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laniew1I don't even know why I keep calling these ficlets, they just seem to keep getting progressively longer.
Read the tagged Constants stories first.
Summary: Psychics were few and far between. For every one there was at least 150 trained Constants (that wasn’t counting the untrained Constants that could sometimes sneak in and lure a Psychic away).
TITLE: Constants
RATING: PG-13
PAIRING: David C/David A (possible past/ D.C./M.J., D.A./M.J. and future D.A./D.C./M.J.) Pete/Patrick, Gerard/Frank, Ryan/Bob, Mikey/Brendon
AUTHOR: Melanie
SUMMARY: Psychics were few and far between. For every one there was at least 150 trained Constants (that wasn’t counting the untrained Constants that could sometimes sneak in and lure a Psychic away).
DISCLAIMER: I don’t own any of these boys and I’m pretty sure that this has never happened.
Constants Ficlet #4
They’re there on a case. The local cops have called them to deal with a religious sect that has a slew of charges mounting against them, the problem is everything is word of mouth and rumors, nothing can be proven, that’s why they’re there.
The hush hush, whispered words and the rumors that everyone mutters behind hands are fairly severe.
Abductions, rapes, forced marriages.
It’s pretty bad, some of those involved are minors; David tries not to think about that part.
David and Michael are old hands at this; they work really well as a team. Can read each others signals and body language.
They’ve neither of them chosen a Constant, for right now they serve as each other’s pseudo ones. Stabilizing each other in the same manner that their Constants will in the future.
Neither of them is any rush to choose. And thankfully their Institute isn’t pushing them to do so; they’re giving them the freedom to choose at their own leisure.
David knows it’s not like that at other Institutes. He’s glad he’s where he is.
The local law enforcement has a group of seven, one woman and six men, for them to try and get information from. Its hard going, harder then it should be; the seven are completely closed off to them. David can’t figure it out, they’re all Normals. Not one of them pings on his radar like a Constant or another Psychic would.
But their thoughts are buried behind walls so thick that it takes David and Michael tag-teaming them, one pushing, the other skimming the top-most thoughts that surface as a result to come up with anything.
They’ve been in contact with a Psychic, that’s the only reason that David can come up with for their shields to be so strong. They’ve been in contact with a Psychic and as a result they’ve all been trained to shield themselves from whoever that Psychic might be or any other that might come calling.
The thought that there might be a Psychic behind the closed walls of the sect is unsettling.
But unfortunately a Psychic isn’t the reason for their visit. They look but can find nothing in the seven’s thoughts to justify just cause for a search of the sects properties, they go to the outer edge of the properties and even piggy-backing each other they can feel no Psychic on any of the grounds.
They give the local law enforcement everything they can get (which isn’t much, they’re disappointed but at least they can move forward with some charges as opposed to none), it won’t be enough to disband the sect because they’re not even close to getting those near the top.
They’re in a local convenience store, picking up snack foods and drinks because they’re going to drive back. Michael’s got some inner ear thing going on and David can’t take another couple of hours on a plane listening to him complain about it.
He’s choosing between chips when he feels it.
That little ping on his radar that says there’s a Constant nearby.
He glances around; discreet like because he doesn’t want to startle anyone and the only people in the little convenience store besides him, Michael and their bodyguard is the cashier and a pair of kids that must be siblings with as alike as they are in appearance.
They’re looking at the magazines, every so often the girl will nudge the boy and he’ll nudge her back and they’re giggling at each other.
David reaches out gently with his mind, just a little tendril to see which one responds to him. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Michael’s head come up in response to those tendrils and he glances at him, then he too focuses on the kids.
Because they are kids, the boy is obviously the older of the two but if he’s over 18 David will eat the patches off his uniform.
It’s just a little nudge, a sort of ‘hey, how you doing’ sort of thing but the boy looks up and the terror on his face is something that David’s not seen before and he’s had bad guys on their knees begging for mercy as he sifts through their thoughts to catalog their crimes.
The girl notices that she doesn’t have her brothers’ attention any longer and she glances around to see what’s captured it. She sees David and Michael both staring at them, sees their uniforms and she moves scarily fast.
She starts pushing the boy towards the door, she has a grip on his arm and the boy stumbles along behind her. He doesn’t break eye contact though, probably can’t, just like David can’t move to stop them.
There’s a little voice in his head screaming ‘mine, mine, mine’ at him.
Just like that, he feels the boy in his head. He sees him curled up in a ball looking small and terrified, he knows enough about how this works to know that the boy is seeing the same thing, though in his mind David probably isn’t curled up in a fetal position and he definitely doesn’t look terrified.
Michael intercepts them at the door; the cashier behind the register is slowly backing up against the wall. Michael and David’s bodyguard puts himself between the door and the kids, effectively blocking their escape route.
The girl looks furious, the boys’ eyes still haven’t moved from David’s. It’s about then that David notices their clothing, they’re the same exact type and style that the members of the religious sect that David and Michael were brought in to talk to were wearing.
He’s so completely fucked.
David manages to get his feet moving finally and he slowly walks towards them.
“Hi,” he says, softly, gently. Hands out in front of him, palms up.
Don’t be scared of me, don’t be scared of me, I’m not going to hurt you.
The boy doesn’t say anything but his face is relaxing; he bites his lip and glances at his sister, then back at David.
Sarah, the boy whispers.
“No,” Sarah says softly, she starts crying, tears sliding down her face and she backs away from her brother. “David they’ll kill you,” she whispers.
David doesn’t break eye contact with him, the boy looks resigned now to whatever is going to come next.
“I know.”
******************************************************************************
David calls him Archie. The two of them having the same name had just been confusing as hell. To retaliate Archie calls him Cook and Michael has a grand laugh at his expense then calls them both David just to completely fuck with them.
Archie is over 18, just barely, but it’s something. David doesn’t eat the patches off his uniform because the only person that knows he’d even had that thought at the time was him and maybe Archie but Archie doesn’t really talk about those moments in the convenience store.
David completely and utterly adores him. Eventually he’ll love him but right now there’s adoration and that’s enough.
He’s bright and cheerful and completely unlike anyone that David has ever had contact with before, nothing seems to faze him or depress him, (except for that first time that they met David hasn’t ever seen Archie without a smile on his face) David’s mood automatically shifts to something resembling happiness whenever they’re anywhere near the same vicinity.
Even with a death threat (an actual one, Archie’s father had been infuriated; when David leaves the Institute he does so with two bodyguards and a bullet proof vest on under his uniform; Archie is not allowed to leave because David had possibly had a fit at the idea) hanging over both of their heads Archie is the one bright, shining point in David’s life.
******************************************************************************
Archie’s father attacks him at one of his court appearances.
He’d gone to the bathroom and it’s supposed to be a secure building, he hadn’t taken his bodyguards.
Archie’s father corners him in one of the stalls and David doesn’t know what he does, he thinks Archie’s dad was alone but there might have been another Psychic that came in after he was unconscious on the floor, he doesn’t know, he doesn’t ever remember either.
When he wakes up he’s back at the Institute, beeping machines surrounding him and Archie laying next to him on the bed, head on his shoulder.
David pushes and pushes but he can’t get to the place in his head where Archie is waiting, the door is locked and though he searches and searches he can’t find the key to open it.
David starts screaming.
******************************************************************************
He’s worthless; anything that made him special is completely and utterly gone. He tells them he’s going to leave the Institute, he’s just taking up space and Archie and Michael both fight him on that.
Archie says he’ll go with him and Michael sighs and says that he will as well, because the two of them have no idea how to take care of themselves. They’d be dead within a week.
So David stays and Archie stays with him. David doesn’t know why.
With David being nothing now Archie could probably go home and his dad wouldn’t kill him.
He thinks that might have been the whole point behind the attack, to remove David from the equation to get Archie back in his family’s (and the sects) clutches.
He just doesn’t know why they want him back so badly.
******************************************************************************
When the Institute is attacked there’s a group of twelve of them that manage to get out alive.
They don’t make it very far before they’re captured.
They’re separated pretty quickly and David is lumped in with the three Normals that had escaped with them, the Psychics and Constants are separated off and David doesn’t know what’s going on.
Not being able to see Archie to make sure he’s okay, not being able to read Michael’s signals to find out if he has a plan to escape, it’s driving him a little bit insane.
They bring them all back together and Michael is the only Psychic standing, from the expression on his face David doesn’t want to know what happened to the other two.
Archie and the other Constants look completely terrified, David wants to go to him, offer comfort but he also doesn’t want to paint a fucking bulls-eye on his back either.
“We’ll give you some time to think on it,” one of them sneers and Michael doesn’t say anything. He’s glaring at the ground, hands clenched into fists at his side; he’s got blood trickling down one side of his face. David doesn’t know if it’s his or from one of the others.
As they’re leaving one of them stops in front of Michael, forces his chin up so they’re staring at each other.
“We come back you better have chosen somebody or we start killing them off. You choose one of them, or you choose one of ours, doesn’t really matter to us one way or another.”
He pats Michael on the shoulder and they leave.
David can hear the heavy, ominous sound of locks clicking into place.
David waits a second to be sure they’re alone before he goes to Archie, Archie looks at him with eyes that are just as terrified as they’d been the first time they’d met, David wraps his arms around him and Archie clutches him tightly.
He’s shaking and David whispers what he hopes are soothing words into his ears.
They’re standing there breathing together when David feels Michael’s hand on his back.
“I need to talk to you.”
******************************************************************************
They have a choice, or rather Michael does. They’re force bonding him to a Constant; it can be one of his choice or one of their choice.
They’ve threatened to kill off all their Constants if he forces them to make the choice for him.
It seems to be a no win situation and a no brainer at the same time.
“You’ll choose Archie,” David says. They both look over at where Archie is huddled with the group of other Constants.
“He’s yours David,” Michael says softly.
“You need a Constant that you can trust, all of them have been trained but none of them have practical experience, you let them choose your Constant for you you’ll be forever holding yourself back, not being able to trust them. Archie’s really the only sensible choice, unless you want one of the others instead…?” Michael hadn’t said anything, but maybe he’d found somebody to choose on his own. David thinks Michael would have said something but then David isn’t really a Psychic anymore.
“He’s yours David,” Michael repeats. Like David hadn’t heard him the first time, like it hadn’t ripped his heart out of his chest to tell Michael to take Archie.
“I can’t protect him like this,” David says. It’s nothing but the truth, like this with none of the abilities that he’s had since he was a kid he’s more normal then a Normal and if Michael choosing him keeps Archie alive then that’s pretty much all David can ask for at the moment.
“You won’t sleep with him,” David says after a second.
“I won’t touch him.”
******************************************************************************
Archie slips back into the role of an active Constant easily, he and Michael work seamlessly together. No hiccups in their communication, nothing.
It shouldn’t be that easy, Archie was his; David knows this with every fiber of his being. He can’t be somebody else’s Constant as well.
But Archie and Michael have no trouble communicating.
David doesn’t know what to make of that and even though he hates the circumstances that have put them in this situation, he can’t hate them.
He loves Archie and Michael is his best friend.
He just wishes that it hadn’t been so easy. Though if it hadn’t been easy they’d probably all be dead now.
They figure out pretty quickly that the reason for the forced bond was to keep Michael in line. They drug Archie into a coma any time that they send Michael out, there’s no hope of escape and they warn them prior to them leaving on that first assignment that the drugs that are being used on Archie are highly experimental in nature and if Michael even thinks of attempting to escape Archie might suffer an unforeseen reaction to one of them.
It serves to keep both Michael and David in line, if they try anything Archie will die, and considering that Michael and Archie’s bond is pretty fucking stable, even with Michael shielded from Archie every time they leave Michael would most likely follow.
The risk isn’t worth it unless they know they can get Archie out as well.
They set Archie and Michael up in a room, and David moves in with them. Their captors don’t blink at that; he half wonders if they know who he is. Who Archie is supposed to be to him, they don’t say anything though so David can’t tell for sure.
They all three sleep in the same bed, even though there is two rooms just like at their Institute. Archie curls up in front of him, Michael is at his back.
It’s comforting and familiar, Michael and he had shared a bed on occasion; Archie has been in his bed since David brought him to the Institute.
It’s as easy and painless as it can be considering they’re being held against their will and the boy he loves is now bound to his best friend.
******************************************************************************
David doesn’t tell anybody when he starts feeling the pin pricks of emotion.
It feels like it did when he was seven and his abilities began making themselves known.
Every so often he thinks he can feel Archie. Nothing is ever said so he’s not sure if Archie can feel him in return, or if Archie’s bond with Michael has totally obliterated the one that he’d shared with David.
The fact that he’s feeling the pin pricks though gives him hope when nothing else does. Then he remembers that Archie is bound to Michael and figures that this is pay back for some horrible act that he performed in a past life.
******************************************************************************
The Mid-West Institute is their target; it seems to be one of the places where the flood of Psychics and Constants that survived the attacks are heading to.
David is sent with Michael on this assignment, he’s not sure why. Maybe they hope he’ll get himself killed.
Instead they end up captured.
David knows that by the time they get out that Archie will be dead.
When Mikey and Brendon come in he’s all but given up hope.
He’s still feeling the little pin pricks of sensation; whenever he tries to push further they skitter away like his gifts are afraid of him.
When they offer their help, he almost cries with relief.
******************************************************************************
They put Michael in the same room with him and Michael is just this side of frantic.
“I can’t feel him,” he mumbles. “I can’t feel him, he’s not there,” he’s muttering it over and over again and David tries not think of what that means.
Even shielded Michael should be able to at least tell that Archie’s still there, if he’s not, if they’ve finally garnered help only for it to be too late…
He thinks he might go crazy if after all this Archie still dies.
He thinks he could even take Archie still being Michael’s as long as Archie was alive.
They’re sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall across from the door, Michael’s leaning against David’s side and he’s shaking like he’s having a convulsion when the door opens.
Mikey enters first and it’s saying something about how far gone Michael is that he doesn’t even respond.
Mikey stands to the side and another Psychic enters, he’s walking very carefully and his eyes are completely fixed on David’s from the moment that he enters the room.
This is the Psychic that had been shot, that little pin prick that is hopefully his gifts returning had told him when that had happened. The shock and pain that the Psychic had felt had been overwhelming to even a Psychic with a minute amount of empathy.
They’d been on the other side of the building when it happened, he wouldn’t be surprised (or blame them) if they completely hold him and Michael responsible for it occurring in the first place.
Brendon and the Constant that is probably the other Psychics stand near the door with the bodyguard that had accompanied Mikey and Brendon the first time.
David is surprised that the Constant had let him out; if it had been him Archie would have handcuffed him to the bed and just not answered any summons.
Although from the look on the Constants face he probably hadn’t been given a choice in the matter.
The other Psychic is young and he squats in front of David and Michael, he glances over at Michael just once. Touches his knee gently and Michael sags against David’s side, finally still.
He stares at David then, eyes searching his face and David isn’t sure what he’s seeing, what he’s looking for.
He can feel him pushing against his mind though and like with Mikey he just lets everything through, these people won’t help him (help Archie, please, please, please) if they think he’s holding anything back.
“Hmm,” he says, there’s no expression on his face, there’s nothing in the tone of his voice that gives away what he’s thinking, what he’s looking for. He’s told them everything; he’s opened his mind completely. He has no secrets anymore. He glances over at Mikey and the two have a silent conversation that ends with them both staring with expressionless faces at David.
“My name is Ryan,” the boy says softly, like Michael is just taking a nap against David’s shoulder and he’s trying to not wake him. “That’s Bob scowling at you from the door.”
Bob makes a noise that might be an objection; Ryan ignores it except for the tiny smile that curls his lips.
“Brian has sent some people to get your Constant,” Ryan continues.
“Not mine,” David shakes his head; Michael twitches, his eyes are still closed when David glances down at him. “I… they were going to kill them all and, and…” he doesn’t cry, he won’t. “I gave him to Michael, it was the only way.”
“He’s still your Constant,” Ryan says gently. “When your powers return, that bond will reassert itself and he’ll still be your Constant.”
He doesn’t say what’ll happen to Michael’s bond to Archie, and David honestly doesn’t care. Michael can keep his bond with Archie as long as David gets his back, he’s pretty sure it doesn’t work that way though, he’s never heard of a Constant bound to two Psychics, he’s pretty sure its not possible. He can’t find it in himself to worry.
They’re going for Archie, he’s going to get Archie back… his powers are coming back, someone besides him can feel the pin pricks and…
David stares at Ryan, and allows himself, for one brief second, to wonder if everything might actually work out.
******************************************************************************
They’re escorted to a set of rooms that are a mirror image to the ones that they’d lived in at their Institute and their prison. There are two bedrooms, with two beds and even though there’s a guard at the door prohibiting them from leaving David feels like maybe this is going to be okay.
Michael is huddled in on himself on the couch, David periodically looks over at him but he’s really focusing on the cards that Mikey had shoved into his hand.
They’re flash cards; it’s one of the most basic of tests for Psychics. He’d successfully passed this test when he was eight.
He’s not so successful this time, only about every third card makes itself known and he’s getting frustrated. He feels like a kid again, seven and not having anything nearing control over gifts that he hadn’t really wanted anyway.
He puts the cards down and rests his head in his hands. He closes his eyes and breathes.
And then nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels Michael reaching out to him, a tiny, tentative tendril of energy and it takes a second for him to gather his composure, to not rush to latch onto that tendril.
He breathes again, centers himself and then slowly, cautiously, reaches out, not forcing, just reaching gently for the little tendril that is Michael.
It feels so utterly familiar and he doesn’t even notice when the tears start. It’s been a hard couple of months; he thinks he can be excused.
Michael just strengthens that tendril into something stronger and wraps it around him.
Welcome home.
******************************************************************************
They end up sleeping in the same bed, Michael pressed up tight against his back. David curls around a pillow and ignores the empty space in front of him.
Archie will be there soon, filling that space. The impossible is happening, his gifts are returning to him and he has faith, he has hope.
They’ll have to push both beds together though or they’ll never all fit.
******************************************************************************
They bring Archie in on a stretcher, when they finally take Michael and David to see him he’s still unconscious and David doesn’t know why Michael can’t feel him. Michael’s shields are completely lowered, so are David’s.
Archie’s just not there.
David leans down and presses his lips to Archie’s forehead. Closes his eyes. Michael is touching his back, when he straightens he can see that Michael’s other hand is touching Archie’s arm.
They stand there, David with his hand resting against the top of Archie’s head, Michael touching his arm. They’re a circle, they’re complete.
Archie is still not there.
Ryan is standing on the other side of the bed when David blinks. He thinks he’s zoning out and he’s not sure how much time he’s lost. He’s pretty sure that Ryan hadn’t been there before.
The Psychic standing next to him is staring at Archie’s face; David glances around and sees Ryan’s Constant Bob standing next to another Constant with a baseball cap pulled down low enough that David can’t see his eyes.
Ryan reaches across Archie and touches both of their arms. David blinks at him as he focuses his attention. It’s taking more effort then it probably should.
“This is Pete,” Ryan says, he tilts his head at the other Psychic and Pete smirks at them, then returns to studying Archie’s face.
“He’s going to help you go in and get Archie,” Ryan says.
“Archie’s not there,” Michael says, David makes a sound.
“He’s there,” Pete says, he sounds so sure of that fact that David doesn’t doubt him. He does make like he’s going to step back though, let Michael and Pete get to it, let them bring Archie home so they can figure out what they’re going to do.
Instead Pete’s hand latches around his wrist and Michael’s hand on his back keeps him in place before he can even take a half a step.
“Oh no, if we’re going deep sea fishing I’m going to need the both of you,” Pete says, he grins at them, all teeth and a wide eyes.
“My powers aren’t really…” David starts, Pete shakes his head.
“Your powers aren’t in question man, the only thing I need is your bonds,” Pete squints at him, then Michael. “Your bonds are both pretty fucking stable, no flecks or wavering or disintegration or anything to indicate that there’s something going on with his body that we need to fix first, so we’re going to follow them in and see what’s going on in your boys head.”
“They drug him when they send us out,” Michael says softly.
“The drugs are already out of his system, whatever this is,” Pete waves his hand at where Archie’s motionless body. “This is entirely your boys doing.”
“You’re sure you can…” David starts, he’s never had anyone in his head besides Archie and to a lesser extent Michael. He’s never heard of anyone following the bonds that tie Psychics to their Constants to one or the other, he’s pretty sure it’s not possible.
Pete rolls his eyes at him.
“Look if I can follow Bob into Ryan’s head and get him back out, I think I can follow the two of you into his and get everyone back in their right minds.”
******************************************************************************
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Pete says.
“We can stand,” Michael says. Pete snorts.
“We’ve got no idea how long it’s going to take to go in and get back out, you should really sit and get comfortable,” Pete makes a show of sitting in the chair that his Constant pushes into place behind him.
“This is my Patrick,” Pete beams up at him and David finally sees the Constants eyes as he rolls them at his Psychic.
Ryan and Bob are sitting side by side on the next hospital bed over, they’re both watching intently.
There are chairs against the wall, Michael grabs them and brings them over because David can’t seem to make himself let go of Archie. He puts them as close to the bed as he can and then pulls David into one, sitting in the other one. He lays his hand over the one that David has clutching Archie’s and the both look at Pete expectantly.
“Everybody ready?” Pete asks, he grins at them again. Big and wide and utterly unrepentant.
“Alright,” he says, he sounds serious all of a sudden, David looks over at him and he looks calm and there’s a little smile on his lips. Patrick is standing behind him, hands on his shoulders.
“I need both of you to take a deep breath, let it out,” Pete breathes with them. “Again… and again… close your eyes, another deep breath, slowly release and…”
******************************************************************************
It’s jarring suddenly going from sitting next to a hospital bed to being sprawled across the floor. Pete smirks down at them; at least Michael had ended up on his ass as well.
“All right then,” Pete says, his voice echoes and he jerks like he wasn’t expecting it. He glances around even as he offers his hands and tugs both of them to their feet.
“What now?” David asks, Michael touches his arm and David sees it then.
The big black wall, it’s huge, David can’t see the top. Though he can see where it looks like two cords are running into it.
One bright blue, one bright red. They’re both pulsing with energy and life.
“There you are,” Pete says softly. He touches each one, the red first and it feels like someone is touching him. Michael shudders the same way one Pete touches the blue.
“Your boy is on the other side of that wall, whatever happened he built it big and thick and the bonds are still in place but it scared him enough that he thought he needed to protect himself.”
“How do we get it down?” Michael asks.
David touches the wall with one hand and it’s not as solid as it looks, it feels spongy.
“We don’t, we convince your boy to take it down,” Pete says.
David and Michael look at each other, at the wall, at Pete, he laughs at them.
“I didn’t say it would be easy did I?”
“What do we have to do?” David asks. He doesn’t see how this is going to work. But Pete got them in here and he’s pretty sure they couldn’t have managed this on their own. He makes a mental note to ask Pete what his gifts are when they get back out.
“Well this’ll be different then me coaxing Bob out of Ryan’s head, we need to coax your boy out of his, you’re going to do that by using your bonds,” he gestures at the cords going through the wall. “Your boy hasn’t cut either one of you off, he made it possible for those to get through so if you focus on them and then focus on convincing him that whatever caused him to put the wall up in the first place is gone… well it should bring the wall tumbling down.”
David stares at him and Pete stares back, he looks so earnest, like he firmly and intently believes that this is going to work.
“What the hell,” David says, he looks over at Michael. “It’s not like we’ve got anything to lose.”
******************************************************************************
It feels like hours, standing there, fingers stroking lightly over the bright red cord. He sends every possible iota of love that he feels. Pushes ‘safe, safe, safe, love, come home’ that he can muster.
Nothing comes through in return and whenever he feels it’s hopeless he looks over at Pete and Pete nods at them encouragingly and he continues.
He doesn’t sense anything different, nothing that would signal that what they’re pushing through is being received, but the first crack that appears in the wall sounds like an explosion.
“There you are,” Pete whispers. He moves to stand with them and he touches David’s back and David can feel him pushing, linking him and Michael together and pushing them further.
Archie is terrified.
They’re getting through but he’s so scared that it’s their captors figuring out a way to get into his safe place that he can’t think past that.
David keeps pushing, can feel Michael doing them same and Pete is lending his own strength to theirs to allow them to push further.
The wall disappears, just vanishes between one blink and the next and there’s Archie curled up in a familiar fetal position, identical to the one that David had seen in his mind the day they were originally bound. His eyes are opening slowly and he blinks at them.
******************************************************************************
It’s not as jarring coming back out; it’s just like waking from a nap. They’re still sitting next to the hospital bed, David is holding Archie’s hand and Michael’s is still laying over the top and they both watch Archie’s face, waiting.
His eyes open slowly and he stares back at them.
Archie blinks at them and he’d always hated it when David would wake early and stare at him.
He waits for it and he can tell from the light hum of Michael in the back of his mind that he is as well.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve told you a hundred times that doing that is creepy.”
David laughs, Michael rubs his back slowly. Pete looks pleased and tired Patrick has his hands on his shoulders still and David wonders if he even moved.
Archie wouldn’t have. But not all Constants were like Archie.
“No,” David hears Bob say, stern voice and he looks over at where Ryan is grinning at them, he’s attempting to hide it behind his hand but David can tell. His eyes look happy.
“Bob…” Ryan starts.
“No, we have Alex and Cash, we don’t need anymore.”
“Hey Archie,” David says, he touches Archie’s face with his other hand.
“You guys followed me,” Archie says, he sounds wondering, like he thought they wouldn’t come in after him.
“Pete showed us the way,” Michael says, he squeezes their joined hands and Archie grins at him.
“I told you,” he says, pointed tone and he and Michael stare at each other, eyebrows moving and narrowing and wide eyes.
“That you did.”
“What?” David asks, because he feels like he’s not in the know and he doesn’t like that maybe Michael and Archie have secrets and maybe Archie wants to be bound to Michael more then him and…
“None of that now,” Michael says, smacking the back of his head.
“I told him that I felt you, a couple of times back there,” Archie waves his hand around.
“You felt me?” David asks, he thought Archie should have but he hadn’t been sure and Archie hadn’t said anything.
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up if it was something you weren’t even aware was happening, so… I figured you’d tell us eventually but you never did.”
David smiles at him, Michael wraps a hand around the back of his neck and it’s a familiar weight. The look on Archie’s face is familiar too.
It’s probably the same sickeningly sweet one that’s on his face as well. He can’t find it in himself to care.
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Read the tagged Constants stories first.
Summary: Psychics were few and far between. For every one there was at least 150 trained Constants (that wasn’t counting the untrained Constants that could sometimes sneak in and lure a Psychic away).
TITLE: Constants
RATING: PG-13
PAIRING: David C/David A (possible past/ D.C./M.J., D.A./M.J. and future D.A./D.C./M.J.) Pete/Patrick, Gerard/Frank, Ryan/Bob, Mikey/Brendon
AUTHOR: Melanie
SUMMARY: Psychics were few and far between. For every one there was at least 150 trained Constants (that wasn’t counting the untrained Constants that could sometimes sneak in and lure a Psychic away).
DISCLAIMER: I don’t own any of these boys and I’m pretty sure that this has never happened.
Constants Ficlet #4
They’re there on a case. The local cops have called them to deal with a religious sect that has a slew of charges mounting against them, the problem is everything is word of mouth and rumors, nothing can be proven, that’s why they’re there.
The hush hush, whispered words and the rumors that everyone mutters behind hands are fairly severe.
Abductions, rapes, forced marriages.
It’s pretty bad, some of those involved are minors; David tries not to think about that part.
David and Michael are old hands at this; they work really well as a team. Can read each others signals and body language.
They’ve neither of them chosen a Constant, for right now they serve as each other’s pseudo ones. Stabilizing each other in the same manner that their Constants will in the future.
Neither of them is any rush to choose. And thankfully their Institute isn’t pushing them to do so; they’re giving them the freedom to choose at their own leisure.
David knows it’s not like that at other Institutes. He’s glad he’s where he is.
The local law enforcement has a group of seven, one woman and six men, for them to try and get information from. Its hard going, harder then it should be; the seven are completely closed off to them. David can’t figure it out, they’re all Normals. Not one of them pings on his radar like a Constant or another Psychic would.
But their thoughts are buried behind walls so thick that it takes David and Michael tag-teaming them, one pushing, the other skimming the top-most thoughts that surface as a result to come up with anything.
They’ve been in contact with a Psychic, that’s the only reason that David can come up with for their shields to be so strong. They’ve been in contact with a Psychic and as a result they’ve all been trained to shield themselves from whoever that Psychic might be or any other that might come calling.
The thought that there might be a Psychic behind the closed walls of the sect is unsettling.
But unfortunately a Psychic isn’t the reason for their visit. They look but can find nothing in the seven’s thoughts to justify just cause for a search of the sects properties, they go to the outer edge of the properties and even piggy-backing each other they can feel no Psychic on any of the grounds.
They give the local law enforcement everything they can get (which isn’t much, they’re disappointed but at least they can move forward with some charges as opposed to none), it won’t be enough to disband the sect because they’re not even close to getting those near the top.
They’re in a local convenience store, picking up snack foods and drinks because they’re going to drive back. Michael’s got some inner ear thing going on and David can’t take another couple of hours on a plane listening to him complain about it.
He’s choosing between chips when he feels it.
That little ping on his radar that says there’s a Constant nearby.
He glances around; discreet like because he doesn’t want to startle anyone and the only people in the little convenience store besides him, Michael and their bodyguard is the cashier and a pair of kids that must be siblings with as alike as they are in appearance.
They’re looking at the magazines, every so often the girl will nudge the boy and he’ll nudge her back and they’re giggling at each other.
David reaches out gently with his mind, just a little tendril to see which one responds to him. Out of the corner of his eye he can see Michael’s head come up in response to those tendrils and he glances at him, then he too focuses on the kids.
Because they are kids, the boy is obviously the older of the two but if he’s over 18 David will eat the patches off his uniform.
It’s just a little nudge, a sort of ‘hey, how you doing’ sort of thing but the boy looks up and the terror on his face is something that David’s not seen before and he’s had bad guys on their knees begging for mercy as he sifts through their thoughts to catalog their crimes.
The girl notices that she doesn’t have her brothers’ attention any longer and she glances around to see what’s captured it. She sees David and Michael both staring at them, sees their uniforms and she moves scarily fast.
She starts pushing the boy towards the door, she has a grip on his arm and the boy stumbles along behind her. He doesn’t break eye contact though, probably can’t, just like David can’t move to stop them.
There’s a little voice in his head screaming ‘mine, mine, mine’ at him.
Just like that, he feels the boy in his head. He sees him curled up in a ball looking small and terrified, he knows enough about how this works to know that the boy is seeing the same thing, though in his mind David probably isn’t curled up in a fetal position and he definitely doesn’t look terrified.
Michael intercepts them at the door; the cashier behind the register is slowly backing up against the wall. Michael and David’s bodyguard puts himself between the door and the kids, effectively blocking their escape route.
The girl looks furious, the boys’ eyes still haven’t moved from David’s. It’s about then that David notices their clothing, they’re the same exact type and style that the members of the religious sect that David and Michael were brought in to talk to were wearing.
He’s so completely fucked.
David manages to get his feet moving finally and he slowly walks towards them.
“Hi,” he says, softly, gently. Hands out in front of him, palms up.
Don’t be scared of me, don’t be scared of me, I’m not going to hurt you.
The boy doesn’t say anything but his face is relaxing; he bites his lip and glances at his sister, then back at David.
Sarah, the boy whispers.
“No,” Sarah says softly, she starts crying, tears sliding down her face and she backs away from her brother. “David they’ll kill you,” she whispers.
David doesn’t break eye contact with him, the boy looks resigned now to whatever is going to come next.
“I know.”
David calls him Archie. The two of them having the same name had just been confusing as hell. To retaliate Archie calls him Cook and Michael has a grand laugh at his expense then calls them both David just to completely fuck with them.
Archie is over 18, just barely, but it’s something. David doesn’t eat the patches off his uniform because the only person that knows he’d even had that thought at the time was him and maybe Archie but Archie doesn’t really talk about those moments in the convenience store.
David completely and utterly adores him. Eventually he’ll love him but right now there’s adoration and that’s enough.
He’s bright and cheerful and completely unlike anyone that David has ever had contact with before, nothing seems to faze him or depress him, (except for that first time that they met David hasn’t ever seen Archie without a smile on his face) David’s mood automatically shifts to something resembling happiness whenever they’re anywhere near the same vicinity.
Even with a death threat (an actual one, Archie’s father had been infuriated; when David leaves the Institute he does so with two bodyguards and a bullet proof vest on under his uniform; Archie is not allowed to leave because David had possibly had a fit at the idea) hanging over both of their heads Archie is the one bright, shining point in David’s life.
Archie’s father attacks him at one of his court appearances.
He’d gone to the bathroom and it’s supposed to be a secure building, he hadn’t taken his bodyguards.
Archie’s father corners him in one of the stalls and David doesn’t know what he does, he thinks Archie’s dad was alone but there might have been another Psychic that came in after he was unconscious on the floor, he doesn’t know, he doesn’t ever remember either.
When he wakes up he’s back at the Institute, beeping machines surrounding him and Archie laying next to him on the bed, head on his shoulder.
David pushes and pushes but he can’t get to the place in his head where Archie is waiting, the door is locked and though he searches and searches he can’t find the key to open it.
David starts screaming.
He’s worthless; anything that made him special is completely and utterly gone. He tells them he’s going to leave the Institute, he’s just taking up space and Archie and Michael both fight him on that.
Archie says he’ll go with him and Michael sighs and says that he will as well, because the two of them have no idea how to take care of themselves. They’d be dead within a week.
So David stays and Archie stays with him. David doesn’t know why.
With David being nothing now Archie could probably go home and his dad wouldn’t kill him.
He thinks that might have been the whole point behind the attack, to remove David from the equation to get Archie back in his family’s (and the sects) clutches.
He just doesn’t know why they want him back so badly.
When the Institute is attacked there’s a group of twelve of them that manage to get out alive.
They don’t make it very far before they’re captured.
They’re separated pretty quickly and David is lumped in with the three Normals that had escaped with them, the Psychics and Constants are separated off and David doesn’t know what’s going on.
Not being able to see Archie to make sure he’s okay, not being able to read Michael’s signals to find out if he has a plan to escape, it’s driving him a little bit insane.
They bring them all back together and Michael is the only Psychic standing, from the expression on his face David doesn’t want to know what happened to the other two.
Archie and the other Constants look completely terrified, David wants to go to him, offer comfort but he also doesn’t want to paint a fucking bulls-eye on his back either.
“We’ll give you some time to think on it,” one of them sneers and Michael doesn’t say anything. He’s glaring at the ground, hands clenched into fists at his side; he’s got blood trickling down one side of his face. David doesn’t know if it’s his or from one of the others.
As they’re leaving one of them stops in front of Michael, forces his chin up so they’re staring at each other.
“We come back you better have chosen somebody or we start killing them off. You choose one of them, or you choose one of ours, doesn’t really matter to us one way or another.”
He pats Michael on the shoulder and they leave.
David can hear the heavy, ominous sound of locks clicking into place.
David waits a second to be sure they’re alone before he goes to Archie, Archie looks at him with eyes that are just as terrified as they’d been the first time they’d met, David wraps his arms around him and Archie clutches him tightly.
He’s shaking and David whispers what he hopes are soothing words into his ears.
They’re standing there breathing together when David feels Michael’s hand on his back.
“I need to talk to you.”
They have a choice, or rather Michael does. They’re force bonding him to a Constant; it can be one of his choice or one of their choice.
They’ve threatened to kill off all their Constants if he forces them to make the choice for him.
It seems to be a no win situation and a no brainer at the same time.
“You’ll choose Archie,” David says. They both look over at where Archie is huddled with the group of other Constants.
“He’s yours David,” Michael says softly.
“You need a Constant that you can trust, all of them have been trained but none of them have practical experience, you let them choose your Constant for you you’ll be forever holding yourself back, not being able to trust them. Archie’s really the only sensible choice, unless you want one of the others instead…?” Michael hadn’t said anything, but maybe he’d found somebody to choose on his own. David thinks Michael would have said something but then David isn’t really a Psychic anymore.
“He’s yours David,” Michael repeats. Like David hadn’t heard him the first time, like it hadn’t ripped his heart out of his chest to tell Michael to take Archie.
“I can’t protect him like this,” David says. It’s nothing but the truth, like this with none of the abilities that he’s had since he was a kid he’s more normal then a Normal and if Michael choosing him keeps Archie alive then that’s pretty much all David can ask for at the moment.
“You won’t sleep with him,” David says after a second.
“I won’t touch him.”
Archie slips back into the role of an active Constant easily, he and Michael work seamlessly together. No hiccups in their communication, nothing.
It shouldn’t be that easy, Archie was his; David knows this with every fiber of his being. He can’t be somebody else’s Constant as well.
But Archie and Michael have no trouble communicating.
David doesn’t know what to make of that and even though he hates the circumstances that have put them in this situation, he can’t hate them.
He loves Archie and Michael is his best friend.
He just wishes that it hadn’t been so easy. Though if it hadn’t been easy they’d probably all be dead now.
They figure out pretty quickly that the reason for the forced bond was to keep Michael in line. They drug Archie into a coma any time that they send Michael out, there’s no hope of escape and they warn them prior to them leaving on that first assignment that the drugs that are being used on Archie are highly experimental in nature and if Michael even thinks of attempting to escape Archie might suffer an unforeseen reaction to one of them.
It serves to keep both Michael and David in line, if they try anything Archie will die, and considering that Michael and Archie’s bond is pretty fucking stable, even with Michael shielded from Archie every time they leave Michael would most likely follow.
The risk isn’t worth it unless they know they can get Archie out as well.
They set Archie and Michael up in a room, and David moves in with them. Their captors don’t blink at that; he half wonders if they know who he is. Who Archie is supposed to be to him, they don’t say anything though so David can’t tell for sure.
They all three sleep in the same bed, even though there is two rooms just like at their Institute. Archie curls up in front of him, Michael is at his back.
It’s comforting and familiar, Michael and he had shared a bed on occasion; Archie has been in his bed since David brought him to the Institute.
It’s as easy and painless as it can be considering they’re being held against their will and the boy he loves is now bound to his best friend.
David doesn’t tell anybody when he starts feeling the pin pricks of emotion.
It feels like it did when he was seven and his abilities began making themselves known.
Every so often he thinks he can feel Archie. Nothing is ever said so he’s not sure if Archie can feel him in return, or if Archie’s bond with Michael has totally obliterated the one that he’d shared with David.
The fact that he’s feeling the pin pricks though gives him hope when nothing else does. Then he remembers that Archie is bound to Michael and figures that this is pay back for some horrible act that he performed in a past life.
The Mid-West Institute is their target; it seems to be one of the places where the flood of Psychics and Constants that survived the attacks are heading to.
David is sent with Michael on this assignment, he’s not sure why. Maybe they hope he’ll get himself killed.
Instead they end up captured.
David knows that by the time they get out that Archie will be dead.
When Mikey and Brendon come in he’s all but given up hope.
He’s still feeling the little pin pricks of sensation; whenever he tries to push further they skitter away like his gifts are afraid of him.
When they offer their help, he almost cries with relief.
They put Michael in the same room with him and Michael is just this side of frantic.
“I can’t feel him,” he mumbles. “I can’t feel him, he’s not there,” he’s muttering it over and over again and David tries not think of what that means.
Even shielded Michael should be able to at least tell that Archie’s still there, if he’s not, if they’ve finally garnered help only for it to be too late…
He thinks he might go crazy if after all this Archie still dies.
He thinks he could even take Archie still being Michael’s as long as Archie was alive.
They’re sitting on the floor, propped up against the wall across from the door, Michael’s leaning against David’s side and he’s shaking like he’s having a convulsion when the door opens.
Mikey enters first and it’s saying something about how far gone Michael is that he doesn’t even respond.
Mikey stands to the side and another Psychic enters, he’s walking very carefully and his eyes are completely fixed on David’s from the moment that he enters the room.
This is the Psychic that had been shot, that little pin prick that is hopefully his gifts returning had told him when that had happened. The shock and pain that the Psychic had felt had been overwhelming to even a Psychic with a minute amount of empathy.
They’d been on the other side of the building when it happened, he wouldn’t be surprised (or blame them) if they completely hold him and Michael responsible for it occurring in the first place.
Brendon and the Constant that is probably the other Psychics stand near the door with the bodyguard that had accompanied Mikey and Brendon the first time.
David is surprised that the Constant had let him out; if it had been him Archie would have handcuffed him to the bed and just not answered any summons.
Although from the look on the Constants face he probably hadn’t been given a choice in the matter.
The other Psychic is young and he squats in front of David and Michael, he glances over at Michael just once. Touches his knee gently and Michael sags against David’s side, finally still.
He stares at David then, eyes searching his face and David isn’t sure what he’s seeing, what he’s looking for.
He can feel him pushing against his mind though and like with Mikey he just lets everything through, these people won’t help him (help Archie, please, please, please) if they think he’s holding anything back.
“Hmm,” he says, there’s no expression on his face, there’s nothing in the tone of his voice that gives away what he’s thinking, what he’s looking for. He’s told them everything; he’s opened his mind completely. He has no secrets anymore. He glances over at Mikey and the two have a silent conversation that ends with them both staring with expressionless faces at David.
“My name is Ryan,” the boy says softly, like Michael is just taking a nap against David’s shoulder and he’s trying to not wake him. “That’s Bob scowling at you from the door.”
Bob makes a noise that might be an objection; Ryan ignores it except for the tiny smile that curls his lips.
“Brian has sent some people to get your Constant,” Ryan continues.
“Not mine,” David shakes his head; Michael twitches, his eyes are still closed when David glances down at him. “I… they were going to kill them all and, and…” he doesn’t cry, he won’t. “I gave him to Michael, it was the only way.”
“He’s still your Constant,” Ryan says gently. “When your powers return, that bond will reassert itself and he’ll still be your Constant.”
He doesn’t say what’ll happen to Michael’s bond to Archie, and David honestly doesn’t care. Michael can keep his bond with Archie as long as David gets his back, he’s pretty sure it doesn’t work that way though, he’s never heard of a Constant bound to two Psychics, he’s pretty sure its not possible. He can’t find it in himself to worry.
They’re going for Archie, he’s going to get Archie back… his powers are coming back, someone besides him can feel the pin pricks and…
David stares at Ryan, and allows himself, for one brief second, to wonder if everything might actually work out.
They’re escorted to a set of rooms that are a mirror image to the ones that they’d lived in at their Institute and their prison. There are two bedrooms, with two beds and even though there’s a guard at the door prohibiting them from leaving David feels like maybe this is going to be okay.
Michael is huddled in on himself on the couch, David periodically looks over at him but he’s really focusing on the cards that Mikey had shoved into his hand.
They’re flash cards; it’s one of the most basic of tests for Psychics. He’d successfully passed this test when he was eight.
He’s not so successful this time, only about every third card makes itself known and he’s getting frustrated. He feels like a kid again, seven and not having anything nearing control over gifts that he hadn’t really wanted anyway.
He puts the cards down and rests his head in his hands. He closes his eyes and breathes.
And then nearly jumps out of his skin when he feels Michael reaching out to him, a tiny, tentative tendril of energy and it takes a second for him to gather his composure, to not rush to latch onto that tendril.
He breathes again, centers himself and then slowly, cautiously, reaches out, not forcing, just reaching gently for the little tendril that is Michael.
It feels so utterly familiar and he doesn’t even notice when the tears start. It’s been a hard couple of months; he thinks he can be excused.
Michael just strengthens that tendril into something stronger and wraps it around him.
Welcome home.
They end up sleeping in the same bed, Michael pressed up tight against his back. David curls around a pillow and ignores the empty space in front of him.
Archie will be there soon, filling that space. The impossible is happening, his gifts are returning to him and he has faith, he has hope.
They’ll have to push both beds together though or they’ll never all fit.
They bring Archie in on a stretcher, when they finally take Michael and David to see him he’s still unconscious and David doesn’t know why Michael can’t feel him. Michael’s shields are completely lowered, so are David’s.
Archie’s just not there.
David leans down and presses his lips to Archie’s forehead. Closes his eyes. Michael is touching his back, when he straightens he can see that Michael’s other hand is touching Archie’s arm.
They stand there, David with his hand resting against the top of Archie’s head, Michael touching his arm. They’re a circle, they’re complete.
Archie is still not there.
Ryan is standing on the other side of the bed when David blinks. He thinks he’s zoning out and he’s not sure how much time he’s lost. He’s pretty sure that Ryan hadn’t been there before.
The Psychic standing next to him is staring at Archie’s face; David glances around and sees Ryan’s Constant Bob standing next to another Constant with a baseball cap pulled down low enough that David can’t see his eyes.
Ryan reaches across Archie and touches both of their arms. David blinks at him as he focuses his attention. It’s taking more effort then it probably should.
“This is Pete,” Ryan says, he tilts his head at the other Psychic and Pete smirks at them, then returns to studying Archie’s face.
“He’s going to help you go in and get Archie,” Ryan says.
“Archie’s not there,” Michael says, David makes a sound.
“He’s there,” Pete says, he sounds so sure of that fact that David doesn’t doubt him. He does make like he’s going to step back though, let Michael and Pete get to it, let them bring Archie home so they can figure out what they’re going to do.
Instead Pete’s hand latches around his wrist and Michael’s hand on his back keeps him in place before he can even take a half a step.
“Oh no, if we’re going deep sea fishing I’m going to need the both of you,” Pete says, he grins at them, all teeth and a wide eyes.
“My powers aren’t really…” David starts, Pete shakes his head.
“Your powers aren’t in question man, the only thing I need is your bonds,” Pete squints at him, then Michael. “Your bonds are both pretty fucking stable, no flecks or wavering or disintegration or anything to indicate that there’s something going on with his body that we need to fix first, so we’re going to follow them in and see what’s going on in your boys head.”
“They drug him when they send us out,” Michael says softly.
“The drugs are already out of his system, whatever this is,” Pete waves his hand at where Archie’s motionless body. “This is entirely your boys doing.”
“You’re sure you can…” David starts, he’s never had anyone in his head besides Archie and to a lesser extent Michael. He’s never heard of anyone following the bonds that tie Psychics to their Constants to one or the other, he’s pretty sure it’s not possible.
Pete rolls his eyes at him.
“Look if I can follow Bob into Ryan’s head and get him back out, I think I can follow the two of you into his and get everyone back in their right minds.”
“Make yourselves comfortable,” Pete says.
“We can stand,” Michael says. Pete snorts.
“We’ve got no idea how long it’s going to take to go in and get back out, you should really sit and get comfortable,” Pete makes a show of sitting in the chair that his Constant pushes into place behind him.
“This is my Patrick,” Pete beams up at him and David finally sees the Constants eyes as he rolls them at his Psychic.
Ryan and Bob are sitting side by side on the next hospital bed over, they’re both watching intently.
There are chairs against the wall, Michael grabs them and brings them over because David can’t seem to make himself let go of Archie. He puts them as close to the bed as he can and then pulls David into one, sitting in the other one. He lays his hand over the one that David has clutching Archie’s and the both look at Pete expectantly.
“Everybody ready?” Pete asks, he grins at them again. Big and wide and utterly unrepentant.
“Alright,” he says, he sounds serious all of a sudden, David looks over at him and he looks calm and there’s a little smile on his lips. Patrick is standing behind him, hands on his shoulders.
“I need both of you to take a deep breath, let it out,” Pete breathes with them. “Again… and again… close your eyes, another deep breath, slowly release and…”
It’s jarring suddenly going from sitting next to a hospital bed to being sprawled across the floor. Pete smirks down at them; at least Michael had ended up on his ass as well.
“All right then,” Pete says, his voice echoes and he jerks like he wasn’t expecting it. He glances around even as he offers his hands and tugs both of them to their feet.
“What now?” David asks, Michael touches his arm and David sees it then.
The big black wall, it’s huge, David can’t see the top. Though he can see where it looks like two cords are running into it.
One bright blue, one bright red. They’re both pulsing with energy and life.
“There you are,” Pete says softly. He touches each one, the red first and it feels like someone is touching him. Michael shudders the same way one Pete touches the blue.
“Your boy is on the other side of that wall, whatever happened he built it big and thick and the bonds are still in place but it scared him enough that he thought he needed to protect himself.”
“How do we get it down?” Michael asks.
David touches the wall with one hand and it’s not as solid as it looks, it feels spongy.
“We don’t, we convince your boy to take it down,” Pete says.
David and Michael look at each other, at the wall, at Pete, he laughs at them.
“I didn’t say it would be easy did I?”
“What do we have to do?” David asks. He doesn’t see how this is going to work. But Pete got them in here and he’s pretty sure they couldn’t have managed this on their own. He makes a mental note to ask Pete what his gifts are when they get back out.
“Well this’ll be different then me coaxing Bob out of Ryan’s head, we need to coax your boy out of his, you’re going to do that by using your bonds,” he gestures at the cords going through the wall. “Your boy hasn’t cut either one of you off, he made it possible for those to get through so if you focus on them and then focus on convincing him that whatever caused him to put the wall up in the first place is gone… well it should bring the wall tumbling down.”
David stares at him and Pete stares back, he looks so earnest, like he firmly and intently believes that this is going to work.
“What the hell,” David says, he looks over at Michael. “It’s not like we’ve got anything to lose.”
It feels like hours, standing there, fingers stroking lightly over the bright red cord. He sends every possible iota of love that he feels. Pushes ‘safe, safe, safe, love, come home’ that he can muster.
Nothing comes through in return and whenever he feels it’s hopeless he looks over at Pete and Pete nods at them encouragingly and he continues.
He doesn’t sense anything different, nothing that would signal that what they’re pushing through is being received, but the first crack that appears in the wall sounds like an explosion.
“There you are,” Pete whispers. He moves to stand with them and he touches David’s back and David can feel him pushing, linking him and Michael together and pushing them further.
Archie is terrified.
They’re getting through but he’s so scared that it’s their captors figuring out a way to get into his safe place that he can’t think past that.
David keeps pushing, can feel Michael doing them same and Pete is lending his own strength to theirs to allow them to push further.
The wall disappears, just vanishes between one blink and the next and there’s Archie curled up in a familiar fetal position, identical to the one that David had seen in his mind the day they were originally bound. His eyes are opening slowly and he blinks at them.
It’s not as jarring coming back out; it’s just like waking from a nap. They’re still sitting next to the hospital bed, David is holding Archie’s hand and Michael’s is still laying over the top and they both watch Archie’s face, waiting.
His eyes open slowly and he stares back at them.
Archie blinks at them and he’d always hated it when David would wake early and stare at him.
He waits for it and he can tell from the light hum of Michael in the back of his mind that he is as well.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve told you a hundred times that doing that is creepy.”
David laughs, Michael rubs his back slowly. Pete looks pleased and tired Patrick has his hands on his shoulders still and David wonders if he even moved.
Archie wouldn’t have. But not all Constants were like Archie.
“No,” David hears Bob say, stern voice and he looks over at where Ryan is grinning at them, he’s attempting to hide it behind his hand but David can tell. His eyes look happy.
“Bob…” Ryan starts.
“No, we have Alex and Cash, we don’t need anymore.”
“Hey Archie,” David says, he touches Archie’s face with his other hand.
“You guys followed me,” Archie says, he sounds wondering, like he thought they wouldn’t come in after him.
“Pete showed us the way,” Michael says, he squeezes their joined hands and Archie grins at him.
“I told you,” he says, pointed tone and he and Michael stare at each other, eyebrows moving and narrowing and wide eyes.
“That you did.”
“What?” David asks, because he feels like he’s not in the know and he doesn’t like that maybe Michael and Archie have secrets and maybe Archie wants to be bound to Michael more then him and…
“None of that now,” Michael says, smacking the back of his head.
“I told him that I felt you, a couple of times back there,” Archie waves his hand around.
“You felt me?” David asks, he thought Archie should have but he hadn’t been sure and Archie hadn’t said anything.
“I didn’t want to get your hopes up if it was something you weren’t even aware was happening, so… I figured you’d tell us eventually but you never did.”
David smiles at him, Michael wraps a hand around the back of his neck and it’s a familiar weight. The look on Archie’s face is familiar too.
It’s probably the same sickeningly sweet one that’s on his face as well. He can’t find it in himself to care.
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Date: 2009-04-08 06:56 pm (UTC)