[closed: davin, dated for 5/16]

[doublethepain]

It's with a promise that he won't let anyone do any 'souping up' of the Jetta that Spencer manages to sneak a kiss to Joel's cheek before laughing his way out of Crossroads. His husband had balked at the idea that his car might need any sort of tuning he hasn't been able to do on his own in the years he's owned it, but Spencer had gently reminded him that Davin is the actual expert when it comes to cars so it's not as if their friend's offer to look it over could possibly hurt. Besides, it wouldn't do to find the car in need of some dire fix the day they're due to take the baby home, so to Oceanside he will go.

The car does, as Joel always says, run impressively smoothly for as old as it is, and Spencer arrives at the auto repair shop without so much as a squeaky window just before noon. He smiles through the windshield when Davin waves him into one of the carports, and he notes that there doesn't seem to be much activity going on for a Saturday afternoon as he steps out of the car with an awkward wave.

"Thank you again," he says, which possibly isn't best greeting he could have mustered up, but the words had been at the tip of his tongue all the same. He still hasn't been able to get past just how many people had shown up for the baby shower and left so many gifts. He knows that neither he nor Joel had expected such an extravagant outpouring of support at a party they'd been resistant to from the beginning but as it turns out, he'll be worrying about carpal tunnel very soon with all the thank you notes he'll be working on in the next few weeks preceding the baby's birth.

"Oh," he adds, rolling his eyes fondly, "my husband says the same and also that he doesn't want me to bring the car home with any fancy modification so if you could refrain from painting flames on the sides, it would be greatly appreciated."

Comments

[davin]

They're both bleeding and they're both crying, both trying to be strong, and Davin squeezes his eyes tight. Spencer's arms around him take him by surprise and he lets out a rough sob, wrapping his arms back around Spencer in kind and holding him tightly. He slips in the water and falls onto his backside, keeping his arms around Spencer as he leans back against the wall.

He doesn't judge Spencer one bit for crying, especially not when tears are still streaming down his own cheeks. The salt stings the open wounds on his face and he sniffs, tightening his fingers around Spencer's shoulder and squeezing his eyes shut as he nods.

"They will," Davin replies, voice low and raw. "We have some awesome people out there. James will have the whole police force out lookin' an' ya know he's stubborn as hell. Him an' Joel will be an unstoppable force. They'll find us."

He has to believe that. Somewhere out there, as scared as they are, people will be looking for them. Davin and Spencer know a lot of powerful people, and for that they're lucky. That gives Davin so much hope, and he takes a deep breath as he rests his head against the brick.

"The spell he wants... I won't do it, no matter what. I can't do that t'Joel, an' it would darken my own magic, twist me into something new." He lets out another shuddering breath and pulls Spencer closer, resting his forehead against the top of Spencer's head. "But I don't want him t'hurt ya either. I don't know what t'do."

[doublethepain]

If there's one person Spencer can count on to never give up, it's his husband. More than anything, he truly believes that Joel won't stop looking until he finds them. What kind of shapes they're in when he does, Spencer can't be sure, but he holds on to what he considers a fact: they'll be rescued soon enough. By this time, Joel surely already knows something is wrong, has probably already even gone to the garage to find the blood and wrench and ring, and Spencer's heart aches for him because he knows that if he'd had to walk in to such a sight, it would destroy him.

But he'd left the ring behind to let Joel know that at least in that moment, he'd been okay. For the most part, he still is, aside from the fear and the anger and pain; but he knows Joel will understand what it means. Joel always understands, whether they're using words with each other or not. So he won't give up hope, he decides, and he won't let Davin, either, because he can't go through something like this alone again.

When he'd been tied to that chair in the lighthouse, he'd truly believed he was going to die that night. He would die scared and alone, with fantasies of how his first date with Joel should have gone his only comfort. Here, at least, he has a friend.

"You do what you have to," Spencer tells him, his tone flat, resigned. "I can take it. If it means keeping you or Joel from being hurt, I can take it. Because you're right, they'll find us, we just have to stay strong until they do. Besides, Roman needs us alive to do the spell, he won't go so far as to kill either of us." Perhaps that isn't much of a relief because there's no telling how far Roman is truly willing to go, what limits he's willing to test, but Spencer would rather know that his husband won't walk into this room to find him dead than anything else.

"Whatever threats he makes, no matter how frightened or angry you become, just remember those two things. He won't kill us, and I can take it." It's entirely possible, even probably, that Roman will come back here to use Spencer against Davin, to beat him until Davin stops resisting, but Spencer wants him to know that it's alright. That at the end of all this, no matter what happens, there will nothing to forgive between them because they're in it together.

"Remember that," he murmurs, sighing as his eyes flutter shut into what will surely be a restless sleep.

[davin]

Davin listens to Spencer as he speaks, and he nods even though he knows it won't be as simple. He has Spencer's permission and his forgiveness in advance, but Davin knows that he'll carry this with him forever. Whatever happens to Spencer, it will way on Davin's heart for the rest of his days. But that's okay, as long as they get out of here.

And they will. He knows they will.

Spencer falls asleep against Davin's shoulder, and for that he's grateful. He wants Spencer to be able to rest. Davin would try to join him, but he knows that he has a concussion, and his mind is racing far too much for him to even think of closing his eyes. He brushes Spencer's hair out of his face and keeps an arm around him, holding him close. The later it gets, the colder it becomes in the room. There's no respite from the chill, not with the water they're forced to sit in, so huddling for warmth and comfort seems to be the best option.

The only light in the room comes from the moon, which is narrowed to a tiny sliver, that shines dimly through the grimy window. Davin stares down at his hand in the dark, breathing deeply and trying to pull at his magic. It's just there, just under his skin, and it's so frustrating because it's lost to him, just out of his reach. But it's there, and Davin won't get up. He'll keep trying, keep pushing against these wards that are suffocating him, and he won't stop.

Eventually he does tire, and he can't help the way he slumps against Spencer, uninjured cheek pressed against his hair as he lets his eyes flutter shut. Soon he drifts off as well, despite his best attempts to stay awake.

He drifts in and out, but he's woken fully by the door opening again. Davin's eyes pop open and he sits up, pulling away from Spencer just so Roman doesn't see how they were huddled so closely together, but it's too late. When Davin opens his eyes and looks at him blearily, there's sunshine streaming into the room and Roman is staring at him with a glint in his eye and an amused smile with a dark edge. He's freshly washed and in a new change of clothes, whereas Davin is grimy and wet. Neither of them can seem to stop shivering and Davin's stomach is turning with hunger. He also feels a bit sick from how much his head aches, and his stomach sinks like a stone when he realizes that Roman is holding a wooden baseball bat casually over one shoulder.

It's then that Davin realizes something. The water on the floor and complete lack of anything in the room, the wooden bat, they're all precautions. They're all back ups in case the wards fail. Roman obviously isn't completely confident in them, and that gives Davin hope. If Roman is putting backups in place, that means that they can fail.

Maybe Davin just has to keep trying.

"Morning, boys!" Roman calls out cheerfully. "Don't you two look cute. Two little peas in a pod." They don't say anything, and Roman casually twirls the bat. "So, Davin, you've had time to sleep on it. Are you going to give me what I want?"

"No," Davin says quietly, and he's so fucking scared but stays outwardly calm, glowering up at Roman even as he shivers. "I won't do it."

"Well, that's too bad." He crouches down and suddenly strikes out to punch Spencer in the face, and Davin flinches all over. "Morning, Spencer. You have Davin to thank for that one."

He draws his arm back to swing at him again, and Davin doesn't think. He just lunges forward and grabs Roman's arm, trying to drag him back, but Davin is stiff and clumsy from the cold, and weak from exhaustion and fear, so it doesn't have much of an effect. Roman shakes him off easily and Davin stumbles backwards, one arm around for balance, and he doesn't even notice Roman pulling the bat back.

The bat his Davin's hand with an audible crack, bones snapping under the force, and Davin lets out a hoarse cry. He falls to his knees and grips his wrist, looking down at his hand in horror. It's crushed, he knows it is, and Davin looks up from his hand just in time to see the bat come in contact with Spencer's shoulder. It doesn't carry the same amount of force as the strike to Davin's hand, but he knows it will still hurt like crazy.

Davin's hand is hanging uselessly and throbbing in time with his pulse, and he scrambles back over to Spencer, trying to put himself between Roman and Spencer, but Roman just stands up and laughs, telling them that he'll be back to ask again later.

This goes on throughout the day. Roman comes in to ask, Davin says no, and they get hurt. There are times when Davin wants so badly to say yes, just to make it stop, but he can't. He won't. He has to be strong.

The sun goes down again and Davin and Spencer are huddled together again, and Davin's hand is still the worst injury. His fingers and knuckles are turning purple and the last time Roman was in the room, he reminded Davin that none of his potions would work on injuries that are already healed, and that the clock is ticking, and that it would be really hard to work on cars with a mangled hand.

He's trying not to think about that, but it's hard, and he presses his face against Spencer's uninjured shoulder. His eyes are burning with tears and he shuts them tight, letting out shuddering breaths. "I'm sorry, I'm so sorry."

Davin says it over and over, clinging to Spencer as he tries once more to pull his magic to the surface. A slight buzz ripples through his skin and then disappears, and Davin knows that it's trying. His magic wants to protect him, and it's getting angry. He's becoming more aware of it, but he still can't use it.

"I'm getting stronger," Davin tells him in a rough, raspy voice. "I'm tryin', Spencer. I swear t'god I'm tryin'."

[doublethepain]

Every time Spencer wakes up from a sleep, the first thing he feels is guilt over the fact that he'd left Davin alone in any way, alone to think on their situation on his own while he's suffering from a concussion that Spencer should be paying closer attention to because he knows how dangerous they can be. He'd suffered three within the past year alone--four, if he counts his incident during the fairy tale spell--and each time had been a little bit more frightening than the last because he always lets himself wonder just how much more his body can take before it decides to give up on him. It hasn't yet, which he mostly thinks is due to the potions Joel gives him rather than any actual medical attention he's received, but he doesn't tell the nurses that anymore because the last time he'd tried to say he could get better help at home, they'd only glared. To be quite fair, they likely hadn't realized that what he'd get was magic so he supposes he can't blame them.

All of this, all of these thoughts are just a distraction, of course. Days after they'd been taken--and he knows it's been days because he's watched the sun rise and set three times now with a heart growing ever wearier--he'll take anything over having to look at Davin's mangled hand or acknowledge his own injured shoulder and battered body. Roman won't kill them, he keeps trying to tell himself this, but Spencer doesn't know how true that will be from one day to the next. Eventually, Roman is surely bound to tire of this. He'll decide to find someone else because if Davin and his grandmother are capable of doing this spell, there must be others out there who can do it, too. He can find someone else's powers he wants, another couple of sacrifices for his own greater good, and that will make it very easy for him to be willing to dispose of them.

He knows he should't think that way, and Spencer has been refusing to let himself since they'd been taken but it's getting harder. The only thing keeping him together is the dream; or rather, the reality that had merely taken place in his mind because he knows that seeing Joel and Coop hadn't just been a figment of his desperately exhausted and pained imagination. He wants nothing more in the world than to see his husband walk through that door every time Roman opens it, but he also knows that he hadn't been able to give much information when his husband and Coop had asked. He'd wanted to, he'd wanted to so badly, but it'd almost felt like there was a block in his mind each time he'd tried to reveal Roman's name. Still, he'd managed to show them Roman's face, he'd managed to tell Joel that they're in a warehouse that can't be far from town and about the books Roman had bought from Crossroads, and Spencer hopes that will be enough.

Even if James weren't an officer, Spencer would have faith solely because his husband has promised him that he'd find him. Joel always does, no matter what, no matter where they are or what world they're in, and Spencer holds that knowledge very close to his heart. The bare place on his finger where he usually wears his ring feels so strange without the cool metal against his skin, and he keeps finding himself tracing the shape of it over and over again as he continues to reassure himself and Davin that they'll be found soon. Maybe he'll get a tattoo of it, he thinks, a second permanent symbol on his body that represents their love and marriage because god, it hurts to see the ring gone. It hurts more, he thinks, than his shoulder or ribs or jaw, more than anything Roman could ever do to him because this pain runs much deeper, straight to his heart that longs to be in his husband's arms again.

His second beacon of hope, coming a full day after the dream he's already told Davin about, is the news that his friend's magic seems to be returning to him. Whether that means the wards are starting to weaken or Davin is simply powerful enough to overcome them, Spencer doesn't know, but he also doesn't care because if they can have this, if Davin can get his powers working again, it might very well be their best chance of getting out of here. Roman hasn't come back for the evening yet, and Spencer hopes he decides to leave them be--though he doesn't think that will be the case, at least not if his pattern of every night previous is anything to go by--but at least until then, he manages to push himself up to his knees to show Davin that he's more alert.

"You can do it," he murmurs softly, encouragingly. "You're stronger than him, Davin, than anything he could ever do, that's why he wants you here. You hold his future in his hands and aren't you the one who slayed a dragon?" Spencer smiles softly, though it wavers when his eyes flicker to Davin's hand. "We can fix it. I promise, we can fix it. Last year, when I was-- I was taken from home by someone who wanted to hurt Joel, and he broke my fingers. Three of them. It took time but with Joel's potions..." He trails off, holding his left hand up and wiggling his fingers. "I'm okay now. We're going to be okay, and they're going to come for us. We just have to keep fighting."

[davin]

Davin manages to keep it together until Spencer acknowledges his hand, and then he lets out a soft sob. It just hurts so bad and he's so scared, but he sucks in a breath and nods. He doesn't mention that without his magic that dragon would have killed him, even though it's true. "You're right," he says in a rough voice, reaching up to touch Spencer's uninjured arm with his good hand and give it a gentle squeeze. "We will, Spencer. I'll keep fightin'. We're gonna be okay."

He nods and sways a little, turning to fall back on his ass and lean against the wall. He hasn't been sleeping, too afraid of his head injury and simply unable to rest, and it's catching up with him. They both look like they've been chewed up and spit out by a horror movie, and Davin is just so, so tired, but he knows that he can't give up.

"I just need a little rest," he says quietly, and it comes out a little like a slur. There's worry in his eyes when he looks at Spencer, and he swallows hard as he turns in slightly towards Spencer's side. He hasn't felt warm in days and his teeth chatter slightly as he leans against Spencer's good side and closes his eyes. "When we get outta here, I'm drinkin' so much fuckin' coffee."

Davin finally drifts off curled up against Spencer, and he's woken up by the lingering remnants of a nightmare. He's tense all over and when he jerks awake, it's like fire through his body. He's fairly certain the same ribs he had broken before Christmas are cracked again, and he can barely see out of one eye.

He's just so fucking angry, and he reaches up to rub his good hand over his face. It hurts, thanks to all the cuts and bruises, and he pulls it away with a sigh. Spencer is sleeping and Davin carefully pulls himself into a standing position as he begins to pace quietly.

Spencer's right. He killed a fucking dragon. His magic was strong enough to poke holes in Nerium's spell. He got his memories back just because he wanted them and now? He really fucking wants his magic.

His heart is pounding away in his chest and suddenly everything rattles, just a little bit. The bars in the windows, the steel rafters overhead, they all quake and tremble. It's not even enough to wake Spencer, but Davin lets out a breathless laugh and holds up his hand. A single spark dances on the tip of his finger for less than a second, but Davin saw it. And sometimes that's all it takes, isn't it?

Just one little spark.