Owner Pose
Martin Blackwood     Martin is nervous. He received the picture from Cael showing her and Jon together and whole. But... he had also noticed a few changes in Jon. Minute changes, but changes nonetheless. What if he is a completely different person? What if he didn't want to be with Martin anymore? What if..?

    A myriad of questions roam around his head in rapid succession but then he stops himself. Whatever changes Jon's undergone, he's still Jon underneath it all. He's still his husband and -nothing- can change that simple fact. Well, nothing apart from a complex legal system and the desires of the man himself. But the Egyptian Underworld is neither of those things.

    He sets about making some tea to calm his own nerves just as much as he knows the pair will likely want some when they get home (even if Cael's method of drinking the stuff straight was absolute sacrilege; Americans.)
Jonathan Sims     Jon insists on bringing the blue panel with them as he and Cael fly from the Pezzini house to Westchester. It's late by the time they reach the Triskelion, but Jon takes a brief detour to drop the blue panel off at the Archive's vault--probably driving Cael up the wall in the process. But once that's done, he heads back to their apartment, hesitating just outside the door.

    "I'm nervous," he admits to Cael, frowning as he stands there with his keycard in his hand. "What if I've changed too much? What if he's mad at me?" His eyes go very wide. "He has every reason to be mad at me, you know."
Cael Becker     "Really, Jon? Really? It's a //wooden panel,//" Cael remarks in a disbelieving tone as the pair detour away from the living quarters. But what is she going to do - hit him over the head and throw him over her shoulder? Martin would probably be a little annoyed about that.
    Jon would be a lot annoyed about that.
    So the detour is tolerated with her usual level of impatience, and a growing sense of relief as the pair get closer to Jon's home. His hesitation with the keycard brings her up short - as she looks at him with a slightly furrowed brow. "And us standing in the hallway fretting about it solves exactly what part of that?" she asks bluntly.
    Her tone goes more gentle as she adds, "I was afraid you'd be changed. That somehow, whatever it was I'd fallen in love with would be gone, but... you're still you. Your //Jon-ness// hasn't gone anywhere, I promise you. And he's been waiting twelve days to see you."
    There's a momentary pause before she plucks the key from his fingers and inserts it in the lock. "Besides, the tea's going to get cold."
Martin Blackwood     Martin turns as the door chimes it's familiar entrance tone and he stands, approaching it apprehensively. He had dreamt up a ridiculous sequence straight out of a terrible romance movie about how he was going to toss himself into Jon's arms (and likely bowl the man over in the process) the moment the door opened.

    But now that the moment is here... he doesn't know what to do with himself so he makes an effort to look relaxed and calm as the door opens. He's fairly certain his apprehension and weariness aren't on his face (they are.) And he's sure that he's giving on a mental tone of ease (he's not.)

    He raises a hand in an absolutely lame manner and waves at the pair. "Welcome home" he says with a soft smile, that he instantly regrets.
Jonathan Sims     Jon frowns down at Cael for a moment, but then the door opens, and he turns to look inside. He's come out of the transformation into Ma'at, which has taken away the wings and the circlet with the feather; he left the clothing conjured for now, because he's technically not wearing anything otherwise. So he's in red kurta and gold trousers as he stands there in the doorway, peering in at Martin.

    The weariness and unease are obvious to him, and not just because he's a telepath. He hesitates a moment, then walks inside, stopping a little way away from Martin, still int he entry foyer. "Hey," he says. "Umm. Good to be... back."

    Very smooth.
Cael Becker     "For //fuck's// sake, hug it out you two!" Cael remarks - crouching down as she hears loud, thumping, bounding steps, and a hundred pounds of white fluff barrel towards the door. Bear's tail is wagging furiously, and he lets out a pair of barks, which Cael quickly shushes, while she rubs at the dog's fur.
    "Hey. Hey, I know, I know. I was gone longer than I thought. Were you a good boy? A good boy for Martin and Agnes and Sara? Of course you were," she says in a fond voice, trying to fend off several slobbering kisses from the pup.
Martin Blackwood     Martin moves forward tentatively and then can't help but wrap his arms around Jon in a tight hug. "I've missed you..." he says softly into the man's chest, not even reaslizing he's crying until he feel the damp transfer from the man's shift onto his face.

    He pulls away just long enough to nod to Cael. "We've been... worrying together. He's been a great help during the nights, as he's almost as much weight as Jon so the bed doesn't feel so empty." He smiles at the massive dog and then sighs. "I'm glad you're both safe and whole."

    He starts and pulls away completely from Jon. "That reminds me." He heads toward the bedroom. "I have something for you, Jon" he says before ducking into the bedroom.
Jonathan Sims     Jon blinks, then sighs and wraps his arms around Martin. It hasn't even been a whole day for him, so it feels... odd, and rather disorienting. He can't really say he missed Martin, after all, because he... didn't, really. He strokes Martin's hair for a moment, then releases him as the shorter man heads into the bedroom.

    He glances aside to Cael with a brief smile and then watches after Martin. "We're fine. Almost weren't. I..." He frowns, glances aside almost guiltily. "Well, it was a good thing Cael came down there."

    He clears his throat. "Ahh... I saw Alya, by the way. She says hello."
Cael Becker     "Yeah. Bear's a good companion at night," Cael agrees. "Don't know how I managed being alone at night before..." Bear's enthusiasm has started to calm, and he even pads off to get his favorite stuffed rabbit toy, come back to sit next to Cael, with his toy held in his mouth and his tail thumping away happily. "You're a very good boy, Bear," she murmurs. "I'll try not to be away again for so long. Yeah?"
    She's still scritching at Bear's head as she looks up at Jon with a small, tight smile on her features. "We knew that was going to be a problem. There's a reason I promised to come down and find you - yeah? So everything went exactly as we'd planned." Even so, that empty-socketed look, lacking real recognition, had managed to sting more than she cared to admit.
    Her gaze shifts curiously in the direction Martin had gone, as she rises back to her feet, with Bear respositioning himself to be right at her side.
Martin Blackwood     Martin pokes his head out of the bedroom and blinks at Jon. "Alya...?" he says. "She was... with you?" he asks. "That's... wow. I guess that's good. You weren't alone at all then. Even before Cael and the others showed up." He smiles and moves back into the room before emerging carying something wrapped in white tissue paper.

    "So... Agnes and I went to the troll market while you were away and... I sort of got this... for you" he says handing over the package. "I hope it's not too weird."

    The last is said mostly to Cael, after all, to him and Jon stuff like what he just handed over might be par for the course as far as magic is concerned.
Jonathan Sims     Jon doesn't take the package right away. "I... yes, I... well, she was deeply tied to Sekhmet after all, I think she was becoming an avatar at the end there. Sekhmet, at least in some versions, escorts the Pharoah... and she and I know each other..."

    He frowns. "I... I wanted to stay. Even... even if we knew that would happen... I was going to stay, Martin. I was going to join with Osiris instead of Ma'at, and... and not come back. It was just... it was so..."

    He looks down at the floor. "I felt like I /belonged/ there, in a way I... have /never/ felt in life. I knew what I was supposed to be doing, and everyone /wanted/ me around, and accepted me as I was. Even... even after I decided to come home, I was sad to leave. Even now, I sort of... miss it. Not being dead, but being... important." He glances over at Cael, who keeps teasing him about being 'his Royal Godliness,' and then away, looking guilty.

    "I... I'm sorry. I promised I'd come back, and I almost didn't keep that promise." He takes the package, finally, but doesn't open it just yet, still frowning at the floor.
Cael Becker     "Troll... market," Cael repeats. Does she even want to know? Are trolls a real thing? Ugh. Fucking magic.
    "Why would it be too weird?" she asks, before her gaze shifts towards Jon. A flicker of guilt crosses her features, as she has to wonder if her teasing had been //painful// to him - and she moves towards him, to wrap one arm supportively around his middle. "You're wanted here, Mariposa," she reminds him quietly. "And it's not like the Egyptian afterlife is going anywhere. It's waiting for you. It'll welcome you back - but there's so much you can accomplish here, that you couldn't there. Teaching and preparing Agnes... Keeping people safe. Just... exploring, and experiencing life with Martin and me."
    She takes a deep breath in, and lets out a huff of air before adding, "But it's okay to struggle with all this. Yeah? You went through some shit. We're here."
Martin Blackwood     Martin swallows a bit as he processes Jon's words. "I... I see" he says softly. The words didn't -hurt- him. But there was concern in his tone "I'm sorry that I haven't been able to... replicate the sensation here. I... we'll do better. I promise."

    He nods to Cael. "And she's right. I doubt the process is going anywhere." He smiles at Jon and places a hand on the man's shoulder. "I'm not angry. I think, even for me it would be hard to leave a paradise where I felt like I belonged in the end. What's important is that you came back, despite that feeling." He squeezes Jon's shoulder appreciately.
Jonathan Sims     Jon shakes his head. "It's not... it's not /you/, it's... the world. Or me. Maybe I secretly like the idea of being worshipped." He makes a face. "Stands to reason, I suppose. I just... it was so nice to be taken /seriously/ for once." He sighs. "I know you two take me seriously, but the rest of the world? Not so much."

    He shrugs, obviously trying to push the feeling aside, and goes to unwrap the package. He winds up blinking down at an arm that looks remarkably like his missing right one, save for the metal ring at the shoulder. He leans in to frown at an inscription around the ring and then reels back a little.

    "Martin," he says in something of a shocked tone, "/where/ did you get this?!"
Cael Becker     "Here's what you gotta learn," Cael remarks easily. "You tell the rest of the world to //fuck off.// What they think of you don't matter for shit. //We saved all of reality down there,//" she points out firmly. "The people that matter will recognize that. The rest of the people can play a game of hide and go fuck yourself for all that I care."
    Yup. This is how Cael's gotten through years and years of pain.
    She shifts gears, however, as the box is finally opened. "...you bought Jon an arm at a 'troll market,'" Cael surmises in an even tone. She tries to be surprised by this but- hell, the shit she's been through in the last six months? This is hardly the weirdest thing. She studies it for a moment, her arm still wrapped around Jon's middle.
    
Martin Blackwood     Martin snorts at Cael's reaction to the rest of the world and then blinks a little sheepishly at Jon. "I... okay, hear me out. I know you're going to freak out if I told you who I bought it from--what is probably more accurate--but hear me out."

    He holds up his hands in a placating manner. "The creature that sold it to me was a Mind Flayer." He quickly adds, "-But!- He was an exile from his society because he wanted to help people. Do things like... well" he gestures at the arm. "I've assurance from a number of sources that the magic used in its creation is -not- of the Negative Zone. The runes are just a language... like Greek or Arabic or Enochian for that matter."
Jonathan Sims     "A mind flayer," Jon says, deadpan. "A literal illithid? Creatures of the Underdark? Suck out your brain, control your mind...?"

    He sighs. "Well, no, actually, if Alice Liddel was potentially telling Lewis Carrol the story of her adventures in Wonderland... why couldn't Elminster have /actually/ potentially showed up at Ed Greenwood's house? Maybe from an alternate universe! Nothing is fictional, evidently."

    He eyes Martin for a long moment. "What did you /pay/ for this?" His tone is that of someone trying to figure out just how upset he needs to be.
Cael Becker     "...and we've lapsed into tongues," Cael remark in a dry tone, apparently following very little of what Jon just said. Wonderland she understood. And the part about brains and mind control sounds pretty bad. That's about all she's got.
    "...Martin seems alright. And it's not like he's- I mean, he's generally pretty good at looking after himself." She's yet to have to pull his ass out of seriously trouble.
    Unlike some people.
Martin Blackwood     Martin seems cagey to give that information immediately. "It wasn't anything terrible. Just a single memory. And it didn't have any ripple effects like it could've." He replies. Jon's stare at him makes him fidget a bit.

    "It really wasn't anything terrible. Just... my second fondest memory. Which to be fair is a small price to get a completely functional prosthetic arm." He withers a bit under the continued stare. Had Jon's stares gotten stronger in his time in the Underworld? There was a sort of weight that they didn't carry before.

    He squirms a bit more and looks aside. "The day Lyra moved in with us. I gave it that day." He adds quickly. "I still remember Lyra. I still remember our flat. I just... don't remember what happened that day. Okay? It wasn't... you need an arm to do some things. You can't feel in the thing you conjure. That..." he says, gesturing to the arm. "Should allow you to feel."
Jonathan Sims     Jon abruptly shoves the arm at Cael and manifests both circlet with ostrich feather and wings, which he keeps tightly furled. His eyes glow teal for a moment and he grabs Martin's face in his hands, staring into the other man's eyes. For a moment he just... stares at Martin, like he's searching for something.

    Then he lets Martin go and slumps back, wings and circlet disappearing, the glow fading from his eyes. He stumbles over to sit heavily on the couch. "You're fine," he says in a tone of relief. "It took that memory and nothing else. You're fine. No trace... no trace of... lingering control. Not... not like..."

    He puts his hand to his face, like he'd be burying his face in his hands if he had both, and starts crying.
Cael Becker     The package is shoved into her hands, and Cael takes a step back uncertainly, watching what's going on but unsure what - if anything - she should do. Should she even stay? Bear catches onto her increasing anxiety and lets out a quiet whine, nuzzling at her leg and getting an absent-minded scritch in response.
    She watches the interaction between the two men, then watches Jon drop onto the couch, wordlessly nodding Martin towards the man while she anxiously looks for somewhere to put her arm-in-a-box.
    Once she manages that, she moves to where the tea things were left and attempts to pour and fix the teas - adding what seems like a truly obscene amount of sugar to one of them.
Martin Blackwood     Martin frowns at Jon and then it seems to dawn on him. When he was last under the control of another. Before he had managed to step out fromt hat control and managed to get three of the Eye of Ra's hopefulls free of the cult's control. "Oh... Peter..." he says softly, hesitantly.

    He moves to sit on the opposite side of Jon. "I... I knew what I was doing... mostly, Jon. I wouldn't ever go into a situation that would result in..." He looks down at his lap. "In anything like that. Ever again. Not ever." He reaches over and rests a hand on Jon's knee in consolidation of the man's pain.
Jonathan Sims     "Every time!" Jon looks up in reaction to Martin's touch. "Every /bloody/ time I go away for /five minutes/ you wind up going and doing something /stupid/ thinking you're... you're /helping/! What if it hadn't worked? What if... if..."

    He leans forward and throws his arm around Martin, pulling him close. "I can't lose you. I can't lose /either/ of you. Cael keeps /burning her hands/ and... and you keep letting people mess with your head and... and I can't... I just can't..."

    He buries his face in Martin's hair. "You two, and Agnes, are the /entire/ reason I even came back. W-what... what would I do if you... if I /lost/ you?"
Cael Becker     Cael feels lost - uncertain of what she should say, or do. If Jon hadn't just evoked her name... she almost certainly would be trying to creep away, to give Jon and Martin a little privacy. Instead, she stares down at the tea for a moment - uncertain if she'd gotten it just the way Jon and Martin like their drinks, but she feels she probably got it pretty close. Her own cup of course is just... tea. Pushing herself to her feet, she moves to the kitchen, retrieving one of the bottles of whiskey, and adding it to the tea service as well. (Look - at least she's not drinking her tea plain anymore, as she adds a splash of the whiskey to her own cup.)
    It's after she's done that, that she finally joins Jon on the couch, squishing in, and leaning in against his back as he hugs Martin. "I'm fine, Jon. My hands are fine. I don't plan on letting anything happen to me."
Martin Blackwood     Martin lets Jon hold him tight. "I... Jon, like I said, I would never do anything that I thought would result in anything like what Peter did to me. There was danger involved in this..." he replies. "But it was an acceptable measure. The trolls after all would get a terrible reputation if they let one of their own control one of the patrons. That's not their way."

    He gestures towards the other side of the suite. "Besides, Agnes was with me and she wouldn't let anything terrible happen to me either." He frowns at Jon. "I just... I wanted you to be able to feel on that side even if it means you can't do magic with that arm, you can cut vegetables or make your own tea or any number of things the illusory arm you conjure can't do." He pauses. "At least, I think you should. It's not like I've been able to try it out or anything."
Jonathan Sims     For a minute or two Jon just sits there holding Martin, with Cael at his back. Then he pulls away a bit and wipes at his eyes. "Sorry," he murmurs. "It's just... you don't know, Cael. Martin's /terrible/ at looking after himself. When he actually thinks he's alone, he... he... gets in /serious/ trouble." A snort. "Not like I'm any better, I suppose."

    He sighs, and reaches out to pick up the tea cup, to take a sip. "Cael, dear," he says gently, "I don't take /this/ much sugar. One spoon less." He smiles at her. "But... thank you. Really." He leans over to kiss her on the cheek.

    He glances over at Martin, sheepish. "So you... gave up a memory of a single day so I could have an arm that... reacts properly." He bites his lip, looking back and forth between the two of them.

    "...One of you ate a bug and came into the underworld to get me back, and the other... gave up a memory to get me an arm." He shakes his head, expression wryly amused and fond. "What did I ever do to deserve /either/ of you? Lord."
Cael Becker     Cael's expression goes somehow thoughtful and uncertain at the sametime, before she remarks in a quiet voice, "Well. ...maybe that's why there's three of us, now," she suggests in a quiet voice. "Four - with Agnes. So none of us... ever has to feel like they're really alone," she suggests, without meeting the gaze of either of them.
    She starts to straighten up as Jon reaches out for his tea, claiming her own and taking a sip of what she considers to be an improved flavor profile. The kiss seems to embarass her - though she adds with an amused smirk, "Not enough? And here I thought it took a whole sack of sugar to sweeten a cup for you."
    She takes another sip before adding quietly, "I have no doubt that you'd do almost anything for me, Jon."
Martin Blackwood     Martin frowns a bit sheepishly at Jon's reveal of his own proclivities of getting into trouble. He looks up at Cael's insight and nods. "You're... you're right" he says with a soft smile. Then he rises and moves to retake the arm that Jon had handed off.

    He brings it back to the couch and offers it to Jon. "Just... try it? If it feels bad you can discard it and we won't speak of it again. I just... I wanted to help." He offers the appendage to Jon once more an imploring expression on his features.
Jonathan Sims     Jon rolls his eyes at Cael. "Says the woman who puts /whiskey/ in everything. Do you even like sugar, or do you /enjoy/ torturing your taste buds?"

    He takes the arm a little more good-naturedly, and carefully attaches it to his shoulder. The ring is visible, but otherwise the arm looks entirely natural and normal, as if he'd just put a metal ring around his shoulder.

    He flexes the hand and wiggles the fingers, frowning. "It's going to take some getting used to. Re-learning neural pathways and muscle memory and all of that. And..." He pauses, concentrates, then shakes his head. "And I can't channel magic through it. But..."

    He leans forward, to touch Martin's cheek with the hand. "But I can /feel/ things, so that's... something, at least."
Cael Becker     "No. I don't particularly like most sweet things," Cael answers simply. She takes another drink from her glass, watching Jon and Martin for a moment, and studying the arm a brief smil crossing her features. After another sip, she sets down her glass and then... tries to slip off towards the door, without another word.
    She had some time to herself with Jon, after all - and he was only gone for half as long, from her perspective.
    Surely Martin and Jon need and deserve some time to themselves.
Martin Blackwood     Martin leans into the touch and then looks at Cael. "Where are you going?" he asks the woman, his expression is open but curious. He's not begrudging the woman's departure but he is curious as to her whereabouts in case he should need to get ahold of her.

    He explains as much with the next statement. "I'm just wondering. In case we need you for... anything." He gives her a smile. "And should we expect you tomorrow? Or are you going to be busy?"
Jonathan Sims     Jon pulls away from Martin and looks over at Cael. "Hey... don't leave without saying goodbye, at least." A pause. "Thank you. I love you. And... /will/ we see you tomorrow? Or do you need some time to clear your head?"

    He glances to Martin. "...Did you ever plan that party, by the way? I figure there's that at least."
Cael Becker     Cael hesitates a moment, looking back at the pair. She looks uncertain for a moment, then moves back towards them to give Jon a hug first - and a fond but brief kiss. Martin gets a hug as well. "Dunno," she admits.
    "Maybe, uhhh... we have breakfast together and go from there?" she suggests, giving a shrug of her shoulders. "Anyways. I'm just- I'm only heading down the hall. Still got quarters here, for now. Just wanted to get out of your hair. I mean... you oughtta have some time to yourselves, yeah?" After a brief smile, she tries to head for the door again - bear trotting at her heels, with his bunny toy still held in his mouth.
Martin Blackwood     Martin smiles at the hug and then nods. "Yeah. That sounds good." He smiles after her. "See you tomorrow morning. Okay?" He leans against Jon for a moment watching the woman and her dog depart for the night, a sigh of contentment easing out of him as some things at the very least are returning to relative normalcy.

    He then answers Jon. "I did. I booked the place for Monday evening. I hope that works. They have a strong selection of songs in their karaeoke machine. I think you'll like it." He relaxes back and takes up his own tea, sipping from it with a dubious expression. "Acceptable. She'll learn eventually." He looks at Jon and adds. "I also managed to get another artifact for the physical Archive. It's in... qurantine in your vault. And I would like to have -words- with your grandmother, were she alive."