Coming Home (BoyxBoy)

Lies & Lies & Secrets, Oh My

Jason's POV

"You let him go to the compound," I could barely keep the anger at bay as I spoke to gramps.

"Why would we go through the trouble of training Noah if he was never going to face an actual threat?" gramps smiled like he knew exactly why I was mad.

"Old man, I am his keeper which means that if he dies I have to answer to Nikkal. She ignored my agony for years because she felt scorned, what the fuck do you think she would do to me if the source died?"

"I would like to point out that Nikkal didn't tell you Noah was leaving. I would think that her actions prove that she's confident in Noah. What about yours?"

"I.."

"If Noah needed you, you would feel it and lend him enough of Nikkal's power to amplify his abilities. A stealth mission is perfect for his current skills," gramps looked at me deep in thought and then shook his head. "How can we hope for authenticity if we lie to ourselves."

With that he left his study. My palms were sweaty and my heartbeat erratic. What the fuck was I feeling? Gramps was right though, I was lying to myself by thinking I was mad that Noah left. No, he had left without me to save him.

Noah's POV

The main house was eerily quiet by the time the team had returned. Cameron hadn't asked me anything about what happened in the cabin and I didn't feel like divulging information. My mind was still reeling from how harshly Nate dismissed me. I had no idea what to do now. Nate had given me a purpose, I was invested in saving my childhood friend more than I was invested in saving the Nosti.

I felt bad because of that but I justified how I felt by believing that if I saved Nate, I would also save the Nosti. Everyone would survive and maybe I could start rebuilding the relations between the weres and my people. I stopped in the hallway I was walking down.

Briefly, I thought about going to my room but I thought better of it. Something Nate had said really bothered me, even more than telling me to fuck off. How did his dad help mine and what exactly had happened between them? Nate had said his dad had made a mistake helping mine in what I could assume was the revolt.

It's annoying how I was being spoon fed bits and pieces, as if I would choke on the truth. Again I felt like that weird kid on the first day of class, clueless and excluded from everything. I knew my dad had rebelled against the weres and that I had nearly lost my life as a result. He was still missing from jail. My mother was still dead but where was Nate's dad?

Fragments that belonged together but were still out of place.

Nate wouldn't stay unless the weres had something over him. I was fucking sure of it. My legs felt heavy as they led me to gramp's study. If there were answers to be found they'd be hiding there.

I hadn't searched through gramps many books, but I knew they were different from the ones in the library. The only ones I'd opened were the ones he put in front of me and that seemed like a deliberate choice on his part.

I approached the door to the study and my whole body filled with fear. Every alarm signal was going off. I shivered. I wasn't supposed to be there. Doubt filled my mind and nervousness in my stomach. What if what I found rocked me in a way I couldn't come back from.

"There's a powerful ward guarding gramps study," I laughed nervously, I was dumb to think he wouldn't find me.

"So that's why I feel like my greatest fear is behind that door?" I asked Jason.

"That might just be your intuition or your imagination," I wiggled the knob on the door, of course it was locked.

"You left without me. It seems like whenever you're in a pinch I'm never physically there," I assumed Jason was referring to the attack at Martha's.

"I need you now, if you could open gramps study.."

"What would I get in return?" I still hadn't turned around to face Jason but I could feel him behind me. "You don't need me. You could use the energy to move the lock."

"I... I haven't covered mastering Nikkal's energy with gramps. Besides, he'll know I've been in there, even if I don't fuck things up."

I heard jiggling behind me and then Jason slipped his hands passed me to get to the lock. His key slid in and unlocked the study with ease.

I walked in the room and the lights came on instantly. It looked exactly as it always did, stacks of books piled everywhere. The door clicked closed and Jason moved to where I sat during lessons.

"I take it the mission had you walking away with more questions than answers?" Jason asked as I moved to the back wall, the whole wall was a floor to ceiling bookshelf and the most organized space in the study.

"I need an objective source of information about the revolt. I want the truth."

Jason tsked, "No one's told you? The truth doesn't exist, only its many knock offs."

I walked slowly in front of the many books on those shelves hoping that the one I needed would just jump out at me. I was hoping for the cliché moment the hero would get the exact answers they were looking for with minimal effort on their part.

I kept searching until the sun cracked through the curtains of the study. Jason had fallen asleep hours before and I was exhausted. I had looked through the top shelf using the rickety ladder attached to it. I systematically worked my way down and when I found nothing, I moved on to the stacks around the room.

Everything in my mind was fried. I was trying not to touch each book and guess by the title if it was the one I needed but some books I had to touch. That was what triggered the unwanted visions. I could keep some of them at bay but others were screaming to be seen, to be heard. Other books I could feel clawing at my mind from several feet away.

Defeated I tried to walk to the chair next to Jason just so I could catch my breath, but then I was surrounded by pitch black nothingness and I surrendered.

Jason's POV

"I guess it's my turn to be mad at you. You brought him into my study knowing full well that each book has, at a minimum, the energy of knockout punch. I can't believe he survived that long!" gramps yelled.

He looked smaller in the room that Noah and I shared. It was so weird to see him in our space.

"I thought we'd be there for an hour max, I had no idea that it would be longer. Then I fell asleep and..."

"You didn't feel the distress the energy was putting his body in?" I looked away from gramps.

"To be honest I wanted to punish him a little. I was taking some of that energy away.."

"Just enough to keep him upright and searching. Without me in that study or at least some more training Noah cannot withstand the sensory overload. I have ancient texts that have their own histories spanning centuries not to mention wards and magical weapons each radiating energy!"

The old man was really worked up. He clutched his cane and moved to sit on the bed next to Noah's sleeping form.

"With how concerned you were about Noah's safety I thought you had enough sense not to drain him like that. He doesn't know that he's.."

Noah moaned slightly and then began to cough. A fit overtook him until he clutched his mouth in an effort to stop. I grabbed the water on the nightstand and handed it to him. In huge gulps, Noah downed all of it.