Self Aware Fanweek - Day One: Found Family
@selfawarefanweek @jello-fello
Characters: Jordan Mallory, James Brutus
The loud, sudden beeping of his phone does not stir Jordan Kai Mallory from a deep slumber. This has less to do with the quality of sleep he gets, and more to do with the fact that Jordan never actually went to sleep the night before. It's early morning now, according to the phone that is still lit up by the new text notification.
Jordan only briefly tears his eyes away from the pile of paperwork he's been working on all night to check who the text is from. It says the text is from a number that he recognizes as Jamie, which doesn't make the most sense. He and Jamie don't text much. The years of seperation and crazy amount of surveillance that Jordan is under ensures that. That of course begs the question—what is so urgent that Jamie has suddenly decided to break that silence?
Jordan curls a line around his phone and pulls it closer, all but abandoning the focus on his paperwork.
Jordan makes a face. Someone has been quietly moving into the apartment beside his for the past week, so he's been avoiding leaving his apartment at all. He doesn't really want to deal with whatever movers that show up—or the new tenant. Jamie wouldn't ask him to open his door randomly without a reason though, so Jordan fully puts aside his paperwork and gets to his feet. By the time he's undone all of the 6 locks on his door and pushed it open, all of his lines are tucked under his shirt, hidden from any watching eyes.
The hallway is empty of people, but there are a decent amount of boxes stacked next to the door of the not-empty-anymore apartment. There's even a few scattered by the stairwell. However, there aren't any movers, new tenants, or narcoleptics with goggles to be seen.
The chime of a notification echoes out of the open stairwell, ominous in its solitude. Jordan warily vacates his doorway to cross the hallway and peer down the stairs. A number of possible scenarios flash through his head as he does, each grim. There could be nothing but Jamie's phone, because he has just missed his oldest friend being kidnapped. He could find an attacker who has stolen Jamie's phone to lure him out. It might even be his father playing a cruel joke to test how loyal he is to James Brutus.
The only thing the stairs hold is the body of Jamie, sleeping as peacefully as one can when they've fallen halfway up the stairs.
Jordan resists the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose. Instead he heads down the stairs to retrieve his idiot emotional support human and drag him back to the apartment.
Jordan has Jamie suspended by lines over the couch, moments from setting him down, when Jamie's eyes snap open. There is a pause where he blearily looks at the nearest line wrapped around his arm. He nods at them, very clearly still half asleep.
"What did you need?" He asks when Jamie looks sufficiently awake again. Jamie shrugs as he sits up.
"I was planning on making you help me move all those boxes into my new apartment." He says, casual as anything. It takes a moment for the words to register and gain meaning, and then Jordan is staring in shock.
"The new tenant I've been avoiding is you?"
"You were avoiding me?" Jamie puts a hand over his heart, adopting an exaggeratedly hurt expression. "I thought we had something special, Jordan."
Jordan snorts without meaning to, then quickly takes a seat and gathers up his paperwork so he can pretend he didn't do that. It very much does not work. Jamie continues with his melodrama anyways, though.
"I went through all this trouble to move my base of operations so I can live besides you, and this is the treatment I get in return? I can't believe you."
Oh yeah. He's moving in next door. Why the hell is he doing that?
"Oh yeah," Jordan says, "You're moving in next door. Why the hell are you doing that."
Jamie hums and grabs the papers that Jordan has picked up, placing them on the other end of the table. Jordan gives him the stink eye and despite being able to, doesn't grab them again. Jamie leans against him and Jordan's lines slip out to wrap loosely around him. They sit in comfortable silence for long enough that Jordan almost forgets he asked a question.
"I just missed you, I think." Jamie softly speaks up. "Besides, someone has to look after you, and I know you won't do it yourself."
Jordan privately agrees. He knows he won't take care of himself. Jamie shouldn't have to take care of him, and he normally wouldn't let him—but this is Jamie. Jordan trusts Jamie a lot more than he reasonable should. So he just puts his head on Jamie's shoulder, closing his eyes.
"Good to meet you, neighbor. Welcome home, I guess." He murmurs. Jamie ruffles his hair.
"Go to sleep Jordan." He says, fondly. "You look like shit."
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