Theo Salazar was either punctual to a fault or forgot to show altogether; there was never any in between. Although he was responsible and organized, he was also in possession of a tendency to lose himself in his obsession of the moment, whether that obsession was UNESCO politics, Gilded Age millionaires, or the psychics who claimed to have predicted the sinking of the Lusitania - really, he had a dozen of reasons for leaving friends and family wondering where the hell was, and none of them were good.
So when Theo came up for air after a few days worth of grading a round of papers, he realized that although he had been living in Dunhaven for nearly three weeks now, and although he had eaten lunches with and chatted with his brother over the townâs inexplicably popular social network, he had yet to spend much time with him. It wasnât a surprise - neither of them were accustomed to living near the other yet. And so he recalled his brotherâs schedule this week - given when he had agreed to watch his brotherâs corgi - picked up some Chinese food, and arrived unannounced at his brotherâs door precisely five minutes after the man was due home.
âIâm heartened to see that you donât leave a key beneath a potted plant like some optimistic souls do,â Theo said by way of greeting, because of course he had been nosy and looked. âI assume you still like pepper steak and lo mein.â
âJesus, man,â Prestonâs breathed out surprise wasnât angry or annoyed, and he followed it up with a laugh. Heâd only just gotten in, thrown his keys on the kitchen counter and grabbed a ginger beer from the fridge before Theo had followed him in. Even if he blatantly looked like he had just gotten in, and Theo was a hell of a lot smarter than him, Preston couldnât help but mess with him a little. âYouâre lucky I wasnât buck ass naked on the sofa.â
Theo had been spared Prestonâs younger years, where that sort of thing had definitely happened to previous roommates, when Pres had brought home various boyfriends and girlfriends alike. His head perked up with the smell of food, and the grin stayed in place as he grabbed another beer for Theo. âI like everything.â He gestured to the open countertop and barstools, âTake a seat.â
âExtraordinarily lucky,â Theo agreed, setting down the bag of take-out in order to give Beeâs furry head a ruffle. He wasnât unknowing about Prestonâs popularity with either sex, but thank god heâd never been privy to any of the details. He had their age gap to thank for that (as well as Preston not remotely being the kind of disgusting pig whoâd actually give any such details).
Food divided, beer poured, and plates made full, Theo wasted no time with casual chit-chat: âAny more dreams?â
It was out of concern, yes, and his tone matched it, but he was also curious. When he had first started to seriously consider the possibility of moving to Dunhaven, Preston had warned him about what that could entail. But that was a few months ago now.
Preston had a mouth full of lo mein, chopsticks held up to his chin as the question was asked. He froze, before finishing his bite and laughing again. It was like Theo to just get straight down to business or jump into a question as heavy as dreams straight away.
âNot today, but Iâve had a few brief ones over the week, sure. Thatâs normal.â He downed some more food before he continued, knowing his brother wasnât the type to just leave it there without explicitly being told to. And Preston had never been the type to leave him hanging, either. âIt starts becoming a pretty normal thing, like another person living in your head.â He leveled a look on Theo, âAnything on your end thatâs worrying you?â
Very little about having another person living in oneâs head seemed normal, but Theo kept the observation where it belonged - obvious, and unstated. However Preston may have considered himself on the shallow end of the Salazar family intellect, Theo would never underestimate him as such. âNothing,â he answered truthfully. He hoped his disappointment didnât show - there was no research like first-hand observation, after all.
âThere were legends about this place going back centuries,â he observed, grasping a piece of pepper steak between his chopsticks. âThe Chickahominy tribe, specifically. Traders and colonists had their own superstitions about this area and nearby - I doubt I need to recall what happened only a hundred miles away in Roanoke. It might be related - might not. My point is that there is a great deal of unknown regarding this area that goes deeper than a chemical spill, or a collective hallucination. Itâs a minor wonder we donât have people lining the roads into Dunhaven selling crystals and critiquing the concept of vaccinations.â
Prestonâs nose wrinkled unfavorably at the mention of anti-vaxxers, but that was a long-standing rant from him since heâd become an EMT twenty years before. It came up every major holiday since then, he was pretty sure. The rest, though, caught his attention. Preston leaned back in his chair and dragged his pepper steak with him, chopsticks still in hand.
He ate while looking at his brother, chewing thoughtfully. âOkay so-- Youâre thinking it might be some kind of long-standing spirit thing in the area? Reincarnation? Magic? Thereâs people in the town that have dreamed in other areas-- and, I mean.â He gestured to himself. âStar Wars isnât exactly Roanoke related.â Though, he couldnât actually verify that, so Preston tilted his head a little. âProbably.â
Blink and youâd miss it, but Theoâs face curled into a satisfied little smile at Prestonâs obvious dislike of anti-vaxxers. Sue him, it was fun to rile his brother up.
âIâm not thinking anything,â he answered as he added more soy sauce to his rice, âso much as trying to find consistency. Thereâs a great deal that has historically happened in this area that makes for a collective shrug when academics try to apply logical sense to it. If we proceed to take the⌠occurrences here through the lens of âunexplainedâ, your being a reincarnated iteration of a pilot from a science fiction odyssey is⌠well, not as unlikely-sounding.â He chewed. âAlthough if Iâm allowed to quibble, this may be less âreincarnationâ than some kind of alternate universe scenario.â He didnât particularly want to dwell on the notion that somewhere, Prestonâs other self had⌠well, died.
âStill,â Theo added after a moment. âStar Wars. Thatâs heckinâ cool.â
âYouâre always thinking something,â Preston mumbled in return, knowing his brotherâs brain never shut off when it came to theories and thinking. But it was also something heâd appreciated about Theo since they were kids, even if it had always left him in the dust or scrambling to not get in trouble when he did something dumb and all of his collective siblings made it worse.
He got a cocky little smile stuck on his face now, though, and ate through it. âYeah, it is. His own X-Wing! Iâd upgrade the helicopter in a nanosecond.â
Something about Theoâs musings had bugged at him just a little, though, and he picked through the food with chopsticks to think it over before saying something out loud. âAlternate universe scenarios. Like Doctor Who?â
âLike Doctor Who,â Theo agreed, his focus gradually leaving his food as he considered the possibilities. âThe idea that thereâs a massive system of universes out there - a multiverse - and traveling from one to another is possible through the existence of hyperspace and/or a very special police box.â The corner of his mouth screwed up as he contemplated: âIâm not saying that plain reincarnation is out of the question. But - correct me if Iâm wrong - people are remembering a wide variety of universes, right? Which jives better from my limited perspective of understanding withâŚâ He gestured with his chopsticks, âa multiverse. Rather than past lives from a singular universe. I donât know why the distinction would be important because we start getting into theology and âwhy are we here?â real quick after that, and thatâs so out of my wheelhouse that Iâll let someone else untangle that mess. Bottom line - in your case, there appears to be more consistency than differences between yourself and your X-Wing pilot. And I wonder why.â
To his credit, Preston followed along pretty well. Heâd at least watched a lot of sci-fi shows, including Doctor Who, and that realm of possibilities was far more interesting to him than history. Always had been.
âYou know,â Preston paused, âIâd always wondered if my connection to Poe was more coincidental or actually just how it was. But I also donât think weâll ever really have any answers, you know? It doesnât feel like anything something you can test, just theorize about.â He grinned over at his baby brother. âWhich I know you love to do, so.â
Preston dug back into his food, chowing away like a man who just worked twelve hours straight. When he finally came up for air a second or two later, âI just canât wait for you to get to theorize about yourself. Youâll tell me, right? If it happens?â
âI donât think your likeness with Poe is coincidental, but I also donât think itâs automatically a portent of doom,â Theo answered dryly. âAs you said: this is likely to remain theoretical. And given what some people are experiencing⌠staying theoretical may be a blessing, bomb-ass glowy swords and droid friends aside.â
At Prestonâs question, Theo shrugged, as if his own potential involvement in all of this was of no importance. âOf course. If it happens. I should warn you, two nights ago I dreamed that I was late to a dental appointment and was accosted at the door by a human-sized molar with legs, so⌠my alternate existence is already horrifying.â
âI have all the droid friend I need, donât I buddy--â Preston had turned his attention to Bee, who was patiently waiting for food to be dropped. Instead of food, he leaned down to give his dog plenty of pets before grinning back up at his brother. âWeâve gotta get you some therapy for that dental thing, man.â
It was thankfully more amusing to him than horrifying - but then Preston hadnât been the one dreaming it up. He was still chuckling when he finished off his beer, though, just picturing it in his head. âI bet youâre someone like⌠Sherlock Holmes. Weâve already got a Tony Stark in the family. Ooooooh, maybe youâre his Bruce.â Preston raised an eyebrow, âTheo, have you ever felt a little green?â
Theo made a face at Prestonâs guesses, although it was good-natured disgust rather than anything rooted in actual annoyance. âWell, itâs hardly any secret that you wouldnât like me when Iâm angry,â he quipped, standing to help clear up the trash. âSherlock Holmes or Bruce Banner. Really. Flattering, provided I overlook the addict or rage monster implications.â
He dropped a small piece of chicken on the floor, and Bee lunged before he could stop him. âOpportunistic,â he muttered, picking up the bag. âOh - I forgot.â Theo tossed Preston a fortune cookie. âSpeaking of portents of doom - open on the count of three?â
âDefinitely Sherlock. Ooohhh,â Preston pointed a very big-brother look at Theo, shit-eating grin and all. âI canât wait to get to say âno shit sherlockâ at you all the time.â He leaned over to place a hand on Theoâs shoulder, as if he was being supportive instead of just a tormenting shit. âIf you start dreaming about Beanpump Cumberbund, itâs not a sexual awakening.â
Preston rolled his eyes at the quick little corgi before catching the fortune cookie. â1, 2⌠3,â At the third number, he snapped his, and pulled the little paper out to give it a read to himself before outloud. It was ironic enough to make him snort-laugh. âA feather in the hand is better than a bird in the air. Fuck, as long as itâs not a bird in my main rotor.â
Theo flicked Prestonâs supportive shoulder pat away as if it was abhorrent. Protests to the effect that he didnât like the true crime genre much, and that Frumious Bandersnatch wasnât so awful as Dr Strange went unvoiced; Theo was always better with well-timed silent playful glares than in sibling teasing.
He cracked open his fortune cookie at the same time as Preston, and snickered at the oddly prescient tone of his brotherâs. âTeam Bird,â he stated, then read his own out loud: âEach day, compel yourself to do something you would rather not do.. Well. That sounds horrible.â
Without a second thought, he tossed the slip of paper into the trash bag. âNow then, will you show me once again where Beeâs food and toys are for when you travel?â
âThink it just means branch out a little, man.â Preston pointed out as he slid off the barstool and pointed to a locked container near the pantry. âFood,â And then pointed again to a little milk crate in the corner that was haphazardly filled with toys. Some of them were on the floor outside it, but without an AirBNB stayee, Preston clearly didnât care. âToys.â
He continued on through the living room and pointed to his room. âHeâs got a little dragon in here but Iâm going to take a shower to wash off twelve hours of helicopter fuel. Make yourself at home, Iâll be out in fifteen.â