33 Apocalypse Ave, Tuesday Morning

[hotceltogoth]

Ronan sat at the kitchen table, his hands around his coffee mug -- he wasn't drinking out of it, not more than the occasional, absent sip, so much as trying to absorb the warmth through the mug.

It wasn't working; his heart? Still kinda chilled. Whatever was going on in the multiverse had him shaken to the core.

[Up late because I am made of

Comments

[bitten_notshy]

Ronan's phone rang eventually. There was a text sitting on it, but Jack had gotten yet more impatient and needed to talk to someone he was sure would be on the island -- and soon.

[hotceltogoth]

Ronan let the phone ring for a moment, the sound not quite penetrating his thoughts, before setting aside his coffee and picking it up. "Dai stihó, this is Ronan," he answered, not even glancing at the caller ID.

[bitten_notshy]

Jack closed his eyes, leaned his head back against the wall of the train station that had been the last stop on his futile journey.

"Ronan, it's Jack. There's about a halfway chance this is an insane question, but -- is anything odd happening there?"

[hotceltogoth]

"... Like people disappearing kind of odd?" Ronan asked. "And place, and entire worlds? Because yes.

"You might want to get to Fandom ASAP, if it's happening in your world, too."

[bitten_notshy]

"My" -- guardian, lover, boyfriend, father, Jack didn't know the word to use -- "my vampire is gone," he said in the end, because that covered everything else.

"I left him this morning, and now there's just -- nothing. I checked books and property records going back 400 years, Ronan."

He frowned at the phone. "This time Fandom is the safe place?"

Forgive his skepticism.

[hotceltogoth]

Ronan sighed. "I don't know how safe is 'safe'," he admitted, "but no one seems to be disappearing from here yet. At least, not that anyone seems to be noticing -- and it's people who have a connection to Fandom who are noticing the disappearances when no one else does. There's at least two people I know gone from home; I've got a couple of friends staying with me already, one of whom just lost her entire family, maybe her entire world.

"I don't have that big a sample size yet," he admitted, although that was mostly only because he hadn't spoken to any students, "but so far it seems like people from Fandom remember the disappeared when no one else does."

[bitten_notshy]

"But he's been to the island," Jack said stubbornly. "Twice, even. He should have been ... connected."

He should have asked after Ronan's other friends. In a different mood he would have remembered that. He just couldn't see beyond his own loss, not yet.

[hotceltogoth]

"... Maybe it doesn't stop us from disappearing?" Ronan suggested, and sadly. "Maybe it just helps us remember when someone else does. All the more reason for you to get here as soon as you can. And-- if you can at all avoid it, don't use Portalocity. Want me to see if I can get a gate to your universe? Or even do the jump myself?"

It would be trickier, especially if the problems Portalocity was facing were also affecting his universe's worldgate networks -- but Ronan would still be more comfortable with something he could help control.

[bitten_notshy]

"Rather not lose you and have people out for my head," Jack said firmly. "Stay with your friends for now. I can manage the trip."

Then, more gently: "But thank you."

[hotceltogoth]

"You're more than welcome to stay here when you get here," Ronan assured him. "There's plenty of room -- several more bedrooms, in fact, although you'll have to share a bathroom if I get any more people here. And let me know if you need any help getting here -- I'm pretty sure there are a few people whose methods of transport would be more reliable in this situation than mine."

[bitten_notshy]

"No, I'll stay" -- Jack began, not wanting to put Ronan out, then stopped. The hotel would feel unfathomably lonely, and he wasn't sure where Mitchell was these days. He wasn't especially close to anyone else outside the dorms. "Actually, a room would be fantastic. I don't mind doubling up in the bath."

[hotceltogoth]

"Perfect," Ronan said. "Seriously, it's not trouble. Oh -- do I remember correctly that you keep kosher? Do you mind if non-kosher dishes are cooked in the same kitchen?"

[bitten_notshy]

"I'm not fussy that way at all," Jack said, impressed Ronan would think of it. "Honestly, I'm happy when I'm not picking bacon out of things. I'm not especially good at keeping kosher."

[hotceltogoth]

"And no dairy with meat, right?" Ronan asked. "Easy enough to manage, really. Although I suppose it rules out bacon double cheeseburgers."

Not that Ronan really ate those very often himself.

"Any requests? I've got a fair bit already stocked up, but I'm always happy to cook more." Seriously. This was Ronan. He was definitely happy to cook more.

[bitten_notshy]

"No dairy with meat, no pork, no shellfish," Jack rattled off. "I'm really not thinking about food. Whatever you have will be fine."

He'd had vegetarian bacon cheeseburgers, but that was a bit beside the point.

[hotceltogoth]

"Sorry, it's... one of the ways I cope," Ronan admitted. "Anyway, let me know as soon as you figure out what your travel plans are? So I know when to expect you."