Tales of the Twin Cities

 

Chapter Twelve

Apollo sighed, eyes drifting back to Ryker. He looked at the young man sadly, wishing for the millionth time that the war was over and done with. The Reaper listened to Garrison's words with half an ear, mulling over everything that had been said.

"I don't know who Mr. S is." Apollo said slowly. "The only ones I know of are Slade and Sigma. And neither of them seem ready to end this war any time soon. Their paychecks are too large for them not to benefit from the bloodshed.”

Garrison laid the boy down on the medical bed gently, pushing his hair from his face. He stood, and sighed, walking around the bed over to Simon, wrapping the male up in his large arms. Simon motioned to the other examining room, "Come Reaper, we'll mull this over across the hall," he said, leaning slightly back into Garrison.

"Of course." Apollo nodded as he headed into the room Simon motioned to.

The day slowly faded into night as the three would-be enemies sat in the room, attempting to hash out Jeta's plot. It was nerve-wracking--the lengths that Jeta was going through for Ryker, as well as Gemeni and Symion's betrayal. There were simply too many holes to be filled in, and the questions they couldn’t answer only served to make the group end up tired.

Simon stood, freeing himself from Garrison's embrace. "I suppose you all may stay the night here. I have some bedrooms up the stairs." He said, pointing to the nearly hidden staircase at the end of the hall.

Apollo heaved himself up, scrubbing a hand tiredly across his face. It was all seeming impossible right now. Sighing, he trudged silently up the stairs. He wanted to see Ryker, but yet again, he held himself back.

Simon and Garrison headed upstairs, after making sure Apollo went first, leading him to the room past theirs. The Radantians may have been cordial to the Reaper, but they were no fools.

Apollo knew what the two males were thinking and it actually managed to depress him even further. Being not trusted sucked, since he considered himself to be a pretty trustworthy guy. Giving the two a halfhearted wave, he disappeared into the bedroom and shut the door behind him.

Still covered in grit from earlier, he shed his clothes and took a quick shower before flopping naked into the bed, mind traveling around in tried little circles, still trying to figure everything out.

*~*~*~*

Ryker groaned slightly as he woke up sometime later. He sat up, rubbing his head and wincing at the slight pain in his leg. He felt drained, and tired and it was damned cold down here in Simon's office. He stood, favoring his leg, and hobbled upstairs to his room. He knew everyone was still here, he could feel it, and silently walked upstairs and down the hall. He opened the door to his room, running a hand through his hair and flicking on his light.

A naked Apollo greeted him, half buried under the blankets and he blushed. "Sorry--" he said, turning to leave, bracing himself on the wall.

Apollo grunted, blinking against the sudden light. "Wait." He reached out, blind for a moment until his eyes adjusted. "Don't...go." The Reaper stood, before realized he had no pants on and snatched the blanket over his hips as he moved towards the edge of the bed.

Ryker blinked, looking at the wall just past Apollo’s head. "Didn't know they had put you in here." he said, a bit embarrassed--why? He didn't know. It wasn't like he hadn't seen the man naked anyway.

Apollo gave a sheepish shrug. "Well, yeah. I'm sorry." He motioned to the bed. "Sharing would not be a problem." He added hopefully.

Ryker blinked at Apollo. "I don't know," he said softly, drowsily. The medicine was still in effect, and Ryker was dog tired. "The other room's right across the hall." he said with a little shrug.

Apollo got up, blanket still around his waist, moving towards the male. "You shouldn't really be walking anywhere else you know." The Reaper murmured, brushing his fingers through Ryker's hair, tugging at the male's hand a little. "It'll be warmer too." He coaxed.

Ryker sighed, too tired to protest. "Fine..." he said with a small yawn, moving towards the bed. He lay down, moving to the wall, careful not to jar his foot.

Apollo smiled softly, flicking off the lights and sliding in behind Ryker. He was careful not to hit the male's foot as he pulled the covers over them both. Sighing happily for once, the Reaper spooned Ryker from behind, an arm draped across the boy's waist.

Ryker sighed, easily falling asleep in the male's arms. He felt all of the worries of the day fall away and wondered why that was--especially when he was in the arms of what should've been his enemy. Not that Ryker thought of Apollo as his enemy...but still. Blaming it on the effects of the medication, Ryker drifted off to a heavy sleep.

Apollo's breathing soon evened out. He felt so much more comfortable with Ryker in his arms. He didn't know what it was about the boy, but the Radantian soothed him like no other could. Soon Apollo was dead asleep, keeping cuddled to Ryker through the night.

~*~*~~*

And this was the scene Garrison and Simon came in on in the early morning. They blinked, and Simon just shut the door. Garrison opened his mouth to say something, and Simon just held up a hand. "Nuh-uh, I don't want to know."

The physician instead headed downstairs to make a quick breakfast, leaving the two upstairs. Garrison just looked confused and followed his lover downstairs.

*~*~*~*

Eventually, Ryker awoke, feeling well rested and warm. His eyes opened slowly, and he noticed another arm draped across him. He blinked, confused before turning slightly to see Apollo's face.

What the....?

Apollo was snoring softly, but when he felt Ryker shift, he woke up slightly. He looked at Ryker through blurry blue eyes, somehow mistaking that they were still in the Keep and had just had sex. "Hi." The Reaper whispered huskily, kissing Ryker gently.

Well, the kiss surprised the hell out of Ryker. And he gasped, looking with wide eyes at Apollo, not really pushing the male away half from shock and half from well, liking it.

The gasp was all Apollo needed to deepen the kiss as his hand curled protectively around Ryker's waist. The male tasted so good and the Reaper pulled back reluctantly, nuzzling the Radantian with a sleepy yawn.

Ryker shivered as the male pulled him slightly closer. "…Apollo?" he asked quietly, more than a tad freaked out.

And Ryker was met with Apollo's soft snoring once again. It seemed the male had fallen back asleep draped across the young man!

Ryker frowned. "Apollo," he said a little louder, shaking the male. He didn't want to be rude, but the soldier didn’t know exactly what the hell was going on. Last he remembered, he was downstairs in Simon’s office.

Apollo woke up again with a start, blinking blearily down at Ryker. "Whatsamatter?" He slurred, leaning back and rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Get up,” Ryker frowned. "Simon's cooking breakfast." he said, pushing on the male's naked chest.

Yawning, Apollo just nodded, sliding off the bed and groping around for his pants. He speared his legs into each side, and clipped the buckle shut. "There." He nodded at a job well done before turning back to smile at Ryker. "Want me to carry you down the stairs? Don't want you tripping and breaking something else after all." He teased.

“No," Ryker said, eying the Reaper. "I can manage--and nothing's broken. Just fractured. How did I get up here, anyway?” he asked. He slid to the end of the bed, standing up, barely placing his leg on the ground.

“You came up here by yourself,” Apollo grinned. “You just couldn’t resist me.”

Ryker eyed the Reaper. “Right.”

Apollo cleared his throat after a bit. “So, want me to carry you?”

“No. I’m fine. I can manage.”

Apollo rolled his eyes, scooping up Ryker anyways. "Indulge me." He told the teen as he kicked open the door and headed downstairs to where he had seen the kitchen earlier.

Ryker frowned only slightly. "You don't take no for an answer, do you?" he asked as they entered the kitchen. Simon looked up, raising an eyebrow at his younger cousin. He said nothing though; simply placing down two plates, as Garrison was already eating.

"No I do not. People don't generally tell me no." Apollo chuckled as he set Ryker carefully in a chair at the table, pulling up one for himself.

"Well I do," Ryker said snottily, "so when I say no, I mean it," he said, snorting as he gave his cousin a nod of thanks.

"Yeah, yeah." Apollo waved his hand dismissively. "Call me when you can back it." He smiled jokingly at Ryker, obviously not being serious.

"Give me a week for my leg to heal and I will." he said, rolling his eyes. Simon and Garrison watched Ryker and Apollo, the entire scene feeling rather surreal.

Ryker sighed, running his hands through his hair. "Simon, I'm going to need you to stop looking at me like that." he said, looking at his cousin.

"Ryker, I'm going to need you to stop creeping me out." Simon said in a mockery of Ryker's voice.

Ryker licked out his tongue at his cousin and began to eat, "Um!" he exclaimed happily. "You made potatoes and eggs...yum. Did I ever tell you I'd marry you if it weren't incest and gross?" Ryker asked his cousin.

Simon shuddered. "No, and I'm glad you didn't. Gross."

Apollo laughed, taking a bit from his own plate. "I didn't know you were so fond of food Ryker. I would have fed you more." The Reaper pointed out, still smiling.

Ryker continued eating, making a face at the Reaper.

"You two get on...unusually well." Garrison said.

Apollo wrinkled his nose, eating his own food as well. "We don't." The Reaper quipped, shaking his head.

"Not at all," Ryker agreed, sniffing.

"Sure, and I don't have a nose in the middle of my face." Garrison said sarcastically. "You know what I think?" he said conspiratorially.

"I think--" He began before Simon popped him nicely on the back of the neck.

"Shut up and eat Garrison," the physician said, pushing his glasses up on his nose with one graceful finger.

Apollo squinted at Garrison and gave a snort as he shoveled more food into his mouth. Who cared what the male said? It's not like it was important. He gave Ryker and look and rolled his eyes.

"I think you love him!" Garrison said, not able to contain himself.

Ryker promptly choked on his food.

!*!*!*!*!!*

So because I love you guys, and I got a little busy with school and moving back in, I posted two chapters to tide you guys over until I can get the next ones out! Reviews are always nice and there's still lots more to go, so happy reading!