[PRP] Where the heart is (Shiloh & Jamie)

[saedusk]

I'll bring it up again, too. At first the message was vague, but as they watched Shiloh go through the closet, the surface of the memory bubbled and rippled, changing with Jamie's imagination in a way not unlike what they'd experienced with the previous ones. The clothing store overlaid a corner of the room, the turtle shell shirt hanging like it had been a part of their closet all along.

Being happy wasn't an automatic, sit down and decide and it's done sort of deal. There were a lot of factors and there would be a lot of ups and downs, but they'd face those hurdles together.

Thank you... a soft voice said, sounding almost on the verge of tears, but in that happy, holding back laughter sort of way. It was warm here, it was so very warm. You make me happy. Thank you for believe in me went unspoken, but very much implied.

The room shifted away again, the Shiloh from the memory exiting the room, blinking, and opening his eyes to his own face. This time it was Jamie's perspective, it was the two of them laying together, it was the moment right before they'd gone to sleep last night. The only light was the dim blue glow of the aquariums.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Looks familiar. there was another roll of chuckles, warm and low like thunder in the distance, the kind that beckoned storms with lullabies of rain. In the memory Shiloh's hand slowly raised, slowly came to rest on Jamie's cheek, brushed a few stray hairs from his face. "Your hair's getting so long." He said in the memory, voice thick with sleep. There was something warm and affectionate on his face.

The image shifted and flickered. The night after the trials, the night after Blackfriars. They were the same, the only differences being the change in their faces. They looked younger as the memories cycles backwards through the months, faces softer, more yearning, still energetic.

We've changed a lot.

The memory shifted back into the current one, of Shiloh watching as Jamie dozed off before him while he still played with his hair. Eventually sleep claimed him too and the memory ended, the head space blank and dark and open for any other memory to take its place. Something warm filled the space, words that were barely a whisper.

I love you.

The headspace exploded into a rapid fire reel of emotions, of every instance where Shiloh's chest had felt warm or content or fuzzy. It ended right before the void, right before they jumped into the abyss, Sunny before them all crazed and manic. There was a glimmer in Shiloh's eyes—a soft realization—that consequential moment when he realized he was in too deep and couldn't back out. They tumbled into the void and the reel went dark once again.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

No memory took its place once they leapt into the void. Instead as they fell, as the darkness enveloped them, where Shiloh's feelings left off Jamie's took over. The darkness became a cradle, the world around them awash with color and light, but no discernible shapes to speak of. It was like the garden, like the colors they couldn't describe; familiar in a way, but new and absolutely vibrant in another.

I love you, too.

The words spoken as aloud as they could be in their minds was fulfilling. Hearing them, reciprocating them, Jamie was positive he'd never felt such a strong pool of emotion in the entirety of his life. They both knew it, and they'd known it to this point with their heads intertwined and their thoughts shared, but now it felt solidified and real. It wasn't just memory or imagination, it was truth.

It was all so reassuring in the best of ways.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

But I love you more? His tone was playful. The darkness was rippling slowly. He was content. Hold on, let me try something.

The space was silent for a moment after that. The moment turned to breaths, the breathes turned to minutes, and after a while the shared consciousness started to waver, fade, disintegrate—but not completely. Shiloh's eyes slowly opened to the waking world, this time he really was looking at Jamie instead of through the eyes of a memory, but the invisible bond between them was still there, still present, still strong. He could still feel things, still speak silently. They were clicked together like pieces of a puzzle.

"Hey..." He said, trying to rouse Jamie with a hand on his shoulder.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

It took a moment, but Jamie opened his eyes. They weren't tired, but they were momentarily heavy, dazed almost. "I love you the most," he mumbled, his words slurred, before he pursed his lips and squeezed his eyes shut. A heartbeat later and they opened again, brighter, more aware. Jamie was back in the land of the living, as well.

"Shiloh?" Moving was still a bit difficult, but he reached up to set a hand on Shiloh's arm. He felt the warmth beneath his sleeve, felt the pulse of life through his mind rather than the tips of his fingers. They were connected, that hadn't changed.

Jamie smiled and it was lopsided. It was obvious who influenced it. "What's up?"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

Shiloh blinked a few times at Jamie's comeback—eyes wide—and then he bubbled with laughter, the sound energetic and giggly while a blush crept up his cheeks. "Oh my gosh—" He stopped, eyes widening for a different reason, "Holy ******** started laughing again, though it sounded more like him and less like Jamie. "This is so—so weird." But he was loving every second of it, that much was obvious from the warmth that was bouncing back and forth in their mental bond. "Anyway, I just wanted to see if we could like... keep doing it and not be vegetables." He waved his hand vaguely, "Kinda like in the dream, but I guess that... that was a dream. So I didn't know y'know?" He hand wouldn't stop fussing with Jamie's shirt sleeve.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

If Jamie was paying attention before, then he was really paying it now. "Oh my gosh..." he repeated in a low whisper. "What was that??" Realistically there were stranger things that could've happened. They'd just spent who knows how long sharing a headspace, it couldn't be that unusual to pick up one another's traits. Right?

"It's weird, but it's kinda great," Jamie said matter-of-factly, then immediately fell into a round of his own laughter. "My head still feels kinda fuzzy, but it's not like it was."

So they really could function like this. That meant there had to be potential to use it now like they'd used it in the dream—as a way to amplify each other's abilities. What was more important in the moment, though, was figuring out what Shiloh was up to. "Hey, what're you doing, silly?" He wiggled his arm.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Shut up!" He said this affectionately though, face absolutely melted with something totally affectionate and cute and adoring. "It totally is great though, like..." He blinked a few times, "I feel... closer? I dunno..." His hand only stopped messing with his sleeve when Jamie brought it up.

He flicked it around with his fingers before he finally stopped, hand coming to rest passively on his upper arm, heavy and warm. "I dunno." He said with his lopsided smile, the joy on his face completely natural and not at all forced. He looked... content. He felt content. Both were starting to become more and more rare as of the late. "I'm just bein' dumb." He rubbed his arm with his thumb.

"...this gives us a lot of cool stuff we can do, though." He said suddenly, "With the memory sharing. There's so much I can tell you now, so much." His breath caught for a second, expression looking like he was about to burst with energy, before he wiggled, "I dunno it just—it's so cool. I'm really happy that like—" He bit his lip like he was still nervous—or perhaps embarrassed—to admit this to his boyfriend. Thankfully he didn't have to—not aloud.

I'm happy that I have this with you. The way his eyes watched Jamie's face made it clear that he was waiting to see if his message got through.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

Closer was almost an understatement, but it was a sensation that Jamie felt couldn't be adequately described with words. Closer was about as good as they were gonna get and he was a-ok with that. There was no way he'd complain about being closer with Shiloh, the very person who made him happier than he'd ever been.

"Me too," he said, then smiled almost sheepishly, "I had no idea it was possible to... feel something like this. I didn't know being this close was a thing." That was magic for you. This time the surprise had been a good one. "There's a lot I wanna share with you..." So many things that weren't always easy to talk about or share. Jamie was sure Shiloh had things like that, too. Everyone did, he thought.

For a short moment he went silent, considering Shiloh's words, listening, feeling. It started as a tickle in the corner of his mind, but quickly grew into something he could understand. It was almost instant. The connection was still very much there. He wouldn't have to watch and wait long, Jamie's eyes lit up.

I'm really happy, too. It feels right.

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

He smiled—laughed—covered his mouth with his hand while he felt the response in his head. He felt stupid and giddy like a high schooler dealing with a crush for the first time. Realistically, that had been him not too long ago, but magic shenanigans had a way of stretching out the time to unreasonable amounts. What had once been months ago felt like years.

"I wonder if this means we can do stuff like we did before," He blinked, "In the dream, I mean. I felt like my plants were a lot stronger. I mean, not that I wanna try and see right now, but maybe sometime." He went back to prodding around Jamie's arm, his energy seemingly restless, but not in a bad way. Just in a too-much-of-it way. A bubbly way.

"We should totally have a movie night." He said suddenly. "Day? Movie day? Experience." He made a grand motion with one of his hands. "Marathon, there's the word."

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

"We should definitely try it. I dunno, I get the feeling it would work like it did in the dream." Case in point, Shiloh himself. Seeing him like this, with this much pent up, bubbly energy, was unusual. Jamie got the feeling it would translate into their powers, as well. The bond seemed to be a boost to almost everything. The thought made him smile.

It wasn't the only thing that made him smile, though.

"A movie marathon!" Jamie said suddenly, bolting up in bed. It was obvious he'd adopted the extra energy, too. "I'd love that." He did love movies, after all. "Can we?"

Leaning back in, he pressed a soft, but very there kiss to Shiloh's forehead. "It would be so much fun."

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

"Yeah..." He nodded softly, eyes squeezing shut when he saw Jamie leaning closer, face full of comical resist as he felt the kiss to his temple. Still, he had no defense for the silly smile he was wearing, not by a long shot. "I thought you'd like that."

He slowly sat up himself, arms stretching lazily over his head. It took every ounce of willpower to keep from flopping back over again. "You can pick the first movie. I'll take care of the snacks." He said this like it was a grand burden, like it was his duty and he was absolutely honor-bound. Mostly he just wanted to nab a quick pre-movie (see: breakfast) "snack".

"I'll race ya down the stairs." He said with a cocksure grin.

saedusk

 

[saedusk]

That was a deal Jamie could live with. When it wasn't his mom doing the cooking, he usually took the reins, but Shiloh had been stepping up more and more to help out. It wasn't just toast and microwave hot pockets anymore. With that settled, he leapt from the bed with far too much energy. Chalk it up to the bond.

"You're on, Beaumont!" he near-shouted, already making a break for the door. It was kinda sorta cheating, but Jamie and Shiloh played all's fair in love and war. This was definitely love. It counted.

"Catch me if you can!"

Melancholies

 

[Melancholies]

All's fair in love and war, but that didn't mean Shiloh wouldn't be petulant about it. "That's not ********' right Delacroix!" Not that it'd matter. Shiloh was pretty sure his complaint was falling on deaf ears; not to mention the fact that Jamie was already out the door by the time he'd said anything.

You little ******** s**t.

But he bolted off after him anyway, knowing Jamie was faster. With a head start like that, Shiloh didn't stand a chance, but it was more or less the fun of it rather than the victory that mattered. Besides...

He kinda loved that guy. It was worth it.

saedusk