[PRP] we glow (algie & jeremiah)

[azuredreams]

His arm had curled around Algie when he had opted to just take them home and in a smattering of heartbeats they were once more in their home.

While he was certain they had repaired the damage that had been wrought because of the death of the three teenagers, Jeremiah was not sure what that would mean. His arm unwound from his husband and tangled their fingers together.

"Hopefully you didn't terribly mind the abrupt departure," he murmured softly, blue-green eyes looking to the shorter man. There was a glow to his eyes, softer than it would be in other ashdown and not quite the same as the reflective quality they took on when light hit them. While Jeremiah probably could have stayed around, could have asked so many questions, there was an undeniable need to be back home after they had been gone.

iloveyouDIE

bring on the changes ... ! and after meta shenanigans.

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"You know I never mind going home.." Algie leaned into the arm around him a moment before fishing in his pockets to make sure he was home with everything he'd gone out with. It was an odd feeling.. feeling like he'd beein given an intense magical workout while simultaneously feeling a bit more relaxed than he felt he should be.

When they'd all showed back up they looked like they'd been through the ringer but all he could think of was getting home.

Appearing back into the entryway to their home was abrupt but Alg let out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding. The room looked the same, the sweater chair there, but somehow the air felt different.

"Everything is still here... I think." Alg turned to his husband and leaned up to press a kiss to his jaw. "You think the cats are alright?" Alg settled back down and whistled for them.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah felt as if he had been through a magical bootcamp, training and training endlessly, but also rested. It was not a feeling he expected to have, considering they had been feeding their magic into holding the way back.

His eyes flicked around as Algie spoke, fingers skirting up along his back briefly and settling. The air felt heavier, as if there was more- It honestly felt a little bit as if they had not quite left other ashdown. "Probably disgruntled, I imagine, as they likely sensed that something was wrong." They did not, in fact, immediately come running. Instead there was the sound of a thump from the front living area where the piano was as well as a large section of their library.

He started to head that direction before he realized that there were photographs hanging on the wall. Jeremiah had only kept a few but this was an obvious collection, some collages.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

Alg could feel it, the difference in the air, though it was subtle. There were also small things about the house, tiny details that he couldn't quite remember but also seemed not as they'd left it.

"Things are different.." His brow furrowed, frown set, but this wasn't the same as when they'd been taken to other ashdown and replaced.. this was..

"Cats!" He said it aloud before he entered the living room, and he heard what he thought was a muffled meow in response, but he paused with Jeremiah to look at the pictures- new pictures- them in situations he didn't remember and pictures going back much longer than Alg had been here..

He didn't quite understand...

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

There, in the living room, was a fort of Algie's novels that two pairs of bright blue eyes were peering from the depths of. Jeremiah, for the moment, did not pay it any attention. Instead he was looking through the photographs that were on the wall. Some of them-

They were younger.

One of them was when he got promoted to Detective Lieutenant and Algie was there with him. "You weren't here for this ..." His eyes slid right past it until he caught sight of what looked like a pair of wedding photos.

A pair of them. They still hadn't even had their wedding in Ashdown yet.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"For christ's sake.." Algie sighed, "I'm not even sure how you built a fort without thumbs..." The brunette was crouching at the entryway of the book fortification and waggling his fingers until he felt sniffling wet noses and then two fuzzy white heads headbutting him furiously as they half crawled out of the fort.

Alg was distracted by the books in the piles though, some were his and some were not and most of them had different covers and things than he remembered. A Red Herring novel was picked up, it had a cover he didn't recognize and was slapped with the moniker 'The First in a New Exciting Saga'. But it wasn't his first trilogy and his name, even on the reprinted cover, was Algernon Mercer.

"No this is..." The date inside wasn't right and his author page details noted that he lived in America with his partner. "Jeremiah my books are different. MY BOOKS."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"They're othercats, precious, I somehow expect they just wanted it to happen and it did." Though it was more idly said because his focus was still on the photographs, only glancing briefly towards his spouse as he lured out the cats.

Mostly because he was staring at the fact that there was a picture of him with his arm bandaged up, leg as well and crutches leaning heavily on Algie. Pictures followed that showed him using a cane and- "What? How?" That pulled him away from the photographs, Jeremiah plucking up one of the books and crouching to scratch at white ears when both cats peeked out a bit further.

He blinked as he read through the dedication page. "This- This is dedicated to your husband." It was a book they hadn't been married for but here it was- That book was set down and one of the newer, unfamiliar books was picked up. Jeremiah glanced towards the wedding pictures he had seen and back to the book and the author details that stated Algie lived with his partner in America.

His phone was pulled out, thumbing at the unlock screen before he noticed the date. It was offered out to Algie. "Look at the date, Alg. I was going to suggest looking us up online as well but-" The date. It was the 18th of December.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"Jesus we lost a month.." Alg frowned, more concerned about the cats first but they were alive which meant they'd eaten and drank. His second task was to unpile some of the book fort which, in only a few moments revealed both cats no worse for wear but they seemed grateful that their owners were back.

"Did you both get food??" Violetta was pinched at but she was as fat as always and seemed to easily just flop sideways as soon as he touched her.

"This is all very weird love.." Alg straightened and read the back of the first novel. "It's like the direction I was going with the new stuff but... apparently it's the old stuff."

Alg pulled out his own phone, which was off, and upon turning it back on found both numbers, emails and instagram alerts for photos he never remembered posting.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"They look as healthy and well fed as when we left," Jeremiah scritched his fingers at Hellbine who pushed into them and then licked at the tips until he was standing up properly. He flipped the book over and read the brief summary and-

"Yes, you were just talking about introducing some of this." Given the things they had been involved with because of other ashdown, it had lead to a potentially darker storyline introduced and with more magic. Softly glowing blue-green eyes looked to the other as the phone was looked at.

"Different?" he asked quietly, cutting a glance towards the photograph collages that were on the wall and then back. Jeremiah caught sight then of a cane that was leaning against the side of the piano bench and went to pick it up.

This was beginning to seem like they might not have come back to their home even if it was.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"Photos I don't remember and some phone numbers I don't know but labeled for work.." He had a habit of noting with a letter or a word in his contacts where people were from so he didn't forget.

Alg glanced up as he scrolled through a much more organized email account, "It's like the Twilight Zone.. except-" He sighed, "I don't know. It's still me."

The phone was put away because it was bothering him. Instead he gathered books quietly and began to put them back on the shelves. "I'm going to have to google myself and see what it says.."

He also can't believe he just said that phrase.

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"There's a cane over there," Jeremiah pointed towards the piano, that thankfully seemed to be the same one he remembered, "but there's photographs of me using it and ... ah, one of me looking particularly busted up but you mostly okay." Which meant there was a story behind it, obviously.

He snorted when Algie mentioned googling himself, going to help put the books back up where they belonged. "You and me both, precious, you and me both."

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"Well if you had an injury," He wasn't sure how all of this worked really, "I don't think you have it. But the you who was living here did.." Did they replace someone else's lives? Was this really theirs?

It was like the same world with everything just shifted a few inches, everything just different enough for it to feel like a trick.

With a pile of books in arm he went to put them on the clearly empty shelves. If he wasn't mistaken there were books in here about magic. Published books. About Real Magic.

One was plucked and held out to Jeremiah, "We may have to check our journals."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

"No, clearly those things don't translate but we're ..." Jeremiah smoothed a hand through his hair, dragging fingers through until he was rubbing at the side of his neck. "This is home but it's not. It's just enough off that it's unsettling. Entirely different than coming back after being a tithe."

The last part was finished quietly, the taller man slipping closer and taking the book from Algie as he held it out to him. He had to double check the title before he realized it was about magic. Honest to goodness magic.

"This- Yes, I think we will." Flipping open the book, he realized that some of the topics it covered were past his own understanding of magic.

Softly glowing blue-green eyes glanced back towards Algie. "Did you notice it," he asked quietly, "how it doesn't feel quite the same?" As if they hadn't quite left other ashdown yet or were on the edges of it somehow.

iloveyouDIE

 

[iloveyouDIE]

"Yes," Alg sighed. It was like when you walked outside and a storm was coming. The air feels different but you can't put a finger on it. It's just a pressure you can feel. "Well you know.."

His hand squeezed lightly, fingers rubbing together, and he held out his palm. In his hand a ball of lightning crackled, strong and fluid it formed and spark and crackled... and held and held and Algie didn't feel like he was getting in the least bit fatigued.

"I feel like I could do this all day.." His fingers flicked into a fist again and the lightning disappeared. "Which means the magic isn't as tiring here anymore."

azuredreams

 

[azuredreams]

Jeremiah watched as the lighting appeared, more so impressed that it maintained. His eyes took on that odd reflective quality as he glanced up to Algie. "So the veil is still in place but magic is more ample ..."

His fingers stretched and flicked before coldfire sparked to life around his hand. "Definitely more ample." That was something he hadn't been able to do before. "Not quite sure what all this is going to all mean for the world outside." Outside of their home and safe haven. "Other than we've got to look out for other changes."

iloveyouDI3