Wednesday - February 11th, 2009
Who: Syn, Will, Devon, Rocky and Wes When: Evening Where: Syn's apartment What: A miracle
When you were ill there was no sense of time. Will knew it got darker then a little lighter occasionally but had no idea how often it had happened to try and make up a line of days... all he knew was that Devon kept coming in to check on them, Blue was somewhere around here. Rocky occasionally turned up and dabbed his head with soothing, warm cloths from her hand and that he hadn't yet let go of Syn throughout any of this. He was probably stinking, having not showered. Didn't really matter. He kept feeling Syn shift from better to worse and it was killing him. He was so much worse than the angel, and Will needed to do something about it.... ~~~ Everything hurt. Even Will being so near to him hurt right now but he didn't want to be let go, no matter how painful it was to have him so near. The air kept draining from the room, or so it would seem, and the window would need to be opened for a time now and then and then he would feel better, for a time, but it would all come crumbling down again. Syn was certain that this was going to kill him, whatever this was, and there was nothing to be done about it. He whimpered as a particularly painful shudder raced up his spine and then gasped for air, his body seizing up as he struggled to roll on his side toward the fan. ~~~ When Syn rolled over it was just as Will was about to drop off to sleep. It was hard to come by lately, disturbed by fever and moans of pain from the man next to him. Will was exhausted in battling off this virus or whatever the fuck it was, and staying conscious enough to keep Syn close and safe. Much good it did him... there was no way anyone coming to help would be able to make any damn difference. Every second Syn went quiet Will panicked he'd left him, that Syn was gone, and the moment he tried to stir him Syn always mumbled to confirm he was still there. It was panicking the angel, every time it happened he thought the next would be the last. He couldn't bear the thought of it. Syn had to survive. And maybe... there was something Will could do.
He stretched out a hand and grabbed hold of the baby cup which held some water and drank from the holes, feeling like a one year old. It didn't quite make it back on the nightstand but he felt better for having drank. He'd need some focus if he were about to do this. He rolled back and placed a hand softly on Syn's head, trying to keep close but also let him have some air. "Synbin... how'd you feel?" ~~~ Syn wanted to answer the question. He could hear it clearly, echoing in his ear, the touch against his forehead setting his skin on fire and yet comforting in an odd way too. But he couldn't speak. All he could do was whimper and shiver, a hand feebly clutching at the cloth of the linens beneath him. If he could have answered, he would have told him that he felt like hell, like he would do anything, give anything, just to make this stop. But no words would form. He just wasn't capable of it right now. ~~~ In that moment Will was thankful that he could feel what Syn was feeling. Not only did it answer anything he wanted to question, but it told him that things were still working. He still had his abilities, he was still tuned in, which would make this - hopefully - a lot easier. "You'll feel better soon..." he whispered softly, placing a delicate kiss on where he could reach. "Just relax, you'll...." Will started to cough then, to which he cursed. Once it passed he resumed the quiet. "Just gonna be a few minutes...." ~~~ "No," Syn whispered softly. He could feel what Will was starting to do the moment that he began and he knew it was a bad idea. "Please.." He added in a soft, small voice, his small fist tightening around the linens as that feeling, that warmth, continued to wash over him. Will was sick too. This couldn't be a good idea. This was going to make him worse and the last thing Syn wanted was to make Will any more ill than he already was even if doing this could possibly save his own life. ~~~ "Hush," Will insisted, no arguments allowed. Syn was going to get healed even if it took Will months to recover. Syn was closer to death and Will wasn't going to let him slip when he knew there was something that could be done about it. Why hadn't he even thought of it before? He concentrated hard, closing his eyes, absorbing Syn's energies and focusing on the heal. He'd only really done this once or twice before and he hoped to fucking hell that he was doing it right. ~~~ He was doing it right. Syn could feel some of the illness seeping out of him and into Will and it made him panic. This wasn't a good idea. This wasn't.. "Please stop, Will. You'll hurt yourself." At least he could speak now. That was better than before. And maybe he could get away. He was trying, grasping at the edge of the bed, trying to inch his body away from Will's own. ~~~ "I'll... be fine..." But he wasn't fine. He'd done some damage to himself already just by taking on the illness but he wasn't going to stop until he knew that Syn was ok. That he was talking was a brilliant sign, that he was moving better.... A small smile formed on Will's mouth and he finally removed his hand, sighing with the effort it took him to do so. He felt like shit on a stick but it was worth it. Rolling onto his back he gave a huge sigh. "Told you." ~~~ Maybe it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Syn felt.. better. He didn't feel like himself, of course, but he felt better. And Will seemed to be.. okay. Gingerly the sprite managed to sit up, looking over at the other man with a frown pursing his lips. "Will... You shouldn't have..." He exhaled a breath. "Thank you." He took his hand and gave it a soft squeeze. "Are you sure you're okay?" ~~~ Will smiled dozily up at him, forcing down the endless sick feeling which was beginning to flood through him. He returned the hand squeeze a little limply, but with Syn there, sitting, thanking him - conscious at all... "Seeing you better is worth it. I'm fine. S'all.... s'all I need..." He was so damn good at faking it. Inside he felt like hell, and after a moment he closed his eyes, wincing. "Just... rest a little? Pl... please.." ~~~ He was good at faking it. Syn had no idea. He looked down at Will and then nodded his head, shifting on the bed to curl up beside him once more, something that was much less painful now. Lacing his fingers with Will's own, he kept his hand in his, partly because he wanted to and partly because he needed to, to be sure that he was okay. Bright eyes were open, watching him, looking for any sign that he may not be as okay as he said he was. ~~~ Will breathed a sigh of relief when Syn settled next to him, glad that for the moment the sprite had bought his lie. Even with his eyes closed he could feel Syn's beady ones on him and he smirked a little. "Stop that," he murmured weakly, feeling completely drained. Syn's presence next to him was welcome, and the angel inclined himself towards him, though his limbs were starting to ache and cramp throughout his body. He could feel himself becoming weaker, if not from the sheer exhaustion of healing then because of the fever which now engulfed him. It was good, though. It was for Syn. It was all worth it. Breathing became slow and shallow, his mind turning blank. He couldn't feel his body at all. Time passed... and then, eventually, so did Will. ~~~ "Never," Syn replied simply, sliding in closer to him, shifting to rest a chin on his shoulder, eyes still keeping an intent gaze upon his face. He could almost feel it, Will slowing down, but he just thought he was drifting off to sleep. And then it happened, he felt the other man tense and then just... stop. "Will?" He said quietly. "Will, wake up." He gave him a shake and nothing. "Will. Will. No. No, no, no, this isn't.... HELP!" He practically screamed the word, scrambling from his laying position on the bed to try to push at his chest, to make him breathe again. "Somebody help!!!!"
Devon was in the other room with Blue when he heard the screaming. That was Syn. Panic seized his chest and he literally stopped breathing as he darted from the other room over to the one where the angel and sprite had been housed. "What? What's happened?"
By this time, Syn was sobbing. "He.. he.. I told him not to do it! He didn't listen. He's not breathing."
The sprite was in a panic, and Devon wasn't feeling much better off. Shock washed over him and he shook his head. "No. That's not possible. Haddon said..." He said not to panic when it happened. "Rocky!" Devon yelled. "Oh fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck." He was on the bed now too, shaking Will and trying to wake him. "Haddon, if you can hear me, you better get here and fix this right fucking now!!!!"
~~~ Haddon was a little busy. Having anticipated, or been quite assured, that this was going to happen he had elected himself to be the one to greet him. Fitting, he supposed. But he wasn't really going to do what had been asked of him. There was no way he could do that. So he waited, heard distant noises... and eventually he felt Will coming. This would be be the first real meeting in over a year. To say this was important... he couldn't truly put it into words.
The place was murky, and dark. No bright lights and choirs here to greet Will. He felt naked but he was fully clothed, but mostly he felt fine, like the weight of the illness had been removed completely. A little confused, sure, because one minute he'd been on the bed and the next...
Well the next thing he realised Haddon was standing around ten feet away from him with a nervous but happy look in his eyes. Will knew then. He knew but he didn't care. His legs rushed him towards the other man, emotion surging through him as he grabbed Haddon and dragged him towards him in one of the fiercest kisses he'd ever delivered. Years of wanting to do it, months of remorse and two seconds of elation went into that kiss and Haddon was crying even before it started.
It ended all too soon, with both of them breaking away to breathe. Haddon kept their faces close. "You can't stay here."
"Yes, yes I can." "No, you can't..." Another kiss shut Haddon up and Will enveloped his arms around him in a moment of sheer delirium..... ~~~ "Rocky!" Devon yelled out again, having no success in bringing Will out of this. Syn was crying. He was practically hysterical, but there was nothing that Devon could do for him right now. Devon was on his feet now, moving to the door to scream down the hallway. "Do you fucking hear me? I need you!"
As he rushed back over to the bed, he had a thought. The first was not to panic. Haddon had told him not to panic. And then... "Wesley." He scrambled to the other room to find his phone, leaving Syn sobbing on the bed next to the angel. Devon was frantic as he dialed the numbers, tapping his foot impatiently as he waited for the healer to answer. ~~~ Alerted by the screams Rocky didn't really believe that anyone wanted to see her with barely anything so she quickly put on her things and dashed to where Devon was yelling for his life. Some fucking nap this was. The second she got in the room seeing Syn bawling his eyes out, Rocky knew and went to Will.
"Shit... mothefucking - shit... " Devon was attempting to call someone and Rocky looked at him, worriedly. "When did this.... when?" ~~~ "He was... I told him not to... But he..." Syn couldn't even form a sentence through his tears to tell her what had happened. He was too hysterical and he was clinging to Will like he was terrified that someone was going to come and take him from him. It was almost as if he could hold onto him, this couldn't really be happening.
"Wesley!" Devon practically yelled once the other man had answered the phone. "I need you here. Now. Just... run." The man knew where they were and so he had nothing else that he needed to say, and he tossed the phone down and moved back to the bed.
"He's gonna be okay. He'll be okay. Wes can fix this. He can." He growled and then exclaimed, "Dad should fucking be here!" He was so angry in this moment, angry that he was the one who had to be the grown up and take care of everyone. Angry that he was again the witness to someone who meant so much to him in his life slipping away. And now he was crying too. ~~~ "Syn....." What could Rocky say? She'd just walked into a frickin death scene she could hardly say that everything would be ok. Will was lying there, not breathing... it was too hard to think that Will was actually dead. That was not even possible! "Syn just... stay calm..."
So easy to say it but not easy to actually BE calm, like she was finding out. Wesley was apparently on the way but what good could he do? How could he heal a dead angel? But Devon's shouts interrupted her worries. "HEY.... it's ok, Devon." She needed to say it now, despite how far from the truth it might be. "Devon... c'mere.." She grabbed her nephew into her arms, then, holding him close. "Wesley will help." If Devon believed it then damnit so would she.
But Will was happy. He was kissing Haddon, loving him, showing him 50 years of affection that he'd never been able to express. No, never allowed himself to. Haddon was real, Will had missed him so fucking much and now he had him. Will wanted to make up for everything, tell him everything he'd ever thought and whilst it was so wonderful to get caught up in, Haddon knew there was limited time.
"Will... you have people who need you," he said, panting. "They want you back. My job is to take you... but I'm not going to."
The angel whinnied, half listening. "Sssh... just stop talking...."
"No." Haddon took a step back then, determined. His deep brown eyes looked up at the angel's, content but upset. "I know that you love me. I know that you wish those 50 years had been different - but I dont, Will... I wouldn't change any of it. You have grown so much since I've been gone and I've never been more proud of you. So don't you wish away our history. Don't you dare." ~~~ Devon couldn't deal with this. Rocky was trying to comfort him and while he appreciated it, he couldn't handle it right now. So he pulled away, practically yanked himself away, and moved to his feet. "Don't panic," he muttered. And then he laughed. "Don't fucking panic? Are you kidding me, Haddon?" He drew a hand through his hair and then he growled, grabbing the clock that was nearby and throwing it against the wall where it shattered, laying in a heap of broken plastic and springs on the ground.
"If you do this," He was pointing upward, toward the heavens, he supposed. "I will never forgive you. You already took my mother. You put me here with a shitty excuse for a father. And if you take Will too, I swear on everything in me that I will do whatever I can, whatever it takes, to strip away every ounce of faith in you I find in ANYONE!" ~~~ Rocky flinched at Devon's anger, backing away. Will was dead on the bed. Syn was hysterical. Devon was in a rage at how unjust his life appeared to have fallen. Rocky was very much out of her depth and merely walked over to Will, taking his hand. It was still warm, clammy. How could he be gone?
If they'd have known what was happening somewhere on the other side, or wherever his consciousnes happened to be, they may have been less worried. Haddon held on to Will's arms, looking deep into his eyes. The angel didn't want to go back, but then he didn't want to lose them down there either....
"I can't... leave you," he whispered, near tears. "Not again... I was so... heartless and..."
Haddon shrugged, smiling. "You were what you were. You're not any more. And you were definitely not heartless."
Will managed to smile then, but it wasn't devoid of sadness. "I miss you."
"You're allowed to miss me," Haddon told him, with just a little bit of swagger, "but don't let it rule your life. I'm still here. You know I am. Devon knows I am... do you really want to give them up, to leave them, to spend time in nothing and nowhere? Besides, I won't have anyone to spy on, and you are delicious to spy on, you know that... Devon would be crushed if you left. Syn would feel so guilty and blame himself... Rocky would be in the middle of it, Pearl and Ana... you have so many more people to think about than just little old me. And we all know James is a cunt."
That made Will laugh loudly, as if he'd only wanted to hear Haddon say that, but he quietened down a little, nervous and sad. He knew what he had to do. It was just very hard to commit to with Haddon here. With a weak voice and a grab of Haddon's hands, Will said, "You'll still be there?"
A kiss was a great answer, delivered softly to his lips, before a soft reply: "Always." ~~~ Devon pratically flung himself onto the floor, his knees pulled up to his chest and his head in his hands, sobbing. Don't panic, he kept thinking. But how could he not? How could Haddon do this and not... tell him that this was coming? How could this happen?
Syn was crying so hard he couldn't even cry anymore. It was like there was nothing left inside of him to come out. And then he screamed, giving Will's body a hard shove. "I told you not to do it, you asshole!" This was his fault. This was all his fault. He was alive and Will was gone and it was all his fault and he couldn't even... How could he live with that? ~~~ "You need to go now," Haddon told the angel quickly, squeezing his arms and seeming like he could go back on this any minute... but his resolve had to hold. "If you don't go back now then you never will..."
Will nodded his understanding, stroking down Haddon's face before he hugged him, squeezing him tight. Something was missing here, something he needed to do before he never got the chance again. He had too many regrets to keep this any longer. As he leant back, feeling a tear in his middle, he managed to say "I love you, Haddon." and in the fading light he saw Haddon's smile, sad and happy, but beautiful all the same... and then he felt a hard whack on his side.
"Ow..." he murmured, hoarse in his throat. Fluttering eyelids let in the light of a bedroom, sounds of sobbing and anger.... well that was nice. "I save your ass and that's the thanks I get..."
~~~ The words were nearly lost on the sprite's ears. It took a moment for him to even register that he had heard them and then he stopped, dead in his tracks, stunned into stillness.
Devon, on the other hand, was on his feet in an instant. He practically shoved Rocky out of the way to get to the bed where Will was alive, breathing, yet still ill, of course. "Will!" He yelled, and then he pulled the other man to him, holding him so tight that he was fearful he might squeeze the life back out of him but he couldn't stop himself. ~~~ Will was still ill, yes, but he was also feeling so much better than he had before. It was weird... but also amazing. He saw Devon and smiled, and grunted when he was hugged but he returned it with as much vigour as it was given. He reached out a hand to Syn, wanting to hold him. "Hey... you're acting like I went somewhere..."
A knowing smile, curling his lips, was shot at the three in the room but Rocky thwacked at him. "Are you fucking kidding me?" ~~~ "Don't you EVER do that to me again!" Devon practically yelled at him, and then he kissed him, a firm kiss upon the lips as he held his face with both hands.
Syn, once he had recovered from the shock of all of this enough to actually focus, was just waiting for Devon to give an inch so that he could get in there. And as soon as the other man released him from his grasp, he was almost immediately wrapped around him, clutching him tightly. "You stupid, stupid angel. Do you have any idea what you...." He exhaled, exasperated, and started crying again.
Devon frowned, a slight bit jealous but also too relieved to really care and so he reached a hand out to rub Syn's back. "Don't panic," he said under his breath. "You jackass, you could have told me this was going to happen, you know?" He was speaking loudly and to no one, or at least no one that could be seen, but Will would know who he was talking to. He'd just been right there with him. ~~~ Will was with his boys. No other word for it. His boys... so fucking... he was grinning so much but that he almost missed the kiss from Devon but he gladly reciprocated it, wondering if for a second that he would continue it, but Syn needed his turn. The stupid angel cuddled him closer, placing a kiss on his head. "I do have an idea. You're alive, aintcha?" but he doubted Syn would stop crying nor would he be able to let Will out of his sight for a while.
If it wasn't for the quietness of the moment, Will might have missed Devon's words, but he shot him a Look, with glinting blue eyes, that told Devon everything he needed to know. Rocky meanwhile, heard Wesley running in through the apartment door and went to head him off, explaining that the angel had risen from the dead.
~~~ That look that Will gave him was enough to make Devon scowl, looking so much like a damn McCafferty when he did so but he didn't care right now. This was just.. cruel and unusual punishment and he was as annoyed as he was relieved. He slumped back on the bed in a seated position, watching Syn and Will together and giving them both a small smile.
Syn couldn't stop crying right now if they tried to bribe him. Of course now he was just happy. He felt like hell still, but he was happy. And there was no way he was going to let go of Will for... however long he could get away with it. They'd be attached at the hip indefinitely, until he felt sure that Will wasn't going anywhere. ~~~ Syn's weeping was almost therapeutic. It was like he was doing the crying where Will couldn't. Needing to feel comforted in the only way he knew how, he reached out a hand and took Devon's into his palm, squeezing. He hoped he knew why. It was better hoping that he knew and leaving it unsaid than trying to tell him out loud. He heard Rocky and Wes in the living room but didn't bother asking them to come through. They all needed a moment.
"I saw him," he said quietly, almost like a secret between them. ~~~ Devon nodded his head. He knew that already, of course, and he was kinda pissed about it. Not that it had happened but that Haddon had kept the details from him. But... at least Will was back now.
"You're both still not well," Devon announced, like neither of them knew it. "You should get some rest. Maybe... maybe in a bit we can try to get you both into a shower or something, see if that helps any." Hot water, steam, it was usually good for congestion in the head which he knew they had both been suffering from, right? ~~~ Will reocgnised the adult behaviour. in Devon, the very matter-of-fact mother hen directions which he'd come to do naturally. But Will didn't want him like that right now. And he certainly didn't want him anywhere out of his sight.
"Devon," said Will, a little sternly. "Stop being a grown up for a second and just lie with me." ~~~ Devon wanted to, and Syn was willing to oblige that request too if that was what Will wanted, what he needed. But Devon needed a minute first. And so he said, "I will. I just... Let me go check on Blue and uhm... And I'll come back, I promise."
Blue was fine. He knew she was fine. So when he left the room, instead of going to the room that she was currently in, he went to the bathroom instead. He took a minute to simply breathe, to close his eyes and compose himself before he washed his face, splashing water on it to kind of... bring him out of this weird space he had gone in his head.
After a few minutes, he emerged from the room to first look in on Blue and to then head into the living room to find Wes. "Hey. Crisis averted." He laughed dryly. "Could you still maybe.. look in on them both for me just to... just to be sure that it's gonna be... okay?" He doubted anyone could keep Wes from doing anything less under normal circumstances but he figured the healer was also very tired from trying to keep everyone on campus in some fairly decent shape.