Dark Places of the Soul (Lost Galaxy, Kai/Leo)
Title: Dark Places of the Soul
Pairing: Kai/Leo
Rating: Still PG
AN: Bet you thought I’d forgotten about this, huh? Well, I haven’t. Hah! :D At the moment though, I do have the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to fic, so expect any updates (of anything) to be sporadic for a while.
“So,” Leo said lightly, hands resting lightly on the driver’s wheel of his car. “Where are we going?”
“Angel Grove,” Kai replied shortly, fastening his seatbelt without looking up.
“I thought you were from Michigan,” he blurted, momentarily forgetting that Kai hadn’t actually told him anything about himself. All the personal information he had was what he’d gathered from GSA reports, which hadn’t exactly been full of information and his attempts at accessing Kai’s missing person’s file had met with failure. Kai gave him a hard look and Leo winced, the last thing he needed was to set Kai off. “I did some digging,” he admitted awkwardly. “It was before you woke up, I swear.” Much to his relief, Kai seemed to take him at his word and sank back into his seat.
“I was from there originally,” he said. “I left a long time ago, ended up in Angel Grove eventually.”
Leo nodded. “Okay. Angel Grove it is. Any preference on the radio?”
***
Kai hated the radio. Whether it was the type of music or just the noise Leo couldn’t tell, but he didn’t have to to figure out that the radio had been a bad idea and he switched it off. Kai relaxed once the music stopped, so while Leo wasn’t looking forward to a journey without something to listen to, Kai’s slightly more relaxed state was worth it. And besides, it wasn’t as if Angel Grove was that far away - once they hit the interstate it wouldn’t be too long before they got there.
When they did get there though, Leo almost wished they hadn’t. The ‘For Sale/SOLD’ sign outside Kai’s house was stark and unavoidable and Kai had gone rigid the moment he saw it, staring at it as if he couldn’t quite believe it. But Leo could. Kai had been missing for six months, had spent practically the same amount of time, if not longer, in hospital; between the near catatonia and the slow process of rehabilitation, Kai hadn’t lived here in over a year and it wasn’t surprising that someone had decided they could make some money out of putting it back on the market.
He glanced warily at the man sitting next to him, wondering what was going through Kai’s mind. Kai’s hands were clenched tightly into fists on his lap and the tiny figurines he had carefully arranged on the dashboard were vibrating ever so gently and that wasn’t due to the engine still running. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t… is there anywhere else you can stay?” If there wasn’t, then Kai was coming back with him, like it or not. The last thing he needed right now was to be alone.
There was a long pause before Kai nodded, a sharp jerk of the head that said more than any words just what it was taking to keep everything inside. Had he always been that way? Leo wondered. Or was it a result of Scorpius Industries’ tender mercies?
Kai’s place to stay turned out to be an apartment block and Leo climbed out of the car as Kai headed for the door and went straight without buzzing anyone. “Just going straight up?” he asked. “No ‘Hey, I’m stopping by’?” Kai glared at him and he shut up, holding up his hands in surrender.
Kai braced himself, then knocked sharply on the door they were standing in front of. When there was no immediate response he knocked again and this time they got something: “Alright, alright, I’m coming already,” an annoyed voice yelled. “No need to break down my door.” Leo wasn’t positive, but he thought that was a smile on Kai’s face at the tirade. The door was yanked open by an irritated black man in a dark green shirt and black sweatpants. “What?” he demanded before his eyes widened. “Kai?” he said in disbelief. “That really you?”
“As far as I can tell,” Kai replied dryly.
“Where the hell have you been?” the man yelled. “A year, Kai, that’s how long you’ve been gone. Where the hell were you?”
“Good to see you, too, Damon,” Kai countered.
The man - Damon - shook his head. “What am I doing, come on in, Kai. Your friend, too.”
“Leo,” Kai said belatedly. “His name’s Leo.”
“I can introduce myself,” Leo told him pointedly, but Kai just shrugged.
“Leo. Nice to meet you. Will you please get in here before the heat starts escaping from my apartment?”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Where’s Terri?” Kai asked and Damon shrugged. “Went to the store for something, she’ll be back soon.” He set the kettle over the stove and turned back to study Kai closely. “You gonna tell me what happened now?” he asked. “Or do I have to play Twenty Questions to get any answers out of you?”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to answer questions,” Leo interjected sharply. “You ever think of that?” Who did this guy think he was anyway, demanding answers like that, as if he had every right. If he and Kai were that close why hadn’t Kai called him before now, or even mentioned him?
“Maybe you should let Kai talk for himself,” Damon shot back, clearly about as pleased with Leo as Leo was with him. “I was asking him, not you.”
“Kai can speak for himself, thank you very much,” Kai interrupted, shutting both of them up. “Leo, I’ll decide whether or not I want to answer any questions, not you. Damon, Leo’s a friend and I wouldn’t be nearly as together as I am if it wasn’t for him. Cut him some slack, okay?”
Leo nodded reluctantly, Damon doing the same, arms folded across his chest defiantly. The tense atmosphere was disrupted by the sound of a door opening and they turned in unison to see a woman carrying grocery bags walk in. That would be Terri, Leo decided. The assumption was borne out by the way she stopped suddenly when she spotted Kai, promptly dropping the bags and subjecting him to what looked like a rib-crushing hug, questions flying out of her mouth, intermingled with gentle scolding for just up and disappearing. Unsure whether he should interrupt, he was intercepted by Damon tugging on his arm, indicating he should help pick up the grocery that had rolled out onto the floor.
“Leave them alone,” Damon said quietly. “Terri’s not going to spook him. She’s probably better for him right now than either of us.”
Fighting back the automatic protest, Leo bit his tongue and picked up an orange resting by his foot. It felt wrong somehow, not being the only person Kai felt vaguely comfortable around anymore and he didn’t like feeling jealous just because Kai had his friends around him now. He wouldn’t deny, though, that the prospect of being shut out now that Kai had his friends hurt and hurt more than it probably should.
Maybe Mike had been right. He should never have gotten so involved.
Link to table
Pairing: Kai/Leo
Rating: Still PG
AN: Bet you thought I’d forgotten about this, huh? Well, I haven’t. Hah! :D At the moment though, I do have the attention span of a goldfish when it comes to fic, so expect any updates (of anything) to be sporadic for a while.
“So,” Leo said lightly, hands resting lightly on the driver’s wheel of his car. “Where are we going?”
“Angel Grove,” Kai replied shortly, fastening his seatbelt without looking up.
“I thought you were from Michigan,” he blurted, momentarily forgetting that Kai hadn’t actually told him anything about himself. All the personal information he had was what he’d gathered from GSA reports, which hadn’t exactly been full of information and his attempts at accessing Kai’s missing person’s file had met with failure. Kai gave him a hard look and Leo winced, the last thing he needed was to set Kai off. “I did some digging,” he admitted awkwardly. “It was before you woke up, I swear.” Much to his relief, Kai seemed to take him at his word and sank back into his seat.
“I was from there originally,” he said. “I left a long time ago, ended up in Angel Grove eventually.”
Leo nodded. “Okay. Angel Grove it is. Any preference on the radio?”
***
Kai hated the radio. Whether it was the type of music or just the noise Leo couldn’t tell, but he didn’t have to to figure out that the radio had been a bad idea and he switched it off. Kai relaxed once the music stopped, so while Leo wasn’t looking forward to a journey without something to listen to, Kai’s slightly more relaxed state was worth it. And besides, it wasn’t as if Angel Grove was that far away - once they hit the interstate it wouldn’t be too long before they got there.
When they did get there though, Leo almost wished they hadn’t. The ‘For Sale/SOLD’ sign outside Kai’s house was stark and unavoidable and Kai had gone rigid the moment he saw it, staring at it as if he couldn’t quite believe it. But Leo could. Kai had been missing for six months, had spent practically the same amount of time, if not longer, in hospital; between the near catatonia and the slow process of rehabilitation, Kai hadn’t lived here in over a year and it wasn’t surprising that someone had decided they could make some money out of putting it back on the market.
He glanced warily at the man sitting next to him, wondering what was going through Kai’s mind. Kai’s hands were clenched tightly into fists on his lap and the tiny figurines he had carefully arranged on the dashboard were vibrating ever so gently and that wasn’t due to the engine still running. “I’m sorry,” he said softly. “I didn’t… is there anywhere else you can stay?” If there wasn’t, then Kai was coming back with him, like it or not. The last thing he needed right now was to be alone.
There was a long pause before Kai nodded, a sharp jerk of the head that said more than any words just what it was taking to keep everything inside. Had he always been that way? Leo wondered. Or was it a result of Scorpius Industries’ tender mercies?
Kai’s place to stay turned out to be an apartment block and Leo climbed out of the car as Kai headed for the door and went straight without buzzing anyone. “Just going straight up?” he asked. “No ‘Hey, I’m stopping by’?” Kai glared at him and he shut up, holding up his hands in surrender.
Kai braced himself, then knocked sharply on the door they were standing in front of. When there was no immediate response he knocked again and this time they got something: “Alright, alright, I’m coming already,” an annoyed voice yelled. “No need to break down my door.” Leo wasn’t positive, but he thought that was a smile on Kai’s face at the tirade. The door was yanked open by an irritated black man in a dark green shirt and black sweatpants. “What?” he demanded before his eyes widened. “Kai?” he said in disbelief. “That really you?”
“As far as I can tell,” Kai replied dryly.
“Where the hell have you been?” the man yelled. “A year, Kai, that’s how long you’ve been gone. Where the hell were you?”
“Good to see you, too, Damon,” Kai countered.
The man - Damon - shook his head. “What am I doing, come on in, Kai. Your friend, too.”
“Leo,” Kai said belatedly. “His name’s Leo.”
“I can introduce myself,” Leo told him pointedly, but Kai just shrugged.
“Leo. Nice to meet you. Will you please get in here before the heat starts escaping from my apartment?”
“Oh. Sorry.”
“Where’s Terri?” Kai asked and Damon shrugged. “Went to the store for something, she’ll be back soon.” He set the kettle over the stove and turned back to study Kai closely. “You gonna tell me what happened now?” he asked. “Or do I have to play Twenty Questions to get any answers out of you?”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to answer questions,” Leo interjected sharply. “You ever think of that?” Who did this guy think he was anyway, demanding answers like that, as if he had every right. If he and Kai were that close why hadn’t Kai called him before now, or even mentioned him?
“Maybe you should let Kai talk for himself,” Damon shot back, clearly about as pleased with Leo as Leo was with him. “I was asking him, not you.”
“Kai can speak for himself, thank you very much,” Kai interrupted, shutting both of them up. “Leo, I’ll decide whether or not I want to answer any questions, not you. Damon, Leo’s a friend and I wouldn’t be nearly as together as I am if it wasn’t for him. Cut him some slack, okay?”
Leo nodded reluctantly, Damon doing the same, arms folded across his chest defiantly. The tense atmosphere was disrupted by the sound of a door opening and they turned in unison to see a woman carrying grocery bags walk in. That would be Terri, Leo decided. The assumption was borne out by the way she stopped suddenly when she spotted Kai, promptly dropping the bags and subjecting him to what looked like a rib-crushing hug, questions flying out of her mouth, intermingled with gentle scolding for just up and disappearing. Unsure whether he should interrupt, he was intercepted by Damon tugging on his arm, indicating he should help pick up the grocery that had rolled out onto the floor.
“Leave them alone,” Damon said quietly. “Terri’s not going to spook him. She’s probably better for him right now than either of us.”
Fighting back the automatic protest, Leo bit his tongue and picked up an orange resting by his foot. It felt wrong somehow, not being the only person Kai felt vaguely comfortable around anymore and he didn’t like feeling jealous just because Kai had his friends around him now. He wouldn’t deny, though, that the prospect of being shut out now that Kai had his friends hurt and hurt more than it probably should.
Maybe Mike had been right. He should never have gotten so involved.
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