Ginko hesitated, but only for a moment. Then he looked back at the high-up opening, their paltry escape supplies... and the darkness where more of those dust creatures could well be lying in wait.
With his permission, both brothers hooked their arms under Ginko's. Then, at once, they took off like an awkward four winged, six armed and six-legged beast. Harmony's gaze was locked on the hole above, his jaw set in grim determination. Havoc, however, kept glancing back at Ginko and flashing him grins that edged on just this side of mischievous.
The hole neared and the Underbed's unique gravity tugged at the tips of the brothers' wings. The Underbed wanted to keep its prize.
Ginko tried very hard not to look down. Of course, he was also trying not to acknowledge the looks Havoc kept giving him. In the end he ended up just keeping his gaze stubbornly fixed on the hole above them as he tried to wrestle down the little pinpoint of fear that he had already been struggling to ignore.
He winced a little at the strange pull from below them, gritting his teeth. But there wasn't a whole lot he could do to help.
The hole grew closer and closer but their progress grew slower and slower. Harmony's face was turning red and Havoc had finally started actually concentrating.
"Harm, I think we're gonna have t'throw 'em, he's gettin' heavy. No offence, Ginko."
"As much as I hate to say this, you're right. Sir, you're going to have to get ready."
And it was so, because while the hole was now nearly within reach, the world's physics were changing and Ginko was starting to return to his original form. Havoc and Harmony remained the same.
The brothers gave one another a significant look over the top of the mushi master's head before suddenly taking their arms out from under his. They caught either of his hands and started swinging him back and forth. Once Ginko had gained enough momentum, shouting or no shouting, they threw him toward the light with all of their strength.
The Underbed gravity lost its grip on him and the darkness peeled away from him like thick swamp mud. The little room was just as Ginko had left it, though if he looked the floor was now speckled with the teeniest feathers left behind by Harmony who'd had a breakdown the moment he saw Ginko disappear earlier.
There was no egg timer buzzing coming from downstairs.
"Uh-- okay--" There wasn't really time to protest the idea of them just throwing him, and he wasn't sure it would be a good idea even if there were. They didn't really have a lot of options here.
And the next thing he knew he was being held by the hands and swung back and forth and holy crap he had not signed up for this today. He finally just squeezed his eyes shut, and tried very hard not to think about the many ways this could go wrong, and--
--and then he was on the floor again. It took a few moments for it to fully sink in that he wasn't in that strange space anymore, and once he did he stumbled to his feet, staring warily at the hole in the little brick wall. "...damn."
Then he was joined by a pair of voices coming from the floor. JW's better and worser halves were standing with drooping wings at the edge of the hole. They were only six or so inches high and looked exhausted.
They quietly congratulated one another before turning their attention back to their guest. Harmony shuffled his sandals awkwardly but Havoc continued to beam.
"I don't hear the buzzer...that must mean we made good time," said Harmony.
Ginko stared at the two for a moment - despite everything that had just happened, seeing them so small still came as a bit of a surprise. Then, despite his wariness of the hole, he crouched down to get closer to their eye level.
"Guess so... thanks for that, by the way. Pretty sure I couldn't've gotten out of there on my own."
He wasn't sure he would have survived past running into that first dust creature on his own.
"Not that fast anyway." Havoc shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back onto his furry heels. "If you could keep from mentioning us, that'd be great."
Suddenly there were footfalls on the stairs, buzzer or no buzzer. The brothers both let out high-pitched sounds of alarm and darted across the bed and dove into the narrow crack between the mattress and the wall.
The door quietly opened and JW poked his head in as stealthily as he could--the way you do when you're checking on a person who may be asleep and not wanting to wake them.
But then there's Ginko's ass just standing in the middle of the floor and there is also a pile of bricks next to him. JW's eyes move from the bricks to Ginko.
What was almost a teasing warning shattered in a flat second. JW pushed the door open and hurried up to him.
"What? What do you mean too late? You're still here!" JW looked down at the hole with the look of a man who'd Seen Some Shit. Ginko couldn't have gone down there and come back all on his own. Could he? Was he just that good?
The mushi master shifted a little where he stood, his hands curling and uncurling anxiously. "Yeah, I, uh... I got back."
He remembered Havoc and Harmony's reluctance to let JW see them... which kind of limited his ability to explain his continued presence. "It's kind of a... complicated story."
He really hoped JW didn't expect more detail than that because he had nothing.
The thin man's face creased with worry and maybe just a hint of betrayal. If he really went down there...he could have died! JW ran his hands through his hair and turned away for a moment so he could have a right and proper mini panic attack. He was going to have to find bigger bricks. Or stronger cement. He couldn't just get rid of the bed.
Ginko cringed at that look, looking steadily more and more like a dog being scolded - but without the whole begging-for-forgiveness aspect. More like quietly hoping for forgiveness but not really being sure if he was willing to expect it at all.
"I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to, I just... sorry."
For a beat, JW said nothing. Finally he let out a long breath.
"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you in this dangerous room. But--Ginko, you've got to be careful. The creatures in my world are nothing like your mushi."
He turned to face him and reached out a hand--only catching himself and making it into a frustrated fist before letting it fall to his sides again.
"I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you."
"What-- no, JW, it's not your fault. You warned me to be careful and I went directly against what you told me. You didn't do anything wrong."
He started to open his mouth to respond to that, but in the end nothing came to mind. All he could do was take an uncertain step closer - and then, hesitantly, even with his mind made up, Ginko reached out and took JW's hand.
He really, really hoped he wasn't misreading body language here, because if he was he might have to come up with an excuse and leave again, taxidermy nightmare wolf or none.
JW had actually started to turn away and opened his mouth to say something about how Ginko could make it up to him by telling him that his cooking was great, but then something unexpected happened. He actually gave a little jump at suddenly being grabbed. They'd prodded and--well okay JW had prodded and tugged in Ginko countless times to get his attention during their adventures but this felt different. Or his brain really really wanted it to.
Since when did Ginko take hold of him?
He was so unprepared that he didn't have time to hide the color creeping into his nose.
"It's, ah-- it's. It's okay!" THIS IS TORTURE WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? HE'S ALREADY GIVEN UP! HE WAS DUMB TO THINK--ALSO WHY ISNT HE LETTING GO? "Haha you must...really have a fever after all you're burning up."
Well, to be fair, it wasn't like Ginko wasn't slowly turning red. He also was continuing not to let go, which at this point may have partly just been because he had kind of forgotten how to.
"Ah... right. Listen, I need to say--"
As soon as those words were out of his mouth, he hesitated again. After all that had happened today, he was tempted to just get it over with. Just say it, come what may, but...
But there was still that nagging fear in the back of his mind that Deuteronomy was wrong, and even if she was right...
He didn't even know what he was afraid of anymore.
JW kept looking at their hands and hating himself for being so hopeful. However, Ginko's words put him in mind of an entirely different situation--something that he would have kept secret from him. JW knew a thing or two about secrets and Ginko never seemed to want to be a bother.
"I think you're right...but listen. If there's something wrong--really wrong, we can get you medical attention. My time period--we can cure a lot of things. We've got--vaccines and all kinds of..." He glanced up at Ginko's face and tried to read it. WAS HE GOING TO DIE?
Ginko started to open his mouth to reply - and then he closed it.
And he stared at JW.
"...What? No, that's not--" He shook his head, letting out a quiet, nervous sound that wasn't quite a laugh. He reached up with his free hand to rub at the back of his neck, and he still didn't let go of JW. He might have forgotten he was holding his hand at all.
"I'm fine, I'm not actually sick at all. Promise." Because he knew perfectly well that he tended to... stretch the truth where his health was concerned. But that wasn't the issue right now.
JW SURE HADN'T FORGOTTEN. He was trying hard to keep himself from squeezing Ginko's hand back. His whole arm was tense, but he was listening now. When Ginko promised that he wasn't ill, the world-walker's feathers unruffled just so.
"Yeah?"
He had to admit he was still wondering about that. A small part of his brain had wondered if he'd left the room to fart. Maybe that was some kind of manners thing where he was from? But from the look on his friend's face he doubted that was it.
JW's brain went to strange places when he was trying not to get his hopes up.
He nodded, his gaze dropping to the floor as he tried to organize his thoughts into some kind of sentence, totally oblivious to JW's ongoing speculation.
"I had... finally realized something that I probably should have a while ago, and I... guess I just didn't know how to process it. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I know now. I had thought maybe I should just... go back and think it over, but I don't know if that even would have helped."
Get to the point, a small part of his mind urged. The rest was busy trying to figure out how to do that - and there was something he had to know for sure first.
"Deuteronomy stopped me, and... she told me something that I'm going to need your confirmation on." He finally looked JW in the eye, trying not to think about how ridiculous his words sounded even to him. "How do you feel about me?"
JW slowly tilted his head one way and then the other--a habit he'd picked up from Deuteronomy-- as Ginko fumbled through his thought process. In the span of time it took him to get to the point, JW made up several scenarios. Was Ginko afraid of upsetting the timeline? Had JW done something to offend him and Ginko had just been reluctant to say anything? THEY WERE BEING HUNTED BY THE GOVERNMENT?
Wwhen the wolf was brought up, JW's brow furrowed. "Aw, Deut, what the hell'd she go and do now?"
And then Ginko told him.
For a moment, JW just blinked and wondered if he'd heard that right. Then a jolt ran straight through him and he actually pulled his hand away. It wasn't a recoil of disgust, however, as was evident by his turning scarlet. A lopsided grin finally broke out across his face and he lifted both hands in a helpless shrug.
"Y'caught me. But don't worry about it--I figured out a while ago you weren't interested. I've been tryin' to back off, but damn it, you don't make it easy!" A weak laugh. "Sorry if I made you feel cornered."
Ginko winced a little when JW pulled away, moving to reach after him for just an instant before curling his fingers helplessly and dropping his hand by his side again.
But... at least JW didn't seem to be horrified by the suggestion. So it was better than it could be.
Then he blinked, his brow furrowing. "I wasn't... JW, I didn't even know until today! And, hell, the only reason it even came up is because I finally figured out that I--"
His voice caught again, that rush of anxiety coming back - along with his face turning another shade redder.
They probably look like a pair of nervous tomatoes by now.
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theattic2015-08-13 03:59 pm
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He nodded. "Alright. Let's try it."
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The hole neared and the Underbed's unique gravity tugged at the tips of the brothers' wings. The Underbed wanted to keep its prize.
"Flap harder!"
"You flap harder!"
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He winced a little at the strange pull from below them, gritting his teeth. But there wasn't a whole lot he could do to help.
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"Harm, I think we're gonna have t'throw 'em, he's gettin' heavy. No offence, Ginko."
"As much as I hate to say this, you're right. Sir, you're going to have to get ready."
And it was so, because while the hole was now nearly within reach, the world's physics were changing and Ginko was starting to return to his original form. Havoc and Harmony remained the same.
The brothers gave one another a significant look over the top of the mushi master's head before suddenly taking their arms out from under his. They caught either of his hands and started swinging him back and forth. Once Ginko had gained enough momentum, shouting or no shouting, they threw him toward the light with all of their strength.
The Underbed gravity lost its grip on him and the darkness peeled away from him like thick swamp mud. The little room was just as Ginko had left it, though if he looked the floor was now speckled with the teeniest feathers left behind by Harmony who'd had a breakdown the moment he saw Ginko disappear earlier.
There was no egg timer buzzing coming from downstairs.
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And the next thing he knew he was being held by the hands and swung back and forth and holy crap he had not signed up for this today. He finally just squeezed his eyes shut, and tried very hard not to think about the many ways this could go wrong, and--
--and then he was on the floor again. It took a few moments for it to fully sink in that he wasn't in that strange space anymore, and once he did he stumbled to his feet, staring warily at the hole in the little brick wall. "...damn."
That was one thing he never wanted to do again.
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Then he was joined by a pair of voices coming from the floor. JW's better and worser halves were standing with drooping wings at the edge of the hole. They were only six or so inches high and looked exhausted.
They quietly congratulated one another before turning their attention back to their guest. Harmony shuffled his sandals awkwardly but Havoc continued to beam.
"I don't hear the buzzer...that must mean we made good time," said Harmony.
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"Guess so... thanks for that, by the way. Pretty sure I couldn't've gotten out of there on my own."
He wasn't sure he would have survived past running into that first dust creature on his own.
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Suddenly there were footfalls on the stairs, buzzer or no buzzer. The brothers both let out high-pitched sounds of alarm and darted across the bed and dove into the narrow crack between the mattress and the wall.
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Ginko jumped at the sound of those footsteps, glancing uncertainly between the bed and the stairs. Crap crap crap crap crap--
In the end he ended up just standing there looking alarmed.
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But then there's Ginko's ass just standing in the middle of the floor and there is also a pile of bricks next to him. JW's eyes move from the bricks to Ginko.
"Don't even think about it."
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"...Too late."
Oops?
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"What? What do you mean too late? You're still here!" JW looked down at the hole with the look of a man who'd Seen Some Shit. Ginko couldn't have gone down there and come back all on his own. Could he? Was he just that good?
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He remembered Havoc and Harmony's reluctance to let JW see them... which kind of limited his ability to explain his continued presence. "It's kind of a... complicated story."
He really hoped JW didn't expect more detail than that because he had nothing.
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"But WHY?"
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"I'm sorry. I... I didn't mean to, I just... sorry."
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"No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have put you in this dangerous room. But--Ginko, you've got to be careful. The creatures in my world are nothing like your mushi."
He turned to face him and reached out a hand--only catching himself and making it into a frustrated fist before letting it fall to his sides again.
"I don't know what I would have done if something had happened to you."
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He started to open his mouth to respond to that, but in the end nothing came to mind. All he could do was take an uncertain step closer - and then, hesitantly, even with his mind made up, Ginko reached out and took JW's hand.
He really, really hoped he wasn't misreading body language here, because if he was he might have to come up with an excuse and leave again, taxidermy nightmare wolf or none.
"...I'm sorry. I'll be more careful."
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Since when did Ginko take hold of him?
He was so unprepared that he didn't have time to hide the color creeping into his nose.
"It's, ah-- it's. It's okay!" THIS IS TORTURE WHY IS THIS HAPPENING? HE'S ALREADY GIVEN UP! HE WAS DUMB TO THINK--ALSO WHY ISNT HE LETTING GO? "Haha you must...really have a fever after all you're burning up."
No, JW, that is you.
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"Ah... right. Listen, I need to say--"
As soon as those words were out of his mouth, he hesitated again. After all that had happened today, he was tempted to just get it over with. Just say it, come what may, but...
But there was still that nagging fear in the back of his mind that Deuteronomy was wrong, and even if she was right...
He didn't even know what he was afraid of anymore.
"...we really need to talk."
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"I think you're right...but listen. If there's something wrong--really wrong, we can get you medical attention. My time period--we can cure a lot of things. We've got--vaccines and all kinds of..." He glanced up at Ginko's face and tried to read it. WAS HE GOING TO DIE?
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And he stared at JW.
"...What? No, that's not--" He shook his head, letting out a quiet, nervous sound that wasn't quite a laugh. He reached up with his free hand to rub at the back of his neck, and he still didn't let go of JW. He might have forgotten he was holding his hand at all.
"I'm fine, I'm not actually sick at all. Promise." Because he knew perfectly well that he tended to... stretch the truth where his health was concerned. But that wasn't the issue right now.
"So, I... I tried to leave earlier."
Yes, Ginko, he probably remembers that.
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"Yeah?"
He had to admit he was still wondering about that. A small part of his brain had wondered if he'd left the room to fart. Maybe that was some kind of manners thing where he was from? But from the look on his friend's face he doubted that was it.
JW's brain went to strange places when he was trying not to get his hopes up.
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"I had... finally realized something that I probably should have a while ago, and I... guess I just didn't know how to process it. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I know now. I had thought maybe I should just... go back and think it over, but I don't know if that even would have helped."
Get to the point, a small part of his mind urged. The rest was busy trying to figure out how to do that - and there was something he had to know for sure first.
"Deuteronomy stopped me, and... she told me something that I'm going to need your confirmation on." He finally looked JW in the eye, trying not to think about how ridiculous his words sounded even to him. "How do you feel about me?"
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Wwhen the wolf was brought up, JW's brow furrowed. "Aw, Deut, what the hell'd she go and do now?"
And then Ginko told him.
For a moment, JW just blinked and wondered if he'd heard that right. Then a jolt ran straight through him and he actually pulled his hand away. It wasn't a recoil of disgust, however, as was evident by his turning scarlet. A lopsided grin finally broke out across his face and he lifted both hands in a helpless shrug.
"Y'caught me. But don't worry about it--I figured out a while ago you weren't interested. I've been tryin' to back off, but damn it, you don't make it easy!" A weak laugh. "Sorry if I made you feel cornered."
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But... at least JW didn't seem to be horrified by the suggestion. So it was better than it could be.
Then he blinked, his brow furrowing. "I wasn't... JW, I didn't even know until today! And, hell, the only reason it even came up is because I finally figured out that I--"
His voice caught again, that rush of anxiety coming back - along with his face turning another shade redder.
They probably look like a pair of nervous tomatoes by now.
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i think this is the first time i've used this icon in a thread
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