OBLIVION [SEQUEL TO SATELLITE HEART: BARLEY LIGHTFOOT x READER]

chapter six

"Barley, there's honestly a lot that is stopping her from healing Dad."

"Name one thing, Ian," Barley replied, snorting and shaking his head. He was walking out of Ian's room.

It hadn't taken long at all to create a new portal and return home. The treasure was long forgotten. Your discovery of your new ability was all the three of you could talk about or think about. And, of course, Barley was trying to convince you and Ian of this brand new idea.

"Name one thing? Uh, okay. Let's see, I don't know --- the fact that he died twenty years ago?!"

"Okay, I get it," Barley said, raising his hands. He turned around and walked backwards into his bedroom. "It seems a little impossible. But..."

Ian sighed, "But what?"

"It is possible," Barley said. He turned around and snatched something off of his bed. "With this."

He held up the book he had been reading the night before. You sighed softly. Your heart physically ached for him --- you'd always been mourning right alongside him, mourning the life he never got to have with the dad that he loved so much. 

"With time travel? Barley, honey, I know you want to see your dad and I would be so glad to do this for you but... I don't know how possible it really is." 

"No, you don't get it," he said, flipping through the book. "I swear every ounce of this book is true. The characters used spells that you and Ian use every day! Like... like look at this. They use Flame Infernar. And Aloft Elevar! So why wouldn't this spell work?" He pointed to the spell for time travel and looked directly at Ian. "I wasn't just reading this book, I was studying it and I realized that it was possible to go back and see Dad, but why would we want to go back and see him die all over again? And then I was thinking about the emerald, and how much I wished we still had it. So it was just a dead end." You thought back to when she shut the book and sighed, turning over and turning his attention to you last night. Was he thinking about missing his Dad then? "Why wouldn't we try this? If she can really do something like heal me and save me from death twice, why wouldn't we trust it?" 

You took the leather-bound novel into your hands and flipped through the pages. The glimpses of wizards in the aged illustrations only eased your mind. These wizards were fictional, yes, but they were the same as you and Ian. In this world full of magic, anything was possible.

"It just seems too good to be true," Ian whispered, his voice a little choked up. "I mean, a world with Dad... that's not possible. He's gone, Barley. He's been gone for so long. We can't just bring him back."

"I know." Barley nodded slowly, grinning wide, tears gleaming in his eyes. "But this isn't bringing him back, it's changing what never should have happened. Just think of all the great things that have happened since she came around." He put his arm around you and brought you to his side. His hand was on your waist. "This could work. I just know it." 

He sounded so passionately genuine. You put your hand on his chest so that he looked down at you. "You know I would give anything to be able to bring your dad back into your life. I'll try it. I'll try anything. I believe that this is possible because we've been through so much --- we've been capable of so much." You looked at your brother-in-law with hopeful, hesitant eyes. "What do you say?"

Ian's arms crossed nervously over his chest. "I still think it's too good to be true, but... I'll try anything to get Dad back, you know that." 

"Then I-I guess we're really doing this," you said. Barley's arms wrapped around you and he cheered so happily. It made you smile that he was so happy and that you were capable of this magic. You held onto him tightly, trying so desperately to ignore the ebb of heavy doubt that was making your stomach ache.

/ / /

Hours of practice. That's what this particular spell consisted of. Ian took the lead on practicing it because Barley insisted that it was better for you to rest as much as possible before going back. You sat awkwardly on Barley's bed, watching the two brothers try to get the spell right.

"Heart's fire, Ian!" Barley reminded him, tapping on his brother's shoulder.

"What do you think I'm using, Barley?!" Ian rolled his eyes in annoyance. "Look, this is a lot harder than it looks! Why don't you try it?"

"You know better than anyone that I'm the only one here without the magic gift." Barley backed up with his hands up until he fell back onto the bed next to you. You smiled a close-lipped smile at him, your hands on your kneecaps, your legs crossed. He placed one of his hands on top of yours and smoothed his fingers across the tops of your fingers until you flipped your hand and closed your hand around his. "Are you feeling okay, kid?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," you assured him. "A little morning sickness is all. And worry."

"There's nothing to be worried about. Everything is going to work out just fine for all of us." He smiled. "You're going to meet my dad and that's gonna be great. He's really going to love you. And wait 'til he hears about the baby!"

"I just hope I can do this for you," you said.

"I have all of my faith in you," he said. "Every little bit of it." He leaned in and you shut your eyes as he kissed you once on the forehead and then once on your lips. "I love you."

"I love you too," you said back, and you laid your head down on his shoulder. So much had changed since you'd first fallen in love with Barley. You were married and expecting now, but there were things that remained, like date nights that consisted of eating ice cream in the back of Guinevere and the fact that you almost always wore Barley's shirts, the way you were right now. "My sweet guy."