After The Fall

They'd left Eddie with the oldest Rogue and Jeremy, or rather Josh had, then made the trip to a store far enough away to have lost the hopefuls trailing the car. Kevin was...uncomfortable with the idea of being out in public now that they were out, given how out of control his powers had gotten, but so long as Josh stayed up close and personal the entire time it should be worth it. And they'd figured Sunday afternoon really wasn't likely to be a busy time at an...adult toy store.

So far they looked to be right, and while the clerk looked their way with a greeting and an offer of help when the bell over the door rang, he didn't try to push when they said they were fine on their own. There only appeared to be one other customer just then, a woman checking out an extensive display of vibrators along one wall, and Kevin tugged Josh down a relatively random aisle just to get away from the door.

"So." He grinned at Josh, fairly relaxed with skin to skin contact and no press of people around them. "A plug. For starters."

It was cool but clear and pleasant, and Eddie had wanted to go down to the lake. He still wasn't particularly comfortable making his way through the house when people were around, especially with Eddie as a potential distraction for Josh, but they'd made it down without incident, one hand bare and fingers curled around Josh's for the grounding and focus that made it possible. Now Eddie was running merrily along ahead of them across the grass, stopping every so often to call back to them as they followed. It was...nice.

"Don't get too far ahead, Squirt," Kevin called as they got closer to the lake, then grinned at Josh. "Don't wanna have to dive in and fish him out."

Kevin was perched, yet again, on the edge of Foley's bathtub, trying to get his powers reeled back in enough to safely make the trip back upstairs. He knew he was going to catch shit if he was still there when the older boy came back from delivering Eddie to nursery school, but there wasn't a hell of a lot he could do about it the way things were going. His powers were a disaster and they were just getting worse. He shifted to press his fingers more firmly into the shallow gashes he'd carved into his hip, the left one this time, yesterday afternoon, and tried yet again to use the sharp spike of pain and the shocks of power as blood ashed against his skin to focus and pull his powers back in.

He was pretty damned sure he was going to come right out of his skin soon if things kept on as they were, and the scary thing was, that might be literal. It took more and more of his focus every day to keep his powers reeled back beneath his skin, more and more focus to keep even the inorganics touching him intact. He'd realized by the beginning of the week that he needed something to help him focus, to keep him from drifting off and letting his powers reach with potentially disastrous results.

He'd asked Josh to help him at first, but...that had been wrong in so many ways. Neither of them got anything positive out of Josh inflicting pain on him, and making any part of the time they spent together about dealing with his issues with Foley just- It wasn't right. What he needed was something to help him maintain his focus when Josh wasn't around, and he could handle that well enough himself; it wasn't like he didn't have plenty of tools to hand to do the trick.

He'd kept it simple; a couple of long, shallow gashes at his hip where they wouldn't be seen but he could feel them every time he moved. Where he could easily dig his fingers in for an added jolt if he needed it. It wasn't perfect, but it helped, especially when he was stranded alone with Eddie in Foley's room, reminders everywhere but Foley himself gone. Off amusing himself by fucking his way through the whole god damned flatscan population, as far as Kevin knew. Wasn't like the fucker had told him jack shit about his life even before he'd decided to cut him out of it entirely.

( Cut for length )

Foley had gone to make lunch for them while he cleaned up the disaster from Eddie's latest art project...which included cleaning him up. Fortunately he'd been as enthusiastic about washing the paint out of his hair as he'd been about getting it there in the first place, and Kevin was almost as wet as he was by the time he pulled him out of the tub and wrapped a towel around him.

"Go pick out what you want to wear," Kevin told him, kissing him on the top of the head and turning him towards the bedroom as he grabbed a spare towel and started to wipe up at least some of the puddles from the floor. "I'll be out in a sec."

It was fairly standard procedure, and he didn't really think anything about it, even when he heard the door open as he leaned around to wipe the biggest puddle up from behind the toilet. He hadn't expected Foley back so quick, but he'd probably lucked into already prepared food when he got to the kitchen.

Eddie, meanwhile, had decided that he wanted to go down to the kitchen and check on Dada and lunch. Clothing optional. So he dropped his towel at the foot of the bed, stretched up for the door, pulled it open with a happy squeal, and darted out into the hallway, naked as the day he was born and happy as a clam.

The fight at the opera house had been something Josh could handle. He'd been trained to fight and he could heal those who were hurt and emergency situations had a certain type of loose protocol to them. There was never time to truly think while they were going on.

After the emergency, on the other hand, Josh went back to his room and started thinking. And then he hadn't been able to stop. He'd gone running, worked on music, done any of the various things that he usually did to distract himself or calm himself and none of them truly worked.

Everything about their lives in this world had changed in a matter of hours and he simply didn't know how to cope with that. So as a last resort he was attempting to meditate. Unfortunately it wasn't working. His mind just kept turning right back on.

They had a routine, now, on the nights he spent with Foley and Eddie, and it was both strange and comforting. They usually played some kind of game, or colored, or occasionally watched one of the children's shows Eddie liked; then it was bathtime, which he could actually manage on his own these days; then pyjamas and cuddling up for stories in the big bed, Eddie nestled between the as Kevin read anywhere from one story to half a dozen, depending on how tired Eddie was. Somewhere in there he'd drop off between them, and they'd talk quietly for a while, 'their' son curled safe and warm between their bodies, until one of them scrounged up the energy to carry him the few steps across the room to his own bed and tuck him in.

Tonight it had been Kevin who'd lifted him carefully from the bed between them and laid him gently in his own bed. "Good night, baby boy," he whispered, bending to smooth baby fine hair back from Eddie's forehead before pressing a soft kiss to the spot. "Sleep well."

He stood and just watched him sleep for almost a minute, marveling at how small and...well, perfect he was. Finally, though, he turned around and headed back to the big bed, crawling in next to Foley before simply draping himself across the older boy, pressing him into the mattress with his weight as he nuzzled up under his jaw.

As soon as the Sentinels had attacked, Josh had run. It wasn't out of cowardice but fear. The one night he'd left Eddie home while Ford was likewise out they got attacked. No one would know how to handle him, though that was his second concern. His foremost worry had been that if they were being attacked in a public arena, they would likely also be attacked back home. Whether simultaneously or afterward, Josh didn't care. He'd just commandeered a vehicle and sped home in it.

Once home, he'd changed into his uniform, gathered his emergency bag and retrieved his son, even if they were to all stay together, and he may be needed. And for all the time he'd been here, he didn't trust anyone enough to leave Eddie with them while he did what needed doing.

Taking his son into the medlab, he'd dressed him in his evac suit and put him in his X-harness. He'd been worried when he first saw the gear, but had gradually convinced himself Ruth had added it for any number of reasons and he oughtn't obsess over it. As he strapped him tightly to his body and whispered code to him, he wasn't sure whether he liked the idea that she had shoved them through knowing this was to come, or if he ought to be grateful it had taken so long.

After, there was nothing to do but wait.

He ended up pulling on his pack, adjusting Eddie so he was comfortable but fastened as tightly as possible and going to walk the perimeter of the bunkers, occasionally wandering into the hall or going as far as the medbay. Waiting was always the worst.

It was dark when they got there, of course, and Kevin cursed time zones silently in his head. Especially given Eddie was wide awake and all wound up for fun and adventure...maybe he shouldn't have talked up the monkeys (sleeping) and the colorful birds (likewise) quite so much over the last couple of days. Fortunately, the ornate and echoingly empty halls of the palace were at least some distraction, and they trailed in Eddie's wake as he explored and Kevin gave Foley the 'tour', such as it was.

Some of the rooms were completely empty, as though no one had ever lived in them, and others were still fully furnished as though the occupants had just stepped out. They'd sealed it up against the elements and the wildlife when they'd left, and the power and water still worked...Kevin couldn't help but think that Eddie probably would have found it more interesting if the monkeys had actually moved in.

"You know, there's no law against going to the beach at night?" he suggested to Foley as he tugged off his hoodie and dropped it over the back of a chair. There wasn't anything here he cared about accidentally destroying if it came to it. "Moon's almost full, it won't be that dark."

The weather had been unseasonably warm, though it was still cool by the standards of Kevin's Georgia childhood. The only thing that mattered, though, was that it was warm enough to come out to the lake well past dark, when everyone else was pretty much in for the night and no one else was likely to even be thinking of swimming. He'd asked Josh about it a couple of weeks before and they'd given it a try, found that it wasn't too unbearably cold - especially not with a healer on hand - and this was the third time they'd come down to swim. Kevin thought back to all of them doing this in the fall last year, before school had become so chaotic for Kevin and his Josh, and littlest Josh had started to go even more fragile and strange. Before Foley had come, and things had become so much more difficult and complicated...and then he let it all go on a slow exhale, and focused on the here and now. Cool water and shadowed moonlight, frogs chorusing somewhere in the lakeside reeds and Josh right next to him.

"Thank you," he murmured quietly, reaching out to wrap his fingers around Josh's wrist. "For coming out here so late with me." It was the same as being here in sunshine and the heat of the day, he was sure, but...he couldn't find it in himself to risk that.

Kevin had been hoping to get down before Foley left to take Eddie to nursery school, but he'd taken longer putting the finishing touches on what he'd been working on than he'd expected, so when he found the room empty he'd tidied up a little bit and then settled cross-legged on the foot of the bed. When Foley came back he was sitting there, fiddling idly with something small and metallic.

"Hey." He looked up and smiled without really meaning to.

Eddie scurried ahead of Josh as they headed for their room. He'd had plenty of fun on their vacation and upon returning home wanted nothing more than to tell everyone about his adventures and show them all the things he'd gotten over the trip.

Josh was in no hurry, though Eddie's excitement was catching. It also helped distract him from their current situation. A very prominent dilemma on his immediate horizon.

The toddler made a sharp turn and ran back toward Josh. "Daddy! Daddy!" he chanted.

"Yes, sweetheart," Josh replied. "We'll see Daddy right away."

Eddie squeaked and ran around Josh's legs, before darting back down the hall.

Josh tried not to put too much thought into just how the reunion would go as he followed. By the time he caught up with his son, Eddie was jumping up and down in front of their bedroom door. He was far too short to reach the knob, or else Josh was sure there'd already be a mess to clean. The little body rushed by as the door swung open. He paused, gasped and then shrieked. "DAAAADDY!!!"

Josh did his best not to topple over as Eddie ran for the bed.

They'd spent all day entertaining Eddie, who though not knowing why, was delighted to be the sole receiver of so much attention and kept them very busy all day. It helped ease the tension between them. They would never fight in front of the baby. Josh knew Ford was itching for an open to ask and Josh was desperate not to answer. Eddie had taken his nap, but Josh had used that time to retreat into the bathroom for a shower, and then gone about tidying up until he was awake again. But night had come and Eddie had eventually fallen asleep. Down for the count and unable to be neither distraction nor buffer until the next morning.

Josh set him in the crib, tucking him in and leaning in to kiss him. He could almost feel the brunet behind him vibrating with the need to begin. After he'd managed to allow Josh a peaceful - if chaperoned - day, it wouldn't be fair to deny him.

Given what had occurred, Josh wasn't sure he could even if he wanted to.

It was a long walk. By the time Josh made it to the garage the sky was already lightening. His keys were in his bag, but thankfully the door opened when he tried it. Not that they ever needed to lock up. The mansion in this world had a far more dangerous collection within than what could ever be found without. The keys were on the peg and he slipped them free, going to Sage's car to get his bags.

Once he was in the house - key safely returned, and car locked up - he pulled his side of the bond even tighter closed and began to heal the majority of the damage. He had to leave the areas about the stitches as they were or else risk healing around them, which was never fun.

He was tired, he was angry, and he had to figure out a way to cut his stitches free on his own. He couldn't have Eddie seeing them in the morning. He shuffled up the stairs, leaning into his door for a moment before managing to turn the handle and pushing it open, all but falling through.

Ford hadn't been able to join them in the search for eggs due to the crowd. So after lunch, Josh and Eddie headed upstairs to spend some holiday time with him. No sooner was the door open than Eddie was running as best he could manage with his basket held up in front of him over to the brunet.

"DADDY!!" he shrieked. "SEE!"

Kevin didn't have any real idea what it was Foley expected him to learn, or why it was necessary to do it in the Danger Room, or who the hell he was supposed to be doing it with, but he wasn't about to argue. It never seemed to do any good with Foley, so he followed him through the house, sticking close, head down and one hand hovering near the nape of Foley's neck just in case. Once they reached the sub-basement he fell back just a little, watching Foley and Eddie walk on hand in hand.

He'd been trying not to think about it, the same way he'd been trying not to think of any of the other ways his power had gone haywire the last few years. He'd always hoped that so long as he just stayed to himself, only spent time with those who were safe from him no matter what, it wouldn't really matter and he could just...ignore it. He wasn't sure that was the case anymore, though, and it was getting harder to ignore it. Gloves tucked into his pocket, he fidgeted with the project he'd just finished - a set of nesting metal spheres, the largest of a size to fit into his palm - and knocked once at Josh's door before pushing it open and leaning in.

"Hey." He smiled a bit anemically and tried not to let his worry project too strongly across the bond between them.

Foley was right, he knew Eddie's schedule perfectly well. Which meant he knew exactly when Foley would be taking him to nursery school for the day and about when the older boy should be back to his room, and he was fucking sick of this. He wouldn't talk to him over the journals, he wouldn't let him into his room, wouldn't let him see his god damned son? Fuck him, he wasn't getting a choice anymore. It only took a fraction of a second to ash the door, and he stooped to pick up the door knob from where it had fallen on his way in before dropping down onto the edge of Foley's bed to wait.

Kevin stayed close the entire way up, more for Josh's sake than his own for once, fingers twined with the older man's and a constant low pulse of power thrumming between them. He didn't say anything until they were safely back in Josh's room with the door closed behind them, and even then the first thing he did was turn to Josh and wrap his arms around him, holding him tight. It was pointless to ask if he was all right when he so obviously wasn't.

"I love you," was all he finally said, murmured quietly into the side of Josh's neck.

Josh had decided to take a night off and go out on his own, have a drink, try to relax and not obsess over the interpersonal relationships that surrounded him or the nagging knowledge that he was now the only single member of their group.

A few drinks wouldn't actually have inebriated him, but he ordered the strongest things on the menu and pushed enough of his powers back to get a buzz. It seemed to be going well enough when someone set a shot down in front of him and informed him it was courtesy of another customer. Had he been fully sober, he never would have downed it. As it was, well, he drank it and slid the glass back to the bartender. It wasn't long before he realized his buzz was considerably stronger than he'd intended. And it wouldn't go away. He felt a little sick, actually, and then he couldn't do anything about that either. The dizziness came next and that was when Josh knew he was in trouble.

He headed for the exit, staggering a little and catching himself on a wall, then the doorway before stumbling outside, no longer clear on which direction to go in or what was happening. He just knew this was bad and he needed to stay away from people. Just in case. He slipped into a nearby alley and slid to the ground, groaning.