Burn As Bright (Frerard)

38

Slowly, more of Gerard's magic began to return to him. Whatever had been used to hold him this time had been stronger than the suppression Frank had delivered him before. It kept its hold on Gerard's magic so tight that he wasn't even sure where it was being held within him.

The wait felt like a torture all its own. He wanted to move, especially considering where Frank had been last left, but his body and magic were still recovering from being still for so long. He had his head in his hands for much of the time, trying to focus on pulling his magic from where it had been hidden. He could hear Jamia pace the room with worry, despite feeling that small piece of Frank's Magic trying to calm her. Or was it trying to calm them both? Stretched too thin to really make a mark on either of them.

"We can't wait any longer." Gerard dropped his hands to his lap and lifted his head. "The longer we wait, the more he'll hurt Frank."

Jamia stopped her pacing, pivoting mid step to face Gerard. "Can you walk?"

Gerard took a deep breath. He moved slowly to rise to his feet, hoping his body wouldn't betray him the way it did before. He sent his magic down his legs for added support, feeling it work alongside his muscles to keep him steady. Once he had fully risen, he slowly exhaled as he took a small step forward. Then another. "Decent enough." He nodded, bringing his eyes up to Jamia. "Can you lead the way?"

She nodded, but hesitated to move from where she stood. "We should probably hide your hair."

"Last time I had a hat." Gerard grinned, though it quickly faltered when he thought back to the last time he was in a Force base. He had been by himself that time, only taking someone that presumably knew a way out with him. Now, he had to find that same someone, on top of his friends he had tried to keep from this place. Last time was so much more ideal than this...

Jamia moved across the room, opening a closet that was pushed into the wall and rummaging through it. She pulled out a hat similar to the one Gerard had found last time and brought it over to him. He thanked her quietly before adjusting it on his head and tucking his hair into it.

"Gerard..." She frowned as she watched him hide his hair away, "Can I ask something?"

He nodded, tugging the brim of the hat to make sure it was secure in place. He then turned his attention fully to her, catching an uncertainty in her expression.

"I just..." she pursed her lips, seemingly going over the question in her head. After a brief moment, she shrugged. "Why him? I can understand part of it but... at the same time, I don't."

Gerard tilted his head at her. "He was there." He cast his eyes down as he thought about it more. "He was my interrogator, but something about him made him slip up... So I hit him with with what he used on me when I had the opportunity... Which was kind of the launching point to realizing he had magic, I guess." He shook his head. "We didn't realize that until after I had him help me escape, though. I needed a navigator through this place and we had a brief history at that point."

"After, I mean." Jamia moved back over to the closet and slowly shut its door. "He stayed with you, didn't he? He still felt you here, even when he wasn't sure of what happened. You were like this missing piece for him." She looked back at him with furrowed brows. "I've never seen him so determined."

Gerard looked back at her quietly. He wasn't sure how Frank could have felt him when Gerard himself could barely feel what sliver of magic had stayed with him. His magic cried from within his chest as it took in her words. It's pain washed through him as a sad hum filled his head. It whispered words he couldn't fully understand, but brought tears to his eyes all the same. "Frank was missing a lot of pieces when we really started... talking outside of this place." He wiped the tear off his face as the cry of his magic grew softer. "The realization of that was my fault for stabbing him with the serum... then taking him from the base... So I took responsibility for him."