Chapter Twenty-Seven

His scalp ached, his cheeks stung, and his left elbow twinged from landing on the metal floor. But the planet-sized hole in his chest had shrunk down to a manageable speck with Ari finally here by his side. Theo was so caught up in the joy of the moment, of discovering that he and his twin shared a love of adventure, and that Ari had finally found a man worth sacrificing a shred of his dignity for, that he forgot Jun’s plan to send him away. Theo was too busy gleefully plotting his interruption of Ari’s passionate interlude with his partner. He relished the reversal of roles after the countless times Ari had interrupted Theo with one of his paramours.

It was going to be splendid good fun, visiting upon Ari all of the torments he had put Theo through in his romantic endeavors. Theo couldn’t wait to start.

Just as Orin Stone confessed his undying love for Theo’s brother and announced that he wasn’t going anywhere, Theo leaned in with a serious expression. He pitched his voice to break their concentration on each other.

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

The disappointed twist on Mr. Stone’s rugged face made Theo giggle maniacally. His timing was impeccable, as ever.

Mr. Stone gave Theo a considering look as he tugged Ari close to his side. “What kind of help do y’all need?”

It was disconcerting to see Theo’s prim and proper brother with this Verge tough. He almost couldn’t fathom it, had always imagined Ari would end up with a quiet, boring academic by his side.

Something told Theo Mr. Stone was anything but boring.

Jun drew even with Theo, arms held in that loose cross he used when he wanted to display that he was armed, glaring at Mr. Stone. “I don’t need your help—” He turned his glare to Theo. “—and there is no ‘we.’”

Theo’s blood was already up from fighting his twin. If Jun wanted to do this now, in front of Ari and his pilot and the watchful eyes of Boom’s vid feed, then so be it. He stood toe-to-toe with Jun, lifting his chin with challenge and ignoring Ari’s soft, worried gasp. “Yes, of course. Because you never need any help from anyone, right, Captain? Except, on occasion, when you are so desperate for help that you kidnap academics to assist you in your endeavors.”

Jun scoffed, lips lifting in a sneer, but Theo continued before he could get a word in, pressing a firm hand to Jun’s chest.

“And, as for the existence of a ‘we.’ It must have been my imagination a few hours ago when you had me up against that”—he pointed back at the dinghy—“hull, practically begging for me.”

Jun loomed over Theo, wrapping a hand in his jacket.

Ari inhaled sharply at the move, and Theo vaguely registered his pilot reassuring him. He was too entranced by the flames dancing in Jun’s eyes.

“If anyone was begging,” Jun said, “it was you.”

Theo batted his lashes, affecting a calculated pout that dropped Jun’s gaze to his lips like clockwork. “Only because you like it so very much, Captain. I do try to cater to your unique preferences.”

Releasing him with a snarl, Jun took a step back. He tossed up a rude gesture to the cameras, and Theo noticed for the first time that the coms were suspiciously silent. “Your brother’s here. Your ship is here. You even have a pilot, if you can stomach that Verge smell.”

The pilot in question growled, and Ari petted at his massive chest and cooed as though he were calming a horse. Theo would have found it amusing if he weren’t steeped up to his eyebrows in righteous fury.

Theo pretended to check his nails, suppressing a smile at the way being ignored made Jun huff like a bull. “Did you have a point, or were you simply inspired to list my favorable circumstances?”

“You need to leave. Go back home to Britannia. Forget all of this.” There was as much steel in Jun’s voice as there was in the banged-up walls surrounding them.

The forget me wasn’t spoken aloud, but it didn’t have to be. It was clear enough.

All traces of amusement fled as Theo’s heart dropped into his stomach with a dull thud. “I thought you needed my help. That only I could finish the translation. I thought you needed me.”

I thought you wanted me. He didn’t say it, but it was there in the tremble of his voice.

Jun’s gaze darted over to their audience, then fixed on Theo. Jun curled over him in a semblance of intimacy as he lowered his volume. “Theo. You’re incredible, and have already helped more than you can know—”

Theo grabbed onto Jun’s hand, trying to pour every ounce of his sincerity in his face, to drown out the desperation he knew must be written there. “Then why would I leave? I know you must be tired of me, but I intend to see this through.”

Slowly, sweetly, Jun’s hand turned in his grip, lacing their fingers together. “I’m not tired of you. Not even close.” He gazed down at Theo with stars in his eyes. “How could I tire of an ever-changing sky?”

Every word lifted Theo’s heart back into place until he felt incandescent with strength and determination. “Well, then I have excellent news, Jun. I’m staying, and I’m going to help you see this through.”

Jun blinked away the stars as he shook his head and released Theo’s hand. “No. You have to leave; we’re out of time.”

Now that Theo knew for sure Jun had not tired of him, that his motivation stemmed from some as yet unrevealed self-sacrificing source, it was easy to resist. Effortless, really, to dig in roots and plant himself right where he wanted to be. Alongside Jun.

Theo focused narrowly on Jun’s worried face, scanning the cracks in his stoic expression for points of access. “What about the holozite you intend to acquire? I suppose you have a laboratory on board to stabilize it?”

Jun turned his head away, mouth twisting unhappily at the corners under Theo’s direct hit. “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.”

Nodding slowly, Theo pretended to contemplate that for a moment. He then held up his finger in a mock pose of discovery. “Or, you could simply ask one of the leading authorities on complex combustibles.”

The lack of amusement Jun graced him with at that was nothing short of delightful, and Theo had to suppress a wriggle of glee at Jun’s dry tone. “Great idea; I’ll just go out and get one of those on my next run.”

“Allow me to present to you—” Theo gestured to Ari, who startled as though he had forgotten he wasn’t invisible. “—Dr. Aristotle Campbell, master geologist.”

It was deeply satisfying to witness Jun’s eyes widen with reluctant interest, snapping to take in Ari with renewed focus. “Geologist. But you’d need equipment to stabilize holozite. We don’t have any.”

Theo dug a jovial elbow into the solid muscle of Jun’s stomach. “Did I fail to mention he has a fully equipped lab aboard our vessel?”

Really, Jun ought to have considered Theo with patent gratitude rather than teeth-grinding fury. “You didn’t mention that.”

Theo gave a loose-limbed shrug and took a few steps away as though preparing to board his ship after all. “Oh. Well, he does. But that wouldn’t interest you, as you have no need of help, so I’ll just tell him to pack it all up and head back to the Verge.”

It was anything but a surprise to receive Jun’s staying hand on his shoulder. “Alright. You win. He can help.”

Theo accepted the hand as if they were dancing a waltz and turned into Jun’s arms to pat him on the cheek. “How magnanimous of you. Truly, just astoundingly generous. However shall we thank you for your condescension to accept the assistance of two very well-regarded experts in their field?”

Ari made one of his small, squeaking Ari noises that meant he thought Theo was prevaricating but didn’t want to call him out for it in public.

Theo sighed, dropping his hand with a reluctant gesture Ari’s way. “Well, Ari is certainly well regarded. I’m generally well regarded until someone meets me in person. I tend to ruin whatever regard had been built up simply by virtue of my personality. Couldn’t begin to tell you why.”

Ari jumped in as loyally as ever. “Theo is renowned for his work in several prominent publications.” He’d used the line to sell Theo to skeptical colleagues for years. It was as sweet as it was tiring to hear it, and know Ari considered that to be Theo’s greatest, and only, accomplishment.

Theo muttered, “Yes, I do seem to come across much better on paper.”

Caring, perceptive Ari sensed his deflation and offered a light touch to his elbow with a smile. “You’re wonderful in person, as well, my dear. I shun the opinion of any who would disagree.”

Theo caught his fingers with a swift squeeze, offering a smile of his own. “Thank you, darling. To be shunned by Dr. Aristotle Campbell is a dire fate indeed.”

Mr. Stone leaned in, and Theo didn’t miss the absent, familiar manner in which his hands fell to Ari’s hips as his deep voice rumbled overhead. “I’d rather be bitten to death by warsnakes, myself.”

Ari spun with a gasp to swat at Mr. Stone’s chest indignantly. “Oh, don’t say that, Orin!”

Theo had despaired of ever seeing his brother so happy; it lit a glow inside of him that tumbled out in laughter. “First names, Ari? My, my, it must be serious.”

Ari aimed his stubborn chin Theo’s way and the glow abated, subsumed by a rush of anger. “Don’t think it escaped my notice that you have reached a similar level of familiarity with your Captain Park, Theo. We will be discussing that, I assure you.”

He could feel Jun stiffening at his side, shifting with discomfort, and Theo rushed to prevent Ari from pushing too far. “There’s nothing to discuss.”

His brother rolled his eyes in a vulgar display of disbelief most uncharacteristic of his behavior in public. For the first time, Theo began to wonder whether this adventure had changed Ari in some permanent ways. The thought was nearly as intriguing as it was concerning. “Oh yes, there is,” Ari responded. “For all I know, you have once again fallen beneath the sway of a dastardly fiend, and I shall not stand by in idleness while he takes deplorable advantage of your innocent and trusting nature!”

Jun made a choked sound at the word “innocent,” but he was examining the ceiling when Theo turned a glare his way.

Ari continued in a soft, condescending tone so much like their mother that it set Theo’s teeth on edge. “Theo, I mean no offense—”

“He only says that when he fully intends to offend me,” Theo offered in an aside to Mr. Stone, who grinned in response as if their bickering was his favorite show.

Ari narrowed his eyes at Theo, hands planted firmly on his hips. “As I was saying”—his tone had lost a bit of its softness, hard edges pushing through—“I mean no offense, but you have not shown the best judgement in regards to your choices in romantic partners, historically.”

Theo flung his hands out, smacking one into Jun’s chest and eliciting a low grunt that was swiftly drowned out by Theo’s raised volume. “One time! One time, I walked out with somebody who turned out to be a confidence man. We didn’t need that month’s allowance anyway, with my TA stipend. You must admit, Ari, that his mustache was very handsome. Had he been a foot taller and twice as wide, you would have given him a second glance and you know it.”

Ari pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes falling shut while he counted to three under his breath. It was a funny little tic of Ari’s that often cropped up when he was speaking to Theo. He finally dropped his hand with a sharp inhale, pinning Theo with his gaze. “I know no such thing. My point is that we can hardly trust you to be an excellent judge of character when it comes to love.”

Jun’s brows shot up as he glanced down at Theo and then quickly away as he directed his gaze back to the ceiling, a suspect wash of color tinting his high cheekbones.

Theo blew a lock of hair out of his face, his chest clenching at Jun’s obvious discomfort.

Unrequited love was awful; Theo found little to recommend it.

“Oh fiddlesticks, Ari. Captain Park has, with the exception of his initial abduction, behaved most admirably.”

He had nearly forgotten how amusing it was to watch Ari sputter with indignation.

“With the exception of— Theo, this man held you captive! He abducted an innocent person from their office, and—”

Theo cut in with a smirk, “Come, now. I would wager neither one of us has much claim to innocence any longer—” He tossed a wink to Mr. Stone, who, to his absolute delight, winked back at him. “—wouldn’t you agree?”

Jun didn’t seem to appreciate the exchange, his focus whipping to Mr. Stone with a chill Theo could sense over his shoulder.

It was just as amusing to watch Ari go bright red as it was humiliating when it happened to himself. His twin squawked with offended dignity and turned to Mr. Stone with wide, shocked eyes. “Why—I can’t believe he would— The very nerve!”

Mr. Stone smoothed one big, rough hand gently over Ari’s uncharacteristically mussed hair and settled it across the back of his neck with a squeeze, eyes sparkling. “He’s got a point, baby. We’ve been pretty thorough.”

“Orin!”

Theo had never known just how satisfying it would be to hear Ari screech someone else’s name in outrage. He decided, right then and there, that he and Mr. Orin Stone were going to be great friends.