"Ren, come with me!"
"I…I can't do that." There was regret. "Run… Calix."
"Come with me, Ren!"
Bolting upright, Evren cradled the side of his head the minute he felt a sharp pain. Comparing it to being hit by a bus, the man fisted the white strands of hair before bowing his head. Noticing his shirt tossed on a nearby chair, he slowly dragged his gaze down his chest before peeking under the covers to see if he was at least decent. His face then blanched at the possibilities that could have happened; all of which were just a blur. As he heard the door open, he shot a heated stare at the raven that had paused in the doorway.
"You're up." He took a step forward before ducking out of the way of a radio. "What the hel-?!" He stumbled back into the wall when he was hit in the face with a magazine. "Princ-" Sidestepping a lamp thrown, Tyson crossed the room quickly before seizing the officer by the arm. "What the hell is your problem?"
"Where are my goddamn pants?!" Tyson gestured to said pants that were on the floor near the bed. "Why are they on the freaking floor?!" The man's eyes darkened. "You-!"
"Whoa!" Dodging a swing, Ty grabbed a hold of Evren's free hand before pinning it to the bed. "What the hell is your problem?!"
"Why am I half naked?!" The paler male jumped at other before being pushed down onto the bed. "You-" He winced at the throb in his head. "B-bastard, what did you do?"
"If you're insinuating that I did something to you, I'm actually offended. I'm not going to try anything when you're drunk, stupid," he stated. "You were sweating in your sleep so I took your clothes off and opened the windows. You're headache is probably a hangover. You're kind of a lightweight." Red eyes then looked towards the clock on the wall. "Though, I imagined you waking up in the morning, not in a few hours," he added as he slowly released the white-haired man.
Looking towards the window, Evren slowly got out of bed before nearly stumbling over his own feet. Tyson was there to catch him, of course, yet the other man merely swatted him away before he began to get dress, grumbling threats under his breath. Once he was done, he combed a hand through his hair before turning to see a bottle of water and two aspirins placed on the nightstand.
Grimacing at the pills, he put them in his pocket before downing the water provided. He then went into the kitchen to see the raven leaning against the counter with a bottle of alcohol. As red eyes glanced his way, Evren shifted awkwardly before holding up the worn tome.
"Did you get this from the Director?"
"I gave it to him originally."
"Where did you find it?" he asked as he flipped through the old pages.
"Why does it matter?" Tyson asked as he set the bottle down in favor of walking over. "It's just a book." He leaned in to see the man looking at a picture drawn on the faded pages before noticing the officer's name as well as one other. "Evren."
Said person simply stared at the faint lettering. "…Calix."
Watching the man hold the side of his head, Tyson snatched the book away. "No." His teammate looked up at him before wincing at a throbbing in his head. "Look at me."
"Cal…ix…"
"No, look at me."
"H-he's…" Squeezing his eyes shut, Evren shook his head slowly. "He's-"
"Look at me," he ordered as he tilted Evren's chin up. "Evren."
Aforementioned cracked his eyes open. "That kid…"
"Ren, come with me!"
"I kno-"
"Stop it, Evren."
"Come with me, Ren!"
"He's…he's-"
"No, no, no, no, no!"
Being shook with each word, Evren stumbled back after the raven released him. Seeing how his hair was somewhat fried, the oddly-colored gaze averted itself until Tyson grabbed him by the shoulders once more.
"Please….please come with me!"
"My head…"
"Listen."
"I know-"
"Listen to me!" Tyson watched the man wince. "Stop thinking so much on this."
"But-"
"No."
"Ty-"
"Evren!"
Aforementioned brought a hand up to cradle his head once more. "He's that-"
Being pulled flush against the other, Evren flinched before receiving a kiss. Shoving at Ty's chest didn't really do much. If anything, it egged him on and once the two had parted, Evren was left just a tad breathless as he hung onto the other's shirt.
"Evren, look at me."
The officer gradually lifted his head.
A faint blush on the man's face had the taller of the two comb a hand through the snowy tresses before leaning in. Hooking an arm around Evren's waist, Tyson brought him just a bit closer before pulling back as he heard his radio go off. Pressing a kiss to his forehead, Ty backed off before walking out of the room.
Bringing his hand up to mouth, Evren felt his whole face burn. Lowering his head as he heard his leader coming back in, Evren took a step back before having the front of his shirt grabbed. He was already flustered but any mentioning of it was cut off by yet another kiss that the raven didn't seem on ending. Clawing at the man's shirt didn't seem to do much. If anything, it just encouraged Tyson to continue with what he was doing until he had managed to back Evren into the counter.
Trying to the negate his coworker didn't work out as Evren had planned either.
His power never seemed to work the way he wanted it to nowadays.
Then again, a lot had happened from the time he had first arrived in Polaris until now.
"Come with me, Ren!"
Wincing, the white-haired man didn't even realize Tyson had stopped until he felt fingers combing through his hair. "I have to go now."
Evren looked up at him. "Where are you going?"
"I have night patrol."
"I can help."
Tyson shook his head slowly. "Technically, you can't. You're no longer an officer, Princess." Seeing the disheartened expression, Ty pressed a kiss to the man's temple. "Don't worry. Think of this as a break until you next assignment. You work too hard."
"Ty-"
"Tyson…" Both men looked towards the kitchen. "Tyson."
"Dammit…"
Tyson walked back into the other room to retrieve the radio. He then returned several minutes later with a somewhat defeated expression on his face.
"Ty-"Tyson sidestepped the man to grab his uniform. "Tys-"
"Go to your room," he replied after grabbing a holster.
"Ty-"
"Go to your room."
"What is it?" Walking over to the man once he had finished changing, Evren looked at the knife at the raven's belt. "Tyson."
"You can't come with me tonight, ok?"
Tyson wasn't looking at him.
"Tyson, what is it?" He remained silent as he checked his weapons one last time before heading to the door. "Tyson." Evren grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "What. Is. It?" Tyson said nothing. "What did the Director say?"
"What makes you think-"
"What did he say, Tyson?"
"Just go to your room, Evren," he said, shrugging the man off. "I'll see you in the morning."
Evren grabbed his wrist again. "I'm a grown man. I don't need you to protect me." He then let him go slowly. "Tyson, what did the Director say?" Red eyes finally looked over at him for the first time almost ten minutes they've been talking. "Ty, what-"
"You leave in five days."
Five days.
He had five days.
The first day he knew he was going to need to redo the forms that Tyson had purposely incinerated.
"Damn idiot," he muttered to himself as kicked a can down the sidewalk.
"Go to your room."
"I'm not a freaking kid."
The second day he was going to have to start packing all his belongings.
It wouldn't have been much.
All he would need would be his uniforms.
"Due to certain circumstances and complications, you will no longer be a part of the task force."
He wasn't part of the task force anymore.
Despite not having the documents to state such, he was no longer an officer.
He had the ranking of civilian at that moment.
"I shouldn't even be outside," he muttered to himself as he glanced at his watch.
Curfew had started well over an hour ago and he didn't have any forms of ID.
"You there! Halt!"
Great…
"I'm going to need to see some I-oh, sir! I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you for a moment." Mismatched eyes stared blankly at the man. "I do apologize," the cop said dutifully. "Please carry on."
So I still have facial recognition…
Once news had spread about him losing his position, Evren was sure that it'd happen by the third night, most officers would give him utter hell if they found him out past the allowed time.
He'd probably have a final out on his fourth day.
A day of briefing, almost similar to his in-processing on the first day, but this one to get rid of him.
"You're being reassigned."
But to what?
The Director never said where he was going or what he'd be doing.
"I don't have a choice in the matter," he mumbled dejectedly as he ran a hand through his hair, pulling it out of his eyes.
Glancing up at a passing squad car, the man turned down an alleyway to avoid being approached again. It was going to be a hassle if he was asked for help.
He recalled being defective.
Looking down at his hands, he curled and uncurled his fingers. Just trying to will some form of power, even something small like a spark, was just a bit harder these days.
Random flashes of images and people were enough to give him a headache though he couldn't really imagine it having such an effect on him now.
It never happened until he got to Polaris.
He had never been here before yet it held a bit of nostalgia.
There was just something about the place but that wasn't saying much since he barely recalled where he had been previously.
Most of it was usual a blur besides the training facilities.
"Ren, please?!"
"Dammit…"
This was one of those times.
"Ren!"
"Go away…" he grumbled. "Go away, go away, go away!" He leaned against a building before stumbling forward as the brick crumbled. What the hell…
Brushing himself off, he slowly brought his gaze up to view the outdated buildings of old Polaris. Looking over his shoulder to see the old alleyway stretching behind him, he turned around, trying to figure out how he had even gotten that far yet alone that deep into the area without being stopped.
On the other hand, he had the whole face identification going for him.
Glancing at the time, he knew he had until morning before Tyson would bother to go checking in on him.
Check in on me?
It was enough to make the man scoff as began to walk further in.
He didn't have anything better to do really.
Walking along the old pathways, Evren came to a stop in front of splintered door. Kicking the knob aside as he walked into the room, Evren looked about slowly before holding his head.
He had seen the place before.
He knew that much but it was still fuzzy.
The mild pang in his head then intensified once he reached the stairwell closer to the back. Stepping away from it, he stumbled into a side room before taking a knee. Reaching into his pocket, he fished around for one of his aspirins before stilling as he heard what sounded like labored breathing.
Peering through his bangs, he looked about slowly before spotting someone curled up in the darkest corner of the room. After making his way over, he rolled the other over prior to pulling his hand back altogether.
"Ca…Calix?" Aforementioned merely cracked his eyes open to slivers before sliding them shut. "Hey, open your eyes."
He shook the man before pulling his hand back when the other shuddered almost violently. Catching the sounds of heavy breaths once again, Evren pressed the back of his hand to the raven's forehead.
He wasn't hot; he didn't have a fever.
Checking his pulse, he noted that it was elevated for someone that had been lying on the floor for who knew how long. There was even a thin sheen of sweat that could be seen in the low light filtering in through the cracks.
Checking the teen's eyes Evren concluded that he wasn't on any drugs before getting to his feet.
Whatever was wrong with him wasn't his problem.
Walking back to the entrance, he paused as he heard, "Y-You're not g-going to arrest me for being p-past c-curfew?"
"No, I'm not," he replied as he glanced over his shoulder to see Calix tilting his head in his direction. "Lucky you, right?"
Cal just released a breathy chuckle before shuddering. "Y-yeah, I guess s-so…" He opened his eyes a bit when he heard the sound of approaching footsteps. "Y-"
"Why are you out here?"
"C…Could ask you the same th-thing…"
"What's wrong with you?" Calix slowly averted his gaze. "Why are you laying on the floor? It's filthy."
"I d-don't mind a bit of d-dirt…"
"Sit up."
"Can't," he muttered after his eyes started to drift shut.
"You can't or you won't?"
"Can't."
Observing him for a few minutes, Evren pulled Callx into an upright position simply to receive a choked out gasp.
"Y-"
"D-down!"
"What's-?"
"P-put me d-down!"
Letting him fall back onto his side then onto his back, Evren watched the man pant excessively before noticing what appeared to be water pricking in the corners of his eyes.
"You're hurt."
"Y-you don't s-say…" Calix said in between the harsh breathing.
"How'd you manage to get in this state?"
"You fell on me remember?" Grimacing inwardly, Cal turned his attention to the ceiling to watch particles of dust floating around. "Y…you're ok though, r-right?" he asked after some time.
"You should worry about yourself," Evren said. "You're the one that's hurt."
"Yeah, maybe, but are you ok?"
"I'm fine."
He offered a strained smile in return. "That's good to know."
"How… how long have you been here then?"
Brown eyes gradually focused on the mismatched pair that had been staring at him for who knew how long. "Don't… I don't remember, r-really." He turned his gaze towards the ceiling once more. "T-think the sun was still up though."
"Did you call for someone?"
"I don't have my holosphere with me," Cal replied jadedly.
"You're stuck here."
"Yeah, if you want, you c-can call up your b…buddies and have me taken in…"
"Do you want to be arrested?" Evren asked.
Calix looked over at him with a faint smile. "It's your job t-to arrest pe…people th…that br-"
Straightening as the teen's expression faltered, the white-haired man reached into his pocket. "Does it hurt that badly?"
"I'll…I'll…"
Seeing the tense line of the raven's jaw, Evren withdrew one of the aspirins he had taken with him. Staring at the item for a moment, he looked back down to see Calix with his eyes squeezed shut.
Tilting his head back for him, Evren placed the small, white pill into the other's mouth. Removing his hand once the younger male's body went lax, Evren stared at the faint traces of tears that had once been welling at the corners of dark eyes.
His breathing had steadied out.
His jaw was no longer tense.
He was no longer sweating.
Calix looked relaxed.
You really were straining yourself…
Brushing aside his colorless hair, Evren stared out a busted window before looking down as he heard the other shift somewhat.
"Ren…"
Mismatched eyes focused on the hazy brown ones. "What is it?"
"Can I show you something?" Calix asked quietly.
"What is it?"
"I want…to show you…"
"Where is it?"
"I'll sh-show you…"
"You shouldn't be moving around."
Calix simply smiled gently before pushing himself into an upright position. "I'll be ok."
Evren pushed him down once more. "No, you're hurt so stay put."
"Ren, I-please?" Sitting up slowly as pain started to ebb away, Calix got to his feet before extending a hand. "Please, Evren, come with me."
"Ren, come with me!"
Clutching the side of his head, Evren bit his tongue to hold in any sounds. Hearing something settle beside him, he cracked his eyes open to see a dark and worried pair staring at him.
"Are you ok? What's wrong?"
Releasing the tresses he was holding so tightly, Evren let out a steady breath. "I'm fine."
"Please tell me what's wrong."
"I said that I was fine," he groused before releasing a steady exhale. "Let's just go already."
Pulling the man to his feet, Calix gradually made his way out of the room and eventually out of the building.
His body still ached but it wasn't debilitating like it had been before.
It was at a more tolerable level. "Thank you."
"What for?"
"Whatever you gave me. Thank you," he said.
Detecting the smile in his voice, Evren shrugged his shoulders stiffly as he followed along behind him. "Yeah, whatever. You needed it more than I did."
"Are you hurt?"
Evren slowed his pace as he caught the raven's glance. "'m fine. Stop worrying about me and worry about yourself already."
"I can't do that," Calix mumbled to himself as he touched the chain at his neck.
"What?"
"Oh, uh…it's nothing." Tossing a smile at the officer, Calix turned every now and then before gesturing towards a small hill just a few meters away. "Keep walking until you see it."
"See what?"
"You'll know. You can't miss it."
Eyeing him warily for a moment, Evren walked past him and towards the hill. He looked over his shoulder to see Calix following along at a slower pace before reaching the top of the hill. Looking around at everything, he realized the place to be an abandoned park, what with the old swing set in the distance and a broken down slide. An old jungle gym was a bit further down but there was something bigger that soon caught his attention.
Walking down the small rise, Evren began to ascend an even bigger hill before finally coming to a stop in front of what he had seen in the distance just a while ago.
It was a tree.
There weren't many left in Polaris, especially not one of this size.
Circling the thing as he looked up at the branches, Evren ran his hand along the trunk in a slow fashion as if trying to count each and every bump, notch, and hole in the thing. His hand then came to a stop before he pulled it away to view something that had been etched into the bark of a tree.
Evren
+750Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1esJhXY6yj
Calix
Tracing his fingers over the names, he looked up at the branches once more before placing his hand to the side of his head.
He had seen the tree before but he wasn't entirely sure when.
Staring up at it a bit longer, Evren clenched his jaw as a sudden throb pounded in his head again. Squeezing his eyes shut to steady out his breathing, he cracked his eyes open when he remembered seeing a blonde-haired child hanging about in the branches.
Glancing at the names on the tree once again, Evren swept his hand along the etching before jumping up to grab the lowest branch. Pulling himself up, he sat in the canopy of leaves looking all around. Climbing his way to the highest point, he poked his head out at the top before viewing his surroundings entirely.
He was a fountain off in the distance as well as several other structures. There was a decrepit statue still in the midst of falling apart and a lake a few minutes from that. Further away, the man made out older buildings that led deeper and deeper into the abandoned warehouse portion of the old city.
He then turned his attention to the sky to see hundreds upon hundreds of stars illuminating the sky.
One could see a dozen or so on a good night back in modern Polaris but nothing like what he was seeing now.
Climbing back down to the lowest point after stargazing for a while, Evren sat on the branch, even swinging his feet to and fro. He then fell backwards, hanging upside down. A small chuckle had him opening his eyes to be greeted by a warm smile.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself," Calix said before taking a seat beneath the names carved into the trunk.
Pulling himself back up, Evren dropped down into a crouch before staring up at the branch he had been hanging from. "I…I think I've been here before…" A sharp pang in his head made him lurch before holding out a hand to tell the raven to stay away. "I…I've seen this tree before."
"You've seen it before, huh?" Evren nodded stiffly as he peered between his fingers. "Not many people have seen this tree before," Calix said as he ran his hand along the bark. "If you've seen it before I even showed you, where have you seen it from?"
Mismatched eyes glanced at the teen before looking up at the canopy. "I…I don't know. I see…" He shook his head. "Never mind it."
"What?"
"If I told you, you'd think I was crazy."
"No I wouldn't."
"Yes, you would."
"Evren, no I wouldn't," Calix said as he lowered his hand. "You can talk to me about anything."
"I don't-"
"Anything, Ren."
Grimacing, Evren stared at the names before turning his attention to the stars. "I guess I see it when I'm sleeping. Every now and then, it would appear to have apples hanging from it so I guess it's usually spring when I see it." He glanced down to see Calix watching him earnestly. "There's always this blonde kid hanging around in the branches but he just disappears when I approach him," he said. "I don't usually see his face since he's always hiding in the leaves but when I try to find the kid; he just disappears along with the tree." Lowering his gaze to see the raven tilting his head, eyebrow raised, Evren got to his feet. "See? This was stupid and I'm leaving."
Snagging his wrist, Calix tugged on it lightly. "I didn't mean to offend you or anything." The man stared down at the other before averting his gaze. "I was just trying to figure something out was all."
"Uh-huh…"
"No, really. Please sit back down. We can talk about whatever you want to. I won't tell anyone." Calix held up his other hand, gaining the man's attention. "Pinky promise."
Staring at the extended little finger, Evren rolled his eyes but did take a seat. "Fine, whatever." That earned him another smile. "What were you trying to figure out anyway?"
"Your hair."
"My…hair?"
Cal nodded once as he tilted his head in the other direction. "It's white."
"Yeah, and?"
"Well, why?"
"What do you mean 'why'?" Evren asked. "My hair has always been white."
Cal shook his head subtly. "It used to be blonde."
"It used to be blonde."
The raven had told him that much but he simply denied the fact.
His hair had always been white. He was sure that he'd remember if it was ever a different color compared the snowy strands he currently had.
He was sure that he would've been able to remember most of the area the teen had led him around once his body was ready to move again but everything seemed to come up as a blur. However, after a while, it seemed that Calix had opted in speaking less and less while allowing his companion to speak more and more freely without the numerous questions he had been trying to bombard him with initially once they happened to walk out of the park.
Due to this, Evren had lost track of time and surprised even himself since he wound up sleeping beneath that same tree after watching the stars.
Upon morning, he was awakened by the sound of harsh panting and realized that the aspirin he had given the teen had probably worn off during his sleep. Luckily, Evren still had an aspirin that he was willing to part with. After that, the two parted ways but not before the raven made the other promise to meet with him again at the same place and time.
Evren never gave him a definitive answer though.
Looking up at the police department headquarters merely reminded him that he was still leaving and still had to redo his out-processing forms once again.
Slipping through the garage doors, the man looked around before stealthily sneaking past several cameras located in the first hall. Dodging a sensor, he eased his way past the elevator before poking his head around the corner. He paused as an auto sentry went by to patrol the area.
Holding his breath as the machine scanned the hallway, Evren eased by it as it went down the hall. Coming to the stairwell door, he twisted the knob to see that the entrance wouldn't open. Glancing over his shoulder to see the thing circling back around, Evren shook the handle before ram it with his shoulder.
If the sensors caught him, he was a dead man.
As the sentry got closer, the man rammed the door harder before stumbling forward as the thing opened. Closing the door quickly and as quietly as possible, Evren exhaled loudly before he began to ascend the stairs. By the time he had finished making it to the fifteenth floor, it was nearly seven sharp.
Cracking the door open, he peered out before walking into the corridor. Rounding a corner as he counted to three, he skirted past the scanner of a passing sentry before hurrying down the hall. Poking his head around a corner, her stayed pressed to the wall as he shimmied under a rotating camera. Taking refuge to wait for the next patroller, Evren combed his fingers through his hair prior to running to his room as the bot went by. He then stopped in front of his door before fishing through his pockets to find his card.
Checking his back pockets, he patted himself down quickly when he couldn't find the needed item. Glancing around the corner to see the sentry making its way back, Evren rammed his shoulder against the door before backing into it as he caught the sound of the patroller's motors whirring as it got closer. Seeing the light stretching across the floor, Evren held his breath before having the door behind him slide open. Someone then pulled him inside and clamped a hand over his mouth.
Losing sight of the light behind the closing door, he looked over his shoulder. He then wiggled about prior to being dragged towards the tidied up bed. Practically being thrown down onto it, he glared at the darkness before flinching as the curtains opened up.
"You-"
"Where were you?"
"Why-"
Red eyes narrowed to slits. "Where were you, Evren?"
"Ty-" He winced when his hands were pinned to the bed. "What-?"
The raven continued to glare. "I said to go to your room. Where were you?!"
"The roof."
"You're lying."
"I did."
"I checked there," Tyson groused. "Where did you go last night?!"
"I said the roof."
"You were not there!"
"I-"
"Don't lie to me. I checked the roof. I checked the garage. I checked the firing range. I checked your room! You weren't here," he said, digging his nails into the man's wrists. "I even checked the cameras. "You weren't here all freaking night! Where did you go?!"
"You're hurting my wrists, Tyson."
"Where. Did. You . Go!?"
"For a walk, ok?!" Wiggling around, Evren kicked about until the man sat in his lap to keep from getting knocked off as well as keeping him still. "Get off! Tyson, get-"
"Where'd you go then?"
"Out."
"With who?"
"Does it matter?!"
"Yes, because whoever else was with you broke the curfew. Who was it, Evren? Tell me who they were." Mismatched eyes averted themselves. "Evren!"
"An acquaintance!" The smaller male squeezed his eyes shut as the other held his hands tighter. "Ty-"
"Acquaintance?" He received a quick nod before releasing the man as he heard a knock at the door. "We're talking about this when I come back," he said as he opened the door "and you better hope that the Director doesn't find out about this."
"Hope I don't find out about what, Tyson?" Red eyes snapped forward to see their boss standing there. "Well?"
"Uh…g-good morning, sir. What-"
"Move." Stepping into the room, the older man swept his gaze throughout the area before walking towards the white-haired man's bedroom. He then looked over his shoulder. "Leave."
"Sir-"
"Leave, Tyson."
"S-"
"Tyson, leave," Evren said once he got to feet. "It wasn't a request or a suggestion. He gave you an order."
Watching the mismatched pair narrow slightly before averting themselves, Tyson focused on their boss before bowing slightly at the waist. "Excuse me."
Hearing the door slide shut, Evren sighed before perking as he received a pat on the head. "I see you still manage to exercise command over him even though you're no longer leader, yet alone an officer of his department. Impressive."
"Thank y-" He winced when fingers tightened suddenly in his hair. "S-Sir?"
"As impressive as that may be, let's talk about more important matters such as where your out-processing forms went," the man said as he steadily pulled the younger male's head back to stare at the oddly-colored pair, "or maybe you'd like to tell me what you found so interesting that kept you out all night, dear Evren."
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