Chapter Twenty-Four

Ari pulled away to stare into a set of achingly familiar green eyes, his view slightly obscured by the messy strands of long red hair that fell in front of them.

The room wavered as tears filled Ari’s vision, spilling hot against his cheeks. His lips moved ineffectually, unable to form words properly with all of the air punched out of his lungs.

Of course, when Theo was around, no one else generally needed words as he was always more than willing to fill every silence.

“Ari! Don’t cry, darling! Oh, but I have missed you terribly, every moment of every day! You wouldn’t believe the adventure I have been having. It has been ever so exciting. And now that you are here, it shall be even better. Stand back and let me look at you.”

Ari took a dutiful if somewhat wobbly step backward, hands and feet still numb with shock, and Orin pressed up close behind him as though offering him something solid to lean upon. Ari sagged against him gratefully as Theo took his hands and held them out between them, checking him over carefully, forehead scrunching with concern.

“A trifle the worse for wear, aren’t you? No matter; I’ll have you spit spot and back to your old self in no time at all. All you need is a touch of pomade and a deft hand with the needle to repair those clothes.” Theo pursed his lips, scanning Ari up and down. “Or perhaps an incinerator and a trip to my own wardrobe would be more in order. But, do tell, who is your handsome stranger? You haven’t landed yourself into trouble, have you, Ari? I must say, that isn’t very like you.” Theo blotted Ari’s cheeks with the soft material of his sleeve.

Ari gestured behind him, accidentally connecting with Orin’s chest with an audible slap, his mind a chaotic swirl of joy and confusion, voice catching in his throat.

“Oh, I—I do apologize. Allow me to introduce Mr. Orin Stone, my most capable pilot. Mr. Stone, my brother, Dr. Theophrastus Campbell.”

Orin retreated a step at Ari’s words, as if belatedly remembering to put space between them. Ari glanced over his shoulder at him in bewilderment, but his attention was returned to Theo as he made a thoughtful, and, for him, ominous hum.

Theo’s thoughtful hums only ever led directly to disaster.

To Ari’s astonishment, Theo seemed quite his usual self, entirely unchanged by his ordeal, if one were to discount his strange apparel. One would never have known he had recently been the unwilling victim of a terrible crime against his person.

Then again, Theo had always been rather resilient in nature.

Orin still stood close enough behind him that Ari could feel the rumble of his voice run up his spine like a bolstering hand. “Pleased to meet you, Theo. Nice to be able to put a face to the name.”

Theo sparkled up at Orin with a cheeky grin. “Charmed, Mr. Stone.”

Laughter colored Theo’s voice in a warm tone Ari had been terrified of never hearing again, the sound of it filling his hidden wells of sadness as if they had never been.

Theo turned back to Ari with a waggle of his eyebrows that was the polar opposite of subtle, one slim finger tapping at the tip of Ari’s nose lightly. “I have found that one can benefit from a spot of trouble now and again, wouldn’t you agree?”

Ari’s mind finally snapped into focus as Park stepped closer, the lurking bulk of his black-clad form reminding Ari of the danger they were in with a sudden chill through his bones.

He pushed Theo behind him with shaking hands, Orin tensing and moving by his side immediately, small blade held out between his massive knuckles. “Don’t worry, Theo, we will liberate you from this villain!” Ari assured him in a voice that hardly shook at all.

Theo just walked around him, cocking his head to check Ari over in uncharacteristic silence before turning to point a finger at Park, advancing on him at a rate Ari found inadvisable, long locks of hair whipping behind his head like the vengeful snakes of a gorgon.

“You didn’t tell them you were rescuing them?” Theo yelled, digging his finger into the solid wall of Park’s chest, appearing entirely unfazed by Park’s fearsome scowl.

Park shrugged, face a portrait of unconcern as he scratched at his chin with the barrel of his pistol. “No.”

Theo waved his arms like he might yet discover the secret of flight, smacking the back of one against the meat of Park’s shoulder but receiving no visible reaction from Park in return.

“Whyever not?” Theo’s voice squeaked beneath the sheer force of his indignation, hands continuing to churn up the air around him.

Park shrugged again, tucking his pistol into the holster under his arm as he leveled dark eyes on Theo, just a hint of a smile crinkling them at the corners.

“It was funny.”

Theo frowned, settling his weight back on one heel as he crossed his arms over his chest, glaring at Park.

“You can’t do that to him! Ari isn’t like me. He’s sensitive. Sweet. Dare I say, unassuming. Easily frightened. Picture a helpless baby rabbit with a rock collection, and you would have my brother. You cannot treat him like this and expect to get away with it; I won’t let you. He doesn’t have the constitution to put up with your nonsense, Jun!”

Ari stared at Theo, a wave of every terrible feeling he had endured since his brother’s disappearance rising up inside of him, bringing him to an absolute boil.

“I’m sorry. Was dropping everything and jumping the Verge in desperate search of you not brave enough, Theo?” Words tumbled out of his mouth like hot lava before he could stop himself. “Should I have perhaps done the whole thing blindfolded with my hands tied behind my back? Although, I did spend a shocking amount of time in wristcuffs, now that I think on it.” Ari’s voice petered out at the same rate as his anger, ending on a quiet mumble directed at Theo’s steel-capped toes.

Theo remained unaffected by Ari’s outburst, mouth quirking up slyly, gaze sliding from Ari to Orin and back. “Oh, did you? How interesting,” he said, voice like treacherous silk.

Ari blanched, glancing over at Orin to find his face nearly split in half by amusement, every dimple on full display as he watched their exchange, thumbs looped in his braces and giving every appearance of enjoying himself thoroughly.

The little blade was nowhere to be seen, presumably tucked back into its hiding place.

Ari’s face burned as Theo and Orin’s grins just grew wider and wider.

“No. Not like— Nothing like that. We were held by Enforcers and raiders, and then your Mr. Park here. It was all very harrowing, I assure you.”

Park’s face twisted into a forbidding frown at that. “Captain Park.” His deep voice cut, sharp vowels hinting at the accent Theo had written into his notes. “And I’m not his.”

Theo’s grin fell away as he squinted up at Captain Park, who appeared to be making a concerted effort not to look back at him, instead turning away to walk behind the dented ship he had brought them in.

Theo followed for a few steps before throwing his hands up in the air, voice tight with exasperation. “Where exactly do you think you are going? We have guests to accommodate!”

Captain Park threw his words over his shoulder like a dagger. “I’m unhooking your stupid little ship.”

Orin perked up at the words, casting Ari an excited glance before trotting over behind the ship after Captain Park.

His joyful exclamation sent answering joy sparking through Ari, followed by distress, and immediately after, shame.

Orin started crooning love songs to Delilah as Ari’s heart sank deeper and deeper into the toes of his boots. If Captain Park had brought their ship along, then that meant— Well. It meant everything was as it should be, to Ari’s disgraceful despair.

He followed them, rounding Park’s beat-up rescue vessel just as Theo caught up to him, linked their arms, and rested his head on Ari’s shoulder. Ari could feel how much he had missed him in the tense grip of his fingers around Ari’s arm, like he was afraid of letting go even for a second.

Theo was ever the one to run his mouth, but when it came to his true feelings, they were best expressed through his actions. Words were the armor he hid behind, just as solitude had always been for Ari.

Would soon be again, it would seem.

Ari covered Theo’s hand on his arm, squeezing lightly. “How are you, truly, Theo?” He pitched his words to be kept just between them. “You must tell me if you have come to any harm.”

Theo shook his head, rolling his bony skull against Ari’s shoulder and tickling his neck with his unruly hair.

“No harm at all. Nothing worth noting anyway. The Captain has done his best to keep me safe, and he can be quite formidable when he puts his mind to it. You should see him in action, Ari, he’s like a dancer. That is, if the dancer were bristling with weapons and maintained a perpetual black mood. And absolutely despised dancing. And music, for that matter. He’s actually not much like a dancer, upon further consideration.”

Something clanged to the floor beneath Delilah, swiftly followed by a shout from Orin and a scathing reply from Park.

Ari continued, keeping his voice low, “This Captain Park, Theo. Was I wrong in surmising that you were taken by him unwillingly? I have been chasing after him for weeks now, only to find that you appear to be something like his friend.”

Theo shook his head again, lifting it from Ari’s shoulder with a tight smile that reached for his eyes but never quite connected. His fingers remained clutched tight to Ari’s arm.

“I will tell him you said that; he will not be pleased to hear he gave you such an impression. His face will be an absolute delight. As for my abduction. I suppose one could say, technically, you were correct. I wouldn’t say I was abducted entirely unwillingly, however. It was quite late in the evening, and I was exceedingly bored. You know how I get when I am in need of diversion, Ari.”

Ari took a step back to gape at him through a fog of ever-growing consternation, pain radiating between his temples in the beginnings of a very familiar Theo-shaped headache.

Theo continued on, oblivious, “Alright. So yes, he did abduct me. But as it turns out, he had a very good reason for doing so. Well, perhaps not for kidnapping me at gunpoint. That was a bit of a faux pas on his part. We have since grown past it, as you can see. He could have simply asked for my assistance, which I have made clear to him would have been the better choice. He isn’t terribly good with words, I’m afraid, but he does have other redeeming qualities, I assure you.”

Ari took a deep breath, counted to three, then exhaled noisily, prying Theo’s fingers from his arm to hold them tightly in his hand.

“Theo. By all that is holy, tell me you have not fallen in love with him.”

Theo winced, lips twisted into a hopeful curve that boded ill for the structural integrity of Ari’s stomach lining. “No?” he tried, sounding entirely unsure. “No. Absolutely not. Of course not, Ari, don’t be a goose.” His certainty appeared tissue-thin.

Ari had hoped for a more unequivocal answer because when Theo fell in love, it was a bit like a natural disaster. Swift, brutal, and leaving a trail of destruction in its path that Ari usually had to be the one to tidy up.

Theo beamed at him, squeezing his hand between both of his, a slight chill from the loading bay clinging to his thin fingers. “And besides, Ari, just see how wonderful it has been for you to go on this adventure! Now that I have you before me, I can tell I did the right thing in leaving those clues. I did worry it might be too much for you, but here you are, altogether radiant from the experience! I would say it was rather good for you to get out of the house, regardless of the less than ideal circumstances.”

Ari had once read the phrase “seeing red” in an overblown gothic novel and had scoffed at the description. How ridiculous, the notion that rage could alter one’s visual perception.

Now, as Theo happily declared himself to have been quite clever for setting them both upon such a wonderful adventure, Ari saw red.

He dropped Theo’s hand, stumbling back a pace, and then another, until his heel scattered something small and metallic across the metal grating of the floor.

“You thought—you thought it would be good for me. To get out of the house. You dare say those words to me in that order? Now? After all I have done for you?”

Theo’s smile fell in little increments as if someone were dialing back the brightness on their screen, hands slowly raising between them in a gesture of consolation that was far too little, far too late.

Ari jutted his chin, hands rolling into fists as he held his arms stiff at his sides, attempting to control his breathing before he screamed.

Theo’s face paled as Ari set his jaw, hands now held out between them as if asking Ari to take them into his own. “Oh, don’t give me the chin, Ari! You cannot tell me it hasn’t been a grand adventure. I would indeed say it has been good for you. Just consider how far you have gotten out of your comfort zone! And with a strapping young man at your side, no less.” Theo threw him a wink that might as well have been a lit match on a barrel of fuel crystals.

Ari silently counted to three, and then five, and then ten. Then he took a deep breath and launched himself at his brother, hands and hair flying.

Theo shrieked, covering his face as the pair fell to the ground, Ari immediately sitting up on Theo’s stomach to slap at every inch of him he could reach, shouting at him between every slap.

“You! Absolute! Idiot! How could you!? You. Could. Have. Died! I’m going to kill you!”

Theo reached up and snagged Ari’s hair, prompting Ari to grab a fistful of Theo’s longer hair and yank until they both had tears in their eyes, snarling in each other’s faces.

Ari had to let go with an indignant squawk as he was lifted off his twin by one thick arm and held immobile against Orin’s chest as he fought to catch his breath. He glared at Theo where he sat on the ground, rubbing his head angrily and glaring back at Ari.

Ari felt more than saw Orin jerk his head at Park.

“Go on, Captain, see to yours. Seems like whatever this hullabaloo is about, we won’t be settling it like adults.”

Ari slowly turned his head on his neck like an owl to stare incredulously up at the pilot who had, not a half hour before, been ready to brawl at a moment’s notice with nothing more than a minuscule blade at his disposal.

Theo sniffled piteously as Park helped him to stand with a swift yank on his arm before stepping away and craning his neck to the ceiling with the closest thing to a smile Ari had yet seen flitting across his face.

Theo sniffled again twice as loud, glaring at Park from under damp lashes, face flushed the same burning red as Ari’s own skin. “Whatever are you doing?”

Park turned an actual, genuine, extremely brief smile on Theo, gesturing carelessly at the ceiling. “Checking to make sure the cameras got that. They did. I’m thinking of selling copies to the crew.”

Theo turned his back on Park rather pointedly, aiming sad puppy eyes in Ari’s direction as he rubbed gingerly at his scalp with an exaggerated whimper.

Ari pointed a scornful finger at Theo, boots scrabbling over Orin’s shins as he tried to launch himself once more, shoving at the arm holding him still.

“Oh, shut up, Theophrastus. You deserved all that and worse!”

To his annoyance, he could feel Orin battling laughter behind him, the muscles of his abdomen shaking with the effort.

Theo had the nerve to pout, lower lip jutting out and arms crossed tetchily.

Ari mimicked the way Theo liked to toss his hair over his shoulder with a flick of his head, but since Ari had much shorter hair, he only managed to appear as though he were avoiding a fly.

“Look at me!” He pitched his voice in Theo’s characteristic upbeat inflection. “I’m Theo, and I think everything is simply marvelous all the time and I never stop to think before making incredibly stupid decisions! I never take the time to consider the consequences of my actions! Aren’t I just so fun and whimsical? Isn’t everything such a lark?”

Ari dropped his voice to his normal tone, bypassing it completely and continuing on down to a scathing snarl. “You almost got me sold by raiders, Theo! You almost got my—my— My pilot killed!”

Theo’s eyes welled with tears, his nose going that unattractive rosy hue that let Ari know they were genuine, and Ari’s rage deflated like it had been stuck by a pin. “I’m sorry, Aristotle. Truly. I should never have made light of things. I really have missed you most terribly. Thank you for coming to find me. You are the best brother one could ever wish for.”

Orin let him slide to the ground and took his face in one large hand to swipe at his cheeks with a faded plaid handkerchief Ari had never seen before. “I gotta say, this isn’t exactly the kind of tearful reunion I was expecting.”

Ari hadn’t even realized tears were running down his face until Orin was wiping them gently away. He caught Orin’s hand in his and held it to his cheek, determinedly ignoring the delighted squeal Theo made behind him. “I can’t believe you have your ship. Will she be able to fly again soon, do you think?”

Orin beamed, smile warm against Ari’s face like sunshine on a winter’s day. He resolved to soak it up as long as he could, storing it away for the cold nights ahead.

“Give me a couple hours with my toolkit, and she’ll be right as rain.”

Orin’s smile faltered as fresh tears overflowed Ari’s eyes, dampening their clasped hands.

Ari nodded, trying to keep his expression bright. “Good. That’s good. How wonderful for you. You have more than earned it. I suppose the time has come for us to part ways, then. I shall— I’m afraid I shall miss you terribly.” Ari choked back a sob, and Orin’s fingers tightened across his jaw as he studied Ari solemnly. “I cannot begin to pretend otherwise. You already know that I— You know how I feel. About you. I shall always—always be grateful for our time together.”

Orin’s face sparkled with a joy Ari found entirely unsuitable for the circumstances. “Sweetheart, for a brilliant scientist, you sure can be thick as molasses when you put your mind to it.”

Ari reared back, but Orin’s hands followed to wrap around his waist and the nape of his neck. “I beg your pardon?”

Orin drew him in close, fitting Ari against himself like he had been crafted entirely for that purpose.

“I ain’t going nowhere. Couldn’t get rid of me if you tried, honey. You and me, we’re in this together. To the end of the line.”

Ari trembled in his arms, waves of relief and bursts of joy filling him to the brim until he thought he might fly apart if not for the anchoring sensation of Orin all around him.

Theo waited until Orin’s lips were a hairsbreadth away from Ari’s before interrupting cheerfully.

“That’s certainly good to hear, because we need your help.”