where he was.

“Please,” Jeremy’s voice was stronger now that he had a drink. “just tell me where I am and then I’ll answer any questions you have.”

Jared dropped the soup loudly on the desk next to him, making Jeremy jump again.

“’Red, calm down. The boy must be frightened,” the woman said as she sat down in the chair Marissa was sitting in before. She nodded once at Marissa.

“We’re a very small town outside of the city of Vila, we technically don’t exist but anything is better than living under the General,” Marissa said the last part quietly and Jeremy knew there was a story there.

Jeremy also had a feeling this ‘General’ wasn’t someone good.

“We’re in the Dooley Kingdom, but we found you on the border of Ramsey’s four days ago. We’re just on the edge of the forest.”

Jeremy let out a sigh of relief, “The Royal Forest,” he confirmed. It was a deep forest that went right through the middle of Geoff’s kingdom and spilt into his. It would explain the quiet and it meant they weren’t too far from the castles.

“No,” Jared sneered. “The Forest of Creation.”

Jeremy felt his heart drop to his stomach.

“The Forest of Creation!” Jeremy exclaimed, “that was walled off before I even be –”

Jeremy stopped. These people didn’t recognize him. They said they were in his kingdom but they’re are treating him like a common person. If they don’t recognize me, maybe it’s best to hold off on the truth for now.

“Before I moved to the castle region, I mean,” Jeremy finished, hoping they would mistake his slip-up for the fact he hit his head hard enough to scramble it.

“So you are a noble,” Marissa said with wonder and she leaned closer.

“Yes, they call me Sir Tim. I work closely with Mage Kdin under King Ramsey.” Jeremy patted himself on the back for being able to come up with a believable lie so quickly.

“One,” Jared said, holding up on a finger, “You told us your name was Jeremy when we were trying to get that arrow out of your shoulder,” he held up a second finger, “Two, I thought Mage Kdin was just a bedtime story. I mean, someone having to help the kings defeat a dragon? Unless they really are that incompetent, which is more believable than some girl helping the kings.”

Jeremy didn’t know people didn’t believe Kdin’s story, still, he felt a flare of annoyance on her part for someone not appreciating her genius. Also at the incompetence comment, but he held it down.

“One,” Jeremy imitated Jared with the fingers, “My name is Jeremy Timulous. Two, Kdin is real and yes, she did help the Kings defeat the dragon. They are just people ya know?”

Marissa giggled at Jared’s pissed off expression and Jeremy just smirked.

“I have to go actually take care of people, so good day, Sir Tim,” Jared said with the most un-respectful tone he could manage.

He slammed the door in the way out making the older woman sigh.

“You can call me Mina, child,” she said, “I’m the unfortunate mother of these those two.”

Jeremy cracked a smile as Marissa let out an indignant “Mama!”

“So, tell me, Jeremy, what’s your real job?” Mina leaned forward and put her elbows on her knees, staring at Jeremy with an all-knowing expression.

Jeremy froze and glanced at Marissa who looked back with a smirk.

“Just because Jared doesn’t like the kings and doesn’t want the children learning about them, doesn’t mean that we,” Marissa gestured to her and her mother, “don’t at least know what you look like, King Dooley.”

“How,” Jeremy said, royally confused.

“Mari and I went to sneak some books from the city for the children one day when we saw your coronation being played by a seer.”

“These two years you’ve been king have not been kind to you,” Mari teased with a giggle.

“Hey, being a king is a stressful job!” Jeremy shot back, but he was hardly containing his smile too.

“Alright children, don’t get too loud. Jeremy is safer if the town thinks he’s a noble, not our king,” Mina said.

Jeremy and Mari both nodded.

“When I was learning about my kingdom,” Jeremy said after a moment of silence, “I was informed that all cities and towns within a hundred-mile radius were being evacuated and there was going to be a wall built and reinforced with magic. I was told there was no one out here. All the kings were told there was no one left out here.”

“The only wall there was one of made of people,” Mari muttered angrily. The change of mood in the room was almost visible.

“The was the plan, yes,” Mina said, “but the dates kept being pushed back over and over until we all realized no one was coming for us. No wall was being built, no one was going to save us from those creatures.”

“I don’t understand!” Jeremy cried, “All the kingdoms sent supplies and people out here! When they came back they said the job was done, the refugees were safely distributed throughout the kingdoms. Almost all of my advisors oversaw this!”

“They lied,” Mari snapped. “None of you ever came out here! No troops, no advisors, and especially not someone who people say is the Kind King!”

Marissa was on her feet, breathing heavily as she stared him down.

Jeremy gripped the blanket in his hands tightly.

“The Forest of Creation lies in my kingdom, I was responsible. I stayed up day and night writing letters to all of the families that reportedly survived,” he whispered. “I had the other kings send stuff too. Potions, comfort animals, building supplies, farming equipment, seeds, solar energy…”

Jeremy looked between Mina and Mari, desperate for either of them to say something, anything. Tell him that he wasn’t lied to since his coronation, that these people don’t think he’s a monster, that this is all some prank that he’s gonna beat Michael and Gavin up for later.

Mari balled her fists up and looked at the floor. Jeremy saw a few tears fall.

“All we got was the royal guard beating people in submission and the General forcing everyone under his command, telling us this is the new king wanted.”

With that last statement, the one that shocked all of the emotion of Jeremy, she left slamming the door just like her brother.

Jeremy turned his eyes to his lap, his hands went slack and just rested there as Mina sighed. Jeremy had too many thoughts buzzing around his head, he couldn’t feel anything. Couldn’t hear, his eyes were unseeing.

The next time Jeremy looked up, Mina was gone too.

When Jeremy was first old he was going to become the new king of what was previously the Burns Kingdom, he thought it was a joke.

Burnie Burns was the last surviving king of the group that unified the kingdoms. Before the kingdoms were united, there was war. It was a constant thing, but no one ever knew why they were fighting. It was almost like people were born with a hatred for any king other than their own. Kings Heyman, Burns, Sorola, and Hullum had unified all four kingdoms by bringing peace between the kings and their people.

Since they were unified, four kingdoms became six. There was too much land in the Sorola and Burns Kingdoms that in an effort to make all of the kingdoms more equal, two more kingdoms were to be created and two new kings would begin their legacy.

King Ramsey and King Pattillo were the first to be crowned. In the years following their coronation, Heyman was assassinated by an advisor of Hullum’s that still held a distaste for other kings, even after the war. King Haywood, Heyman’s appointed heir, stepped into his place and quickly taken under the wing of Ramsey and Pattillo.

Years later, Sorola and Hullum were killed in a nether mining explosion. Mage Kdin went on to discover that it was the dragon’s fault as King Free and King Jones took over. Plans to find and destroy the dragon began immediately.

The Kings were concerned for Burns’ mental state and physically being, so they made Burns appoint announce his heir publicly, so they would have someone from each kingdom fighting.

Jeremy knew he was the heir, but while Burns was getting older, Jeremy thought he still had years until he was to become king. An heir is not someone who holds blood relation to a king, but someone that the king has a close relationship with and trusts the people in their hands. Heirs were to be written in a king’s will and will not be announced to the public until a king has died, to reduce the risk of attempts on the heir’s life.

Jeremy had known since he was eighteen that he was going to be an heir. What he didn’t know was that Burns was going to have a heart attack while they were off fighting the dragon. Jeremy came back to teary eyes telling him that Burns was dead, there was more activity than ever in the Forest of Creation, and that the people were awaiting their king.

Jeremy was twenty-two when he became king. The youngest person to ever be a king.

Coming off the high of helping defeat the dragon and the after-effects of the journey along with all the preparations for his coronation left Jeremy feeling helpless.

It wasn’t until King Haywood showed up with his most trusted staff came to the kingdom to give condolences did Jeremy start to feel better. King “call me Ryan for fuck's sake” Haywood took over in helping Jeremy learn about his kingdom and make a stronger defense plan for the Forest.

Ryan, having lived in Burns kingdom until he was twenty-four, moving to the Heyman kingdom to study potions and work under mages afterwards, was still very knowledge on the Burns kingdom and its people.

With Ryan’s help, they created a plan to fortify the wall around the forest with magic. Jeremy was so fascinated with Ryan’s skills that they quickly become closer and closer, as Ryan spent four months in the Burns kingdom teaching Jeremy about how to be a king. By the end of those four months, Jeremy was crowned and the Dooley Kingdom was born.

Jeremy quickly won over the hearts of the children and young people of his kingdom with his potions work, which had become impressive. Ryan said he never saw someone take to potions so fast before; even Kdin had complimented him on it and offered to be a more permanent teacher to him once Ryan went home.

Getting all the older people to like him was more difficult. He spent most of his celebration party discussing policy with the older people and his nobles for how he was going to take care of the kingdom for as long as he was alive. He also told almost every story and joke knew to regular shopkeepers and labor workers to start a relationship with everyone.

He had slowly snuck out of the party once everyone had a smile on their face and all of the nobles and some of the other kings were drunk off their asses.

Jeremy plopped down the balcony of the library and let his head fall back against the wall, breathing out a shaky sigh as he closed his eyes

He wished Burns was still here, still king. He wished he had years to learn all about how to be a king, not a few months. To be thrust into kingship amidst a panic in the outer cities was taking a toll on him. Having to deal with becoming king unexpectedly, trying to gain the support of his people, and trying to deal with a crisis that is resulting in lost lives made him feel like he was doing the impossible.

“Want some company?” a voice asked.

Jeremy opened his eyes and turned his head to see Ryan standing there holding two glasses, one in offering. Jeremy nodded and stuck out his hand to grab a glass as Ryan sat down too.

“These parties are hellish enough without the added looming thought about the Forest and everyone asking ‘what’s your plan?’,” Ryan said it like it was a question but was also an answer to an unspoken question.

“Yeah.” Jeremy sipped his glass then coughed immediately. “This isn’t wine.” He looked at Ryan accusatorily.

Ryan laughed. His face was perfectly illuminated by the moonlight and his laugh sounded like the most beautiful thing in the world. Jeremy felt speechless around him because of his looks, his voice, his mind.

“Felt like you could use a pick-me-up. I’d drink slowly if I were you,” Ryan frowned thoughtfully, “at least that’s what Geoff says.”

“You’re not drinking the same thing?” Jeremy asked.

“Fuck no,” Ryan laughed, “Alcohol is nasty. I’m more of a syrup water kinda guy.”

“Doesn’t that shit kill you?” Jeremy felt himself smiling and laughing along with Ryan.

“Not as fast as that will,” he said gesturing to Jeremy’s glass with a smirk.

Jeremy shook his head and put his glass down on the other side of him. When he looked back at Ryan, he felt like he was a thousand times closer. Ryan stared right into his eyes, smiling softly.

“You’re doing great, Jeremy. The rest of the kings think so too,” he said, “They wanted to come see you but they didn’t want to interrupt your studies or your bonding time your people.”

Jeremy felt his breath hitch.

“I’m glad to hear that.” Jeremy meant it on multiple levels. One, he was glad he didn’t have to deal with trying to befriend kings during his studying and two, it reassured him that they didn’t come see him tonight because they hated him or something.

“Trying to befriend a king during this time would have been hard.” He settled on.

“You seem to do just well with me,” Ryan said, smirking slightly.

“Yeah, well, you're different,” Jeremy could feel himself blushing.

“Oh?” Ryan was full on smirking now and leaned in more.

Jeremy cleared his throat.

“Yeah, you’re way more fascinating than anyone else in these kingdoms.” It was Jeremy's turn to smirk as Ryan looked startled.

What Jeremy did next, he would blame on all the wine people had shoved down his throat all evening, but as time went one, he knew he made the right choice.

Jeremy leaned in and kissed Ryan. The only noise for the next few minutes was Ryan’s cup hitting the ground as Ryan pulled Jeremy into his lap.

Jeremy felt more than physical pain once the buzzing stopped. Taking a trip down memory lane did nothing helpful. It just reminded him of how he was lied to by people he trusted and how much he missed Ryan.

Jeremy’s eyes caught his bag at the other end of the room. Jeremy was both glad and sad that it’s his potions bag. The potions could be helpful, and it was given to him by Ryan, but he has no idea where his personal bag ended up.

Jeremy winced as he shifted his legs to move off the side of the bed. It felt like an eternity once his feet hit the ground and he was already panting. Jeremy reached out to grip the chair that still sat next to his bed and pulled it towards him. Jeremy used it to pull himself up into a standing position while leaning on the back of the chair. He dragged the chair across the floor and used it as a walker and carefully stepped forwards one foot at a time, gripping the chair in an iron grip. Push the chair forward, take one step, take another. Repeat.

Jeremy finally reached the dresser as he knees buckled. He half hung on the dresser and tried to straighten his legs again without pulling too much on his bandages. He got himself into a leaning position on shaky legs as he blindly rummaged in his bag.

After pulling out an invisibility potion and a damage potion, he finally found the one he was looking for. A potion of regeneration. It worked better on a full stomach, but there was no way he could trust the soup. The smell of poison could be masked by the meat and vegetables.

The potion would work, but he would still be sore next time he woke up.

Jeremy popped the cork and downed it right before his legs gave out underneath him.

“You know this whole thing works better if you actually show up for the date.”

Jeremy was leaning against the doorframe watching Ryan hunched over a bunch of books and papers, occasionally making notes.

Ryan startled when he heard Jeremy’s voice. He looked at Jeremy without really looking at him before he rubbed his eyes and looked at him again.

“What?” he mumbled.

“Our date?” Jeremy asked. “At the gardens?”

“Shit,” Ryan said, looking around frantically. “Wasn’t that tomorrow night?”

Jeremy suddenly felt concerned. How long has Ryan been here? Has he eaten or drank anything?

“Ryan,” he said moving forward to stand next to the table. They were in Ryan’s private study. A small little room filled with his most prized and favorite books with a single desk in the middle.

“What’s the day and time?”

“It’s Friday, sometime in the afternoon, right?” Ryan looked adorably confused and Jeremy couldn’t help but laugh and kiss him on the top of his head.

“It’s Saturday, almost midnight,” he said into Ryan’s hair.

“Our date,” Ryan gasped. He turned to look at Jeremy apologetically.

“It’s okay, Michael and Gavin found me wandering and took me out for bevs,” Jeremy paused, “Well, it was more of them sucking face between arguments and me being the referee and then drinking to forget.”

“Sounds about right. That’s usually Geoff’s job,” Ryan said softly and cuddled back into Jeremy.

“No wonder he was so happy that I became friends with them.” Ryan laughed along with him.

“I’m sorry about our date,” Ryan said after a moment of silence.

“It’s alright.” Jeremy paused again, “You can make it up to me by telling me what you were working on.”

Ryan perked up suddenly and reached for a paper. Jeremy stopped him before he could get too excited.

“Tomorrow. Right now, I want to sleep in your glorious bed.”

They stumbled out of the study laughing.

Jeremy woke up in bed. With a note right next to his head.

“Next time you fall, I’m not picking you back up. Asshole.”

Jeremy could only assume it was from Jared. Unless Mari was truly that upset with him. Nevertheless, it sounded so much like something the guys would say it made it heart hurt all over again.

Jeremy sat up and noticed that he barely even felt any pain. He gently took the splint on his left arm, then pulled the bandage on his shoulder. He rolled his shoulder back and forth to get the stiffness out but still felt a twinge of pain. He unwound the bandages around his stomach and folded them up again. He noticed a few scars this lingering. Jeremy threw the blanket off and pulled his pant legs off to inspect his legs. There was also still scarring there, and his right leg still held pain.

After taking all the bandages off he shuffled out of the bed again to stand up. His leg felt more on fire now that he put weight on it. Jeremy limped to the door and tried his best not to put too much weight on his leg.

He gently opened the door and peered around. He could hear sounds coming from outside, but the house was quiet. He limped out into the common room and looked around. The front door was to his left. He could see shadows moving beyond the curtains. He looked around a spotted another door.

Jeremy hobbled over and opened it. It was the back door. It led out onto a small porch with a few chairs. There was a fire pit a little way away from the chairs on the grass.

He felt a little awkward wandering around without a shirt and someone’s old pants, but the fresh air and cool breeze felt much nicer than that stuffy, hot room.

His eyes caught the edge of the forest and he walked towards it. It wasn’t too far away from the back edge of the house. There would be no mobs around the edge during the day due to the sunshine, but a quick glance around confirmed there were no defenses up. How were these people surviving the night?

Jeremy turned around and looked back to the town. There was a sizable number of houses that circled around a huge open area filled with people and other equipment. There were a few animals roaming and a group of kids surrounding two women. It looked almost like an outdoor class.

Jeremy could see more buildings past the main circle on the far side. The town built out away from the Forest. The closest out to it was Mina’s.

Nobody noticed Jeremy at the moment, but he knew he was going to have to make his way into town. He couldn’t survive in the forest. He couldn’t run. He needed to take more regeneration if he was going to go anywhere, but he needed food, or side effects were going to start kicking in.

Jeremy sighed and made the trek back to the house’s back door. He stepped up on the porch and opened the door. He closed it behind him and looked up just in time to see an unfamiliar blonde woman open the front door holding some papers.

“Yo, Jared!” she called while still looking down at her papers, “We needed you for the meeting ten –”

She looked up and froze. So did Jeremy.

“Who are you?” she asked coldly.

“Jeremy. I’m a noble that Jared rescued after I fell down a hill and badly injured myself.” There was no point in lying or making things worse. He already had a story, he should stick to it.

“Jared hasn’t mentioned any noble.” She spits out the word noble. “How long have you been here?”

“Five days,” he said.

She crossed her arms.

“Yet, you don’t look badly injured.”

“I used a potion.” he said quickly and truthfully, again.

“Potion?” she asked incredulously, “Shit you must be a noble.”

Jeremy stopped dead. Potions weren’t something rare. There are thousands of different potions sold in common stores. How long haven’t these people had access to what the rest of the kingdoms regarded as regular commodities?

“What’s your name?” he asked instead, after a moment of silence.

The woman considered him for a second before answering reluctantly, “Jenkins.”

“Well, Jenkins,” Jeremy smiled naturally, “It’s nice to see a new face.”

“You don’t act like a noble,” Jenkins huffed, crossing her arms. The papers she was holding crinkled a bit but she paid them no mind. She looked him up and down. “You certainly don’t look like one either.”

“We're not all assholes, neither do we all dress like snobby assholes.” Jeremy figured she didn’t need to know Ryan’s gaudy clothes or Michael’s fur coat.

Jenkins let out a giggle at Jeremy’s playful tone.

“You seem alright, Jeremy. Why have they been holding you up in here?” she asked. “Unless you’re not telling the truth, Jared has no reason to hide you away like a prisoner.”

“Why do you care?”

“I’m responsible for keeping the people in the know.” She paused. “And I intend to do just that.”

With finality, she quickly turned on her heel and opened the door. She glanced back at Jeremy. “Coming?”

Jeremy limped forward quickly as If she would change her mind. He was both excited and nervous about meeting more of these people. He wanted to help if they had a problem, but they were obviously wary of royal people.

Jeremy was fascinated as he stepped out. Jenkins closed the door behind them as Jeremy looked around. The kids he saw before were now sitting around a girl with fiery red hair. It looked like she was telling a story about fighting something. There were crops that Jeremy couldn’t see from the edge of the forest. They didn’t look like they could sustain everyone if all the buildings around housed people.

“We’re not much,” Jenkins said, looking around, too. “But we survive.”

“Is there a chance I could talk to whoever is in charge,” Jeremy asked. He spoke again before she could answer. “Preferably not Jared alone.”

“Jared is one of the leaders, yes. But you’ve probably figured out that we aren’t in favor of royalty, so we have a group that makes decisions primarily. But everyone is free so to speak.”

“Could you get me an audience with this group?”

Jenkins sighed.

“Is that a no?” Jeremy didn’t want to think about what would happen if he couldn’t reason with these people. Would he make it home? Would this town survive? Jeremy knew something bad was happening. That someone – no, a few someone’s – were meddling with the way his kingdom was being run. People were lying for their own gain and hurting his people. Who could he trust when he got back? If he got back?

Before Jeremy could get into his own head, Jenkins answered his questions.

“Theoretically, yes. But five days here, I’m pretty sure you’ve figured out how Jared is.” Jenkins side-glanced him and raised an eyebrow.

Jeremy nodded slightly back.

“Come on,” Jenkins said as she stepped off the porch.

Jeremy followed hesitantly but no one seemed to care who he was. No one glanced in his direction more than once. They all must have assumed that he was just helping Jenkins with something. Jeremy assumed she was important.

He still kept his head down just in case someone either recognized him. He couldn’t help glancing around at everything. There were the crops again. He sure hoped they had more because they looked in bad shape. He picked his head to keep looking around.

These people live this close to the forest but don’t have any protections?

He stopped dead as he caught glimpse of a group involved in what looked like a sparring match. They had strong weapons but the way they were fighting showed they had no idea what they were doing. The oddest thing was, they people on the sidelines were cheering like it was the best fight they had ever seen.

“Jeremy,” Jenkins said.

Jeremy looked forward to see her a few yards in front of him. He nodded and glanced back at everything before following with a sense of dread in his heart.

“What is he doing here!�� Jared shouted as soon as Jenkins opened the door. They were one the second story of a building tucked away between a few empty ones. Jeremy was still confused about how many people actually lived here.

“I found your dirty little secret, Jared,” Jenkins smirked.

Everyone else in the room looked confused. Jeremy looked around to see Mina and Mari among them. Mari tipped her head in his direction while Mina smiled brightly at him.

“Miss Mina sent me to get you after you decided to be late to the meeting.”

Jeremy smiled back at Mina when he realized what she did. Jeremy tipped his head in gratification and he saw Mari send a smirk to her brother.

“He’s not a secret,” Jared growled. “He’s a danger.”

“What is going on?” A woman with blonde hair stood up.

“I’m not a danger,” Jeremy addressed the room. “I’m a noble under King Ramsey. Jared found me hurt at the bottom of a hill. I’ve been here a few days. Look –” Jeremy tried to get straight to the point but Jared cut him off.

“No, you look,” he growled again. “I will not have someone noble come in here and run this town.”

“Well, clearly you aren’t doing it well enough!” Jeremy shouted. It felt weird, but he was just so angry at the fact that these are his people and they are at risk.

“You have no protections up! No defenses! The only thing you have going for you is all the lights. But that won’t keep the creatures away forever. They will adapt.” The whole room was silent like they knew this already but didn’t want to acknowledge it.

“Not the mention your poor fighting ability or your crops that will die within the week.”

“What wrong with our crops?” Mari asked.

“And our fighters?” the blonde woman also asked.

“Your crops are planted wrong and aren’t being taken care of correctly. They need to be planted where they can get sunlight all day. Where they’re positioned, their sunlight gets cut off during midday because of how close they are to the buildings. The ground around them also needs to be taken care of and could probably use some nourishment from herb spells.”

“Spells?” a man asked not looking up from where he was writing everything Jeremy said on a piece of paper.

“Yeah, do you have anyone who has practiced magic before?”

“Yes,” Jenkins answered at the same time Jared said “no.”

“Well?” Jeremy asked, looking between them.

“Not someone who has actively practiced, but she can do more than she thinks.”

“Perfect, I can help her,” Jeremy said.

“No,” Jared said more forcefully.

“What about our fighters?” the blonde woman asked again. “Could you teach them how to fight better?”

“And tell us what to do with defenses?” a burly man with a beard asked.

“Yes!” Jeremy exclaimed. “Do you know how to build?”

“Yes, I have a few people that can help too.”

“Perfect,” Jeremy said. He pushed down the thought that he looked and acted so much like jack.

“Not perfect,” Jared said angrily. “You have no right to make decisions here.”

“Jared’s right,” agreed another man. A few more nodded.

And just like that, a fight broke out. They were people shouting in Jeremy’s defense and others shouting against. Jeremy didn’t even know where to begin to help break this up. Royal discussions were never like this. There was always a hint of playfulness, but he detected none with these people. They were at their wit's end.

“Come on,” Jenkins whispered in his ear and tugged on his arm.

She pulled him out of the room and he saw Mina and Mari sneak out before the door shut. The four of them were silent as they made their way downstairs and down the street.

“I still have a say in the town, and I say you are free to do whatever you need to help us survive. And I will do what it takes to get you back to the castles,” Mina said, staring at Jeremy with such fierce determination.

“Thank you,” Jeremy said sincerely.

“Mari, Ash, get Meg and Coe. I’ll get Adam and Barb. We’ll meet at our place at 5, Mari.” Mina barely waited for them to nod before turning and walking back to the meeting building.

“Ash?” Jeremy questioned when they started walking again.

“Ashley,” Jenkins said as she turned to walk backwards and held her hand out.

Jeremy shook it and smiled. Ashley turned back around to walk forward.

“How the hell are you up and walking?” Mari asked poking at his shoulder.

“Potions of regeneration does wonders,” Jeremy supplied. He poked her in the stomach to get back at her.

“Damn,” Mari whispered and shook her head.

“Language,” Ashley said. Mari scoffed as Ashley spoke again.

“Meg is the person I was talking about.”

“The person who knows about magic?” Jeremy half skipped to be next to her again. He noticed, gratefully, that his limp was gone.

“I used to work with her back in Vila.”

“The city under the General,” Mari supplied from behind them.

“Yeah,” she nodded, “She always had her nose in a book about magic or was looking for papers about Mage Kdin. She knows everything about magic but never thought she could do it.” She paused. “She can do it,” she said forcefully.

“Jeremy works under Mage Kdin,” Mari said as she walks faster to be on the other side of Jeremy.

“Really?” Ashley asked, looking at him.

“Yeah,”

“We might have more a chance than I thought.”

“Let’s hope that’s true,” Jeremy said softly.

“Why? Got someone back home?” Mari teased. She bumped his shoulder which made him bump into Ashley.

Jeremy’s apology was on the tip of his tongue but Ashley beat him to it but bumping him back which sent him tumbling into Mari who bumped into another girl walking.

Ashley started giggling as Mari jumped around to apologize to the person she almost knocked over. But she stopped and whirled back around to glare at Ashley.

“You saw Meg walking towards us when I bumped Jeremy, so you knew exactly what you were doing!” she accused.

Ashley continued to giggle but Jeremy paid no attention. Meg was the girl with fiery hair he saw with the children. Up close he noticed her hair was red, but the fiery effect he thought was just the sun shining through it, was actually her aura.

“My what-a?” Jeremy asked looking between Ryan and Kdin from where he was sat in Ryan’s study.

“Aura,” Ryan laughed.

“To put it simply, people who have an aura can practice magic. One can create an aura, but it won’t be as powerful as someone who was born with it,” Kdin answered.

“But what is it?” Jeremy was feeling more and more confused every time they spoke.

“We don’t really know, but it’s been theorized to be a sort of personification of one’s magic being.”

“Magic being?”

“The part of you that can do magic,” Ryan answered this time. “Different parts of our brains have different functions or control different things. Our aura is like an extension of our brain.”

“You said people can create their own?” Jeremy asked turning to Kdin who was casually leaning against the table.

“Yes, creating an aura causes a great amount of stress on one’s brain but it can be done. you can usually tell by looking at a person’s aura whether or not it’s developed or created.”

“Wait, you can see aura?” Jeremy’s head was starting to hurt.

“Yes,” Kdin rolled her eyes, “that’s why we're’ talking to you.”

“Developed aura’s are usually warm colors, while created aura’s are usually cold. The brighter they are, the more powerful.” Ryan answered.

“Ryan’s is a bright yellow, mine’s apparently bright pink, and you’re is a dim green. No offense, but we almost didn’t know it at first,” Kdin said.

“I’ll assume I can’t see my own so why can’t I see yours?”

“It depends on knowledge and experience,” Ryan said. “How much do you actually know about magic?” he teased.

Jeremy frowned.

“And that,” Kdin said leaning forward with a smile, “is where I come in.”

“Jeremy, you okay?” Mari asked.

He had been staring at Meg for an uncomfortable amount of time but she was looking at him with the same expression of wonder.

“Yeah,” he said, not taking his eyes off her aura. It was just so bright.

“Ashley said you knew a lot about magic?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Meg forced herself to look at Jeremy’s eyes and not around his head. Jeremy picked up on this immediately.

“Do you see it?” he almost whispered.

“Yeah,” she said, smiling now, “I’ve never seen one before. I only read about it.”

“What are you two talking about?” Mari asked, looking confused. Ashley had the same look, but also one of interest.

“Yours is bright red,” Jeremy said. Meg smiled for a second before frowning.

“The brighter the color…” she trailed off.

“The more powerful,” Jeremy finished.

Meg gasped as she looked at him with wide eyes.

“But I can’t,” she tried to say before Ashley cut her off.

“You can continue your weirdness later, we need to get Coe if we’re gonna make it to the place on time,” Mari said exasperatedly.

“Coe should be letting his class out soon,” Meg said absently.

Ashley nodded and put her hand on her back to get her walking. Jeremy sent a smile in Meg’s direction but didn’t say more. She needed time to process this on her own.

Mari just rolled her eyes and grabbed Jeremy’s arm to pull him forward.

“Coe!” Ashley shouted as they got closer to the makeshift fighting grounds he saw before.

A man with his arms crossed who was standing outside the ring of people looked over. Ashley tilted her head in the direction of another abandoned shop. He nodded and turned back to the group.

“Dismissed for today! Remember what I said about fighting outside training!” he yelled as Jeremy followed the rest into the little shop.

Coe jogged over to them and closed the door behind him.

“What’s up?” he said crossing his arms and looking from Ashley to Meg. Meg seemed in a better state now but she was still quiet.

“How many times have you begged Barbara for a better regimen for your fighters?” Ashley asked getting to the point.

“Thousands. You know I’m not teaching them squat,” he replied. He glanced at Jeremy question. “Is he my solution?”

“I know how to fight like the royal guards,” Jeremy responded, “And I know how to fight dirty against royal guards.”

“I thought you were a noble?” Ashley asked.

“Noble?” Coe whisper yelled at her.

“Everyone who works in the castle has to have a semblance of defense training. The more important your job, the more training you have to receive. I work very closely with Mages and sometimes the kings. I know how to defend myself and others.” Jeremy was trying to convince Coe that he was capable. “It also helps that on slow days some of us go and spar with guards in training to help them improve.”

Coe was silent for a minute.

“How much did you know about what was going on out here?” he asked. His tone was guarded.

“Tyler,” Meg said softly for the first time.

“Meg –”

“None of it,” Jeremy said.

Meg, Ashley, and Coe all abruptly stopped. Mari sighed.

“Way to spill the beans dipshit,” she muttered.

“What do you mean you don’t know?” Ashley demeaned.

“I mean nobody knows,” Jeremy said, ignoring Mari. “Well nobody that would care,” he amended.

“Not even the kings?” Coe asked in disbelief.

“Definitely not the kings,” Jeremy confirmed.

“How do you know they aren’t lying to you too?” Meg half-yelled.

Jeremy looked at their faces and panicked. Coe looked ready to leave while the girls looked like they didn’t trust him anymore, even Mari. He said the first thing that came to mind.

“I’m dating King Haywood,” Jeremy gasped along with everyone else after he said it.

“You’re dating who?” Meg asked dumbfounded.

“I’m dating King Ryan,” he whispered looking down.

“Damn,” Coe muttered.

“How do we know you’re not lying?” Asked Ashley.

“He’s not,” Mari said.

“How can we trust you?” she fired back. “You knew he didn’t know about the General!”

“Mama was going to bring it up at the meeting and then he showed up so she couldn’t after Jared got pissy. I assumed you would find out at our meeting.” Mari said softly.

“What meeting?” Coe asked.

“You won’t survive out here,” Jeremy said bluntly. He looked all of them in their eyes. “I’m surprised you survived this long, to be honest. Adam can build stronger defenses and weapons that can be reinforced with magic. Meg, you have powers that could save you and everyone in this town from the forest. Coe, If I give you direction on fighting you can turn your people into fighters who can take down royal guards. Not to mention creatures. Mari, I could teach you about non-magic potion making. Ashley, you could learn about taking care of crops and growing things from basically nothing. I can teach you how to do this stuff and you can teach others! I’m not the best but with all of us working together you can ensure the survival of everyone. Ash,” Jeremy stopped to really make them listen.

“You said we're all free here. Kingdom rules don’t apply?”

“Yes,” she said hesitantly.

“Then why can’t we do this? Jared doesn’t lead and neither does anyone else in that room. We can do this if you trust me. We can do this if you all push away your doubts and fears. I promise after I believe you can continue on your own, I will go back to the castle and I will get rid of the General and you will all be truly free,” Jeremy said forcefully.

Everyone was quiet. They all looked at each other as if trying to gauge what they were feeling after what he said. Finally, they all looked right at Jeremy.

“When do we start?” Ashley asked.

Jeremy broke out into a grin.

Ryan looked down at his papers. He felt like they were all written in an unknown language.

It had been two weeks since they had their monthly Kings meeting. Which usually meant some quiet time in a ride through the woods while they discussed anything new in the kingdoms during lunch.

They had just wandered into the apple orchards to try and find a nice spot to set up for a picnic when Jeremy let out a wail. In a split-second, Ryan had gone from teasing Jeremy to feeling like he was the one who was shot as he watched Jeremy fall off his horse.

He felt numb once all of the creepers and skeletons were gone. Jeremy had run in the wrong direction. Ryan was breathing heavily as he leaned against the castle wall. Jeremy had run in the wrong direction. He didn’t even know if Jeremy was alive. They had to go looking for him. They had to –

They couldn’t find anything. The blood trail was all over the place and eventually led nowhere. Ryan hasn’t been able to fall asleep since; the only times he slept were when he passed out from exhaustion from crying too much.

Mica had been by to shove water and food down his throat. He was secretly grateful that she had been the one to come by. She didn’t judge him for not moving for hours on end or not getting anything done. She made sure he’s still alive and then leaves him to it.

The other kings were supposed to come today to have a meeting. They need to do something about Jeremy. Either keep looking for him or declare him dead without really knowing. They would also need to tell the kingdoms what was going on at some point. The others said that the final decision was up to him.

Ryan curled further into himself in his chair. He knew the people deserved to know what was happening to King Dooley. But he knew the minute they made a decision, it would all be actually real. Either Jeremy would be missing or dead. Ryan has been able to pretend he would be back and he just missed him. Telling the world he was missing indefinitely or presumed dead would break Ryan even more. He knew this.

Ryan sniffled and pick his head up from the desk. He hadn’t even noticed he put in down. Ryan reached a shaky hand out to the drawer on the left side of his desk. He pulled it open the felt underneath for a switch. He flipped it and a little compartment at the bottom opened up. There sat a little green box.

Ryan’s vision became watery and he picked it up and set it on the table in front of him. He popped it open to reveal the ring nestled inside.

Ryan sobbed as he clutched the box harder. He slowly crumpled; his head and shoulder fell onto the desk. The chair and the desk where holding him up on their own. He gripped the box in one hand while the other gripped some loose paper. His shoulders shook as he sobbed onto more paper, wetting them.

His wail could be heard outside the door where Mica was frozen. Her hand held up to knock as tears formed in her eyes.

Jeremy was put on wood gathering duty. Meg had gotten fed up with him hovering over her shoulder as she tried to concentrate on a spell had been stuck on. She physically forced him out of the room and slammed the door behind him then shouted through it that they need more wood for the bonfire later that night.

So here he was.

It had been a week since he gave Ash, Meg, Mari, and Coe his inspirational speech. A week since he met with everyone who was willing to help in Mina and Mari’s hideout closer to the edge of the main road. There he had met Adam’s helpers, Barbara (who was just as important as Jared), and many others who were willing to help start the process. Their group had grown bigger and bigger until more people were helping and learning new things than there were people opposing Jeremy’s help. Not everyone who helped trusted Jeremy but they trusted Ash and Mina, and that’s all that mattered.

Jeremy reached down and picked up another branch and some kids tore by him, almost knocking him over. He laughed as he heard some shout at them.

He and Ash had been working with the kids and middle-aged women on planting crops in the right area and how to sustain them. The kids loved taking care of them and making sure they were keeping track of their growth. Jeremy had taught Ash how to take the information the kids were taking and apply it to growing better crops each time they would replant in the future.

Meg had been growing more and more confident over the past week. Jeremy spent most of his time with her since they were trying to shove years of experience into whatever time they might have. She had gotten better at spoken spells and placing spells on objects but they had yet to venture to non-spoken and fighting spells. She had almost given up in the first two days multiple time, claiming she would be better off going back to teaching the kids. Jeremy and Ash let her cool off before going to convince her to come back. She hasn’t had one of those moments in the last four days.

Meg did bring a bunch of women to the fighting ring one morning claiming they had been pestering her about fighting. Meg had yawned and told them that if they didn’t let these girls fight that she would make them, before sleepily going back to her shared house with Ash.

The fighters had denied them but after one girl stepped up to a sparring match with Jeremy, they had agreed.

Jeremy had Coe had laid out a plan and curriculum for advancement for the fighters that was approved by Barbara immediately. They had all done exceptionally well so far and were faring even better with the weapon Meg and Jeremy were reinforcing for them.

Jeremy had to give little direction to Adam and his group since they knew what they were doing. They made better armor, weaponry, and were even planning on building better defenses for the whole town.

Barbara had been overseeing everything and she and Mina had also been keeping Jared and his posse out of their way while trying to convince more people to join in on the effort. Jeremy often caught Jared watching from afar but the last two days, he hadn’t been focused on Jeremy. The only time he saw Jared the last two days was when he came back home late at night and when he went to the meeting room in the morning. Jeremy first thought he was avoiding him now, but he had a feeling something more was going on. Something bad.

He tried to think of something else, but he ended up thinking of something worse. Ryan.

Jeremy desperately wanted to tell them they're ready, but he doesn’t want to let them down or think that he was abandoning them. He just wanted to see the other kings again; they’re the only family he had left. Jeremy squashed down the thought of the late nights at the abandoned shop where Mari, Ash, Meg, and Coe shared laughs. He was nothing more than a mentor to them. Nothing more than a noble or king.

His misses Ryan more than anything, though. Late night talks and getting in trouble with Kdin after trying to make an unholy concoction in the lab. Stargazing with Ryan and Gav’s telescope, long nights in Ryan study going over kingdom plans, the rare days Jeremy gets to wake up in bed and feel Ryan net to him. Once he starts thinking he can’t stop himself until he’s blinking tears out of eyes and realizing he’s just been standing staring out into the forest for minutes on end.

Jeremy turns back to the camp and realizes this is almost the same spot he limped to two weeks ago, but the view is different. The crops are flourishing, people are laughing while doing their daily jobs, he can see fighters explaining how their weapons to some of the younger teenagers, and he catches glimpses of Adam’s crew carrying around building supplies. He smiles and thinks maybe he can go home.

“You know,” Meg’s voice startles him out of his thinking. Jeremy turns to see her walking towards him from the direction of Mina’s house. “I thought I saw someone out here the day I met you.”

She smiles at him teasingly, “I guess creeper would be a fitting nickname. You’re by the forest edge AND you looking like you’re peeping on the town.”

Jeremy laughs but thinks back to Gavin’s creeper-esque outing clothes and his heart hurts all over again. Meg notices the change in mood.

“I miss home,” he answers her unasked question.

“I bet you're desperate to get back,” Meg says but Jeremy also notices the hurt in her voice. Jeremy decides he can be honest with her.

“I miss home but,” he pauses, “I feel like this is my home too,” he almost whispers.

“Please,” she says, “When you get rid of that awful General,” she looks at him and Jeremy notices how much this last week has taken a toll on her, “Please come back to us.”

Jeremy can’t guarantee that. He doesn’t know if the others will let him out of his sight again much less his own advisors. But he speaks anyway, “I promise.”

Meg nods and grabs an arm full of branches from Jeremy. Jeremy watches as she headed back and deposits the wood in the already forming bonfire pile in the centre of the town.

He can’t help but think that she would get along with the others like a forest fire. He follows her path back and leaves his thoughts at the edge of the forest.

The night is in full swing by the time Mina sits down with Jeremy where he had been watching all the antics from the grass in front of her house.

Mina shoves food into his lap and he laughs. She had been doing at all week. Making sure all of her “babies” (as she calls the three of them, to Jeremy and Jared disdain) were well feed despite their duties.

“Thank you,” he says and starts to dig in.

“You don’t have to sit out here all alone, you know,” she sides eyes him.

Jeremy sighs and looks up to where Jared was trying to spin Mari around in a weird dance. She looked grumpy, but Jeremy knew she was trying to hide a laugh. Meg and Coe were having a drinking contest on the other side of the fire. Adam and Barb were telling stories with some of the people Jeremy recognized from that fight in the meeting room. He’s realized that they all still loved each other no matter the divide. That they can put away their differences for a night of being happy.

“They’re doing fine without me.” He smiles.

“And you think they’ll continue to do fine without you,” she says matter-of-factly. Jeremy sighs again and places his empty plate to the side.

He hesitates but Mina scoots back to lean her back against the house like he’s doing. She takes his hand and holds it in her soft but unyielding grip.

“I want to go home. I miss everyone something terrible, I almost feel sick with how much I want to see them again, to make sure they are all okay but,” he trails off.

“But you feel like you’re abandoning us,” Mina confirms.

“I know it’s stupid,” he shakes his head. “I’ve only known you people two weeks.”

Mina squeezes his hand to tell him to go on.

“I don’t have a family,” he pauses to make sure everyone is engaged with the festivities before speaking again, “That’s not true, I have a weird version of a found family. We call Geoff and Jack mom and dad, the lads are like brothers to me, and Ryan,” he chokes on his name. He hadn’t actually said his name in a week, but it feels like forever.

“Mari told me,” Mina says. Jeremy squeezes her hand back, “But I understand. They feel like the other kings first and they’re not always there.”

“I feel like you’re reading my thoughts,” Jeremy jokes.

“You’re not the only one who lost their original family Jeremy.” Jeremy looks at her in surprise but she’s looking at everyone else. “I’m old, I lost my parents a long time ago. But everyone else,” she trails off. “The General took more than you can imagine from us. Meg lost her mentor at the very hands of the General, he made her watch. He was killed for practicing magic. You see lack of confidence from her but it’s really nervousness.”

Every word is like a puzzle piece falling into place for Jeremy.

“Tyler lost his brother to the royal guard for not being a good fighter. It’s why he pushed Barb for a better regimen for so long. Barb lost her lover to a noble; he took her as a servant and she was never seen again. Rumor was she was taken to the castles. Adam lost his wife, some of the mothers lost their husbands. Some lost kids. Some kids lost their parents. Mari and Jared,” she paused. “Their mother was taken same as Barb’s lover but we know she was killed. Their father was killed by the General with many others. The refused to comply. I was a friend of their parents, so I took them and fled. They think of me as a second mother.”

“How long ago did the General take over?” he was dreading the answer.

“We were hearing about Burn’s death one night and the next, the General was taking over and telling them that this is what the soon the be king ordered.”

“Over a year and a half ago,” he confirmed. “How could they all trust me?” he said looking out at everyone.

“Because they saw your compassion. And they saw you were just as hurt when you found out about the General,” she replied. “I always believed that someone as young as King Dooley couldn’t possibly have so much evil in him. I’ve tried to convince as many of our people as I could to not base their views on royalty from what happened in Vila. I always knew there was something more going on that we couldn’t see; that we weren’t the only victims. Mari was the hardest to convince. She’s barely an adult and she’s still growing. But ever since meeting you, she’s been fighting the hardest in your favor. It’s had a sort of ripple effect,” she laughed. Jeremy didn’t know how to respond to that.

“Now Jared may be lacking in the trusting area but he is my son. Listen to him.” She patted his hand. Then she stood up and walked away without having said anything else.

Before he could question it, Jared was taking her place, although not as close.

“I’m sorry,” was the first thing out of his mouth.

“Um,” Jeremy said eloquently.

“Mari said I have a lot to apologize for so consider that a blanket apology.”

“Okay.”

“But Mari said that wasn’t enough, so I have something else to offer,” before Jeremy could ask, Jared was speaking again. “I’m sure you’ve noticed that I’ve been spending more and more time in the meeting room.”

Jeremy nods when Jared actually turns to look at him.

“It’s always a struggle, getting supplies from the city. But if we want to continue to make our home safer, we need more.”

“I’m sorry,” Jeremy says earnestly, “I didn’t even think”

Jared held his hand up to stop Jeremy. “I may not have liked you in the beginning but you’ve done more than I could ever imagine for this town. You have ensured our survival for a long time, so it’s time I did something for you,” Jared paused and sighed. “We’re making the trek out to Vila early tomorrow morning. Mina and Barb are the only ones staying that know. It’ll be Adam, two of his aides, two more from the leaders, me, and you. There’s a man who has a reputation for getting people past the city and into the more royal parts of the kingdom. After we get our supplies, I’ve arranged for him to pick you up and take you home.”

They were silent.

“Should I say goodbye?” Jeremy asked after a moment. He had a lump in his throat as he looked from Mari to Meg, to Coe, to the kids.

“We all know of your promise,” Jared said softly, “As long as you fulfil it, I think they’ll forgive you.”

Jeremy nodded. They sat in a comfortable silence for the rest of the night.

“Did you get the message?”

That’s what Mica had said to Ryan before his world was flipped again. Jeremy had been found. Jeremy was alive.

He was involved with a fight on a trail in the outer parts of the kingdom. The doctors were still checking him over but rumors were flying around the whole castle. He’d been tortured, brainwashed, a group of defectors from his own kingdom had kidnapped him and forced him into labor work.

Ryan paced around the entire castle waiting for word on his condition. Mica had said she caught a glimpse of him and thought she saw physical injuries, but they would heal. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t more going on inside of his head.

Ryan finally sat down in the little waiting room outside the door after his legs started to protest all the movement. He foot started tapping.

Jeremy had been found. Jeremy was alive. But did that mean anything if he was the same Jeremy mentally?

There was a commotion from behind the door the same second mica rounded the corner. Both of them dashed to the door to open it.

Jeremy was fighting the two doctors and the helper, screaming. He had bruises all over his body

“I need to get back! I need to help!” he cried.

Mica picked up a syringe one of the doctors was reaching for as he tried to fight off Jeremy, and she stuck it in his arm.

“I need,” he mumbled before collapsing back onto the table.

Ryan stood helplessly in the doorway. He clenched his fists and silently promised to kill whoever hurt his Jeremy.

The morning was cold as Jeremy pulled on the outerwear Jared had lent him. It was like a cross between Gavin’s hooded coat and Michaels long cloak. He admittedly felt badass wearing. Jeremy smiled as he looked at the little bit of forest he could see from the porch. He was going to be seeing them soon.

Everyone was still asleep in the town. They were all up to late last night to want to get up as usual. Jeremy looked back at the house sadly. Mari was still asleep, she was going to bitch him out the next time she saw him no doubt. Jared came out the door and nodded. They had already said goodbye to Mina, so they made their way to the very front of the town.

Jeremy tried not to think of Meg, Ash, and Coe but he was unsuccessful. He was going to miss them, but he promised he would make it back.

They met up with five and Barb. They said their goodbyes before turning and walking down the road. Vila was twenty miles away. It would take them the better part of the day to get there.

Jeremy glanced behind to Barb’s retreating form and the town. He can’t help but think the gods are responsible for making him run in the wrong direction those two weeks ago. He turns back to look ahead and can’t help the small part of him that feels like he’s doing the wrong thing.

They stop when the sun is above them. They take a much-needed rest to eat and rest their feet. Adam jokes with his two aides he brought along. The other two occasionally comment or laugh but they’re quiet. Jeremy catches that they’re brothers. He doesn’t want to think about if they lost their family too. It makes him feel sick.

“Are there any other towns like yours? That left Vila and the royal guard?” Jeremy asks Jared in quiet.

“Yeah,” Jared nods. “There were. Rumor was they tried to cross into the Jones kingdom when the General stop giving them supplies. We still struggle with supplies, but I think the only reason we're still here is because the General expects us to die with being so close to the forest. They’re too afraid to come to close to the forest. Practically untouchable,” Jared laughs a joyless laugh.

Jeremy doesn’t want to think about if the brothers lost their family too. Doesn’t think about how Jared said “were.” It makes him feel sick.

It’ll be over soon. I’m gonna fix this.

Jeremy and Jared sit in silence together for the rest of the hour break.

Jeremy had a thousand possibilities run through his head as he tried to imagine what the city looked like. The hustle and bustle of a regular city wasn’t one of them. It held almost an illusion of a normal royal city. The things that broke the illusion were the guards placed at every corner and the look of terror on everyone’s faces like they all expected to be executed on the spot. Or worse.

Jeremy kept his head down but still visible in an effort to not be too suspicious. “Where do we need to go?”

“Building just past the town square. We’ll meet back up with Adam two streets over, he’ll take your supplies then we'll take you to B.” They talked quietly but they were sure they couldn’t be heard over the noise of everything.

Jeremy couldn’t see over anyone’s heads but he could see a large open area between the building up ahead and assumed that was the square. He was proved right when they cut across to the right and fought their way to the other side.

Jeremy glanced at the centre, wondering why people weren’t walking there when he saw the post. And the blood. Jared tugged on his arm to keep him moving but he couldn’t take his eyes off the centre.

That’s when a cry broke out above all the noise, silencing everyone in a wave-like manner. Everyone stopped dead, trapping Jeremy and Jared staring at the town centre with everyone else as a woman was forcefully shoved into the centre. Jared’s hand gripped his arm in a death grip. Jeremy looked around the square frantically and caught sight of Adam and one of the brothers. They looked horrified too.

“I’m glad you all could join us today!” said a man in a loud voice. Jeremy knew who he was immediately, The General. He wore a white outfit that looked like a scarier version of a guards uniform. He had stark white hair with a sharp smile.

“You know how much I hate having to be here for this but someone must be the example, yes?” Everyone mumbled a yes. His smile got wider.

“Please!” the woman cried as she was strung up to the post. “My child is dying, I just needed a little bit of bread!”

Jeremy was shaking with how much he wanted to run out into the centre but Jared kept his grip on his arm.

“Please!” the woman cried as a guard came forward with a whip.

Jeremy knew he had to do something. He needed to do something now.

The guard raised to whip.

Jeremy stomped on Jared’s foot which caused him to loosen his grip on his arm. The next few seconds passed by in slow motion for Jeremy. He heard Jared yell for him, the General turned to look but Jeremy was booking it to the guard. He skidded to halt in front of the woman and raised his arm, turning his face away.

The whip came down on his arm with a painful crack. Jeremy stumbled back and placed himself protectively over the woman who was still sobbing. Everyone was still silent. Jeremy caught sight of Adam’s horrified face. He shook his head as if to tell Jeremy no.

Jeremy reached up and tugged off his hood. He heard some people gasp. Jeremy’s face hardened as he turned to face the General.

“I am King Jeremy Dooley and I command you to cease this activity.” Jeremy barely recognized his own voice.

This time a collective gasp went through the crowd.

“My King,” The General said thought Jeremy noticed how pissed he looked, “We did not expect you.”

“I know what you have done,” Jeremy snarled. “I command you to lay down your weapons and leave this city.”

“My king, surely you are mistaken. We all remember your order,” he was grinning a feral grin.

Jeremy glanced around to see everyone’s angry faces directed at him. Jeremy stopped on Jared’s face, who looked betrayed.

“I didn’t order this,” Jeremy said, still looking at Jared. The General noticed.

“Have you been spending time with the group of defectors?” the General asked, faking worry. “You look unwell my king, these defectors must have kidnapped our king and brainwashed him,” he shouted the second part of the sentence. “We all know these defectors have a reputation.”

Next thing Jeremy knew, multiple guards were pulling him away. He struggled before he noticed guards moving in the direction of Jared.

Jeremy screamed as they grabbed him. Kept screaming as Adam rushed forward, only to be caught along with the one brother. Still screamed for them to stop when the guards raised their weapons. Started to cry when the guards beat Jeremy down. More fearful they were going to kill other others over him.

He felt a pain in his next before he felt himself start to go limp as he was dragged away.

Tried to think of Ryan’s face as the pain started to hit him.

He blinked, and he was laying in a carriage.

Ryan’s face. Blinked again.

It was night time.

Closed his eyes.

Could only picture Jared’s look of betrayal. Could only picture everyone’s angry faces.

Couldn’t think of anything for a while. Couldn’t feel anything after a while.

Jeremy opens his eyes again to see cobblestone walls. His heart sinks down to his stomach.

No.

“Geoff,” Michael whispered to him away from the others. “Do you really think this is a good idea?”

Geoff sighed. He looked almost as bad as Ryan did when he came and told them Jeremy was found and was requesting a meeting.

“We won’t be able to make a decision without talking to him first,” Geoff said.

“I’m afraid of what’s going to walk through that door,” Michael admitted.

“You’re not the only one,” Geoff said even softer. His were fixed on Gav and Jack sitting at the table, both of them looking nervous, but Michael knew Geoff was feeling the same.

Geoff patted Michael's shoulder and steer him to the table. Michael sat down next to Gavin and sent him a smile. Gav sent him a shaky one and kept bouncing his leg. Geoff stood behind Jack’s chair, hand on his shoulder. They all looked at the door in waiting.

They got lucky. The door opened seconds later to reveal Mica who stepped inside and held the door open. Held it open for Jeremy who was walking slowly. It wasn’t shocking to see Ryan walking behind him, but he looked a little out of place with just a shirt and pants paired with his crown.

But they all gasped as they caught sight of the bruises on his face, neck, and what little of his arms they could see. Jeremy looked up as he stepped into the room. Ryan stepped out from behind him to stand by his side.

“Hey guys,” Jeremy said, tears springing to his eyes.

“Hey Lil J,” Gavin said, relief coming out all in one breath.

Jeremy just looked at them for a moment before turning to Mica.

“I’m sorry to ask this, but could you give us a few?”

“Of course, Jeremy.” She nodded to Ryan and closed the door behind her as she went.

Jeremy sighed and walked forward to sit at the table with the rest of them. Ryan stayed standing with Geoff.

“God, you idiot,” Michael said. Jeremy nodded.

“I deserve that. I mean I did run in the wrong direction,” he laughed before his face got serious. “Look we need to talk about something urgent.”

“Jeremy,” Ryan said with a sigh, looking imploringly at Jack.

“You don’t need to tell us, we heard what happened in that city, what happened to you,” Jack assured. “Get better, we can take care of those defectors,”

“Don’t call them that,” Jeremy said forcefully. “The only defectors in my kingdom is my own guard.”

Everyone was silent for a moment.

“What?” Geoff asked.

“Geoff,” Jeremy said, looking straight at him. “Do you remember the plans to build the wall around the Forest of Creation? How everyone was evacuated from the area?”

“Yes,”

“It never happened,” he said.

“We wrote letters,” Michael said.

“And sent supplies,” Jack said.

“It was all a lie!” Jeremy shouted. “It was all fake,”

Geoff looked up at Ryan who shook his head.

“Why don’t you start from the beginning Jeremy,” Geoff urged.

“We don’t have time for this, people could be dying,�� he stressed, choking up a little.

“Please, Jeremy, help us understand,” Gavin said, looking scared.

“Fine,” he sighed. “I ran for a while after the creepers and skeletons started fighting near us. I couldn’t shake them no matter how hard I ran. I ended up falling down a hill and passing out. Next thing I knew I was in a bed in a town. A town literally steps away from the Frost of Creation,” he looked at all of them, hoping they understood.

“How...” Jack trailed off.

“A few people found me and brought me back. I met this family,” Jeremy was smiling now, “They took care of my wounds and let me stay there. They were wary at first, and I told them I was a noble. Turned out two of them, knew I was a king,” he laughed, then sniffled.

“I took a potion to move the healing process along so I could actually move without feeling like I wanted to die.” Jeremy rolled his eyes at himself. “The point I’m trying to get to is, they had very little defenses, their fighters weren’t training properly, their crops were dying, and they needed help. I talked to the leaders of the town and got about half of them on my side and we went to work. I trained a girl who had a strong aura, helped them take better care of the crops, created a new way to teach the fighters, I gave the wielders and craftsman initiative, and they took it all in. They built up their town in merely a week. Meg learned spells to grow the crops faster, reinforce weapons and buildings. It’s amazing what these people did,”

“Jeremy,” Ryan said. “Where did the bruises come from?”

“That’s the part I was getting to,” he assured, “The only reason their town was so close to the forest is that they all ran from the main city in the area. Royal guard and nobles under my kingdom started to follow on of my generals as he took over. Everyone believed that was giving those orders. He killed people’s families. Almost everyone in that town lost someone.” He clenched his fists.

“We went into the city to get supplies, it was arranged so I would leave to come back here after I helped them gather their things but I saw my own guards drag a woman into the square. They were going to beat her in front of everyone for stealing some bread for her dying child.” He was crying now.

“I would never give those orders,” he said looking right at Geoff, “But everyone in that city believed the General. They had no way of knowing if I was lying.” He took a deep breath. “I ran forward and got hit for the woman.” He rolled his sleeve up more to reveal a mark.

They all gasped.

“I revealed myself as a king but it did nothing. Everyone was angry with me, even as I tried to command the General away. But he has them wrapped around his finger. He tried to tell everyone the people of the town brainwashed me. Played right into their fears of defectors. The guards grabbed me and the group I came with. I saw them start to beat them and I tried to fight but the guards started to beat me too. Then I felt a pain in my neck and I woke up in the castle.”

No one aid anything. Michael reached out and squeezed Gavin’s hand, who looked close to tears. Jack leaned back into Geoff who squeezed his shoulder more.

“Am I the only one having a hard time believing this?” Ryan snarled.

“Ryan,” Jeremy pleaded.

“I heard firsthand accounts from that fight. Guards were patrolling the area and got into a fight with a group of defectors. You were apart of them. The guards said you had bruises all over you and you were fighting for those defectors. The doctor said he found evidence of magic brainwashing.” Ryan wasn’t even looking at jeremy which made him more upset.

“None of what you said actually happened Jeremy. The doctors are right, you need to stop playing into this fantasy and so do we.” Ryan spoke everyone word as if he was talking to a child.

“Ryan,” Geoff started.

“Meg didn’t even know she had an aura before me!” Jeremy shouted. He stood up and knocked the chair back.

“Then you are a child if you believe that!” Ryan yelled back as he got in his face. Jeremy stared at Ryan with a look of hate.

“Fuck you,” he snarled before storming out of the room.

“Ryan,” Geoff said again but Ryan just glared at him.

“Leave,” he said before turning and following Jeremy out.

The rest of them just looked at each other, not knowing what to believe.

“Jeremy’s not dumb,” Gavin said.

“He’s not,” Jack agreed. “but if he’s telling the truth, there could be corruptions throughout all of our kingdoms on multiple levels.”

“Then it’s something we’ll have to deal with,” Michael looked determined. Gavin nodded with him.

“When was the last time we went on an adventure?” Geoff asked.

“I thought we retired adventuring after the dragon,” Jack joked.

“Well, I think if we are going to find the truth, that we should do some investigating,” Geoff said.

“How will we know where to go?” Gavin asked.

“I’m sure Kdin could take a minute from her day to help us,” Michael smiled.

“I’m not telling Lindsay,” Jack sighed but he was smiling too.

“She’ll understand,” Geoff said. They all looked at each other again. “Let’s go, lads,”

Jeremy stormed into his and Ryan’s room and fought the urge to scream. He paced around, hands on his head, trying to think of something. Trying not to think about throttling Ryan. It was only his luck that Ryan walked in and slammed the door behind him.

“I don’t want to look at you right now,” Jeremy said. He pointed to the door to get him to leave.

“Jeremy, you need to accept this if you are going to get better,” he stressed, stepping forward.

“Why do you believe random people over me!” Jeremy didn’t phrase it as a question.

“Some of those random people are my own people,” Ryan fired back.

“I can’t even look at you,” he said. “One of the only things that kept me going for a while, that kept me fighting was the thought of making it back to you. I guess I was wrong,” Jeremy said as he turned away from him.

“I was gonna propose,” Ryan said. Jeremy drew in a shaky breath and shook his head. “That day that we lost you. Jack was the only one that knew.”

“I refuse,” Jeremy whispered.

“What?” Ryan asked, sounding obviously hurt. Jeremy didn’t want to turn and look at him but he had too.

Ryan was staring at Jeremy like he didn’t know him.

“I refuse,” he said as firmly as he could through tears. “Goodbye Ryan,” he said before walking around the frozen Ryan and walking out the door. He knew what he needed to do.

Ryan stood looking at where Jeremy had been standing, helpless, before collapsing on his knees.

Jeremy knew this was the worst idea he’s had in awhile, but he had to go back.

Jeremy thought he would feel comforted by being back in the castles. Even after what went down in Vila, he would finally be able to do something about the General. But he was proven wrong immediately.

He was taken to his and Ryan’s room by Mica after waking up again and proving that he could be calm. He barely had time to be appreciative of the fact that his crown and personal bag fill with notes had made it before he was confronted by Ryan and a group of doctors. All telling him that he was under the effect of magic and that his brain was struggling to come up with a believable story as to make the trauma suffered from the defectors not real.

Jeremy told the doctors “bullshit” immediately and told them he didn’t endure any trauma from defectors. Ryan had to dismiss the doctors when Jeremy got more and more heated and refused to listen to them. Jeremy bristled more when one of the doctors told Ryan that playing into his “fantasy” wouldn’t help him get better. Ryan almost had to physically restrain Jeremy as they were leaving.

Jeremy had grabbed his crown after they left and demanded they have a royal meeting immediately. Ryan had sighed and allowed it, but Jeremy knew that he only agreed because the other kings hadn’t seen him in so long.

Hearing Ryan say he didn’t believe him and call him a child had struck something deep in Jeremy. Jeremy thought he could trust Ryan but after that he didn’t know if he could anymore. He still felt a pang of guilt for refusing him, but he had pushed it down as he swiped a map from the library.

He had a general idea of where the town was so he headed to the stable to grab a horse. He pushed the horse as fast as she would go to get back to the apple trees quicker. He would go past the apple trees, into the forest, and to the edge of the hill. Then it would be guesswork from there. But he needed to get back.

“Are you sure you’re reading that right?” Michael said, doubtfully from his horse. They had been riding since last night. They snuck out after dinner, which neither Jeremy or Ryan had shown up to, and have been at it through the night and into the next day.

Kdin came up with the faster route without going near the city and Geoff had commandeered it immediately. It would take them far right around the city then they would cut back on the road until they found something.

“Yes, I’m reading it right,” Geoff hissed.

“Look, there’s the road up ahead,” Jack pointed to an old dirt road. Geoff humphed at Michael as he passed. Michael rolled his eyes and followed.

“Should be close now right?” Gav asked. “Bloody forest of monster can’t be that far.”

“We could in the forest already,” Michael smirked as Gavin glared at him.

“Not funny,” he said. “There’s supposed to be a wall idiot,”

“All high and mighty but you’re scared of the forest ain’t-cha?” Michael teased.

“Boys,” Jack said using her mom's voice.

“Geoff could have read the map wrong and got us right into the middle of it,” Michael laughed.

Gavin squawked as Geoff turned to defend his map reading skills. Michael laughed as he saw Jack close his eyes and sigh.

“Stop!” Someone shouted, shaking them out of the moment. They all brought their horses to a stop as people came out of the foliage and from behind trees. Almost all of them had weapons.

“It’s some of the kings,” a girl said.

“Perfect,” the man standing next to her said. “Just what we needed.”

“Look,” Geoff started.

“I said stop,” yelled someone again.

Geoff looked to see the other three looking just as confused. None of them moved. That’s when Geoff caught sight of another horse running up with someone on it. Ryan.

He pulled his horse to a stop just beside Geoff. He looked at Geoff questioningly, as if gauging to see if he needed to be ready to fight.

“Get off your horses,” The man ordered.

“Wait,” Jack tried to say.

“Do it, or I will force you,” The man said, with no room for arguing.

Geoff shook his head at Ryan before he slowly got off his horse and hoped that the rest of them were smart enough to follow. He let out a relieved sigh as he saw the rest of them put up no fight. The men came forward with some rope that had a tell-tale glimmer to it. Geoff glanced at Ryan and thought the same thing. Was Jeremy really telling the truth?

“’Red, is this really a good idea?” The girl from before asked. “They could be here to help.”

“I’m not risking it, Mari,” Red said. Geoff tried to look into the eyes of the person tying his hands, but he wouldn’t look at him.

“If they were really here to help, Jeremy would be here,” the man said as he forcefully tied the knot in Geoff’s binding. He looked straight into Geoff’s eyes before turning away.

The girl sighed as if she thought the same thing.

A few people pushed the five of them forward into a group. The girl looked at them before turning and walking forward. He and the man called Red were the only ones walking in front of them. The rest brought up the rear. Geoff could hear the horses walked with them too.

Geoff raised his eyebrows at Michael when only two miles up the road, a town came into view. Michael rolled his eyes.

“Take them to the centre, I’ll grab the others,” Red said before walking towards one of the buildings as they entered the town. Three people slipped off with the horses too. They continued to be pushed towards the back, the forest coming into view more before they walked into a large clearing. The most shocking thing was, there was no wall that they could see.

Someone people stopped what they were doing to look at them in shock. Everyone started nudging others until everyone had stopped what they were doing to look at them.

Geoff hazarded a look around. Some looked hopeful and others looked scared. Geoff glanced at Ryan to see him staring intently at a girl with red hair by some children.

“Where is he?” a woman said walking up with Red. A few people trailed behind him.

“He’s not with them,” the girl said.

“What,” the girl with Red hair shouted, pushing forward to get a look at all of them. “he promised.”

“I told you we couldn’t trust a dirty king,” Red snarled.

“You should show some respect to the kings,” Ryan said back.

“Why should I respect any king? Dooley lied to us and then abandoned us. You kings abandoned us and treat us like nothing. As far as I’m concerned, none of you are my king.”

“I’m just looking for Jeremy,” Ryan said, but at the same time he said Jeremy’s name, the kids screamed it too.

They all looked around confused before they saw the kids barrel into Jeremy who had a huge smile on his face. The girl with red hair gasped and ran forward to do the same. The five kings looked at each other before watching as multiple people ran up to him and started hugging him. They could hear his laugh from here.

“He promised,” The girl said to Red as if rubbing it in his face. She giggled when he rolled his eyes. They watched Jeremy say hello to everyone before making his way over.

“What are you doing here?” he asked them all, crossing his arms, standing next to one of the women, who patted his shoulder.

“We needed to see for ourselves,” Geoff said, “It was all true?”

“Yes, all of it,” Jeremy promised. Geoff nodded, so did the rest of them, except Ryan. Jeremy barely looked at Ryan before settling his eyes on Red.

Red looked shocked, but all of his previous anger dissipated from his face. He looked almost relieved to see Jeremy.

“Jared,” he addressed.

“I know why you did it,” Jared confessed. “I would have never listened to you if you said you were a king. I’m not even mad at you. I was at first but, I’m madder at myself for not realizing.”

“Thank you for believing in me,” Jeremy said, looking at the townspeople. He turned back to the rest of the kings. “And thank you to the four of you for realizing the truth.”

The comment was loaded with passive-aggressiveness towards Ryan. Geoff glanced over and saw Ryan trying to cover up a hurt look. Everyone looked a little awkward, and some of the townspeople tried.

The girl opened up her mouth to comment but all that came out was gasp as an arrow lodged itself in her left shoulder.

“Mari,” the woman yelled and caught her as she stumbled forward.

Everyone whipped around to look in the direction of forest and caught sight of Zombies and Skeletons heading their way. No one had noticed how low the sun had dipped below the trees.

The kids started to scream just as a woman in blonde started barking out orders with Jared.

Ryan paid no attention to the others as he rushed forward to the girl who was shot. The woman was crying over her.

“Untie me, I can help her,” Ryan pleaded. The woman nodded and untied his hands. He glanced over to see the others had been united and jumped into action.

Ryan got to work, conjuring up any magic to help this girl. Ryan rarely used magic during a battle, but it was worth it if Jeremy cared for these people.

Jeremy was shocked over two things at first. How quickly and efficiently the town was taking care of the creatures and how quickly the rest of the kings jumped into action.

It took him a minute to realize he wasn’t even that shocked. He saw the things this town was capable of, it was just jarring to see them in action for the first time. And he knew the other kings, he had no reason to doubt them anymore.

It was almost effortless to take out the creatures. Meg was conjuring her magic, Coe was leading the fighters and with Michael, Adam and Jack were luring some of the creatures to the hidden traps, and Gav, Ash, and Jared were tag teaming with each other. Jeremy cut another zombie head off and looked around for Geoff. He caught sight of him comforting Mina was Ryan leant over Mari. He could see the magic flowing over her.

Jeremy looked around to make sure there were no more skeletons before rushing over to them. He dropped to his knees and took Mina’s hand, she was still crying softly.

“Ryan knows what he’s doing, don’t worry,” Jeremy said to her. He glanced up at Geoff who smiled at him and took her other hand.

“She’s the one who convinced me to trust you at first,” Mina said, although her voice was shaky. “She also spent all night with Jared after he got back. She talked some sense into him.” She laughed before sobbing again.

“I can’t lose one of my babies,” she cried. “I’ve come close with two of you already in the past week.”

Geoff looked at Jeremy in surprise, but he just put his arms around Mina and said nothing as they both watched Mari.

Ryan gasped all of sudden and feel back away from Mari. The arrow lay next to her face and she blinked her eyes open. They all looked to her shoulder to see the blood gone, and a scar in it’s place.

Mina cried out took her into her arms.

“Damn, its been awhile since I’ve done that,” Ryan joked. “last time was when that creeper blew an arrow into your side when we were looking for pearls.” He said nervously as he looked at Jeremy, as if he was going to blow up on him immediately.

Jeremy smiled at him, hoping it showed his thanks before wrapping himself around Mina and Mari. He could feel Jared run up and do the same, making sure she was alright.

Jeremy looked over his shoulder to see the rest of the kings walking over with townspeople. All the creatures were gone.

Jeremy buried his face into Mina’s shoulder and gripped both Mari and Jared tighter.

“Looks like we’ll have matching scars, Jeremy,” Mari’s voice was muffled but it made everyone laugh through their tears. Everything wasn’t fixed, but this was a damn good start.

Everyone was celebrating. A mix of welcoming the kings, welcoming Jeremy back, and celebrating their victory.

Ryan and Jack raised their glasses to two Michael and Gav as they came over to sit with them. The two younger ones had been dancing with the red-haired girl who was introduced as Meg and another called Ash.

The two of them were telling them how much Meg had learned about magic in only a week when Jeremy, Jared, Mina, Mari, and Geoff walked over and sat with them at the table. It was a little cramped but they made it work, even if Mari, Jeremy, and Jared elbowed each other to make room.

“Children,” Mina said. They all muttered a quick sorry before Mari giggled and elbowed Jeremy again. Jeremy gasped and “accidentally” elbowed Gavin. Gavin let out a squawk that sent them all laughing.

Ryan caught Jeremy’s eyes from across the table and they smiled tentatively at each other as everyone calmed down.

“I realize this can probably wait but, every day since that day in the city, we’ve been waiting for the General to come and deal with us once and for all,” Jared said.

“This is complicated,” Geoff said, “After everything you have told me, there is more corruption than we could imagine.”

“it’s gonna take a lot of time,” Ryan agreed. Everyone started at Ryan, not knowing which side he was on still. “I suggest we start with the city, it could be one of the main sources.”

Everyone nodded.

“We will do everything to make sure your people stay safe,” Jack assured Jared.

“They’re not my people,” Jared laughed and nodded his head towards Jeremy.

“Their no one’s people.” Jeremy agreed. Jared stopped where he had raised his beer to take a sip.

“What?” He asked.

“You said it yourself,” Jeremy smiled. “Everyone’s free here.”

“You’re mad,” Jared said incredulously, slamming his bottle down.

“After we catch the General and his people, you will be pardoned. The wall will be built and this town will not be under any rule. You will still be able to trade and get supplies within the city, but as long as you promise to not become criminals, you will be free.” Jeremy said.

“That’s a dumb move,” Mari crossed her arms.

“Yeah, but Jeremy’s not dumb,” Gavin said and raised his drink. Michael and Jack did the same.

“As King Dooley commands,” Geoff said as he raised his.

Ryan raised his glass, “To the kindest king.”

Everyone clinked their glasses in the middle before taking a sip. Michael started to chug his and reached over to get Gavin to do the same by lifting the end of his bottle. It resulted in beer spilling all over the two of them as Gavin started gagging and sputtering and Michael started choking as he laughed.

The rest of them started dying laughing and Michael ran away from the table and Gavin chased him. The rest of the table fell into a comfortable conversation about the things the town had accomplished after they stopped laughing. Ryan listened and realized everything that they had taught Jeremy since he was king, he used to help these people. Ryan’s magic, Michael’s fighting, jack’s farming technique, Gavin’s weapon designs, and Geoff’s leadership. Ryan looked around at the town and all the people. It was abundantly clear that Jeremy had an effect on all of these people.

“Excuse me,” Ryan said softly. Geoff and Mina nodded as he got up and left the table, taking his drink with him. He walked into the direction of the forest and stood just beyond the last house in silence.

“You know,” someone said, making him jump a little. “this is where I saw Jeremy for the first time. Looking out at the forest.”

Ryan looked down to see Meg had walked up to stand with him.

“Really?” He asked.

“Yep,” they were silent for a moment, just staring at the trees. “One of the only reasons we believed his story about the kings not knowing what was going on out here was because he told us he was having an affair with you.”

“What?” Ryan laughed.

“Yep,” Meg giggled too. “To be fair, we thought he was a noble at the time.” She paused for a second. “We tried not to bring it up because we could tell how much you missed you guys.”

Ryan hummed before taking a drink of the water he had been drinking all night. “I may have ruined my chances.” He admitted.

“Nah,” Another voice said.

Ryan looked to his right to see Mari.

“Meg’s right. The only thing that kept him going was the thought of going back home to you.”

“He refused my proposal,” He said.

“Because you were being a dick,” Mari said.

Ryan let out a disbelieving laugh at her boldness as Meg giggled again.

“apologize to him,” Meg said

“I don’t know how,” Ryan said, frustrated.

“Just say you’re sorry,” Meg said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

“Then,” Mari stressed. “Give him some time. Give yourself time too. You both need to figure some things out.”

Ryan said nothing.

“Good luck Ryan,” Mari sighed as she patted his shoulder. She motioned for Meg to follow. She sent him a smile before walking back with Mari.

Ryan continued to stare out into the forest. He should go find Jeremy and apologize before he can talk himself out of it.

“Hey,” Jeremy said, walking up to stand next to him like Meg had. “I hope the girls weren’t too rough on you.”

Jeremy always had a knack for knowing when Ryan needed him.

“Nah, they were fine.” He assured. Jeremy nodded and looked at the forest with him.

“I’m sorry,” Ryan rushed out. “For everything. I was so wrong about everything. I betrayed your trust. I’m no better than those people you told us about.”

“You’re not. I know you’re not because you wouldn’t have rushed to save someone you barely know if you were. I know you’re sorry,” Jeremy said. “But I don’t think I can forgive you yet.”

“I understand,” Ryan said with a shaky breath.

Jeremy nodded again and took Ryan’s hand. Ryan squeezed it back and Jeremy rested his head on Ryan’s shoulder.

It was a start, Ryan thought as he glanced down at Jeremy’s face.

“Knock, knock,” Jeremy said walking into Ryan’s study and using a knuckle to knock on the frame.

“There better not be a joke beyond that,” Ryan warned as he looked up from his desk.

Jeremy smiled warmly, and Ryan sent one back.

Things hadn’t gone back to normal, but they had developed into a new normal. The new normal involved, systematically going through their staff, nobles, and guards to weed out anyone who followed the General.

Taking down the General was almost too easy, but as it turns out, six kings showing up with a group of “defectors” is pretty scary. That or the guy was just a coward. That was Ryan’s favorite theory.

Sentencing was to start within the next month. It had been three since that night at the town. It gave all the kings plenty of time to gather as many corrupt individuals as possible before they start to process of trials. Is was Jeremy’s idea to give the fair trials since some cases were worse than others, everyone agreed.

Ryan knew Jeremy was looking forward to staring the General in the face as he announced he and his guards were not to get a trial and that they would spend their lives in prison. Ryan was looking forward to it too.

“You know me,” Jeremy said as he walked over to the side of Ryan’s desk.

Things had changed between them, but Ryan found himself being okay with it. They didn’t sleep in the same bed when Jeremy came on to the castle or Ryan went to Jeremy’s. Only when Jeremy or Ryan had a nightmare would they find themselves waking in the same bed. It was more frequent when they first made it back to the castles but as Ryan has realized Jeremy has been healing and Jeremy has put more and more bad people away, the nightmares have stopped coming. Ryan still misses Jeremy in his bed but he still respects Jeremy’s choice.

Ryan has been by his side as more of a friend through the process. Went with him as he visited the woman he stood up for in the city, held her baby as Jeremy helped her cook dinner for all of them. Help track down someone with Ryan’s own staff so they could be reunited with a woman back in the town. Helped Jeremy find out what happened to family members of the people in the city and the town. Arrange funerals when Jeremy couldn’t bring himself to do it. Stopped him from hurting anyone when he found out there were two more cities that were treating the people the same under the General’s rule. Defended his decision to pardon the main city that was under the General to the others. Held his hand when he needed it but never crossed any lines Jeremy didn’t.

“We’ve done a lot in the last couple of months,” Jeremy said looking down at Ryan.

“Just thinking about that too,” Ryan said.

“You know, Mari and Jared have been pestering me on when I’m gonna finally forgive you so that they can give you the shovel talk.” Jeremy laughed.

“Oh really?” Ryan laughed too. “It’s your call though. How much longer do you want me alive?” he joked.

“Ryan,” Jeremy said in all seriousness. He reached out and ran his hands through Ryan’s hair and cupped his face. “I forgive you.”

“Jeremy,” he gasped. “You don’t have to –”

“I wasn’t finished,” Jeremy chastised playfully. Ryan furrowed his eyebrows as Jeremy took his hand from his face.

Gasped again when Jeremy got down on one knee and took out a little red box.

“These last four months have been hell but I don’t regret them. We’ve been lost, we’ve been found. We’ve both changed to be better people and found things we could have never imagined. Both good and bad,” he laughed. “But throughout this whole time, I’ve never stopped loving you. Even when it hurt to do so,” He confessed.

Ryan knew what he was talking about, Jeremy didn’t need to say it. Ryan drew in a shaky breath.

“Ryan Haywood, will you marry me?” Jeremy asked. His face was completely serious.

“Yes,” Ryan agreed. It was the only answer in the world.

Jeremy started to cry as he jumped up to hug Ryan. Ryan buried his face into Jeremy’s neck and cried with him. This was more than a start.

#Ragehappy #Jeremwood #achievehams #wtfmrk #rhss17

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