The Tomorrow Series Fanfiction: Who Will Lead Us? - Chapter 11
This is Chapter 11 in a fanfic of The Tomorrow Trilogy by theun4givables.
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It had been more than a week since Jazz had left. He had said he would be back in “a week or less,” and it had already been longer than that. The first day after a week had passed, Savin hadn’t worried too much, but now it was three days past when Jazz had said he would return. Savin gripped his beer as he paced the length of the bar, trying, and failing, to avoid thinking about what might have happened to the younger man.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, hoping to get some news, and soon. Savin took the tiniest sip of his beer, stomach clenching with nervousness, when he saw Ravi enter the bar. Ravi spotted Savin and headed towards him.
Ravi said, “Hey, Blue Eyes is back.”
Savin almost dropped his beer upon hearing that. “Is he -- is he okay?”
“He’s fine, just looks real tired,” Ravi muttered. “Said he wants to call a meeting.”
“A -- meeting? Now?” Savin asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Think it’s startin’ soon.”
Savin tried to ignore the nervousness in his gut. “Did -- did Jazz say anything about how much support he got?” He remembered Jordine’s demands all too well and knew if they weren’t met -- well, he didn’t want to think about what would happen if they weren’t met.
Ravi muttered, “Think he wants to talk about it in the meetin’ itself.”
“I hope it’s good news,” Savin murmured.
He needed it to be good news.
* * *
When Savin arrived at the meeting itself, he couldn’t help noticing just how tired Jazz looked. Ravi had said the younger man was okay, but Savin had his doubts. He had wanted to talk to Jazz before it started, but there hadn’t been enough time. Savin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he took a seat, unfortunately having to sit away from Jazz.
Jazz cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at him. “As you know, I was out this past week or so trying to gather support for our Resistance.”
Savin knew, all too well. He knew what Jazz had been doing and knew how dangerous it was. He just wanted the younger man to get to his main point, so that the knot in Savin’s stomach would untwist. Why did he have such a bad feeling about this?
Alex muttered, “We know, Jazz. I’m surprised you didn’t get shot while you were out.”
Savin’s jaw clenched at the mere mention of Jazz’s getting hurt. He didn’t think it appropriate for Alex to make such remarks, but he kept himself quiet, for now.
Jazz gave a sarcastic half-smile. “I must not be as much of a bullet magnet as you thought, huh?”
Alex shook his head. “Whatever you say, Jazz.”
Jazz muttered, “Anyway, I -- have news to report, on my progress.” Savin thought he seemed almost...reluctant to speak. That thought made his stomach sink, just slightly, but he convinced himself it was just a suspicion. Jazz -- he had to have succeeded, right?
The younger man continued, “I -- managed to speak with some potential allies. My old contact, Agent Riley of the NBEA, has agreed to help us.”
Nem’s eyes widened. “NBEA? He’s gonna -- gonna help us?”
Savin could see the skepticism in the others’ faces, noticing how Ravi scowled at the mention of the NBEA.
“Yeah,” Jazz said. “Riley told me he planned to use his access to the Natural Born databases to change the registrations of NBs to that of legal citizens, so that this ongoing -- NB Purge couldn’t -- get to them.”
Alex muttered, “That sounds awfully risky. Won’t the NBEA find out they have a mole in their midst?”
“Not if this Riley is sneaky about it,” Nem said. “You can hide all sorts of activity if you’re careful enough, right?”
“I suppose you can,” Alex said.
As much as he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer, Savin asked, “What -- what about your other potential allies?”
Jazz sighed, “I -- didn’t have as much luck with them. They’re all afraid of Mitchel, and most don’t think we -- they don’t think we have enough of a fucking chance to even risk trying to get rid of him. They’re concentrating on hiding and saving who they can, not in -- defying the Empire.”
Savin’s stomach sank, and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Did Jazz get anybody else to help the Resistance?
“Jordine is not going to be happy to hear this,” Savin muttered. “She contacted us while you were gone and agreed to help -- provided we had sufficient forces of our own to make it worth her while.”
Jazz asked, “She agreed to ally with us?”
“Only if certain conditions were met,” Savin sighed. “And, from what you just said -- they weren’t.”
“You mean she’s not gonna help us?” Nem breathed.
Something odd flashed in Alex’s eyes. “That’s what he’s saying.”
Savin asked, “So what should we do next?”
“Only thing we fuckin’ can do,” Ravi muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He leaned back in his seat, squaring his jaw. “Fuckin’ ride this out. See if we can get anyone else to fuckin’ help us.”
Jazz ran his hands through his hair. “I guess we don’t have any other choice.”
He was right; they didn’t have any other choice.
Jazz continued, “I -- think that’s it for now. We have to wait and see, hope Jordine fucking helps us anyway, though I doubt she will.”
Savin watched as the others slowly left the meeting room. He didn’t exit, knowing he needed to talk to Jazz. The younger man remained in the room as well. Soon, it was just the two of the, on opposite sides of the table.
Savin cleared his throat, folding his hands on top of the table in an effort to keep them from shaking. “Jazz, I --” his voice cracked, causing him to clear his throat again. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? That’s why you said it was my fault, right?” Jazz muttered.
“I’m sorry I said that,” Savin murmured. “I -- I shouldn’t have.”
“Yeah, you shouldn’t have,” he said. He got out of his seat, looking away from Savin. “Is that all?” he asked, pushing in his chair. “Because I don’t exactly feel like talking to you, right now.”
As much as Savin didn’t want to talk about it, either, he knew they needed to. He sighed, “We need to talk about things.”
“Why? So you can blame me some more?” Jazz muttered.
Savin winced, getting up from his seat as well. “That’s -- I’m not here to blame you.”
Jazz said, “You’re not? Then why exactly do you want to fucking talk?”
How could Savin explain this? He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, trying to find the words to make things right. “I -- I don’t want things to stay bad between us.”
Jazz snorted derisively. “Really? It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”
Savin knew the younger man was probably right, but he wanted to try and fix things, anyway. “I know it’s probably too late, but -- for what it’s worth, I really don’t blame you. Not anymore.” He stumbled over his words, barely managing to get them out. His chest tightened as he continued, “I -- a lot has happened, to both of us.”
“That’s not an excuse for being an ass,” Jazz muttered.
He shook his head. “No, it’s not. And I’m sorry for how I behaved.” Savin hoped Jazz could hear the sincerity in his voice. He wasn’t fake apologizing this time and needed Jazz to understand that.
Jazz asked, “You’re actually sorry?”
Savin said, “I am.”
The younger man’s eyes softened, just slightly. “Thanks. That’s -- good to hear.” His eyes shined with tears as he looked at Savin. Before long, the tears started to fall.
Savin wanted to reach out for Jazz and hug him, but he hesitated, unsure if Jazz would appreciate that right now. After all, Savin hadn’t exactly treated him fairly.
A few tense moments passed before Jazz collected himself enough to say, “I -- I have to go.” He headed towards the door to the meeting room.
Then, Savin couldn’t help himself. He followed Jazz, reaching out for his hand just as he was about to put it on the doorknob. Jazz looked up at him, biting his lip. “S-Savin --”
“Jazz, I --” Savin paused, wishing his voice didn’t crack like that. “I still love you.”
Jazz’s eyes widened at the admission. He seemed unable to say anything after Savin spoke. A charged moment passed before Jazz pulled Savin close and kissed him. Savin’s own eyes widened before he closed them, leaning into the kiss.
Savin hoped this meant things could be good again; maybe now they had a chance at a real life together.
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written for 500themes prompt #143 - "Of Blood and Honor"
next chapter
previous chapter
---------
It had been more than a week since Jazz had left. He had said he would be back in “a week or less,” and it had already been longer than that. The first day after a week had passed, Savin hadn’t worried too much, but now it was three days past when Jazz had said he would return. Savin gripped his beer as he paced the length of the bar, trying, and failing, to avoid thinking about what might have happened to the younger man.
He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, hoping to get some news, and soon. Savin took the tiniest sip of his beer, stomach clenching with nervousness, when he saw Ravi enter the bar. Ravi spotted Savin and headed towards him.
Ravi said, “Hey, Blue Eyes is back.”
Savin almost dropped his beer upon hearing that. “Is he -- is he okay?”
“He’s fine, just looks real tired,” Ravi muttered. “Said he wants to call a meeting.”
“A -- meeting? Now?” Savin asked.
“Yeah,” he said. “Think it’s startin’ soon.”
Savin tried to ignore the nervousness in his gut. “Did -- did Jazz say anything about how much support he got?” He remembered Jordine’s demands all too well and knew if they weren’t met -- well, he didn’t want to think about what would happen if they weren’t met.
Ravi muttered, “Think he wants to talk about it in the meetin’ itself.”
“I hope it’s good news,” Savin murmured.
He needed it to be good news.
* * *
When Savin arrived at the meeting itself, he couldn’t help noticing just how tired Jazz looked. Ravi had said the younger man was okay, but Savin had his doubts. He had wanted to talk to Jazz before it started, but there hadn’t been enough time. Savin pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose as he took a seat, unfortunately having to sit away from Jazz.
Jazz cleared his throat, and everyone turned to look at him. “As you know, I was out this past week or so trying to gather support for our Resistance.”
Savin knew, all too well. He knew what Jazz had been doing and knew how dangerous it was. He just wanted the younger man to get to his main point, so that the knot in Savin’s stomach would untwist. Why did he have such a bad feeling about this?
Alex muttered, “We know, Jazz. I’m surprised you didn’t get shot while you were out.”
Savin’s jaw clenched at the mere mention of Jazz’s getting hurt. He didn’t think it appropriate for Alex to make such remarks, but he kept himself quiet, for now.
Jazz gave a sarcastic half-smile. “I must not be as much of a bullet magnet as you thought, huh?”
Alex shook his head. “Whatever you say, Jazz.”
Jazz muttered, “Anyway, I -- have news to report, on my progress.” Savin thought he seemed almost...reluctant to speak. That thought made his stomach sink, just slightly, but he convinced himself it was just a suspicion. Jazz -- he had to have succeeded, right?
The younger man continued, “I -- managed to speak with some potential allies. My old contact, Agent Riley of the NBEA, has agreed to help us.”
Nem’s eyes widened. “NBEA? He’s gonna -- gonna help us?”
Savin could see the skepticism in the others’ faces, noticing how Ravi scowled at the mention of the NBEA.
“Yeah,” Jazz said. “Riley told me he planned to use his access to the Natural Born databases to change the registrations of NBs to that of legal citizens, so that this ongoing -- NB Purge couldn’t -- get to them.”
Alex muttered, “That sounds awfully risky. Won’t the NBEA find out they have a mole in their midst?”
“Not if this Riley is sneaky about it,” Nem said. “You can hide all sorts of activity if you’re careful enough, right?”
“I suppose you can,” Alex said.
As much as he wasn’t sure he wanted the answer, Savin asked, “What -- what about your other potential allies?”
Jazz sighed, “I -- didn’t have as much luck with them. They’re all afraid of Mitchel, and most don’t think we -- they don’t think we have enough of a fucking chance to even risk trying to get rid of him. They’re concentrating on hiding and saving who they can, not in -- defying the Empire.”
Savin’s stomach sank, and he pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. Did Jazz get anybody else to help the Resistance?
“Jordine is not going to be happy to hear this,” Savin muttered. “She contacted us while you were gone and agreed to help -- provided we had sufficient forces of our own to make it worth her while.”
Jazz asked, “She agreed to ally with us?”
“Only if certain conditions were met,” Savin sighed. “And, from what you just said -- they weren’t.”
“You mean she’s not gonna help us?” Nem breathed.
Something odd flashed in Alex’s eyes. “That’s what he’s saying.”
Savin asked, “So what should we do next?”
“Only thing we fuckin’ can do,” Ravi muttered, crossing his arms over his chest. He leaned back in his seat, squaring his jaw. “Fuckin’ ride this out. See if we can get anyone else to fuckin’ help us.”
Jazz ran his hands through his hair. “I guess we don’t have any other choice.”
He was right; they didn’t have any other choice.
Jazz continued, “I -- think that’s it for now. We have to wait and see, hope Jordine fucking helps us anyway, though I doubt she will.”
Savin watched as the others slowly left the meeting room. He didn’t exit, knowing he needed to talk to Jazz. The younger man remained in the room as well. Soon, it was just the two of the, on opposite sides of the table.
Savin cleared his throat, folding his hands on top of the table in an effort to keep them from shaking. “Jazz, I --” his voice cracked, causing him to clear his throat again. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry? That’s why you said it was my fault, right?” Jazz muttered.
“I’m sorry I said that,” Savin murmured. “I -- I shouldn’t have.”
“Yeah, you shouldn’t have,” he said. He got out of his seat, looking away from Savin. “Is that all?” he asked, pushing in his chair. “Because I don’t exactly feel like talking to you, right now.”
As much as Savin didn’t want to talk about it, either, he knew they needed to. He sighed, “We need to talk about things.”
“Why? So you can blame me some more?” Jazz muttered.
Savin winced, getting up from his seat as well. “That’s -- I’m not here to blame you.”
Jazz said, “You’re not? Then why exactly do you want to fucking talk?”
How could Savin explain this? He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose, trying to find the words to make things right. “I -- I don’t want things to stay bad between us.”
Jazz snorted derisively. “Really? It’s a little late for that, don’t you think?”
Savin knew the younger man was probably right, but he wanted to try and fix things, anyway. “I know it’s probably too late, but -- for what it’s worth, I really don’t blame you. Not anymore.” He stumbled over his words, barely managing to get them out. His chest tightened as he continued, “I -- a lot has happened, to both of us.”
“That’s not an excuse for being an ass,” Jazz muttered.
He shook his head. “No, it’s not. And I’m sorry for how I behaved.” Savin hoped Jazz could hear the sincerity in his voice. He wasn’t fake apologizing this time and needed Jazz to understand that.
Jazz asked, “You’re actually sorry?”
Savin said, “I am.”
The younger man’s eyes softened, just slightly. “Thanks. That’s -- good to hear.” His eyes shined with tears as he looked at Savin. Before long, the tears started to fall.
Savin wanted to reach out for Jazz and hug him, but he hesitated, unsure if Jazz would appreciate that right now. After all, Savin hadn’t exactly treated him fairly.
A few tense moments passed before Jazz collected himself enough to say, “I -- I have to go.” He headed towards the door to the meeting room.
Then, Savin couldn’t help himself. He followed Jazz, reaching out for his hand just as he was about to put it on the doorknob. Jazz looked up at him, biting his lip. “S-Savin --”
“Jazz, I --” Savin paused, wishing his voice didn’t crack like that. “I still love you.”
Jazz’s eyes widened at the admission. He seemed unable to say anything after Savin spoke. A charged moment passed before Jazz pulled Savin close and kissed him. Savin’s own eyes widened before he closed them, leaning into the kiss.
Savin hoped this meant things could be good again; maybe now they had a chance at a real life together.
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written for 500themes prompt #143 - "Of Blood and Honor"
next chapter