Aftershocks

Could Aaron have done something to fix his eyesight with magic or something like that? He could have, but why he did not was unknown to Brandon, though he never really asked his twin about that, seeing as how he was more enigmatic when it came to that small flaw that he tried to hide well. Their mother did make him a pair of glasses that lessens the effects of his blindness, but then again he didn’t really wear them outside of the mansion, so that meant he worked with half assed vision anyway, and still he was someone that Brandon did not want to mess with. As for the kid, sure he didn’t like not seeing the little guy; he knew there was no point in trying to get custody from his ex, seeing as how the damn legal system would always look favorably upon the damn mother.

So he gave up on that venture as quick as it entered his mind, and let it return to the situation at hand. His stomach still grumbled for sustenance, but was shortly quieted by his intake of the sugary drink that was set down before him. Luckily he got some kind of answer to his question, though it was not something that he expected. It seemed to harken back to when he was an AI or something with that Zell dude, and that it was the only thing that he could taste within that time, so it probably stuck more than anything. It explained the blonde’s obsession with the multicolored candy more than anything, and got his own mind wondering over that concept of a person becoming an AI. Perhaps it was similar to the scenario in Portal with the smart talking GlaDos or something like that, considering that there was something about turning people into AI somewhere in there.

He could tell that was not one of the possible painful triggers that the Irish male had, so that meant he had done something right. ”Wow.” Brandon said genuinely interested, considering that he had little knowledge when it came to science, so anything that concerned it made the male wide eyed. ’Well that’s something new about skittles.” Brandon noted leaning back with a small chuckles, crossing arms over his chest as he blew a small strand of hair out of his face. That was when the waitress returned with their food, steam rising off of it in small ringlets as well as a basket of breadsticks that Brandon had asked for, which made his expression only happier. It seemed that his stomach was also equally happy when the food was placed down and that made the whole thing complete it seemed.

”Well then.” He mused looking at the food now before them, only adding to his hunger, and causing a small amount of saliva to well up within his mouth. He jabbed at it lightly with the fork supplied to him, twirling it around the paste until it formed an amorphous shell around the fork and he pulled it from the rest, before plopping it into his mouth and chewing. It was somewhat messy, and a small amount of pasta sauce would so evily cling to his chin, but his stomach thanked him for it; so mission accomplished.

The dinner had arrived, and when the waitress said the name of the dish he thanked her and lowered his head, slightly embarrassed at how badly he had butchered the name when he first ordered it. The pasta was awesome, and the cheese sauce stuff was so good that Niall began to scarf down the dish. He was ALMOST as bad as Brandon, but then he began to control himself by remembering that the faster he wolfed it down, the less he could take the time to actually enjoy it. The breadsticks basically made Niall one of the happiest people in the world. The garlic and buttery salty taste just seemed to give the right amount of stimulation that reminded him that he had finally done it. He was alive.

       With the euphoric bliss, came the penalty, as it always had. He was reminded that his life, his humanity was not free. It was bartered for, and ultimately his closest friend paid the price for him to live. But this was the first time that Niall wouldn't feel guilt. He remembered how much Zell slaved over the theories, the possibilities of giving Niall a body, as well as to somehow control the "thing' inside him. But now Zell was gone...in theory.

      "If we hadn't been there to fight...Chicago was in real trouble, ya know?" Niall said as he ripped a portion of the soft breadstick off between his teeth. It seemed like he was recalling the events of their fight. Niall took his napkin, the several years of proper posture and etiquette in Zell's mind seemed to have rubbed off. He let out a little sigh as he finished off the last of the awesome pasta with cheese. He was nice and full now, and he was able to look at Brandon and start another quick conversation.

So with the food and breadsticks acquired, one could say that Brandon was one happy guy, and that would have not been a lie. Granted his manner of eating was slightly messier than Niall’s, it wasn’t as if he was making a spectacle of himself or anything; or was he? If anything he had to blame the damn garlic bread, considering that it was much better than last time he had eaten here, or maybe it just seemed that way every time that he came here. ”Yeah, who knows what untold havoc would have been unleashed upon the city?” Brandon noted with a dramatic motion of a breadstick, before biting hard into it, and chewing up the garlic goodness.

While Brandon had served as some kind of glorified damage sponge, it was still good that the damage caused was contained, compared to what it could have been. Besides, his skin was tough, so the sponging was an expected part of his job as protective blonde dumbass. ”Could have done without the spontaneous wings, but can’t win everything.” He noted with a half full mouth, before swallowing and taking another bite of the breadstick, and savoring the taste. His stomach was pleased with what was being fed to it, and that was shown by the fact that it was actually feeling full, and that his plate was mostly empty, save for a few stray noodles.

’Still feel like they’re on my back too, gets kinda annoying when that itching sensation is in one of those hard to scratch places.” He was trying to make casual conversation, and it mostly somehow ended up referring to the damn wings that had perhaps wasted something that would have made their endeavor against the mecha woman more successful. The appendages seemed to notice, and that itching sensation would rear its ugly head as it spread across his back, especially to that hard to reach part, though he would not try to alleviate that now; considering that his fingertips were all garlicy.

"Yeah...are you okay?" Niall asked as he noted a small shift in Brandon, he looked a little peeved. Did he do something wrong? Great one Niall....what did you do THIS time? He wondered to himself. He couldn't just leave his boyfriend sitting there all irritated like that. Niall of course was bright, but not bright enough to realize that it was the whole "wings" thing, in fact Niall had already forgotten about them. Though just after he got the question his phone had buzzed. How?

       "I-I turned it off..." He said, looked at the thing with a perked suspicion. He hesitantly reached for it, taking it up with his hand and looking down onto the screen. It was a voicemail... but the phone didn't ring? This was odd. Perhaps it was just bad service. Niall reached over and took another breadstick, taking the extra effort to slap Brandon on the side of the face with it playfully. "God...so right....Can't take me to anywhere nice or I act like a kid." Niall said with a little smile. He took a bite out of the breadstick and glanced back at his phone curiously.

      "Can I?" Niall asked. Although he didn't finish before he had pulled off the back to his phone and removed the battery, and placing it all on the chair next to him. It wasn't that important. If it was, it could wait. This is the first chance Niall has had to relax, and the first time since he met Brandon that he had the chance to relax or spend time with him without fear. He just smiled as he returned to the last few bites of his pasta, then killing off the Mountain Dew, and leaning back to rest his hand on his stomach. "Well this was....definitely good, this is why you're the brilliant one." Niall said with a little laugh and a smile, the lights dancing off of his blue green eyes as he began to look around a little. Even to a stranger, to look at Niall you'd see that the guy was happy, perhaps even to the point of total bliss.

”I’m fine, flying should be pretty cool once I actually get a hang of it.” He said chewing on one of the remaining of the breadsticks gingerly, wondering where on his body the fat would decided to accumulate, since saying his thighs would suffer for it was painfully cliché. If only his mom made breadsticks like these, but she never put enough butter on the damn things, but anyone who said that would face hell on Earth, something that was better left avoided when dealing with Arianna. Part of his wondered if the sign of his dislike for his new wings was apparent, but then again it was never really hard to read someone like Brandon Hale, since he seemed to make himself transparent. One word that described him was dimwitted, but then again he could not really argue with that one.

That was when he heard the phone buzz, Niall’s phone to be exact and something about it made him nervous in some way. Would someone call him out after how this evening was going so perfect? Niall seemed just as surprised that it had rung as Brandon was, and what added to that was the fact that the thing was supposed to be off; or the mode where it was not on. Whatever it was, Brandon would not pry, though his mind was busy making up so many theories that it was painful. He could have tried to shake off whatever it was, but then again that was more effort than his mind was willing to give, so he just let it run its course. An impish smirk came across his face as Niall slapped the garlic spattered breadstick across his cheek, and adding to the feeling of absolute filth on his, but it was Niall, so there was forgiveness.

”A cute kid though.” Brandon noted with a wink, lightly slapping his half chewed breadstick against Niall’s cheek in retaliation. The Irish male would remove the battery from his phone, and perhaps end its annoying distractions once and for all. He would sip on the rest of his Root Beer, which was slightly diluted with water, but still retained the taste that made it his favorite drink. Nialls next statement made him nearly choke on his drink as he laughed, some of the liquid nearly shooting through his nostrils and leaving a burning sensation. ”I’m the brilliant one?” He chuckled lightly. ”Sorry gotta disagree with you there; you’re the brilliant one here.” Brandon tapped Niall lightly on the nose, playfully as he finished off the drink in hand.

That just happened. He was slapped in the face by a breadstick and booped on the nose. Bitch, it's on. Niall chuckled and waited for Brandon to finish, only to turn around and see the waitress come back to take their plates, offering dessert and what ever else she would have asked. Niall, for one, was actually too full to eat dessert, so he passed up on it, but that didn't stop him form keeping conversation going.
 
     "Thank you..." Niall said to Brandon as he looked at the other blonde. It was not exactly expected, but that's all he really could say. Niall just let out a relieved sigh and grinned at the other male. "This is actually...more than anyone else has really ever done." Niall said. While it was only partially true, Niall was completely safe in saying that Brandon was the first person to do this for him just because. He smiled at that thought. Maybe this was a good thing...maybe this was the only good thing he had at the moment.

The waitress would return, wondering if they wanted any dessert, and it seemed that both of the males were too full to eat anything else, well Niall was anyway. Something within his stomach said that it could do for a small something else, and so he would sate its smallest whims by requesting something else. ’Yeah I’ll have a slice of that cheesecake I saw on the menu thing.” Brandon would note with a smile as the woman would acknowledge the order and walk away, probably to get his sweet that would finish off this night of fun. That was when the blonde would say something that for some reason caught him off guard, and that was him…thanking him? Something about it being more than anyone else had done for him, though doing things was expected for the people you love, right? ”No need to thank me or anything. I do what I want, and moreso for you, because I love you.” He said with a smile and a slight shrug sipping at the water forming at the bottom of his cup where the ice had begun to melt.

That was all he needed. This was quite easily the greatest night of his life. Or at least in the top five, and of those five the top three all were with Brandon. The guy had a damn good track record. Though it was pretty funny to see him still hungry, even though Niall himself was full. It made him almost wonder what the Hell Brandon's eating capacity was from. But other than that enigmatic thought, Niall found himself with a small revelation because of Brandon. Niall was happy, but even though he was happy, it was almost like it was unreal. Things had finally fallen into place for him...something that never happened. It also kicked in that Brandon just said that he was the brilliant one. Niall's mind flashed with several events that made him question his boyfriends sanity at this moment. The primary moments being when Niall tried to stop Ouroboros and ended up dead...then when he just resurrected he almost killed himself when the Collector blew the ship to Kingdom Come, he only survived that because his powers knew what to do before he did... Then he had that battle with Miss What's-her-tits...in which the fact he cannot remember the name of the enemy he fought less than 48 hours ago was a testimony to his "brilliance".

 Yeeeeah... a real scholar that Niall kid....

      They finally got out into the streets again and Niall looked up to see the sky was an unnatural shade of purple and blue. Being how long they were in there it was pretty clear to assume that it was simply the location of the sun and that day was transitioning into night. But of course it took Niall a second to think of that. The first thing he thought of was zombie apocalypse, and when he saw other people acting normal he finally realized that it was just the time of day. They made their way to Brandon's truck. Niall looked up to the sky and smirked as he realized that the city made it almost impossible to see stars. He gave an interested snort as he sat down in the truck. They would probably make it back to the Manse, but before they went in Niall looked up to the sky.
 
      "Hold up..." Niall said. With a flash of his eyes the sky slowly began to turn, as if he had been the one doing it. The sky came alive, and it seemed as if the cosmos were visible, even against the city pollution and lights. Niall smiled and his jaw dropped, he honestly couldn't believe he was able to do that, although to do that again was not likely to ever happen again. "You guys never get depressed not being able to see stars or anything like that?" Niall asked

Tonight was a good night…no it was a great night, minus the perhaps small speed bumps in the way of it, and that perhaps made the dessert taste all the better. Sure his stomach hated him after eating that, but then again he was known for his eating ability if nothing else, so that meant that he could stomach the sweet treat more than anything. Niall being there made everything so much better, and he couldn’t help but smile all the while. As if some kind of smiling demon possessed him and forced his lips into some kind of eternal curve, or at least periodically did. Of course Niall being brilliant could have been brought into question, but among the best of two dimwits, it seemed that the other male came as the brighter, or at least in Brandon’s mind.

Sadly this nice date thing would have to end, and they would return to the manse, with sarcastic Aaron to annoy him, but what were brothers for? It was late then, and when he looked up, Brandon could see the starless sky that stretched out over the city like a vast ceiling.  The city was still alive within this night, and that was something that perhaps felt alright. He had grown up in the windy city for most of his life, so The Hale had grown used to its many quirks and things like that. Something Niall said however was what kept them from really leaving just yet, two simple words that caused him to pause for a moment. There was a flash and in an instant the sky would be alive with stars, ones that he had not seen ever since he could remember. Brandon rarely ever saw the effervescent jewels within the sky, and it was…quite the sight.

”Depressed? Never really thought about it like that really. When you live with people like my mom or Aaron, I guess you don’t really think about things like the stars or stuff like that.” He noted running fingers through the back of his hair, still unable to look away from the twinkling jewels that hung suspended within the heavens, looking at them as if they were something completely new. ”Still…they do look beautiful don't they?” He noted as an afterthought leaning against his truck, sighing contently.

     "Yeah...never noticed how much I missed them." Niall said as he smiled and leaned on the truck next to Brandon. His arms crossed as he leaned back to look for a constellation or something to show Brandon. Granted Brandon probably knew them, but it was something that Niall liked to do. That and cloud watching, but that was...kinda lame. Even for him. But he still enjoyed it enough to do it. He still needed to get in the shower, he needed to get "his" book back from Arianna to see if he could figure out anything more on his power. He needed to get back to his late night secret studies, thankfully Niall never had to sleep, though when he did you could bet it was a heavy sleeper, as in can you say "Coma"?

 
     "Alright...well....we'd better get you back...before your mom thinks Lych is back again. I swear I was expecting him to make the waitress attack us again...." Niall said with a chuckle as he playfully pushed Brandon with that little smile he always had. He suddenly heard his Cellphone ring. Without skipping a beat, he smiled at Brandon. "Why did I ever put that battery back in?" He said with a sigh. "I'm sorry, this is obviously important...I'll meet ya inside..." Niall said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He looked at it, alive and well.

So many stars dotted the night sky, with so many constellations that he had never bothered to learn the name of. Still, it wasn’t like you needed to know their names to enjoy the view, and that was something that Brandon was doing all too well now. That was when he remembered that he was as dirty as a mud pit, or atleast he felt that way, which meant that he would have to clean himself up the next chance he got, before he started actually smelling and Niall perhaps had to find someone that did not smell like the sewer. Oh and he knew what the smelt like, especially when he had to fight the sewer demon that resembled some kind of gator with teeth like daggers or something. It was time that they go back though, and his mom was the type to worry, especially with immortal necromancers causing trouble wherever he turned. Of course the cell phone had to ring once again, but then again it was expected, as someone really wanted to talk to the Irish male it seemed. ”Its fine.” He responded with a smile, stepping up into the truck and reclining against the seat as he waited for Niall to finish with whatever it was, hands playing over the steering wheel absently.

Niall grew pale as he walked away for a moment, feeling inside his pocket, where he had drawn his phone from. He told Brandon about the whole putting the battery back in...but he never did. How the hell was his phone working without a battery!? He calmly answered the phone, dragging his index finger across the scree from the green phone on the right hand side. When his finger finished it's glide across the screen he put the speaker to his right ear.
      "Hello?" Niall asked. There was no defined sound, it was just...white noise. Niall pulled the phone away from his ear, blinking to try and pull himself back as the loud noise sounded off from the phone. Without further delay, he lowered the volume on the phone and brought it back up to his ear. "Hello?" Niall asked again. There was a brief moment of feedback, and suddenly the white noise went silent....

*****

      Niall got into the truck, a thin smile on his face as he sat in the passenger seat, leaning back and letting his but slide out on the chair a little, relaxing himself. He was so lazy at the moment. He was acting as if nothing was wrong, which was probably a welcomed relief. Niall rolled down his window and stuck his head out a little big in order to look around. With a large dopy grin he slipped back into the truck and proceeded to lounge as he had moments ago.

      "They must have had a bad signal or something." Niall said as he yawned and looked to Brandon.

Brandon thrummed his fingers lightly against the steering wheel as he waited for Niall to finish with the phone call or whatever. His mind ran over…well nothing really, it was just mostly a blank canvas that would take any thought that would latch onto it and then work from there, as he leaned back against the seat and yawned loudly. Once again his wings would agitate him from across the ethereal barrier of magical wonder that had sealed it, though perhaps a seal made with the energy probably would have done better than the ring, since it was a rush job. After around a minute or so of waiting, Niall would coyly slide into the truck and said something about signal or whatever.

”Really? Well I guess that means we can go or whatever.” He noted with a slight smile as his hands gripped the leather of the steering wheel after bringing his metallic monstrosity to life. With a subtle press of the foot on the gas pedal and stuff, they were on their way back to the extravagant Hale mansion, where everyone was still likely up at this time of the night. Granted his mother had a strange sleeping schedule and Aaron rarely ever slept these days, probably due to some kind of magic item that allowed something like that without detrimental effects. It would be nice to return home, and with Niall there as well, that was another welcome relief among many.

They would reach the manor before anything bad could happen to spoil the evening. Niall immediately made use of the shower, getting himself clean and finally feeling refreshed. He walked down the stairs, his hair spiked up as it was when they first left, the typical jeans, and a towel over his neck as he made his way down the stairs. He actually managed to get his own shirt this time, and he threw it on before anyone else could find him. He then ventured off to find Arianna, as he needed his book before he left. He didn't mind sharing what he had with the Hales, especially with all they've done for him, but he needed that book to be able to continue on with his private research. He honestly was half expecting to find the person who saved them to be lurking around, but so far so good, because as far as this goes Niall just wanted his book so he could read the night away.

      "Hey, Arianna? Can I steal back that book before I head out?" Niall said as he wandered around, aimlessly trying to find her. Niall had learned that in order to find Arianna you must address Arianna. This logic coming from the sheer fact that no matter where Niall was, Arianna still heard him, regardless of where he was in the manse and where she was. It's almost like she herself was the house, which made Niall give a string of amused giggles at the thought that Arianna was a house.
 
     Niall ended up alone in this one room somehow, and he ended up sitting on the couch, waiting for Arianna, Aaron blondie or hopefully Brandon to pop up from around the house. He was just sitting there, relaxing for a moment when he opened his eyes. Just as if he had been warped back in time, he found himself looking around the room. Brandon sitting next to him, Sean and that other guy up at the bar...and Zell behind it. Niall knew that it was just a memory. He opened his eyes again and his phone rang again...

They reached the mansion quick enough and then the two would go to their corresponding showers, Brandon using his own personal one while Niall chose whichever one he did and then cleaning would proceed. It was nice to have some warm water washing over his skin, and the feeling alone was a euphoric one that made all cares wash away with the grime that fell away in rivulets down his body and away to wherever filth went once within the drain. After that was finished, he would brush his teeth generously, until all he could taste was minty freshness and that was what only added to his mood, as The Hale slipped into a wife beater and simple sweatpants; blonde hair sticking up in some places but mostly smooth as it always was.

"There we go, I was starting to hate that dirty feel.” It was nice that he was clean once again, but then he had no idea where Niall was. Not that he was supposed to stalk the male to make sure that he was alright, but something within him would always worry about that male. Light footsteps would catch his attention and he turned around to see Arianna turn around the corner, with a certain purpose and the black book within her hand. She still had that usual smile about her, one that would make anyone think that she was but an ordinary woman, though she was considered the equal of his master once. He wouldn’t obstruct her as she would dart around him, perhaps something more important on her mind, and that was when a strange presence caught his attention.

There was a rush of air, and then he could tell who exactly this strange energy had belonged to, and it brought up…mixed emotions. ”So you’re still hung up on this one?” The female would question, her footsteps silent against the carpeting as soon as she could tell they were alone. ”I held no illusions about your lack of common sense but this just seems suicidal. You know as well as I that he could have killed you, that his powers are unstable.” So she had watched the battle, and she had seen what the arm could do, but then again did that mean anything? Would her knowledge really change anything other than that she was some annoying bitch that he once….loved? ”You have a son, and  I’m sure he doesn’t want to know his father as the man that was killed for being a fool.”

’Its brilliant that this is coming from you, especially since you know what you did. If this is some kind of misguided jealously, I do not want to hear it. I know about Travis, but he wouldn’t even care if I died, you and your fucking family made sure of that.” His hissed lowly, but loud enough for her to hear it.

”It’s….it’s not like that.”

”Then what the hell is it like? You have my son and never allow me to see him? You allow your bastard uncle and cousin to feed him lies from the crib so that he grows to hate me, and you have the gall to criticize who I love? Get out of my house, and if you don’t bring him next week like court ordered, I will actually try and gain custody, and the Hale’s have a better lawyer than you Caster’s. “

’Very well, but I will not allow my son to be around that…monster.” There was something cold within that voice, making that the my within the sentence had enough emphasis and in an instant she was gone, and all he could do was stand there.

”Well there you are.” Arianna chimed as she stepped into the room that Niall sat, holding the black book tightly under her arm. ”I had a hunch you would want this back, though I took as many notes as I could while I had the liberty, if that’s not a problem.” She said handing the irish male the book in question with a smile. Her movements were graceful, as if she were in a good mood for some reason.

      ”Yeah, not a problem. The more you guys know the better.” Niall said with the usual smile. The book met his hand and he happily took it back. He began skimming through the pages until he met his bookmark, a simply picture of Zell, Shara and Niall in a mobile platform. Shara was clung onto him with her arms around his neck and Niall was practically tackled into Zell’s other side trying to wrap his arms around the both of them. He smirked at it. His heart sank as he remembered everything. His smile faded into a smirk and then he pulled the picture out slightly and closed the little black book.

      What the Hell happened to his life? It kicked in again for a minute, and he looked at the price of his life. He rubbed his one eye and shook his head, still looking at the book. He had completely forgotten that Arianna was RIGHT there. It was rather rude of him, but then again being blonde makes you prone to scattered thoughts. He smiled at Arianna and nodded at her, he let out tired sigh with an exhausted eye roll for the added effect. It occurred to him finally that she had just been there for all of it.

      ”Sorry. I’m just not, all together at the moment, the past tends to haunt ya’know? I’ll be heading out of your hair soon, promise.” Niall promised, he’d probably find a hotel to stick at for a bit, hopefully there was somewhere nearby, Niall wasn’t looking forward to another night of “No vacancy” lights. He didn’t mind the no slep thing, but he hadn’t slept for a month or so, and eventually even Ethereals feel the innate desire to close their eyes for rest occasionally, and Niall was no exception. ”I just can’t seem to...get it... Zell was good. He never hurt anyone...and suddenly he turns around and...well...you were there. I don’t understand how my best friend was right here with me and we helped people, and in the next minute he’s....not him anymore.” Niall found himself rambling on a little. He was a little sad, but not as torn up about it as usual, which was good. He was making progress at least.

      He blinked, normal and casual. But the second his eyes were closed, it seemed like they had ben closed forever. He could have sworn he heard something. He couldn’t have though. It wasn’t Arianna, and it wasn’t telepathy so Aaron was out. It was baffling to him. Does the mind play games like that? Did it make you hear things that you weren’t supposed to be hearing? Probably, then again... it sounded so strange.


"I can bring him back..."