At the temporary Alphonsus manor-tentĀ withĀ @nickalphonsusā
Today, Mik had finally woken up to feel Nick lying next to him. Apart from that first day, where Nick had slept something like 14 hours, the past few days Mik had woken up alone. Nick was awake and away before dawn. Mik had even convinced Nick to hang around for breakfast, the two of them watching the sunrise together over the beach as the nibbled on cold taro and fish.
āDo you feel up for a bit of a walk?ā Mik asked Nick, breaking the natural silence that had settled between them. It had been natural, Mik told himself, fighting the sickening suspicion that it was awkward and terse and ugly. āI found something I think youāll like,ā he sing-songed, hoping that Nick would take the bait.
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Cian is wandering a little gingerly.Ā Eyes darting around like a rabbit in a field of foxes.Ā Ā āTHINGSā were happening again.Ā And while heād managed to escape the ravages of the first mind-beast... The Jinn... ( Probably because it couldnāt squeeze into his head pastĀ āforesightā, who had sternly put itās foot down andĀ ānopedā to showing a false future ) ... It seemed as though the Islands latest concoction of chaos was to delve into the past.Ā Something which he had no control over whatsoever.
And heās... Worried.
That if someone else takes a peek into his past they might well fall into aĀ āMarty McFlyā moment, where Cian wasnāt just in a memory of his own in the past, but in a memory that was looking into the future.
And if diving into peopleās heads wasnāt enough of a mind-fuck, dropping into Cians mind was probably enough to send them spinning - sanity and rationality werenāt entirely present when traversing the mystical veil and peeking through time.Ā Heās not scared of revealing anything starkly personal about himself - to be honest, heād be pretty happy to tell anyone pretty much anything about himself if they were interested enough to ask...Ā
...But...
...The fact that Cian had an...Ā āabilityā... An attunement before he ever arrived here was a bit much for people to - 1) believe and 2) not freak out about.Ā While they seemed to adjust reasonably well here to the fact that everyone was some kind of elemental superhero... The thought of abilities being real in theĀ āoutside worldā was still... A bit much.
So heās kinda jumping at shadows and - if heās being honest with himself - trying to check on people while also actively trying to avoid them which... Was not really the easiest thing to do.Ā The buzzing... The buzzing... Was starting to make his teeth itch too.Ā Like there were a thousand insects crawling over his skin, and he shudders every few minutes, like a dog trying to shake off the irritant of a flea infestation.
...Perhaps itās that sensation that has his attention diverted for a moment, not entirely paying as umch attention as he should because suddenly thereās someone there and he hadnāt noticed and the sudden realisation causes Cian to..
...Shriek.
Quietly.
A small startled yelp ( which also tends to happen more than it has any rational right to, but hey ho... ) - almost jumping out of his own skin for no apparent reason.
āShite... Hello.Ā Hi.Ā Sorry, hello.Ā Uh...ā
Wait, crap.Ā Thatās Matthews kid, right?Ā The progeny of the Alphonsus home grown famous brand that was apparently also... REALLY Weirdly... Almost deified by some of the people here and... Well, to be honest, Cian just feels a bit awkward.Ā Heās managed to swerve just about anyone in any kind of position of authority for the most part.Ā Mostly because they tend to frown at him a lot and write him off asĀ āless thanā as soon as look at him.Ā Yes, he pitched in enough and when and where he could... but the carefree hippy appearance and demeanour seemed to brand him with theĀ āslackerā tag in the eyes of more than a few.
One finger is poked into his own ear, wriggling it about for a moment as though it would dislodge that ever present buzz...
āI was just... Uh, checking that people were okay...Ā I mean.Ā As okay as they can be, considering...ā
The same hand waves vaguely in the air.Ā Gesturing in something of an all encompassing way.
ā...The newest bag of tricks.Ā I think people are freaking out...ā
...Cian included...
ā...And separating and thatās not always a fab idea when the Island is being a bag of dicks... Uh... I mean... Itās not always super to be alone.Ā But this thing is... Um... Pushing people away from each other...ā
He trails off slowly, because heās kinda doing that exact thing.Ā But at least if he can look in on everyone... Or as many as he can, then he can sate his own conscience that theyāre not in any other kind of danger.
"There is one thing we've been avoiding," Mik said, looking over to Nick. It was nice to have breakfast in a proper house, since their ruined-shack had decided to shift to being a little renovated cabin for them this morning. By lunch it could be a bundle of sticks again, or just plain, clean sand. Mik took what he could, including trying to time his bites so that the porridge in front of him was warm and cooked.
"The wedding dance," Mik finally said, putting Nick out of his misery. "Like, do you want to have a cheesy slowdance moment? Or should we just get the tunes going and dance like we're in our twenties?"
Nick is freed from the tree and Mik carries him back to their hut, and everything is well in the world, or is it?Ā
@nickalphonsus
āNickā¦?ā Mik had helped ease Nickās body off of the tree, laid him gently onto the leaf-litter around them. The others that had helped him fight off Nickās vines were already moving onto the next person, but Mik stayed behind with Nick, daring to cup Nickās face. Waiting for Nickās eyes to open. āNick, come on, talk to me,ā Mik prayed, wondering whether it would be obvious once he saw Nickās eyes. Whether he would kick himself for ever confusing Nick withā¦ whatever had forged a copy of his body.Ā
It was without doubt a lifeless existence. The haze was fraught with slithers of light cutting through the haze only to rescind. Voices doubling back and forth. Occasionally it was as if he heard his own but how could he be sure of that? He wasnāt even sure he knew who ā - āNick.ā Everything had shifted, as if his world had turned onto a fresh axis. Nick strained to open his eyes, forcing his eyes open only to be greeted with the hazy face of Mik. Sweet beloved Mik. āMikā¦ā He croaked, voice as parched as he felt.
Mik held his breath as Nick started to stir, his eyes creaked open a sliver. This was Nick, he knew that, but he found nothing right now that made the other Nick seem obvious. Mik shrugged off those thoughts, putting his attention to Nick right now. āBabeā¦ā Mik whispered, heavy with relief that heād said his name. That heād recognised him. He looked thirsty, his lips chapped, torn. Mik pulled his water bottle from his fanny pack, slowly helping Nick sit up and then trickling water between Nickās lips. āHeyā¦ā Mik said, the chaos of the tree-grove around them fading to his periphery. āI know you said youād like a tree-house, butā¦ā Mikās joke cut off as his throat seized up, tears threatening to pour down his face. No, he had to keep it together, stay bright and happy for Nick. āYou went a bit farā¦ā
Nick greedily accepted the water, desperate for it as Mik poured it between his lips, and almost couldnāt move his lips fast enough to guzzle enough down. Once he was sated, or at least had enough for the time being Nick turned his head to Mik. āWhat happenedā¦?ā There was a gap in his memories, an abyss that plunged deep but left nothing much for Nick to savour or dwell over. He felt weak, and worn out as if Mik had sent him on a morning marathon, but still he shifted. Coming to rest his head against Mikās chest more than content to rest here for a little while and listen to the steady beat of his heart. This twist afforded him a view of a hollowed out tree, just enough space for someone to curl up into it. Nick cast his gaze away he didnāt much like the look of that. āBabeā¦whatās wrong?ā
What was wrong? What wasnāt wrong. Nick had been kidnapped forā¦ weeks? And Mik hadnāt noticed that heād been swapped. He should have noticed, known that something was wrong earlier, but he didnāt. Did that make him a bad partner? He should have known. Mik smiled for Nick, hugging him back, trying not to notice the way Nick skitted his eyes over the hole where he had been. What he thought didnāt matter. He always tried to make it about him. āWell, despite you being stuck up a treeā¦ā Mik trailed off, leaning down to kiss Nickās forehead. āYouāre back now. Nothingās wrong.ā Except everything was.Ā
Stuck in a tree. Sounded ridiculous but Nick knew better than to judge the island so harshly. Time and time over it seemed to prove itself more unbelievable than the last. Nick nestled himself in the halo of Mikās warmth. Eager for it despite the otherwise amicable temperatures, he just wanted to feel right again. Nick groaned, letting his eyes slide shut as everything blossomed into a new world of pain. āIā¦think thereās aā¦ā His dry cracked lips formed a smile before heād even gotten to the punchline. āThorn in my ass.ā Nick dug his fingers into the soft pocket of Mikās hoodie. It felt fatalistic to be wallowing about here but Nick wasnāt even sure he could stand. āHome? Yeah?ā
Mik chuckled at Nick's joke, hungry for it. A return to their normal banter, like they weren't lying in the wreckage of a grove of trees with human shaped holes in them. Mik stroked Nick's hair as he closed his eyes and nestled in. That, at least, felt right. "You want me to pull it out?" Mik asked caringly, holding Nick gingerly close to him. "Home, yeah let's go home."
Mik carried Nick bridal style back to the lagoon. Nick mustn't have felt well, he only made one joke about it as they walked. Mik submerged them both in the water, and the world turned upside down as they travelled back through to South beach. To home. Mik's back started to ache as he walked on the path to their hut but he didn't dare say anything about it to Nick. He looked awful. Mik could bear an out back for him. It was only when they got in sight of their hut that Mik realised he shouldn't have taken them here. Their shack was a mess, flattened wreckage, caused by Mik's own hand. "Shit, yeah. Iā¦ uhā¦ we might need a new hut," Mik said, gently setting Nick down on their sun lounger.
Nick didnāt complain about being carried, partly because talking was just too much effort. He wasnāt so much content but remarkably quiet but the whole affair. Though if he was being totally honest, being held by Mik after, apparently and allegedly, being held hostage by the tree. It was a delight. Nick only knew the latter because as theyād left the grove heād seen others being freed. The sight was worse, far worse, Nick had at least been in blissful ignorance up until that moment. Being eased into the lagoon felt like a breakaway. Nick wouldāve been happy to spend the rest of the day just floating, reabsorbing as much hydration as he could after being sapped dry.
But Mik carried him the rest of the way home. Their home. The little shack that theyād called their own, or what was left of it. Nick perched on the edge of the sun lounger and stared, blankly, at the wreckage of their hut. There wasnāt much left of it. āDidā¦ā Nick started, not even sure exactly how he was going to end that sentence. Who? Why? How? Nick feebly made to stand but felt as if he was going to keel over. Mik was still close enough that he could grab a hold of him to steady himself. āWhat happened?ā Nick asked, clearing his throat of what felt like thick vicious tree sap. Nick looked up at him. āAre you okay?āĀ
Mik had felt so righteous in tearing down this hut in the face of Nick and Emreās ultimatum. That was before everything had come to light, before he realised it was a thing that wore Nickās face. It had felt real at the time, but it felt stupid to fess up to it now, a situation that had felt surreal at the time. Mik shrugged, padding over to the wreckage and toeing it gently with his sliders. As if he could nudge it back upright. āIt uhā¦ā Mikās throat closed up as he stalled at finding a way to explain this. āItās a mess, yeah?ā Mik glibly said, shrugging as he turned back to Nick.Ā
āIām golden, babe,ā Mik said, slipping into something easy. A salesmanās charm, the second skin he wore for the camera, for the stage. It felt good to smile, to exist as that surface level Mik who was never sad, who never fucked up or felt like he was treading water and starting to drown. āIāve got you back, thatās all that matters.ā He did mean that. His own problems seemed silly in the face of what Nick had gone through. āThough maybe I should go and see if I can source us a tent, yeah? Until we seduce that big guy to build us a real Alphonsus Manor, hm?āĀ
Nick watched him unravel, evident in the way that Mik pushed aside any real questions. Uttered that he was golden with a smile that appeared to be precariously balanced atop of their coded stones. For those that didnāt know Mik better they mightāve accepted this all at face value. Easy bright smiles that were charmingly disarming. Nick didnāt buy it. āWait.ā Nick reached out to wrap his hand about Mikās wrist, once again performing a mirror into the past.Ā
āI know you arenāt okayā¦ā How tenuous was the thread between them? Had Nick had a hand in the destruction of their hut? Admittedly, he hadnāt been the ideal partner. In some ways resenting Mik for washing up. He should be out there living his life. Being the personal trainer he always wanted to be. It was hard to let that go when being here seemed to only cause Mik harm. It wasnāt supposed to be like this. āJust stop, yeah?āĀ
Mik should have left as soon as heād suggested getting a tent, not lingered around Nick. Because as soon as Nick grabbed his wrist he knew it was over. Nick knew. Heād seen through Mikās mask like it was made of glass. Mik did his best to still his face as the next words came, as Nick asked him to stop. Mik managed to hold the smile for a few extra heartbeats, but his eyes gave him away.Ā
āIā¦ I didnāt know it wasnāt you,ā Mik admitted, the sin that had been tightening around his neck like a noose. āIā¦ I thought you were off, butā¦ā He hadnāt realised that Nick had been taken, replaced with some thing made of sand and evil. Mik turned to step next to Nick, both of them facing the hut, that way he wouldnāt be facing Nick. It would be harder for Nick to see the utter devastation he wore at that small truth. āI should have known, yeah?ā Mik whispered, to hide the way his voice was breaking.Ā
āBut thatās not really important. Youāre back.ā And he could barely stand, and Mik was upset with himself? That was why they kept fighting, right? Mik only thinking about himself.Ā
The crux of why Mik was upset came out as a quiet confession. Nick didnāt take his gaze off of him, even as Mik turned away from him. It felt like theyād been here before, without the island, without creatures and monsters in the night. Nick chewed on Mikās words, letting them sit and settle before he articulated what he was thinking. Frankly, with the hazy gauze of green still ever present it was hard to think properly.
āIt is important.ā Nick answered finally, after letting the silence fall between them in the absence of words Nick could string together to smooth it all over.Ā
Nick didnāt say anything. Mik, whoād never been good at quiet, did all he could not to squirm as he waited for Nickās judgement to fall. When the words did finally come, Mik flinched. Confirmation of his worst fears. Nick agreed, he should have known, he hadnāt been able to tell that Nick had been replacedā¦ āIāmā¦ Iām sorry,ā Mik added, trying to pull his hand away from Nickās. He was heating up, he didnāt want Nick to get hurt any worse than he already was.Ā
The warmth of Mik rapidly increased, and so when Mik tried to pull his hand free, Nick reluctantly let go. Instead replacing his hand somewhere that was a safe zone. Against Mikās chest with the protection of several layers of clothes. āMikā¦ā He shifted, coming between Mik and the ruins of their hut. Leaning heavily on Mik to keep himself upright. āYou are importantā¦ā Nick held on a little tighter. All these years Mik had always unquestionably been there, no matter what Nick said or did.
āI donātā¦know what happened I canāt remember shitā¦ā Nick said, whisper soft even if his voice sounded like gravel over sand. āNot you who needs to apologiseā¦ā Nick was starting to have a sinking suspicion that beyond the storm that had hit their home, heād done much worse. How was he supposed to apologise when he didnāt even know what for. Nick did however, feel that fat wad of guilt for every snap, or short remark. He loathed to admit that the cliche was right, getting within kissing distance of death tended to reorient oneās world.Ā
āIām sorry Mik.āĀ
Nick took his hand away and Mik didnāt blame him. Once burned twice shy and all that. He hadnāt expected that Nick would instead come in front of him, place a hand defiantly on his chest. Mik avoided Nickās gaze at first, looking anywhere but at him. But when Nick said his name Mikās eyes snapped to his, revealing just how upset and worried and self-loathing he felt in that moment. Mik breathed a deep breath in, and slowly let it out. He was important. Mik, centre of attention, life of the party, felt uncomfortable with that level of attention from Nick. He didnāt deserve it.Ā
Mik let Nick slowly come to his words. He should be resting, not trying to reassure Mik. Mikās hand clenched at his side, resisting the urge to stroke Nickās cheek while he was still running warm. Then, of course, Nick did the worst thing he could do. He apologised. āNo, no, Nick. That thing wasnāt you,ā Mik emphatically said, pulling down the sleeve of his hoodie so he could touch Nickās chin safely, turn it up to meet his eyes. āIt wasnāt you. You donāt have anything to be sorry for,ā Mik insisted. Because if Nick apologised, it meant it was partly his fault.Ā
āLook,ā Mik sighed, touching his cuff to Nickās cheek. Terrified of hurting him when he was so weak. āYouāre exhausted. You need to eat and drink and get some rest andā¦ and we can discuss this some more later, yeah?ā Mik smiled hopefully.Ā
Mik seemed to latch onto supposedly what mustāve been the most obvious reason for an apology. Nick parted his lips to clarify, but Mik had brought a hoodie coated hand up to his face. Once again circling it all back to rest, which Nick couldnāt argue with. He felt like death. āYeahā¦ā He agreed, falling into old quiet habits as he let Mik take the lead.Ā
Nick turned and steadied himself against the wreckage as Mik busied himself with pulling out their sleeping mat from the rubble. Little was left of the shack it had collapsed in on itself and the remnants lay wasted and strewn over the sand. There was no saving it. Nick was too tired to mourn the shitty little hut, all the time and energy heād put into making it something. He was too tired for anything except he did notice an irregularity. Singular burnt in hand print on one of the beams thatād been supportive.Ā
With it he recalled witnessing the burning rage of Mik as he tore down their hut piece by piece. Flickers and slithers of the memory, which felt more like a vision, coming to him. Nick didnāt have enough energy to turn back to Mik and needle him harder. He let himself be carried again. All but passing out in Mikās arms.Ā
Location: Early morning, by the Sea Stairs
@nickalphonsusā
Mik woke up to the usual cacophony of birds chattering, sun peeking through the open windows of their hut. He felt good, he felt great even, his shoulder wasn't aching as soon as he woke up, so that had to mean he was on the mend, and that the hard ass floor hadn't completely ruined him. His eyes still closed, Mik reached out to torture Nick with a far-too-hot early morning cuddle-
-But the mat next to him was empty. Mik squinted his eyes open, still half asleep, confirming that the hut was empty. All at once his heart kicked into gear, panic setting in, discombobulated memories of Nick missing, Nick reappearing, Mik shouting at Nick and burning his wrist- the timeline was fuzzy, they all felt like they had happened yesterday from how they had him sitting bolt upright, his heart thumping fast in his chest.
They had a system... Mik scrambled to his feet, searching for the coloured stone that would tell him where Nick had gone. Yellow for friends, blue for fishing, green for the farm, brown for the beach, except... There was nothing. "Nick?" Mik called out, unable to see the gorgeous, magenta clouds streaking across the sky. What good was the sunrise if he couldn't find Nick? Why wouldn't he have said where he was going? Was he taken, the truce with Emre already shattered? "Nick!" Mik repeated, louder this time, taking off to jog and look for him.
He was sweaty and out of breath when he finally found him, having run right along the beach towards the sea stairs. And there, bobbing in the water was a head of dark brown hair. Nick, floating without a care in the world. "Nick!" Mik came to a stop, panting and catching his breath, slightly dizzy from the sheer speed at which he'd set off. "What are you doing?" he asked, because there had to be a good reason for Nick to get out of bed early and to leave without telling him.
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Mik balanced precariously on a wooden crate, reaching above his head as he put the finishing touches on his attempt at DIY. He'd gotten as many banana leaves as he could carry and used them to line the inside of the hut. He'd woven the leaves through the rafters s best he could, but time would tell whether they made a difference. And now, his work of art. the crystal he'd swiped from the train dining cart, which Mik suspended from the roof, within reach of the sun that streamed in through the door.
Mik hopped off the crate when he was done, shaking out his burning arms as he inspected his handiwork. It looked pretty fucking shabby. Maybe a little worse than when he started. The crystal was a nice touch though, made it more like a chandelier. It brought back some of the earlier elegance. Hopefully Nick would like it.
Would Nick like any of it? That was Mik's constant worry, that Nick would hate him more because he'd attempted to fix the shack. It had been a long few days since their fight. Mik had stopped counting the days of the week a while ago, but it felt like it had been about a week. A week in the doghouse, a week of cold silences and Nick doing everything in his power to leave him alone as fast as possible. Mik left Nick alone at first, because he thought that was what he wanted. But the silence had dragged on and on, and now the silence was worse than the fight itself.
Unexpectedly, Mik turned towards a creek at the doorway. As if summoned by his poor attempt at interior decorating, it was Nick. At the sight of him Mik could feel his powers flaring, the skin prickling heat that washed over him from his rapidly beating heart. Mik took a deep breath in, and then let it out, as if preparing for a killer deadlift. "Hey," Mik said, his voice cracking on that one, single syllable.
"Can we talk?" Mik asked, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Maybe it's best if we talk outside?" Less things to catch on fire and burn down to ash outside. Well less things that Nick cared about. "Please?"
Location: En-route to the Fisherās Hut
@nickalphonsusāĀ
Nick had been quiet, since the buzzing noise reached its crescendo at the group gathering. Since Seamus (scary Scot with an icy stare) accused Esther (disappointed teacher vibes) of murdering Matthew (Nick's sort of Grand-da and cult inspiration). Heād condemned her to the Fisherās Hut (low budget Alcatraz), setting free Emre (farm-worker, older brother memory guy) who had been living there previously (because he'd also maybe murdered someone?). Seamus had decided that Tomas (farm boss) and Libby (red-haired MILF) were now the leaders (that didn't feel very democratic), and the buzzing finally faded away.
(Mik felt pretty chuffed that he'd been able to piece together the complex politics of the group so far.)
Mik had been pretty pleased to touch Nick and not be bombarded with a memory of him hanging out with Lee and chatting crypto slang that Mik still didn't understand. But Nick had been quiet, a little distant. Mik gave him his space, thinking that he needed some time to process the reveal of the murderer. As well as their new leaders. It didn't sit right with Mik that it happened so fast, that within a few seconds Esther was sent to a hut and new leadership was put in charge, but maybe that was how things worked here, on the island. Nick wasn't one for talking, though at least they were finally able to sleep nestled in against each other without a sheet prudishly between them.
Mik woke up late the next morning, a little chilled. Groggily, he reached out for Nick, but he was gone. Panic shocked Mik awake, he blinked the sleep from his eyes and caught the sight of Nick leaving the hut, stalking off towards the beach. Mik swore under his breath and grabbed his hoodie, pulling it on as he ran out to chase after Nick.
"Nick," Mik called out, jogging along the path to catch up to Nick. He didn't run away, but he didn't wait for Mik to catch up to him either. Fucking bastard. "Hey," Mik snapped, pushing forward to stand in front of Nick. "Where you off to?" Mik asked, putting a hand on Nick's shoulder to stop him in his tracks. Nick had either woken Mik up when he'd gone early to do his fishing, or waited for Mik to wake up with him. Mik didn't care that they spent their day apart, but it felt like a kick in the guts to wake up and see Nick leave him without saying goodbye.
Mik stumbled out from the Labyrinth, hurt and confused and ruled by one, all encompassing thought. He had to find Nick. He needed him. Too much had happened, Harry setting him up in the jungle, the drama with Nova, Emre's bloodsoaked confession. If there was one person Mik cared for and trusted above anyone else, it was Nick.
And there he was, standing on the path to the bridge, as if nothing was the matter, as if this were just a normal day. "Nick..." Mik whispered, and he rushed to him, wrapping Nick into a tight, embrace, curling down to press his face into Nick's hair, his cheek, his shoulder, anywhere he could reach. Mik trembled at the release of emotion that poured through him, the sweet relief from fear, and worry, and sadness that had plagued him the past few days. Nick was here. They were together, and that would make all the difference.
"Nick... I... I need..." Mik cleared his throat as tears welled in his eyes, voice tight and heavy. "This island is the worst. So much has... We need to talk." They needed to be on the same page about everything, only then could they face this as one.
