Work Text:
Butterflies
by Sam-Tony
When the Power descended to claim him, Caleb had been in the middle of a fierce rainstorm, fighting an enemy none of them had even known about until it was too late.
Pogue had spent the weekend camping when his bike had broken down on the way back home, leaving him stranded without cell reception in the middle of nowhere. It had been the weekend after his breakup with Kate and he had needed some time alone, though he was supposed to have been back in time for his birthday.
Ditching them all back at Caleb's house where they had been supposed to meet, Reid had gone to the cliffs at dawn to brave the fire of his Ascension alone; screaming out his fear and defiance and rage into a rising vermilion sun, the blond hair shining in a red halo, his body silhouetted in black against the dawn of a new sky.
For Tyler, he stood amid a hundred draped linens in his studio, flung open the windows wide and let the wind take him. The fear of the unknown briefly seized him and then there was no more time to think as the Power swooped in to take him, swirling around his body in a whirlwind that ripped at his clothes and tried to scour his soul. First there was pain, and then a blinding flood of power and joy that told him he was going to survive...
And then nothing as the darkness claimed him.
--
When he came to he was on his back on one of his mother's favorite antique couches and there was a blond blur hovering over him. A closer look as his eyes cleared showed that Reid was smirking.
"Shut up."
"How is that fair? I haven't even said anything yet."
Tyler glared, though he had a feeling it came out more as a squint. "You were thinking it."
"You know you don't always have to follow my example, baby boy," Reid shook his head. "We don't both have to be idiots."
"Yeah? Well I figured you might need the company," he grumbled, dropping his head back to the cushion the older boy had obviously placed under it. Reid could be very considerate - when he wasn't busy being a pain in the ass. "How did you find me?"
Reid patted his leg before nudging him over with his hip when he didn't move fast enough. "Scoot over. I *know* you; I knew you would come back here. Hell, Ty, I may not have a home, but you do, and it sure as Hell isn't the dorms. You didn't have to be alone."
Tyler tried the glare again and found the resulting headache wasn't worth the effort. Reid wouldn't care anyway. "You channeling Caleb now?"
"No," Reid spat sullenly, pushing against one upraised knee with a gloved hand. "But just because I'm screwed up doesn't mean you have to be. We've all gone through it Ty - "
"Yeah, alone."
"Not by choice! Not Pogue, and Caleb wasn't exactly alone..."
"But you were." Tyler tried to keep the burning mumble under his breath, but Reid heard it anyway.
"Are you - are you mad at me?" Reid asked in disbelief, his blue eyes wide and a little hurt. "Ty - that's...that's just *me*! I didn't want - "
"You didn't want anyone to see your fear." Tyler accused angrily. His head to the side, he refused to look at Reid, staring out the window at the bright sunlight of late spring instead. But he wasn't the kind to stay angry for long and the energy ran out of him as he admitted quietly, "And neither did I."
Without looking, Tyler held out his hand and Reid took it, holding on.
"I hated that you were alone."
"Yeah," Reid admitted reluctantly. "Me, too."
"You could have died."
"I didn't," Reid pointed out, trying that upward inflection on the end that turned the word into something positive as if to say 'look, I'm alive, no big deal/all's well that ends well'. Jerk.
"Dickhead."
"No, that's Aaron. I'm the asshole, remember?"
Unable to not be pulled in by the dry, depreciating humor (especially since Tyler often suspected that Reid actually meant it), Tyler snorted and obliged. "Asshole."
"There, you see? I knew all that wind hadn't addled what little brains you had left in that pretty little head of yours."
"Gee, thanks."
Reid smiled a smug little smirk that made Tyler want to hit him if he had had the energy to move. "No problem."
They stayed that way for the longest time, just listening to the birds sing and letting the quiet wash over them; reconnecting, savoring the fact that they had made it through this; that they all had. Ascensions had been known to kill a Son or two if they weren't strong enough to withstand the attack of Power when it came to them. Tyler knew the older boy well enough to know Reid had been afraid he might be one of them. He was already addicted to Using, what if his will hadn't been strong enough to withstand the fire?
That was the real reason Reid had gone off on his own. For Tyler it had simply been something he felt he needed to do.
"So...Caleb and Pogue...?"
"On their way. And none too happy that you rabbited on us, might I add."
Tyler made a face. "Ugh. You suck."
Reid just laughed a short bark of sound and admitted easily, "You would know."
And despite the impending lecture from two very overprotective older lovers, Tyler couldn't help but smile back at the ridiculous waggle of eyebrows. Yes, yes he would.
A thought occurred to him suddenly and he frowned as he asked, "How did you get here anyway?" Tyler had driven the Hummer and Reid hadn't gotten around to buying another car yet after wrecking the last one. Any other time he would have just Used and righted the twisted orange frame, but there had been witnesses, and since Reid had just about wrapped the car around a tree, that hadn't been an option. Damned shame, too; Tyler had actually liked the Cobra...he felt it had suited Reid. Flashy, wild...and more substance under the hood than you might expect.
Reid laughed, ducking his head on a sly grin, trying to hide the surprised bit of embarrassment Tyler could see creeping up to spread over the tanned skin. "I stole Pogue's bike."
Tyler stared at his friend with wide eyes. "You - dude you know he's going to kill you."
"He won't kill me," Reid waved the concern away with a blithe wave of the hand not holding his. "Caleb won't let him."
"Don't be so sure."
Strolling across the room, his boots thudding on the hardwood floor, Caleb smacked Reid on the back of the head, ignoring the blonde's wounded cry of 'ow!' as he leaned in and caught Tyler's lips in a gentle kiss. "You alright?"
"I'm fine, Caleb. Just..."
"Glad it's over?" Pogue smiled, adding his own slap to the back of Reid's head while Caleb stared down at him, biting back a grin at the second muttered complaint. The dark honey brown eyes twinkled though, so Tyler knew all was forgiven.
Tyler smiled, laughing when Reid made a point of getting up and moving behind the chaise and - supposedly - out of reach. Caleb and Pogue simply made use of the now-available space to perch beside him on the faded blue fabric. Though if they wanted to smack Reid again, their Power was certainly solid enough to do it, no matter where he was. "Very."
"I'll bet." Caleb sympathized. "You tired of being alone yet?"
Thinking back on everything that had brought them to this point - the rivalries, the danger, the breakups - the secret fears and the admissions that had made them all stronger, Tyler felt the weight of his new Power settle into his bones as it reached out to answer the echoes of the others'. He realized now that it had always been there; that connection to Caleb, Pogue and especially Reid that had been missing with Chase. Not just Power or blood...
...but Family.
And he knew that, no matter what happened in the future, none of the four of them would ever truly be alone again. Not if they didn't want to be.
Looking up into the faces of the friends that had been waiting for him since before he was born, Tyler realized that even though this was his late mother's - and technically now his - house, it wasn't really home. Not in the way that being with his 'brothers' was.
"Yeah. I'm ready to go home."
End