Heroes & Roses (X-ray and Vav)

Chapter 26: Becoming

"Ray! Where've you been?" Gavin asks as he stands up from the couch to greet me at the door. Not much commotion was caused by this, since everyone else's attention is on Geoff, who still sat on the couch as though he was never gone. I look to Gavin who had the largest grin I'd seen in months. "Ray, you alright?" He asked, not really paying attention.

"Yeah, yeah... Fine, just... I think I've seen a ghost," I say with a slight smirk. I had so many feeling causing contradiction inside me that I didn't know how to respond to the situation at hand. Is it Geoff? I couldn't tell for sure, but he seemed normal, or as normal as coming back from the dead after months is.

"Come on, you fruit loop! He's been asking to see you for ages now!" Gavin says peppily. Why would Geoff want to see me? I follow behind Gavin as he walks back to the overly crowded couch. As soon as Geoff saw me he stood up and grabbed me, pulling me into a tight hug. I awkwardly hug him back, but do so with care. I have really missed Geoff, nothing was the same without him.

"Hey, Ray! God I've missed you jerks," He says as he pulls away from the hug. I smile at him, and all my initial worries for that moment were gone. However, in the back of my mind I knew something was wrong. Is this what the King was talking about? Simply that Geoff was back, or was it something more sinister?

"We've missed you too. What happened? How are you here?" I ask curiously. Geoff's face dropped a bit and his eyebrows furrowed over his half-closed eyes. He took a seat back down and everyone grew quiet in anticipation for his tale.

"First off, I died, that happened, were over it," He started, "But thanks to Gavin's powers, my body remained in tact even after the explosion. The King took it and well.... Experimented," his voice was confident but started to waver. Millie looked sadly at her father, but her eyes still had a light that I hadn't seen in a while. "I was basically brought back to life but was in sort of a trance that the King put me under. I don't know how, but just a few days ago, I broke out of it. I got out of his dungeons by using electrical currents to strike the door. Ever since then I've been looking for you guys," He concluded, taking a drink of his water, which I found strange. Usually after an ordeal like that, he would have a beer, but I shake it off. He also can't control electricity, or from what I know. Maybe he could absorb it like he could powers. He was probably just parched and confused.

"I'm so sorry Geoff, I should have stayed to help. We both could have gotten out," Gavin said eventually with tears brimming his eyes. "I should have-"

"Gav," Geoff cuts him off, "Its fine. It was my choice, and you're not blaming anyone, especially yourself," He flashed a quick smile at him and conversation went on as normal. The room was full of life and joy; tears and apologies. Everything seemed normal till I talked with Geoff again.

"Hey, man, thanks for taking care of Millie for me. She said you've been a big help around here," He tells me. Millie and I had grown close in the past months, and it seemed it was for the best.

"No problem. You asked me too, and it was my pleasure," I smile a bit. "And don't worry, I told everyone they were dicks too," I add with a smirk, however Geoff looked confused.

"Why would you do that?" He asked with genuine curiosity.

"I uh- you asked me to, on top of the palace. Before, you know, exploded." I say cautiously. His face lit up with remembrance and he nodded.

"Oh ya, ya, my bad. Ha, I got it.... Thanks for doin' that for me," He gave me a quick smile before quickly shuffling away toward Griffon. How did he not remember his own last words? Or did his mind simply get tossed around so much with the King he forgot? It was strange either way, but I again shrug it off. This was a happy night, I wasn't going to dwell on it.

Late that night, everyone scampered off to their rooms to get some sleep. It had been an eventful night for everyone, and I'm sure everyone was tired. I walk with Gavin towards our rooms. His eyes were red but he was still smiling his same goofy little Gavin smile.

"Ray, I've been thinking. You, well, I mean we, do you- we um, does rocks float on lava?" Gavin spurts out in a random mixture of words. We were stopped near our doors when I start laughing incredulously.

"Does rocks float on lava?" I repeat mockingly, wiping tears away from my eyes due to laughing so much. I haven't laughed this hard in a while. His cheeks grow bright as he laughs too.

"No, no that's not what I meant to say!" We take a minute to compose ourselves before he talks again. "What I was going to say was that, we, I think, have feelings for one another and I just wonder if we shouldn't go.... Out sometime, maybe," The words stumbled out of his mouth so quickly I barely caught on to what he was saying, but when I did a smile crossed my face.

"Gavin Free, are you asking me out?" I say in a sarcastic tone. He chuckles.

"Well what is it you git?" He says with caution and hope in his voice.

"Ya, of course. It's about time we figure this out, huh?" I smile at him and he smiles back. I couldn't help but notice that his ears almost grew red with his cheeks. "Good night, Gav," I reach up and give him a small kiss on the cheek. It was awkward, since he was much taller then me and I'd never really made a move before now. I shuffle into my bedroom and close the door behind me. It wasn't until I looked in the mirror that I realized my cheeks were bright red too.

I strip down to my boxers and slip into the comfort of my bed. I don't even bother turning off my lamp. It was late and I was nearly asleep when I heard my door squeak open. Only one person never knocked, so I don't bother to open my eyes and look over.

"Gav, what do you want... Gav?" I decide to flip over to see what he was up to, but instead feel the clamp of hands around my throat.

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Hey, everybody! I'm really, really sorry I haven't updated, but better late then never, huh? Anywho, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! As always, leave your thoughts and advise, and thanks for reading! Cheers!

**Chapter 27: Loose End, Coming soon!!**

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After note: I've started another story, called "When Demons Fly". It's a Destiel Fanfic, so for anyone who watched SPN and ships Destiel, give it a read! More chapters coming soon!