Page 60 of Changeling
Nathan took a deep breath and relayed the events of the previous night. When he was done, he spoke on before Walter could offer any of his usual doom and gloom. “Light fae aren’t really that different from humans, right? As far as the whole good versus evil, I mean, they’re not saints, but they’re…still basically good?”
“Yes…as basically good as any human,” Walter nodded, “while dark fae lean more toward destruction. Though we have seen it proven there are exceptions.”
“Right, but…say a light sidhe appeared, right now. You’d be banished then, too, wouldn’t you? It isn’t just dark sidhe that keep you from appearing. It’s…the concentration of power, or whatever, not that dark sidhe are evil.”
“I see where you’re going with this, Nathan.”
“Do you?” Nathan pressed. “Because I was there, Walt, I saw Jim pretty damn near to True Awakening, and he was still just trying to save me. He didn’t kill any innocents, or lay waste to any cities, and he sure as hell didn’t try to hurt me. He’s close enough to Awakening fully that you can’t appear if I’m too close to him. Fine. But that doesn’t mean him giving in and letting this happen is a bad idea. He can still be good. So until something happens to prove otherwise…that’s how I’m choosing to see it.”
As Walter stared back at him, Nathan prepared himself for a fight, for whatever strong argument Walter might have in his back pocket to contradict everything Nathan had said. But, as was becoming more frequent these days, Walter surprised him.
“Okay, Nathan.”
“Really?”
“Your conviction is admirable. So is Jim’s. Even Sasha seems to believe this is all quite possible, and he can read the truth beneath the surface, the true intentions at the core of what Jim is. Jim may still be dangerous, but if his motivations are tied up that inextricably with wanting to save you…maybe that trulyis all it will take.” Then Walter smiled, nodded once, and faded away without another word.
Having Walter’s blessing, Nathan felt his resolve strengthen. He tightened his fists at his side and stood tall. They could do this. They could really do this.
“Thanks, Walt.”
WhenNathanreturnedtothe room, he had to wonder if he had just walked in on yesterday, because as hard as it was for him to believe at first, Jim and Sasha were wrestling on the bed. Okay, so it was more like Jim had Sasha from behind, trying to get something out of his hands, and somehow they hadended upon the bed, but the end result was the same.
“Do you two need a few minutes?” Nathan smirked as he entered.
The pair froze. In that awkward backwards embrace. On the bed.
Nathan valiantly held back his laughter as he came around to get a better look at them. Once he saw what it was they were fighting over, he lost it. It was a pair of coloring books held protectively in Sasha’s arms.
“Aww, are you fighting over who gets to keep the pretty pictures?” Nathan teased. “Or can’t decide who stayed in the lines better?”
This distraction was enough for Sasha to worm his way out of Jim’s hold where he then quickly got up from the bed, still holding the books tightly to his chest. Jim huffed and sat up straight on the edge of the mattress.
“He was going to throw them away,” Sasha said to Nathan, as if that entirely justified their tussle.
“They’re ridiculous,” Jim defended. “The whole thing was.”
“They’re souvenirs,” Sasha said. “Proof we survived being five. Again.”
Nathan chuckled. “I’ll take them,” he said, stepping over to Sasha and holding out his hand. There had to be some residual effects from being a five-year-old because the expression on Sasha’s face was that sort of cautious pout only a child could wear. “I’m not gonna let Jim throw ‘em,” he assured Sasha as he took them. “This is evidence. Freakin’ hilarious evidence, too. One of us is bound to have a real fridge in a real house someday. And these are gonna be the first things that go up on it.” Nathan smirked at the thought.
"I won’t try to throw them away again,” Jim said to Sasha. “There’s just…a few things I’d rather not remember about the last couple of days.”
Sasha blanched. “Good point.”
“Like what?” Nathan asked, tossing the coloring books over by his duffle. One was Spider-Man and the other was Care Bears. He wondered which one had been used by which five-year-old, but he had his suspicions. “It wasn’t all that bad.”
Studying his companions for a reaction, Nathan noticed the furtive glances Jim and Sasha gave each other before coming to some sort of consensus and then turning quickly away again. Then it hit Nathan. They rememberedeverything. Which would have to include bath time.
“Oh God,” Nathan laughed. “You remember watching each other naked!” He barked another laugh and then realized that yes, his brother—very adult now—remembered seeing his lover naked. “That’s not funny.”
This time it was Sasha who laughed, but Jim stood up from the bed and gave the incubus a sharp look. “No, it’s not. Can we try and put that behind us maybe. I mean, I don’t mind the playing. We had fun for five-year-olds. It was kinda…nice. Simple.” Jimshrugged. “But the bathing and…yeah. I can do without those memories.”
Sasha walked up to Nathan. “I think I can live with having seen Jim naked. Just so long as I get to see you naked, Nathan Grier,soonand more often.” He accompanied his teasing words with a very light pat on Nathan’s shoulder—a pat that immediately had Nathan gasping in pain because it was his hurt shoulder that had been aggravated one too many times. He must have slept on it funny, or forgotten to take his pain meds that morning.
“Nathan?” Sasha asked in concern. “I’m so sorry. Is your shoulder still hurting you that badly?”
Nathan had been on such an adrenaline high during the fight with Faust, he had almost forgotten about his wounds, but after a good night’s sleep and some time to really relax and cool down, he was aching pretty much everywhere. “What gave it away?” he said through clenched teeth, his good arm reaching over to touch the injured shoulder even though he couldn’t actually bring himself to make contact without fear of causing himself more pain.
