to prove I didn't totally slack
Apr. 12th, 2008 06:36 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
maderrwell, I did really, 'cause if I'd actually been working I'd be almost done with this instead of just eleven pages in ^^;;
Many little things changed, cause I figured out what was wrong. First ten pages or so. DwtD dragon verse.
Safe From All Harm
Edison let out a startled cry as he was jarred roughly from behind, which caused him to hit the curb rather than step up over it, which sent him tumbling hard to the pavement. His glasses went flying, and even as he struggled to stand up in the midst of the crowded sidewalk, he heard the ominous crunch of someone stepping on them.
Damn it.
What was he going to do now? He couldn't see, not really, everything was a horrible blur and soon he'd get a headache and he was already tired and hungry—
He let out another cry as someone knocked him over, cringing against the curses hurled at him, the demands to know if he was stupid or what.
Fighting back tears, Edison struggled to stand again, this time managing to stumble his way through the crush of people to what he thought – hoped – was a wall of some sort.
In a long list of bad days, this one had not taken long to move straight to the top. The only thing keeping him from losing his mind completely was that he was almost there, almost done. Just a little longer and he would no longer have to do this alone.
He hoped. But reminding himself for the millionth time that it was stupid to pin his hopes on a debt that was not actually his to call in was pointless. He had no other options. It was this or let them kill him – which reminded him, as if he could forget, that he had an hour left until his protective charm wore off and the bastards managed to find him.
Christ, he needed his glasses. Turning to face the fall, trembling with fear and exhaustion, he pulled out a piece of chalk and quickly drew the required circle and marks, fervently hoping he got them correct. Muttering the necessary words, he splayed his hand flat against the chalk mark – and felt his glasses.
He didn't dare cast a spell to repair them, not as tired as he was, but just having them was hopefully enough. Slipping them on, he realized it was barely enough to have them. One lens was gone completely, the other badly cracked.
Still, he could sort of see, and that was better than being blind.
Pushing away from the wall, he headed towards the twenty story apartment building that was his destination. As he reached it, he fumbled for the scrap of paper in his pocket that told him the floor and room number.
The last of his expendable energy went toward a spell that would persuade people to ignore him for a full minute, which was all he needed to get into the elevator – which, thankfully, did not require a key to activate. He'd been trusting to fickle luck on that one.
When he reached the seventeenth floor, it took him a good ten minutes to figure out the hallways and which direction he needed.
At last, at last, he stopped in front of apartment L24.
He looked a wreck, which wouldn’t help him plead his case, but he didn't have the time or the energy to clean himself up. It was a damned miracle he'd made it this far. Taking a deep breath, coming a hand through his hair in a futile effort to neaten it, he knocked on the door.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" The words were snarled as the door was yanked open by a man Edison had seen before in an old picture. It hardly did him justice. He had the look of an athlete – short, short hair, muscles that nicely filled the plain white t-shirt and faded jeans, broad shoulders and chest. Classic blonde and blue jock, except there was nothing about him that fit the thick and stupid stereotype that went with it.
"I'm not Thomas," he said quickly, anxiously, almost begging the man not to slam the door in his face.
"Try another," the man snapped.
Alex, Edison though his name was, but he wasn't sure. Thomas had only mentioned it once, and too quickly for Edison to really catch it.
"I'm not," Edison said desperately. "Thomas was my twin." He laughed, knowing he sounded more than a little hysterical. "Good twin, bad twin. He was the bad twin. Please, I swear it."
"Not sneaky," said a new voice, deep and almost…growly. A man appeared behind Alex, resting his chin on Alec's shoulder. His hair was dark brown, freckles smattered across his nose and cheeks. "Not sneaky," the stranger repeated. "Close, but not the same."
"What the fuck—"
"Please," Edison said, not caring how pathetic or desperate or needy he sounded. "I need your help, you're the only one. You are Alex, right?"
"Alec," the man corrected curtly. "Why in the fuck would I want to help anyone related to that mother fucker?"
Edison flinched. "Like or hate, you owed my brother a debt. He's dead – I'm calling it in."
Alec swore loudly, then reached out and yanked Edison inside, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Magic," said the strange man with the freckles, his nose wrinkling, and it was only now that Edison realized he must have been standing on his toes or maybe just clinging to Alec, because he was a good two inches shorter than Alec. "Magic, blood, death. Very smelly."
"Yeah," Edison agreed weakly, not able to muster the energy to be amused. "In about thirty minutes my charm of protection is going to die, and at that point some very angry people are going to come after me." He looked at Alec, wishing he could see better, that he didn't look so stupid and pathetic. "I want you to protect me."
"Go to hell," Alec snarled. "If he's dead, good-fucking riddance. I don't owe that bastard a goddamn thing. Even if I did, I don't recall saying that debt was transferable, so I don't owe you shit."
The freckled man growled – positively growled – and moved to pet and touch and nuzzle Alec, calming him down.
Edison fought tears, feeling about a hundred different kinds of stupid. This had been a bad idea, but what choice did he have? Damn it, what was he going to do now?
The ocean? No one could get him if he was out on the open sea, right?
Except the money he needed wouldn't be his for one more month.
God, he was tired.
"Why are you still here?" Alec finally said, still looking mad enough to spit nails.
"I had nowhere else to go," Edison said. He was tired. Exhausted. So fucking sick of it all. Maybe he should just say fuck it and let the bastards kill him. Then everyone would have what he wanted and the world would continue merrily along.
Damn it. Thirty days and it would all be over. Why did it feel more like thirty years?
"Sad," said the freckled man. "Not sneaky."
His manner of speech was the oddest Edison had ever heard – not exactly child like, more…just simple. Strange when the amber eyes focused so intently on him shone with a great deal of intelligence.
Wait a minute…
Yellow eyes. The simple speech. The growling, and his protectiveness of Alec. Edison drew a sharp breath. "You're a dragon."
Alec snatched the freckled man back. "Get the fuck out of my house."
Edison nodded, but still could not give up. He didn't want to die, damn it. "You promised," he said. "A life for a life. That's all I'm asking. I'm not my brother, I swear to god. Shit, I've put up with more because of him than you can possibly imagine." He looked at Alec, not caring how desperate or pathetic he looked. "Just for a month, that's all I'm asking. Keep me alive for one month."
"No," Alec said. He shook his head. "Why the fuck did you think I'd even agree?"
"I didn't," Edison said miserably. "You were just my last damn chance."
Alec just looked at him. "I doubt it."
Edison bit back a sudden surge of anger. What right did he have to be angry? Of course Alec would assume the worst, and even if he hadn't – it was stupid to think he'd actually agree to play bodyguard. But all the logic in the world did not undo the simple fact that Alec and his brother's old debt were his last fucking chance.
"I know you hate me, because of my brother. Everyone fucking hates me because of him. I don't have anything now, but if you keep me alive for one month I can pay whatever you demand. Money, magic, land – anything. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't necessary."
"Oh, yeah," Alec said scathingly. "And just why in the fuck would you think someone who hates your brother and was glad to see the back of him would agree to help his goddamn twin?"
Edison gave up, no longer caring that fear and anger made him shake, that his head was throbbing from the ruined glasses, that he was probably going to pass out soon from the exhaustion – and by tomorrow he would be dead, because he was just too fucking tired to keep running. "Because the Knights in Shining Armor shop down the street was closed due to rusting!" he snarled. "Because I've tried every fucking thing else, and I figured it was better to try everything to avoid dying."
Yanking open the door, he stumbled into the hallway. Everything was a blur, even though his still wore what was left of his glasses. He realized he'd finally started crying. Damn it.
Then the world gave an uncertain lurch, and the blurry smear of color that was all he could see turned gray. Then it all went mercifully black.
"Shut up, dragon."
Ignoring Blade's snickering, Alec scowled at the young man currently dead to the world on his couch.
It was the knight crack that had done it, he conceded reluctantly. That and the tears, he fucking hated to see people cry. Gods, the number of times his sisters had cozened something out of him just by crying…
Shaking his head, he moved back to his chair and sat down with a sigh. "What in the hell am I going to do?"
"Protect?" Blade asked.
Alec grimaced. "Yeah, right." Thomas had a twin brother. Who the fuck knew? Certainly not Alec. Christ, that incident seemed years ago. At least twelve years now, god he'd been so fucking stupid when he was young.
Not that he'd gotten any brighter since. Oh, no, he was still dumb as rocks.
Blade growled softly, kneeling to rest his head on Alec's thigh. "Love Alec."
Alec sighed softly, unable to stay angry in the face of his dragon's unhappiness. "I love you too, Blade."
Absently petting Blade, soothed by the feel of warm skin and soft hair, the spicy smell that always clung to Blade, he looked back at the unconscious man on his couch. What the fuck was he supposed to do?
He knew the answer even as he asked the question, and damn it didn't that just fucking suck. But he was a man of honor, even if everyone else would say otherwise, and a man did not go back on his word. He had promised Thomas a life for a life. Thomas was dead, which meant that Alec had failed to keep his promise – if unintentionally.
If Thomas had a twin, and that twin was begging for help…
The man really was Thomas' twin, an exact duplicate…
Except not. Now that he wasn't fighting an urge to punch the man's face in, he could pick out differences. For one, his face wasn't as cold as Thomas' had always been. It was softer, lacking the hard edges and lines that came from living a dangerous life. The dark brown hair was longer, though the very tips were a shred lighter, holding a hint of wave. Thomas' hair had been military short.
And the tears. Thomas wouldn't have been capable of even faking tears – unless maybe he was paid a great deal of money to do it, and likely he would have purchased the tears somewhere else and faked it that way.
These tears had been real. Alec didn't know much in life, but he knew what real tears looked like. Damn it. What the fuck was wrong with him? Hadn't he learned the hard and painful way that honor and loyalty and all that shit were things of the past?
His hand tightened unconsciously in Blade's hair as images flickered in his mind, silk sheets and long blonde hair, moans and pleas but—
Blade's whimper broke the thoughts off.
"Sorry," Alec said, immediately bending down to give a kiss of apology.
Blade rumbled an acceptance. "Good Alec," Blade said firmly. "Brother bad. Katherine bad."
"Yeah," Alec said, and forcefully shoved the thoughts away. "I have you."
Blade nodded and kissed him again. "Protect?"
Alec grimaced and looked again at the man on the couch. Remembered the tears. That damned knight crack. When was he going to learn? Obviously not today. Sighing, he nodded. "Yeah, we'll protect him. Don't seem to have much of a choice."
Laughing, Blade moved away with a last, soft caress. "Good Alec." Not bothering to stand, he crawled on all fours to the couch, sniffing and delicately touching the prone figure stretched out on it. What had the man said his name was? Had he said? "Does not smell like Thomas, except in blood."
Alec nodded. "That's good."
"Exhausted," Blade added, touching the man again, a curious dragon exploring the strange new addition to his territory.
Ha. Territory. Shame and humiliation washed over Alec for the millionth time. His dragon should have land, a proper home – a proper territory. Instead, because of Alec, all they had was this fucking apartment and just enough money to eke out the pathetic living that was now their life. Someday he'd give Blade a proper territory again, though it would likely never be as grand as the one he'd lost.
Forcing the unhappy thoughts to the back of his mind with the rest, he replied to Blade's comment on the man's exhaustion. "He would be, if he managed a charm of protection. Those have killed the people attempting to cast them. It's no damned wonder he passed out."
Blade growled softly and moved to the side of the couch, where the man's jacket was draped over the arm. He picked up something which must have fallen from the pocket, holding it up for Alec to inspect.
"Chalk," Alec said with a grunt. "So definitely a magic user of some sort. Sorcerer, I'd say. Not many of those floating around, not human ones anyway. Thomas didn't have magic." That he was sure of – if Thomas had possessed even a drop of magic, he would have made full use of it. Was it possible for one to twin to have magic and the other none?
He realized he had no fucking clue. Dragons tended to share everything, on the extremely rare occasion twins popped up. Humans…he supposed twins weren't much different from ordinary siblings. Still, an ability like magic…
"I wonder what protecting him is going to entail."
Blade shrugged, and left off exploring the jacket to go back to gently poking and prodding at the unconscious man. "Won't be boring?"
Alec laughed. "Just looking for trouble, huh, Blade?"
"Good Blade."
"Yeah," Alec said, chuckling. He started to speak when his eyes fell on the clock on the far wall. "Damn, later than I thought."
Blade's expression turned speculative.
Alec knew that look, and attempted to head it off at the pass. "Dragon—"
"Pizza?" Blade cut in, looking hopeful and pleading and don't you see I'm starving to death, Master?
Alec scrubbed at his face. "You go eat real food, and I'll let you have a few slices of pizza. But you'd better eat properly!"
"Yes, Alec," Blade said, then crawled back across the floor and up into Alec's lap, straddling him and dipping his head to take a deep kiss, soft growls blending with Alec's own gasp.
It eased away every ache in him, the way his dragon loved him. They'd taken away everything else, but no one could take Blade. Holding tight, Alec just let Blade do as he pleased, let him have all he wanted.
Except, of course, there was an unconscious man in the room and Alec didn't have much in the way of manners and modesty, but he did have that much.
He ignored the memories that flashed, of a time when he'd been more than happy to make out with his dragon while others were in the room. Individuals he'd trusted as much as he trusted Blade.
Pushing gently, he forced a halt to the hot kisses, the not quite painful scrape of claws. "Go eat, dragon," he said, coughing when his voice came out ragged and husky. "We don't know what will be coming because of our new friend, so you need to be at full strength."
Growling, discontent at having to stop but understanding and always obedient, Blade wandered toward the little kitchen in the corner and opened the fridge.
Sighing, Alec stood and moved to the couch. Sitting on the edge of the coffee table, he contemplated the sleeping man. Definitely not Thomas, who even asleep probably looked like a scheming rat. This man looked…familiar, as much as Alec hated to say it. He knew that grimace of pain, the lines of exhaustion, the feeling of desperation and loneliness.
Damn it.
Bitterness was a thick bile in the back of his throat. He'd meant every single vow he'd ever made. They'd never been just platitudes to him. Every promise that he made, he meant.
Every promise had made him a fool.
The instinct wouldn't die though. This man had asked, and by accident or design had hit his weak spots. Alec turned his head just enough to glance at the far wall. Below the cheap wall clock hung his sword, mounted in place shortly after taking the apartment and not touched since.
In the end, they hadn't been able to take it, either. How could they? It was his, until his death, and its first real taste of blood at his hands had only proven that he was its true bearer this generation. It had chafed them, to let him walk out with it, but beyond their control to prevent it.
Standing, he walked slowly to the sword and took it down from the wall, drew it sharply from the sheath. The blade was pristine, as sharp as the day it was first made, immune to the ravages of time. Magic was not often found close to dragons, but what magic was present was some of the most powerful. Though a dragon's greatest weakness, magic had also been involved in their making.
He who bears this sword is destined to kill his closest friend.
Sheathing the blade with a rough sound, Alec returned it to the wall and strode back to the man on his couch. Resuming his place at the coffee table, absently noting as Blade sat down in the recliner, he reached out and gently attempted to shake the man awake.
Long lashes fluttered, then lay still against the pale cheeks. Then they fluttered again, turned into long, slow blinks, until he was staring into sleep-glazed eyes the color of honey.
"Glasses?" the man said, voice hoarse, thick with sleep. "You're blurry, whoever you are."
Alec frowned, looking around, hadn't he set—ah. Picking up the glasses, or what was left of them anyway, he pressed them carefully into the man's hands.
The man gasped when he'd slid the glasses on. "You—but—"
"Look," Alec said, "I need to know what protecting you is going to entail. What sort of danger I'm facing."
"O-of course," the man said, struggling to sit up.
Alec felt a brief pang of guilt for waking him, cause the guy looked ready to fall right back over and not move for a month – but he squashed it, calling himself stupid. What the hell was there to feel guilty about?
"Uh—" The man licked his lips, ducked his head. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I—"
"Just tell me what I need to know," Alec said, cutting him off, not interested in what he might say. He would repay his debt and that would be that.
"Yes," the man said. "I'm sure I need not tell you about my brother."
Alec grunted in agreement.
"He was always the bad seed of the family," the man said. "My parents were good people, and they never knew what to do with him. They were extremely wealthy, my parents. They died about a month ago."
"I studied abroad for years and years, improving my magic, staying the hell away from my brother. Growing up, I was his favorite victim. He hated me." The man sighed, closed his eyes, face a study in pain. "When my parents died, there were a lot of people who thought they'd finally be getting their hands on the money – Thomas and some of his 'friends' included."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what was coming next. "Your parents left everything to you."
"Yeah," the man said. "Everything. But it's held in trust by the law firm my parents used until I reach the age of twenty five."
"Which I'm guessing is in one month," Alec said. When the man nodded, he continued. "So what, after you get it you're out of danger?"
The man nodded. "If I die before my twenty fifth birthday, then everything gets divided up between the executive officers. Thomas was killed because he was useless without the money from our parents he promised he'd shortly have. After I reach my twenty fifth birthday control of everything reverts to me and nothing goes to any of them if I die at that point."
Alec frowned. "What sort of people are we up against?"
"Abnormals," the man said tiredly. "I wish it were just normals, those I could take care of myself. All I want is to make it to my twenty fifth birthday, then I can sell everything to the one person who has asked to purchase the company."
"Why not go to him for protection?"
"He's on the opposite side of the country, and I have very little money of my own. I never lived off my parents, and much of what I did have has been taken in the attempts to kill me." The man looked at his hands. "I truly am sorry to burden you with this; I simply had no where else to go and no one to trust."
"What makes you think you can trust me?"
The man laughed sadly. "Thomas mentioned you once, when he was mocking me. He said nothing was more useful than a man of honor, because he'd do anything to keep his word, even if that meant doing something he hated or getting himself killed. It amused and pleased him that he had your promise to save his life. I think he was going to call you himself, but he underestimated just how pissed off his compatriots were with him."
Alec tamped down on his temper. "Yeah, there's nothing dumber than a man of honor."
Flinching, the man looked at his hands again. "I don't expect you to do it for free. I told you – in one month I'll be an extremely wealthy man. I can pay you whatever you want."
"You mentioned land," Alec said, something in his chest twisting. It would be so easy to ask, and he'd finally have a territory for Blade…
"Yes," the man replied. "If it's land you want, that's easy."
Alec allowed himself to dream for a moment before finally shoving the wistful thought aside "No. A promise is a promise, even when foolishly made. A life for a life. Your brother once saved mine, and I failed to save his." His hands curled into fists as he fought an urge to take the stranger's. Ceremony and tradition had no place here, not anymore. Not for him. Still, old habits were hard to break. "To make up for that transgression, I vow to keep you safe from all harm for a period of one month."
The man blinked at him, and Alec actually looked at him, really looked, and was suddenly hard-pressed not to smile. He looked more than a little ridiculous, mussed and wrinkled and the glasses a mangled mess. Like a child who had stumbled home after an adventurous day of summer vacation.
Or, he thought, levity dying, a kid who'd gotten roughed up by bullies on his way home.
Alec could no more fight his protective instincts than he could stop breathing. He was what he was, even if being that meant everyone played him for a fool.
"You should get cleaned up," he said. "I'll find some new clothes, unless you've got some stashed on your person somewhere."
The man shook his head. "No. I threw up the charm of protection and ran. The less I carried, the less likely they would find me when the charm wore off."
Alec grunted. "I'm impressed you could cast such a charm."
"I cast two, actually, back to back. It's why I'm not dead yet."
Despite himself, Alec was impressed, and looked at the man with a bit of respect. "That certainly explains why you passed out."
The man's cheeks flushed scarlet, and if he stared any harder at his hands Alec didn't doubt he'd burn a hole right through them. "I'm sorry."
Alec sighed. "Go get cleaned up. The shower is straight down the hall. My bedroom is on the left. The clothes will be on the bed there when you're done showering. Do you like pizza?"
"Yes," the man said. "Though at this point I'd eat anything you put in front of me." He looked up with a brief, hesitant smiled, but it died as quickly as it had come, the man looking away again. "Thank you. And I hardly think it a mark upon your honor to demand payment. If you change your mind on the matter later, just let me know." Standing, he moved across the living room and vanished down the hall.
Reaching for the phone, Alec dialed the pizza place number by rote, putting in his usual order and adding an extra pie. Tossing the phone aside as he finished, he stood and stalked to the kitchen in desperate need of a beer.
"Alec…" Blade said quietly, amber eyes bright and intent upon him, narrowed a bit in concern.
"I’m fine," Alec soothed. "Just hoping this shit doesn't blow up in our faces. Is this okay with you, Blade?" Because if he was going to protect…fuck, he'd never asked the guy's name. Scrubbing at his face, suddenly wanting a nap, Alec strode back to the living area and dropped down into the couch.
"Protect," Blade said, eyes blazing in a way no human's could. An animal shine – a dragon shine. He abandoned his chair to crawl into Alec's lap, rumbling and petting and kissing, a devoted dragon intent only upon soothing his Owner.
Alec held him close, content simply to have Blade close. Everyone else had betrayed him, but never his dragon.
He didn't know how long they remained that way, but it was finally broken by a faint "Oh."
Opening his eyes, he saw Thomas' twin – wet and flushed from the shower, with only a towel clinging to his hips.
Lust slapped him, sudden and sharp, leaving him breathless and dumbfounded. He'd never thought Thomas attractive, and since his wife's betrayal Alec had not been turned on by any but his dragon.
Thomas had been whipcord thin, all muscle and movement and deadly talent, so much like the butterfly knife he'd always carried. His twin was nothing like that, nothing at all. This body bore the scars of a magic user – burns and scrapes that normal life would never inflict. The dark hair was plastered to his head, making him look younger than his twenty five years, and the body was neither soft nor toned, but a pleasing in between.
He heard Blade growl low in surprise, knowing the dragon must be more than a little startled by what he was smelling. Alec absently pet him, soothing with soft, nonsensical words.
"Sorry," he finally said. "I forgot to lay out clothes."
"I can just put mine back on," the man said quietly, eye skittering away, and Alec recalled how they'd been the exact color of honey.
Alec shook his head, and gently eased Blade off his lap before standing. "No, hang on. I'll get them."
Striding past the man, forcefully ignoring how he smelled, carefully not looking at him, he strode into his bedroom and quickly scrounged up some clothes. They'd be too big, but there wasn't much he could do about it right now.
"There," he said, turning to where the man stood in the doorway.
"Thank you."
Alec shrugged. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Oh," the man blinked, then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. With one thing and another, I forgot that part. My name is Edison."
"Edison," Alec said, blinking slowly. "Thomas and Edison?"
Edison grimaced in a way that only someone who'd been stricken with an unfortunate name could. "My mom's idea. I'm just glad we were born male. Her girl names were much, much worse."
Alec turned sharply away, refusing to give in to an urge to smile. He'd learned his lesson, and he'd learned it well.
The door bell rang, mercifully drawing his attention, and he snatched up his wallet from a side table on his way to the door.
Many little things changed, cause I figured out what was wrong. First ten pages or so. DwtD dragon verse.
Safe From All Harm
Edison let out a startled cry as he was jarred roughly from behind, which caused him to hit the curb rather than step up over it, which sent him tumbling hard to the pavement. His glasses went flying, and even as he struggled to stand up in the midst of the crowded sidewalk, he heard the ominous crunch of someone stepping on them.
Damn it.
What was he going to do now? He couldn't see, not really, everything was a horrible blur and soon he'd get a headache and he was already tired and hungry—
He let out another cry as someone knocked him over, cringing against the curses hurled at him, the demands to know if he was stupid or what.
Fighting back tears, Edison struggled to stand again, this time managing to stumble his way through the crush of people to what he thought – hoped – was a wall of some sort.
In a long list of bad days, this one had not taken long to move straight to the top. The only thing keeping him from losing his mind completely was that he was almost there, almost done. Just a little longer and he would no longer have to do this alone.
He hoped. But reminding himself for the millionth time that it was stupid to pin his hopes on a debt that was not actually his to call in was pointless. He had no other options. It was this or let them kill him – which reminded him, as if he could forget, that he had an hour left until his protective charm wore off and the bastards managed to find him.
Christ, he needed his glasses. Turning to face the fall, trembling with fear and exhaustion, he pulled out a piece of chalk and quickly drew the required circle and marks, fervently hoping he got them correct. Muttering the necessary words, he splayed his hand flat against the chalk mark – and felt his glasses.
He didn't dare cast a spell to repair them, not as tired as he was, but just having them was hopefully enough. Slipping them on, he realized it was barely enough to have them. One lens was gone completely, the other badly cracked.
Still, he could sort of see, and that was better than being blind.
Pushing away from the wall, he headed towards the twenty story apartment building that was his destination. As he reached it, he fumbled for the scrap of paper in his pocket that told him the floor and room number.
The last of his expendable energy went toward a spell that would persuade people to ignore him for a full minute, which was all he needed to get into the elevator – which, thankfully, did not require a key to activate. He'd been trusting to fickle luck on that one.
When he reached the seventeenth floor, it took him a good ten minutes to figure out the hallways and which direction he needed.
At last, at last, he stopped in front of apartment L24.
He looked a wreck, which wouldn’t help him plead his case, but he didn't have the time or the energy to clean himself up. It was a damned miracle he'd made it this far. Taking a deep breath, coming a hand through his hair in a futile effort to neaten it, he knocked on the door.
"What in the hell are you doing here?" The words were snarled as the door was yanked open by a man Edison had seen before in an old picture. It hardly did him justice. He had the look of an athlete – short, short hair, muscles that nicely filled the plain white t-shirt and faded jeans, broad shoulders and chest. Classic blonde and blue jock, except there was nothing about him that fit the thick and stupid stereotype that went with it.
"I'm not Thomas," he said quickly, anxiously, almost begging the man not to slam the door in his face.
"Try another," the man snapped.
Alex, Edison though his name was, but he wasn't sure. Thomas had only mentioned it once, and too quickly for Edison to really catch it.
"I'm not," Edison said desperately. "Thomas was my twin." He laughed, knowing he sounded more than a little hysterical. "Good twin, bad twin. He was the bad twin. Please, I swear it."
"Not sneaky," said a new voice, deep and almost…growly. A man appeared behind Alex, resting his chin on Alec's shoulder. His hair was dark brown, freckles smattered across his nose and cheeks. "Not sneaky," the stranger repeated. "Close, but not the same."
"What the fuck—"
"Please," Edison said, not caring how pathetic or desperate or needy he sounded. "I need your help, you're the only one. You are Alex, right?"
"Alec," the man corrected curtly. "Why in the fuck would I want to help anyone related to that mother fucker?"
Edison flinched. "Like or hate, you owed my brother a debt. He's dead – I'm calling it in."
Alec swore loudly, then reached out and yanked Edison inside, slamming the door shut behind him.
"Magic," said the strange man with the freckles, his nose wrinkling, and it was only now that Edison realized he must have been standing on his toes or maybe just clinging to Alec, because he was a good two inches shorter than Alec. "Magic, blood, death. Very smelly."
"Yeah," Edison agreed weakly, not able to muster the energy to be amused. "In about thirty minutes my charm of protection is going to die, and at that point some very angry people are going to come after me." He looked at Alec, wishing he could see better, that he didn't look so stupid and pathetic. "I want you to protect me."
"Go to hell," Alec snarled. "If he's dead, good-fucking riddance. I don't owe that bastard a goddamn thing. Even if I did, I don't recall saying that debt was transferable, so I don't owe you shit."
The freckled man growled – positively growled – and moved to pet and touch and nuzzle Alec, calming him down.
Edison fought tears, feeling about a hundred different kinds of stupid. This had been a bad idea, but what choice did he have? Damn it, what was he going to do now?
The ocean? No one could get him if he was out on the open sea, right?
Except the money he needed wouldn't be his for one more month.
God, he was tired.
"Why are you still here?" Alec finally said, still looking mad enough to spit nails.
"I had nowhere else to go," Edison said. He was tired. Exhausted. So fucking sick of it all. Maybe he should just say fuck it and let the bastards kill him. Then everyone would have what he wanted and the world would continue merrily along.
Damn it. Thirty days and it would all be over. Why did it feel more like thirty years?
"Sad," said the freckled man. "Not sneaky."
His manner of speech was the oddest Edison had ever heard – not exactly child like, more…just simple. Strange when the amber eyes focused so intently on him shone with a great deal of intelligence.
Wait a minute…
Yellow eyes. The simple speech. The growling, and his protectiveness of Alec. Edison drew a sharp breath. "You're a dragon."
Alec snatched the freckled man back. "Get the fuck out of my house."
Edison nodded, but still could not give up. He didn't want to die, damn it. "You promised," he said. "A life for a life. That's all I'm asking. I'm not my brother, I swear to god. Shit, I've put up with more because of him than you can possibly imagine." He looked at Alec, not caring how desperate or pathetic he looked. "Just for a month, that's all I'm asking. Keep me alive for one month."
"No," Alec said. He shook his head. "Why the fuck did you think I'd even agree?"
"I didn't," Edison said miserably. "You were just my last damn chance."
Alec just looked at him. "I doubt it."
Edison bit back a sudden surge of anger. What right did he have to be angry? Of course Alec would assume the worst, and even if he hadn't – it was stupid to think he'd actually agree to play bodyguard. But all the logic in the world did not undo the simple fact that Alec and his brother's old debt were his last fucking chance.
"I know you hate me, because of my brother. Everyone fucking hates me because of him. I don't have anything now, but if you keep me alive for one month I can pay whatever you demand. Money, magic, land – anything. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't necessary."
"Oh, yeah," Alec said scathingly. "And just why in the fuck would you think someone who hates your brother and was glad to see the back of him would agree to help his goddamn twin?"
Edison gave up, no longer caring that fear and anger made him shake, that his head was throbbing from the ruined glasses, that he was probably going to pass out soon from the exhaustion – and by tomorrow he would be dead, because he was just too fucking tired to keep running. "Because the Knights in Shining Armor shop down the street was closed due to rusting!" he snarled. "Because I've tried every fucking thing else, and I figured it was better to try everything to avoid dying."
Yanking open the door, he stumbled into the hallway. Everything was a blur, even though his still wore what was left of his glasses. He realized he'd finally started crying. Damn it.
Then the world gave an uncertain lurch, and the blurry smear of color that was all he could see turned gray. Then it all went mercifully black.
*~*~*
"Shut up, dragon."
Ignoring Blade's snickering, Alec scowled at the young man currently dead to the world on his couch.
It was the knight crack that had done it, he conceded reluctantly. That and the tears, he fucking hated to see people cry. Gods, the number of times his sisters had cozened something out of him just by crying…
Shaking his head, he moved back to his chair and sat down with a sigh. "What in the hell am I going to do?"
"Protect?" Blade asked.
Alec grimaced. "Yeah, right." Thomas had a twin brother. Who the fuck knew? Certainly not Alec. Christ, that incident seemed years ago. At least twelve years now, god he'd been so fucking stupid when he was young.
Not that he'd gotten any brighter since. Oh, no, he was still dumb as rocks.
Blade growled softly, kneeling to rest his head on Alec's thigh. "Love Alec."
Alec sighed softly, unable to stay angry in the face of his dragon's unhappiness. "I love you too, Blade."
Absently petting Blade, soothed by the feel of warm skin and soft hair, the spicy smell that always clung to Blade, he looked back at the unconscious man on his couch. What the fuck was he supposed to do?
He knew the answer even as he asked the question, and damn it didn't that just fucking suck. But he was a man of honor, even if everyone else would say otherwise, and a man did not go back on his word. He had promised Thomas a life for a life. Thomas was dead, which meant that Alec had failed to keep his promise – if unintentionally.
If Thomas had a twin, and that twin was begging for help…
The man really was Thomas' twin, an exact duplicate…
Except not. Now that he wasn't fighting an urge to punch the man's face in, he could pick out differences. For one, his face wasn't as cold as Thomas' had always been. It was softer, lacking the hard edges and lines that came from living a dangerous life. The dark brown hair was longer, though the very tips were a shred lighter, holding a hint of wave. Thomas' hair had been military short.
And the tears. Thomas wouldn't have been capable of even faking tears – unless maybe he was paid a great deal of money to do it, and likely he would have purchased the tears somewhere else and faked it that way.
These tears had been real. Alec didn't know much in life, but he knew what real tears looked like. Damn it. What the fuck was wrong with him? Hadn't he learned the hard and painful way that honor and loyalty and all that shit were things of the past?
His hand tightened unconsciously in Blade's hair as images flickered in his mind, silk sheets and long blonde hair, moans and pleas but—
Blade's whimper broke the thoughts off.
"Sorry," Alec said, immediately bending down to give a kiss of apology.
Blade rumbled an acceptance. "Good Alec," Blade said firmly. "Brother bad. Katherine bad."
"Yeah," Alec said, and forcefully shoved the thoughts away. "I have you."
Blade nodded and kissed him again. "Protect?"
Alec grimaced and looked again at the man on the couch. Remembered the tears. That damned knight crack. When was he going to learn? Obviously not today. Sighing, he nodded. "Yeah, we'll protect him. Don't seem to have much of a choice."
Laughing, Blade moved away with a last, soft caress. "Good Alec." Not bothering to stand, he crawled on all fours to the couch, sniffing and delicately touching the prone figure stretched out on it. What had the man said his name was? Had he said? "Does not smell like Thomas, except in blood."
Alec nodded. "That's good."
"Exhausted," Blade added, touching the man again, a curious dragon exploring the strange new addition to his territory.
Ha. Territory. Shame and humiliation washed over Alec for the millionth time. His dragon should have land, a proper home – a proper territory. Instead, because of Alec, all they had was this fucking apartment and just enough money to eke out the pathetic living that was now their life. Someday he'd give Blade a proper territory again, though it would likely never be as grand as the one he'd lost.
Forcing the unhappy thoughts to the back of his mind with the rest, he replied to Blade's comment on the man's exhaustion. "He would be, if he managed a charm of protection. Those have killed the people attempting to cast them. It's no damned wonder he passed out."
Blade growled softly and moved to the side of the couch, where the man's jacket was draped over the arm. He picked up something which must have fallen from the pocket, holding it up for Alec to inspect.
"Chalk," Alec said with a grunt. "So definitely a magic user of some sort. Sorcerer, I'd say. Not many of those floating around, not human ones anyway. Thomas didn't have magic." That he was sure of – if Thomas had possessed even a drop of magic, he would have made full use of it. Was it possible for one to twin to have magic and the other none?
He realized he had no fucking clue. Dragons tended to share everything, on the extremely rare occasion twins popped up. Humans…he supposed twins weren't much different from ordinary siblings. Still, an ability like magic…
"I wonder what protecting him is going to entail."
Blade shrugged, and left off exploring the jacket to go back to gently poking and prodding at the unconscious man. "Won't be boring?"
Alec laughed. "Just looking for trouble, huh, Blade?"
"Good Blade."
"Yeah," Alec said, chuckling. He started to speak when his eyes fell on the clock on the far wall. "Damn, later than I thought."
Blade's expression turned speculative.
Alec knew that look, and attempted to head it off at the pass. "Dragon—"
"Pizza?" Blade cut in, looking hopeful and pleading and don't you see I'm starving to death, Master?
Alec scrubbed at his face. "You go eat real food, and I'll let you have a few slices of pizza. But you'd better eat properly!"
"Yes, Alec," Blade said, then crawled back across the floor and up into Alec's lap, straddling him and dipping his head to take a deep kiss, soft growls blending with Alec's own gasp.
It eased away every ache in him, the way his dragon loved him. They'd taken away everything else, but no one could take Blade. Holding tight, Alec just let Blade do as he pleased, let him have all he wanted.
Except, of course, there was an unconscious man in the room and Alec didn't have much in the way of manners and modesty, but he did have that much.
He ignored the memories that flashed, of a time when he'd been more than happy to make out with his dragon while others were in the room. Individuals he'd trusted as much as he trusted Blade.
Pushing gently, he forced a halt to the hot kisses, the not quite painful scrape of claws. "Go eat, dragon," he said, coughing when his voice came out ragged and husky. "We don't know what will be coming because of our new friend, so you need to be at full strength."
Growling, discontent at having to stop but understanding and always obedient, Blade wandered toward the little kitchen in the corner and opened the fridge.
Sighing, Alec stood and moved to the couch. Sitting on the edge of the coffee table, he contemplated the sleeping man. Definitely not Thomas, who even asleep probably looked like a scheming rat. This man looked…familiar, as much as Alec hated to say it. He knew that grimace of pain, the lines of exhaustion, the feeling of desperation and loneliness.
Damn it.
Bitterness was a thick bile in the back of his throat. He'd meant every single vow he'd ever made. They'd never been just platitudes to him. Every promise that he made, he meant.
Every promise had made him a fool.
The instinct wouldn't die though. This man had asked, and by accident or design had hit his weak spots. Alec turned his head just enough to glance at the far wall. Below the cheap wall clock hung his sword, mounted in place shortly after taking the apartment and not touched since.
In the end, they hadn't been able to take it, either. How could they? It was his, until his death, and its first real taste of blood at his hands had only proven that he was its true bearer this generation. It had chafed them, to let him walk out with it, but beyond their control to prevent it.
Standing, he walked slowly to the sword and took it down from the wall, drew it sharply from the sheath. The blade was pristine, as sharp as the day it was first made, immune to the ravages of time. Magic was not often found close to dragons, but what magic was present was some of the most powerful. Though a dragon's greatest weakness, magic had also been involved in their making.
He who bears this sword is destined to kill his closest friend.
Sheathing the blade with a rough sound, Alec returned it to the wall and strode back to the man on his couch. Resuming his place at the coffee table, absently noting as Blade sat down in the recliner, he reached out and gently attempted to shake the man awake.
Long lashes fluttered, then lay still against the pale cheeks. Then they fluttered again, turned into long, slow blinks, until he was staring into sleep-glazed eyes the color of honey.
"Glasses?" the man said, voice hoarse, thick with sleep. "You're blurry, whoever you are."
Alec frowned, looking around, hadn't he set—ah. Picking up the glasses, or what was left of them anyway, he pressed them carefully into the man's hands.
The man gasped when he'd slid the glasses on. "You—but—"
"Look," Alec said, "I need to know what protecting you is going to entail. What sort of danger I'm facing."
"O-of course," the man said, struggling to sit up.
Alec felt a brief pang of guilt for waking him, cause the guy looked ready to fall right back over and not move for a month – but he squashed it, calling himself stupid. What the hell was there to feel guilty about?
"Uh—" The man licked his lips, ducked his head. "Thank you," he said quietly. "I—"
"Just tell me what I need to know," Alec said, cutting him off, not interested in what he might say. He would repay his debt and that would be that.
"Yes," the man said. "I'm sure I need not tell you about my brother."
Alec grunted in agreement.
"He was always the bad seed of the family," the man said. "My parents were good people, and they never knew what to do with him. They were extremely wealthy, my parents. They died about a month ago."
"I studied abroad for years and years, improving my magic, staying the hell away from my brother. Growing up, I was his favorite victim. He hated me." The man sighed, closed his eyes, face a study in pain. "When my parents died, there were a lot of people who thought they'd finally be getting their hands on the money – Thomas and some of his 'friends' included."
It didn't take a genius to figure out what was coming next. "Your parents left everything to you."
"Yeah," the man said. "Everything. But it's held in trust by the law firm my parents used until I reach the age of twenty five."
"Which I'm guessing is in one month," Alec said. When the man nodded, he continued. "So what, after you get it you're out of danger?"
The man nodded. "If I die before my twenty fifth birthday, then everything gets divided up between the executive officers. Thomas was killed because he was useless without the money from our parents he promised he'd shortly have. After I reach my twenty fifth birthday control of everything reverts to me and nothing goes to any of them if I die at that point."
Alec frowned. "What sort of people are we up against?"
"Abnormals," the man said tiredly. "I wish it were just normals, those I could take care of myself. All I want is to make it to my twenty fifth birthday, then I can sell everything to the one person who has asked to purchase the company."
"Why not go to him for protection?"
"He's on the opposite side of the country, and I have very little money of my own. I never lived off my parents, and much of what I did have has been taken in the attempts to kill me." The man looked at his hands. "I truly am sorry to burden you with this; I simply had no where else to go and no one to trust."
"What makes you think you can trust me?"
The man laughed sadly. "Thomas mentioned you once, when he was mocking me. He said nothing was more useful than a man of honor, because he'd do anything to keep his word, even if that meant doing something he hated or getting himself killed. It amused and pleased him that he had your promise to save his life. I think he was going to call you himself, but he underestimated just how pissed off his compatriots were with him."
Alec tamped down on his temper. "Yeah, there's nothing dumber than a man of honor."
Flinching, the man looked at his hands again. "I don't expect you to do it for free. I told you – in one month I'll be an extremely wealthy man. I can pay you whatever you want."
"You mentioned land," Alec said, something in his chest twisting. It would be so easy to ask, and he'd finally have a territory for Blade…
"Yes," the man replied. "If it's land you want, that's easy."
Alec allowed himself to dream for a moment before finally shoving the wistful thought aside "No. A promise is a promise, even when foolishly made. A life for a life. Your brother once saved mine, and I failed to save his." His hands curled into fists as he fought an urge to take the stranger's. Ceremony and tradition had no place here, not anymore. Not for him. Still, old habits were hard to break. "To make up for that transgression, I vow to keep you safe from all harm for a period of one month."
The man blinked at him, and Alec actually looked at him, really looked, and was suddenly hard-pressed not to smile. He looked more than a little ridiculous, mussed and wrinkled and the glasses a mangled mess. Like a child who had stumbled home after an adventurous day of summer vacation.
Or, he thought, levity dying, a kid who'd gotten roughed up by bullies on his way home.
Alec could no more fight his protective instincts than he could stop breathing. He was what he was, even if being that meant everyone played him for a fool.
"You should get cleaned up," he said. "I'll find some new clothes, unless you've got some stashed on your person somewhere."
The man shook his head. "No. I threw up the charm of protection and ran. The less I carried, the less likely they would find me when the charm wore off."
Alec grunted. "I'm impressed you could cast such a charm."
"I cast two, actually, back to back. It's why I'm not dead yet."
Despite himself, Alec was impressed, and looked at the man with a bit of respect. "That certainly explains why you passed out."
The man's cheeks flushed scarlet, and if he stared any harder at his hands Alec didn't doubt he'd burn a hole right through them. "I'm sorry."
Alec sighed. "Go get cleaned up. The shower is straight down the hall. My bedroom is on the left. The clothes will be on the bed there when you're done showering. Do you like pizza?"
"Yes," the man said. "Though at this point I'd eat anything you put in front of me." He looked up with a brief, hesitant smiled, but it died as quickly as it had come, the man looking away again. "Thank you. And I hardly think it a mark upon your honor to demand payment. If you change your mind on the matter later, just let me know." Standing, he moved across the living room and vanished down the hall.
Reaching for the phone, Alec dialed the pizza place number by rote, putting in his usual order and adding an extra pie. Tossing the phone aside as he finished, he stood and stalked to the kitchen in desperate need of a beer.
"Alec…" Blade said quietly, amber eyes bright and intent upon him, narrowed a bit in concern.
"I’m fine," Alec soothed. "Just hoping this shit doesn't blow up in our faces. Is this okay with you, Blade?" Because if he was going to protect…fuck, he'd never asked the guy's name. Scrubbing at his face, suddenly wanting a nap, Alec strode back to the living area and dropped down into the couch.
"Protect," Blade said, eyes blazing in a way no human's could. An animal shine – a dragon shine. He abandoned his chair to crawl into Alec's lap, rumbling and petting and kissing, a devoted dragon intent only upon soothing his Owner.
Alec held him close, content simply to have Blade close. Everyone else had betrayed him, but never his dragon.
He didn't know how long they remained that way, but it was finally broken by a faint "Oh."
Opening his eyes, he saw Thomas' twin – wet and flushed from the shower, with only a towel clinging to his hips.
Lust slapped him, sudden and sharp, leaving him breathless and dumbfounded. He'd never thought Thomas attractive, and since his wife's betrayal Alec had not been turned on by any but his dragon.
Thomas had been whipcord thin, all muscle and movement and deadly talent, so much like the butterfly knife he'd always carried. His twin was nothing like that, nothing at all. This body bore the scars of a magic user – burns and scrapes that normal life would never inflict. The dark hair was plastered to his head, making him look younger than his twenty five years, and the body was neither soft nor toned, but a pleasing in between.
He heard Blade growl low in surprise, knowing the dragon must be more than a little startled by what he was smelling. Alec absently pet him, soothing with soft, nonsensical words.
"Sorry," he finally said. "I forgot to lay out clothes."
"I can just put mine back on," the man said quietly, eye skittering away, and Alec recalled how they'd been the exact color of honey.
Alec shook his head, and gently eased Blade off his lap before standing. "No, hang on. I'll get them."
Striding past the man, forcefully ignoring how he smelled, carefully not looking at him, he strode into his bedroom and quickly scrounged up some clothes. They'd be too big, but there wasn't much he could do about it right now.
"There," he said, turning to where the man stood in the doorway.
"Thank you."
Alec shrugged. "What's your name, anyway?"
"Oh," the man blinked, then smiled sheepishly. "Sorry. With one thing and another, I forgot that part. My name is Edison."
"Edison," Alec said, blinking slowly. "Thomas and Edison?"
Edison grimaced in a way that only someone who'd been stricken with an unfortunate name could. "My mom's idea. I'm just glad we were born male. Her girl names were much, much worse."
Alec turned sharply away, refusing to give in to an urge to smile. He'd learned his lesson, and he'd learned it well.
The door bell rang, mercifully drawing his attention, and he snatched up his wallet from a side table on his way to the door.
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Date: 2008-04-12 10:46 pm (UTC)*tries to stop worshiping and start reading*
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Date: 2008-04-12 11:22 pm (UTC)AAAAAAH, *squishes the three together*
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Date: 2008-04-12 11:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-12 11:06 pm (UTC)Edison is so woooooobie~! And poor, poor Alec. I hope they get their happy threesome ending soooooon<3
Also, BOO BAD WIVES. BOOOOOOOOO.
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Date: 2008-04-12 11:11 pm (UTC)Thomas and Edison. *snickers*
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Date: 2008-04-12 11:13 pm (UTC):)
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Date: 2008-04-12 11:22 pm (UTC)O_O
-_-
O_0
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Date: 2008-04-12 11:25 pm (UTC)*laugh* I'll take that as a good thing?
*totally fangirls*
Date: 2008-04-12 11:25 pm (UTC)*snuggle hugs Edison* I love the way you drop hints here and there about who he is and why he's running. I totally don't like his brother, am not terribly sad he's dead, but am now totally worried for poor Edison. ;_; *snugs him*
Alec and Blade.... *________________________*
I LOVE Alec's honor and the way he sticks to it, even though it's obviously burned him badly in the past. I love too, that he's that knight in shining armor, but that he's a untrusting one. And I like how he ends up agreeing to take on Edison and protect him. (Aw, what with the crying and the knight thing and it reminding him of his sisters... <3333) I'm dead curious about the sword too.
So, is Alec any relation to Tori, Dri and Ricky? *curious*
*flying tackle glomps* I LOVE this. *_____* LOVE LOVE!! *twirls you about*
And EIEEEEEE!!! I love how he finds Edison adorable despite himself. I can't wait to see how Blade takes that. XD <33333 You are totally the love. ^_^
Re: *totally fangirls*
Date: 2008-04-12 11:29 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-12 11:48 pm (UTC)Edison is likeable already. Oh, Alec's hardened shell is hopefully about to come crashing down. I'm liking his instant attraction to Edison... and hoping that Blade agrees.
Nice to see your work again; been missing my dose of Megan-prose.
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Date: 2008-04-13 12:22 am (UTC)and while i'm mad curious about alec's back story, this sword? and curse? WTF?? IMPENDING DOOM???
*twitch* cats! clear out! we need more story!!
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Date: 2008-04-13 12:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-13 12:28 am (UTC)And Im curious about something I was reading Harem and Sandstorm and found a start to a story for Shir are u ever going to finish it? I loved it so far!
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Date: 2008-04-13 01:55 am (UTC)You're brilliant.
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Date: 2008-04-13 02:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-13 02:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-13 02:27 am (UTC)3 some on the horizon. I do like the way you write.
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Date: 2008-04-13 02:35 am (UTC)Hm, I'm wondering if the person across the country who wants to buy the company is someone we know already...
^______^
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Date: 2008-04-13 02:38 am (UTC)Hmm, b/t you and Sky, I fear I'm becoming too predictable and boring ^_~
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Date: 2008-04-13 02:42 am (UTC)<333
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Date: 2008-04-13 03:36 am (UTC)I adore your dragon stories so very much. Thank you.
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Date: 2008-04-13 04:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-13 06:05 am (UTC)could this sword possibly be a particularly famous sword? betrayal by his wife, destined to bear it, knights, honor, killing of best friend, etc?
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Date: 2008-04-13 06:09 am (UTC)Oh Edison, I want to hug you. So badly. And Alec's reaction to Edison's half naked wetness is just HAH. And also more squee. Actually, that was pretty much the reaction to the whole story: HAH, Awww and SQUEE. I can't wait to see more of this, to find out more about what happened to Alec, why he had to leave, find out who the sword's prophecy said he'd kill, and what will happen to Edison. *hugs you*
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Date: 2008-04-13 07:35 am (UTC)*ahem* now that that's out of the way... on the eternal debate of how the dragons read, to me it feels more like ASL does. Both just decided to drop the unnecessary words. I love the dragons. *melts into happy goo pile of fangirlness* any chance DwtD's going to be a lulu book? *hopeful*
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Date: 2008-04-13 04:32 pm (UTC)Thomas Edison. And you say my twins named Ash and Wednesday are bad, ;P
Also, EDISON IS SAD AND VULNERABLE ALEC, YOU IDIOT, WHY ARE YOU NOT TAKING ADVANTAGE?
You know protective!love makes me squee right?
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Date: 2008-04-13 04:58 pm (UTC)::flails s'more::
There is absolutely nothing I dislike about this story. How are you managing to mash all my buttons? Dragons! Protection! Twins that are not identical in spirit! Silly names (Thomas! Edison! Hee!) Knights and Alec's total reluctance and danger and doom and, and I am going to go over there and flail like a little moron. ^______^ And magic, can't forget the magic. ^______^
Blade likes pizza! ^____^ Oh, that cracked me up. And heh, poor Alec. He has no idea what he's gotten into, protecting the hot, hapless sorcerer. ^___^ Though now I'm super-curious about Alec and Blade's past, and what exactly they got into that gave Thomas such a strong promise. (That Alec's honorable enough to follow through on said promise is another button. There are too many buttons!)
::flails:: And threesome! Oh, I am doomed. Utterly utterly doomed. ::glomps:: I declare you the winner, here is what is left of my soul. ^____^
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Date: 2008-04-13 05:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-04-13 06:27 pm (UTC)And, I know you haven't even finished it yet, and it still is rough so not everything has been corrected, but I found one:
A man appeared behind Alex, resting his chin on Alec's shoulder.
We don't know he's Alec yet, so should be Alex, right? Sorry. Thought it might be helpful.
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Date: 2008-06-18 07:26 pm (UTC)