tampered | log; ongoing

log; ongoing

When; June 2nd into June 3rd, midnight.
Rating; PG, PG-13? They're them.
Characters; ...and by them I mean

had_not_lived and

mumbled_truth
Summary; With the promise of having his life restored permanently, Neil breaks their deal with the deities. Given that poetry as the cost of the deal - and that he plans to surprise Todd - Neil decides to keep them both up reading together.
Log;

Todd's vaguely aware that it's getting late; creeping closer to morning than night, by the clock's measure. He's content enough, though, being awake, both because he's not particularly tired and because Neil suggested they should stay up and read together. So, some hours ago, they climbed into bed with volumes in their hands, settled against each other, and began to page through. The time since has been spent quietly reading, with the more than occasional interruption when one of them stumbles across a piece they particularly enjoy and reads it aloud to the other.

At the moment, it's a quiet period. Todd's head is resting against Neil's chest, lying at a bit of an angle on the bed, with the anthology he's currently making his way through held in both hands, balanced on its spine against his own chest. It's been a while since he glanced at the clock, the daily fear of what midnight might bring calmed for the moment by their pastime. It's silently reassuring, calming, and since all they have is the City, moments like these must be cherished for as long as they last.

As far as he's concerned, this is a pleasant, comfortable evening. It's not greatly significant in any way; at least, not in any way other than the way he considers any time he spends with Neil, alone and within the safety of their closed bedroom, to be special.

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As much as he relishes this last bout of poetic reflection, Neil's more than a little distracted. He could have let this pass quietly, let the deal falter in their sleep and surprise Todd upon waking; but somehow he couldn't bring himself to wait even a few more hours. This won't be the first time they've both been alive in the City; but there's always a bittersweet element to curses, the knowledge that the nice ones don't last anymore than the awful ones do.

This is different. The phrase wishing on a star comes to mind and makes him smile, hardly able to contain his excitement. It's just a few more minutes. He's checked the clock more times in the last ten minutes than the open page in front of him.

Two minutes shy of the hour of truth, Neil shuts his book, willing his fingers not to tremble with the thrill of his secret. He lays it on the bed beside them and fixes Todd with a sideways smile, before moving to get up.

"I'll be back in a minute..."

Todd glances up at Neil as he begins to shift, returning the smile with a small one of his own. Softly closing his book, he pushes himself up with his elbows and lifts himself off the other boy's chest.

"Okay."

He reaches to the nightstand by his side of the bed, setting the book down, before he flops back onto the pillows. He nestles down into a more proper orientation, without an excuse to favor the other side of the bed for the moment.

The clock is spared a glance but he doesn't think much of it other than to idly wonder if anything waits for the City on the other side of the coming turn of the hour.

Edited 2010-06-03 03:42 (UTC)

The bright side of the deal breaking at midnight is, Todd might just assume it's a curse. Certainly it wouldn't do if he had a heart attack from the shock once it started beating again, on a week when it shouldn't.

It can't be more than a minute, as he retrieves Yvaine's gift from where he's had it hidden. He could count the seconds but he doesn't need to, knowing he'll feel it the way he always does-- that unsettling first missed beat, the funny hollow feeling that wears away after a little while. It's all right. Living on borrowed time has always left him faintly uneasy, even though they've worked their way through the implications more than once.

Seconds now, surely. He has nothing to do but wait.

Todd has settled in reasonably comfortably, a dozen or so half-formed thoughts floating around his mind as he stares at the ceiling, waiting for Neil to return. He lets them drift by his awareness, not latching on to anything, his consciousness a mix of reflections, plans, philosophical musings and the particularly resonant wordings of the poems he's spent the night reading.

And then midnight hits.

He isn't looking at the clock when it does, but the moment disperses every thought, no matter how abstract or structured, and replaces them all with only panic.

His heart flutters back to life, warmth gradually prickling at his skin as the blood sluggishly begins to course through his veins again, and as he sits upright, his lungs pull in a desperate ragged breath, partly from not having been properly needed the moment before and partly because he is certain this means something is wrong.

Taking a second to slow his breathing, he shoots the clock a look - 12:00. So it could be a curse, though he can't bring himself to buy into that, not until he's made sure of things.

"Neil--" He doesn't quite call it out, his voice too shaky to be loud enough to properly do so. He's out of the bed in an instant, and headed out hoping not to find fears his brain won't even let him acknowledge confirmed.

One. Two. In lieu of beats he counts out the absence, not worried about the timing except to ascertain that the deal's done with. Neil assumes, as well, that it's meant to be eaten; since obviously possession isn't sufficient to produce life. It makes sense. It's only one chance, a chance he might not deserve but has desperately wanted, sitting in his hands. It's almost difficult to bring himself to use it; but it's not as though there's anything to be gained by holding onto it.

As Todd stumbles out of bed Neil is chewing, and by the time he's through the door it's finished, swallowed, and his heart has picked up like it's never missed a beat, a little quick with excitement but perfectly healthy. He takes one moment-- one breath, eyes shut, leaning against the wall-- to revel in the simplicity of the sensation. But of course, as he half expected Todd is in need of reassurance; and so he steps back into sight, into the hallway that leads towards their bedroom, a slight smile curving his lips.

"I'm here," he says simply, because that should be enough to banish all terror. His state can speak for itself.

A wave of relief rushes over Todd and he stops, just outside their door, when Neil comes into view. He takes a moment to catch his breath, calming himself. He hadn't quite reached full panic, but just the fear that he wouldn't quite allow to take shape had begun to get him close.

But with Neil here, with the worry calmed, the questions remain. He takes a slow step towards his friend, brow knitted, wondering where to start the questions. As he draws nearer, certain things become apparent, though; the color in Neil's face, too much to have simply not yet worn off, the warmth he can feel radiating off of him. He doesn't quite touch the other boy, instead stopping just inches from him.

"You're alive."

The words are soft, spoken with a wonder that seems strange. Of course Neil is alive; it's his week. But, there is the other half of the equation to consider. Todd is also alive, and he's certain that if he's close enough to know that Neil is the opposite must also be apparent. He can't quite figure out what he should start by asking - is it a curse, was there another deal made, did Neil give something up - so the statement can stand on its own, the tone conveying the slew of queries that have gone unasked.

Edited 2010-06-04 00:40 (UTC)

"I broke the deal."

In all his excitement and all his planning, the one thing Neil hasn't worked out exactly is how to explain it all, and so sheepishly he says the first thing that comes to mind. He reaches to place a hand on Todd's chest, above his heart; unnecessary but reassuring. His gaze rises again quickly to meet Todd's own, feeling oddly nervous because even if he's done a good thing it's an unexpected thing, and a big decision to have made on his own. Not that he really expects the other boy to mind; more, he might be irked on principle. But surprises are supposed to be a nice thing, right?

"It's for good. Both of us, all the time."

There's a moment of silence in which he simply stares back, incredulous. More than anything, he wants to be able to give in to the burst of joy building up in him, but he knows that things in the City-- certainly things of this magnitude-- don't come free. He certainly knows that the deities tend to give life at a rather hefty price, from his own questions into the matter.

"But... how? You didn't-- you didn't trade something, did you?"

Neil makes a sour face at that, briefly.

"Sort of." He shifts on his feet and tries to think of a poem, experimentally, and nothing comes to mind. It's a rather frightening experience, though he'd thought himself prepared; the fact that the knowledge is simply absent. What must it be like to trade memories, and have no hope of regaining them?

"I had to give them something to break the deal, like your voice. Just for a while, though." He tilts his head; even most of his Midsummer lines won't come to mind, evidently too poetic to make the cut. "Poetry, I gave them poetry. For two weeks. But--" He gestures to himself, almost absently. "This was a gift."

Todd purses his lower lip for a moment, glancing down. Two weeks, though, doesn't seem terribly bad, and the larger part of the deal-- the life-- was a gift? He looks back up, still slightly concerned. He can't help but find it difficult to believe that it can be that simple.

"How? From who?"

It would be nice to give in to happiness, and easy, but he can't stop himself from worrying, given their surroundings.

Edited 2010-06-04 02:04 (UTC)

He finds he can only recall the event in images, too inclined to word it in a way his trade won't allow. "A star," he manages after a moment's hesitation, rather wide-eyed. The novelty of such things being commonplace-- ghosts and gods and who knows what, on the network and in the street-- hasn't worn off for him.

"You remember, the Deities had that mushroom? And they were going to give it to whoever caught the bear."

Todd's own eyes widen in response to that slightly, but he listens to the rest. To think that it was still here, in the City; he'd nearly forgotten about it having existed, much less kept it in mind as an option of any kind.

"I thought that had to be gone by now... So. A star gave it to you?"

A smile is finally pulling at his mouth; it's entirely too incredible to be believed, but here they are, both warm and breathing, really and truly alive. He, at last, mirrors Neil's hand, placing his own palm on the other boy's chest where he can feel the beating of his heart.

He nods.

"Her name's Yvaine," he says, laughing a little at how normal it seems to say such a thing, though it flies in the face of what he can't help but think of as reality. Not that the City isn't real enough, for him; but he can't shake the memory or the influence of his own world. "It was... well, kind of sudden really, but she said that since stars don't die she had no use for it and wanted to give it to someone who would..."

"Who would appreciate it... truly live?"

Todd's smile beams as he glances up from Neil's chest to meet his eyes, broadening in size as it spreads to crease his cheeks and touch his eyes, and increasing in warmth and radiance. He lets out a laugh; not one of humor, of laughing at a joke, but an expression of joy so intense he can't find words to describe it.

His hand stays on Neil's chest as he lifts his other arm, hooking it on Neil's shoulder. His expression shifts again, smile softening as his cheeks are tinged by a light, soft pink. He speaks quietly, but with certainty no power could shake.

"I know you will."

He doesn't answer, just smiles; looking down and leaning in with the curve of Todd's arm, his own folding so they stand chest to chest, the backs of their hands brushing. There was a certain desperation to make the most of each moment when they were both cursed into life; now it's enough simply to be.

"I couldn't even have hoped for this."

"I wouldn't have let myself."

His eyes close as he leans in, burying his face in the crook of Neil's shoulder. He lets out a contented sigh, relishing in their mutual warmth. For a moment, he just stays there, happy to enjoy the sensation of them both alive, the slight twitching of Neil's pulse against his face. When he speaks, his words are muffled, and colored with self-conscious amusement.

"We should probably, um... get out of the hallway."

"Mn. Probably," he agrees. Though this isn't anything untoward or even fundamentally romantic; just a moment of shared joy between friends. He's not eager to move, because this is purely pleasant-- life, untainted by any price, with no obvious end in sight. Still, reluctantly, he shifts, still smiling, and glances towards the bedroom-- pulling back and letting his hands drop to his sides.

They've got all the time in the world. At least, in the City.

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