I'm Not From Earth - 26. Twenty Six

t w e n t y s i x

Rover swallowed. "To your... with you... to your..."

"Yes, Abercrombie," Slade said, and he rolled his eyes when Rover could only stare incredulously. "With me. To my homeland. It's... somewhere both of us haven't been to before. Somewhere we can... fuck..." He trailed off, biting his knuckle, breaking eye contact.

"Somewhere we can fuck?"

"What? I didn't say..." Slade's expression froze, and he looked mortified for a second before regaining his composure when he saw Rover's grin.

"I meant to say," Slade continued, rolling his eyes, "it's someplace where you can start new -- away from all this shit. And I don't mean to judge you or act like I know you and all -- but I know you've been through hell and I know you want... out."

"Out?" Rover questioned, and he frowned, not quite understanding.

Slade waved his arms. "Out of the place. To be free, or whatever."

"Slade..."

His friend waved an arm again, his head shaking as a rueful grin stretched across his face. A shaky sigh escaped his lips as he raised a hand to scratch his head. A moment passed, in which Rover felt an urge to say something, but wasn't sure yet of what to say. Then Slade spoke again.

"Alright," he said quietly. "I sound crazy. I know nothing about the homeland I'm going to. I know fucking nothing about the people in that ship who are going to pick me up. I don't how they're going act, or how they look like, and what they're going to say and how long it'll take for me to understand their language or mind-speak or whatever. I don't know how this place I'm going to will look like, and how the people interact with each other. I don't know whether it's going to be any better there than it is here and I'm sorry that I... just, fuck. It was just a crazy thought. It was just stupid and selfish of me to even consider dragging you with me..."

He kicked a stray pebble of concrete, and continued, his voice even softer than before.

"I mean, Rover, what I'm getting at is that you don't even have to come to my homeland, it could be any-fucking-where else. I just won't be able to stand it if you go back to your... father."

Slade broke eye contact again, staring downwards and switching his weight from foot to foot rapidly. Fidgety, thought Rover, as he noticed that Slade seemed nervous. Nervous! Rover almost laughed, noting that this was only the second time that Slade was nervous, and he wasn't even sure why he was. Rover took a moment to digest his friend's words, and when they finally sank in, he subconsciously started to fidget as well. He swallowed, not liking how dry his mouth was, and asked in a tone as quiet as Slade's so the tremble would be masked,

"Why do care about me so much?"

And Slade didn't hesitate to answer.

"'Cause you're the second guy in my whole life to care about me."

"But I haven't done..."

"You've done more than you know."

A silence, before Rover continued.

"Slade," he said softly, swallowing the hard lump that was lodged in his throat. "These things that I faced... the reason why I was fixed in such a hell hole for so many years was because I was scared. I was terrified to the point that I didn't know that I was afraid. Afraid to the point that I like, numbed over or something, and I just kept running around in circles in my house, obeying everything my father said and taking everything that he did to me, like... like some dog.

Rover paused. "You know... the night that I first met you? It was the night that I just ran away because I finally realized how scared I was. But the weeks spent away from my father -- didn't -- resolve my problem."

"It's not your problem," Slade shot back, his voice low, "it's your father's problem."

"I guess that's still true," Rover said thoughtfully. "But if I wasn't such a coward before and if I had actually taken a stand to try to fix things before, maybe things wouldn't have gotten so bad. I didn't cause the problem, sure, but I let it snowball and get bigger and bigger. Now that you, Slade... now that you've shown up in my life and like, guided me out of that hell hole, I gotta say my father's still at the very bottom. I have to get him out because it's part of my responsibility too. Not only because I let it happen, but because he..."

Rover took a breath.

"Because he's my dad. Maybe this isn't my problem, but it's one that affects me, whether I like it or not. And don't get me wrong -- I do want my freedom and all, but I can't if I don't fix this. I can't run away because if I do, I won't be able to do so. Somerset told me this once, but I didn't listen to him at that time. I didn't understand it until you told me what your caretaker said -- what Vanis said, about how you had to face your problems before you could become completely free. To be rid of all the chains that have been holding you back, and to finally lay down those ghosts that have been haunting you all your life once and for all.

"I'm bound here forever until I face everything that has become of my father and myself. That's why I have to stay."

Rover sniffed, and upon reaching up to scratch his nose, realized that his cheeks were wet with warm tears. He quickly wiped his face dry, embarassed.

"Like, I know I sound really stupid and all..."

Slade shook his head and said thoughtfully, "I don't mind, really. I've gotten used to it."

Rover laughed and punched Slade, wincing at the harsh impact his friend's solid shoulder caused. "The thing is," Rover said. "You've basically... uhm I don't know, found me my balls or something. You like, pretty much gave me the guts to holler back at my father and say..."

"Fuck you?"

"Uhm, pretty much, yeah. And I know it's not over yet with my father -- I know it won't be for awhile -- but the bad parts will be over soon, and I... I well, I really couldn't have done this all without you."

"You know," Slade began, "all I did was..."

"You've done more than you know." Rover smiled.

Slade grinned back. "Aw, shucks."

Rover frowned skeptically. "What happened to the cocky remarks?"

"The best superheroes are the humble ones."

"The very best," Rover added dryly, and Slade chuckled in agreement.

A silence.

They paused, rolling the words spoken on their tongues and in their heads, exploring the timbres and meanings of them. After a moment, Slade spoke. "You know when we met up at George's house?"

"Yeah?"

"And you asked me how far away my house was?"

"Yeah." Rover glowered. "And you said that it was a fifteen minute walk away?"

"Yeah, that," Slade laughed. "Well I kinda said that just so you would agree to come."

Rover scowl deepened. "Uhm, yeah, duh. If you said that it was actually like, a four hour fast hike, I probably wouldn't have agreed. What about it?"

Slade opened his mouth, seemingly at loss for words.

"What I'm trying to say is," he murmured after a few seconds, his voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah?"

"That I finally know what I have to face now."

"Huh?" Rover stared, completely lost.

Slade rolled his eyes and spoke slowly, as though addressing a toddler. "I know what I have to face before I become free, now."

An alarm blared somewhere far off below as Rover pondered Slade's words.

"Well," Rover said hesitatingly. "You have to face those people on the ship, right? And then you can get to your homeland, and then you'll have your..."

"No." Slade shook his head, and he looked very serious. Too serious. "That's not it. Facing that won't help me feel free."

He took a step forwards, and Rover took an involuntary step back.

"Not right at this moment."

Silence, in which Slade's words dangled in the air, before Rover, annoyed and wishing that his friend would just cut the crap, asked:

"Then what will?"

Slade advanced another step and Rover one one back; a staggering waltz of certainty and fear. There was almost no warning. No time to brace himself. One moment, Rover was contemplating on lifting an arm and throwing a fist, and within the next moment, the distance was closed.

A soft finger lifted his chin.

And he was smothered by Slade's kiss.

*