[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]

"A ward," Davin repeats, nodding a bit dazedly. He clings to that hope, because it's so much better than the alternative. "That makes sense. That's what it has t'be, right? If he didn't do anythin' t'me. Other than knock me out with my own goddamned wrench, I mean."

Davin reaches up to run his fingers through his hair and push it away from his face. His palm brushes the bloody lump at his temple and he winces, prodding at it carefully and then looking down at his shoulder. It's not what he was wearing at the shop, and after a moment he recognizes it as the cardigan that Spencer was wearing. It's such a small but hugely thoughtful gesture that Davin's eyes burn again, and he hugs the material against him for a moment before sliding it off of his shoulders and walking back over to Spencer. He feels exhausted and sore all over, and the goose egg on his head is throbbing in time with his pulse.

"We need t'know what he wants if we're gonna shake him," Davin tells him, handing the cardigan back before sitting back down next to Spencer. His ass is soaking wet and it's completely uncomfortable, but it's better than standing. The cool brick feels good against his head and he takes a minute just to breathe. "He didn't say anythin' while I was out?"

He turns to look at Spencer, and at this close he finally spots his fat lip and the blood caked at the corner of his mouth. Davin swallows, eyes going hard and angry. For some reason it's so much worse that he hurt Spencer. He thinks of Joel then, and how scared he must be by now. And then there's James. Fuck.

"The date I had with James tonight," Davin says quietly. "It was for his birthday. That fuckin' sucks." He heaves a huge sigh and rubs his eyes, looking down between his feet for a moment before turning to look at the small, grimy window. "Looks like the sun's just goin' down. It hasn't been that long but they'll be lookin' for us."

His heart feels heavy, just thinking of how worried James and Joel will be, how panicked. It's all the more reason for Davin to take a deep breath and calm himself as much as he can, and he sounds determined when he speaks again. "We'll figure this out, okay? We can. D'ya have any idea what he could want from us?"

He thinks back to seeing Roman at the bookstore and the bad feeling that washed over him at knowing that the man had such powerful books in his possession. He shrugged it off so easily, but maybe he should have trusted his gut a little more. "It's t'do with magic, has t'be. Those books he got... they were some intense stuff. I just have no idea what it is he could want."

[doublethepain]

"The books," he murmurs, brow knitting as he nods, remembering the brief but telling thing Roman had said before he'd driven them out of the garage. "He said that there was no other way to do what he wanted, that 'the books were very clear' about that. You're right, it is about magic, it has to be." He feels a wave of nausea turn his stomach because if that is the case, which Spencer is sure of now, then it's his own fault. He'd told Joel to place the order for the books Roman had requested, even though his husband had questioned why anyone but an actual witch would even know such texts existed, but Spencer had given Roman the benefit of the doubt. After all, he himself is human and interested in witchcraft behind what the books they sell to wide-eyed, lore-loving tourists; but whether Roman is a witch or not, whatever he's planning on using those books to do certainly doesn't speak of something as mild as a healing potion or even a love spell.

The wards are obviously sophisticated, enough to be confident that nobody will find them with a loctaror spell Roman must have known Joel would attempt, and even more so to steal Davin's powers from him like this. But wards, Spencer knows, don't require the actual gift of magic; rather, it requires the ability to say words correctly and pour just the right amount of ingredients into a bowl.

"Power," he murmurs, looking down at the cardigan in his hands and bringing it closer to his chest. It smells like Joel, of books and maybe the slightest hint of whiskey, and it's not as good as having his husband here with him but it's something. It's a reminder that he can't give up, as if he needs one at all, and he has to swallow the ecxceptionally large lump in his throat at the sight of his bare ring finger before he refocuses his mind n the situation at hand.

"Power," he says again, "Roman is all about power. He knows you're a witch, that's why he knocked you out first. He knew I'd do whatever he said if he used you as leverage, and he hit me because I didn't stop talking when he told me to stop. All of it is about power, it makes him nervous not to have it or to think that someone might be trying to take it from him. I think that's the key, those books..." He trails off, frowning as he thinks back to what he'd seen when flipping through the pages of one of the books in the shop before handing them right over, and then his eyes widen as he turns his head to look at Davin. "Power transferrence. It was something I saw in one of the texts he bought that day you came to Crossroads, that has to be it. "

He can't quite be proud about figuring it out, not when it doesn't help them very much to know that a crazed man who wants to steal powers still has them locked up in two inches of whatever in some warehouse that Spencer is sure is out of the way from the main part of town. They may not even be directly in the lines of Siren Cove itself, for all he kows, but he supposes having an idea of the motive if better than knowing nothing at all. The only problem is that between the two fo them, Spencer suspects that Davin won't be as willing to along with whatever Roman wants them to do while they're under his watchful eye, not because Spencer thinks him too young or too foolish but because of how desperate he is without his magic right now.

Desperation can be a dangerous thing. Mark Fuller had taught him that.

"Davin," he says carefully, not wanting to sound like he's lecturing because that's not what this i about. They're both scared, both wanting to be where they're supposed to be with the men in their lives, and Spencer can't imagine what James must be going through--on his birthday, no less--but he knows exactly what Joel is feeling. They don't have that same kind of psychic bond that Joel has with Charlotte, but that column of energy that connects them is always there, even if it's being blocked by these wards right now. Besides that, Spencer knows what Joel must be thinking because if there positions were reversed, he'd be thinking the exact same thing himself.

He's terrified of what it wil do to him, his mind, to be separated from his husband like this when they haven't spent more than one night apart in nearly a year. To some, it might sound co-dependent, but for Spencer knows better than that. He and Joel, they're meant to be together, they have been from the start, and that is why it hurts so much to be away from him.

"We have to play this right," he says, and he's hardly an expert on how to fool an aggressor but what he says is the truth, he knows that much. "We have to go through the motions with him, otherwise he's going to hurt us. He has a gun, and he already knows you won't risk using your powers in case it causes something to happen to me. So we just have to listen to him, let him talk himself to the point of exhauston if that's what he wants, and if Joel and James don't get here by the time he's ready to do what he wants to do, we'll just have to take the risk and make a move."

It's not much of a plan--in fact, Spencer is essentially suggesting they just let this ride until Roman returns, which isn't a plan at all--but it's all they have right now.

[davin]

Davin listens to Spencer closely, frowning a bit and reaching up to press his cold, wet palm against the bump on his head. "Power transference? Is that even -"

It's a terrifying thought, and not one that Davin has spent much time on. He frowns and swallows hard before eventually nodding. It isn't much of a plan, but Davin can keep his cool. He can try, at least. He'll do whatever he can.

His heart aches for James and Joel and everyone else who may be hurting because of this, and he knows that they have to make it through. They just have to, not just for themselves, but for everyone else. Davin looks over at Spencer and then slides in to press their shoulders together. He knows that Spencer doesn't like to be touched, but this is different, he thinks. They could use the solidarity and it helps Davin to have that point of contact.

He's about to say something else when the door opens and Davin sits up straighter, eyes wide in the dimly lit room. Roman walks in whistling twirling a set up keys and sipping from an iced coffee from Quill. "Oh look, you're up! Welcome back, Davin."

Roman walks towards them slowly, barely making a splash as he moves through the water. He takes another sip and then holds out the cup, shaking it a little. "I know how much you love these. I could have brought you one, but I only have so many hands." He finishes the coffee and tosses it over his shoulder, letting the plastic cup land in the corner with a splash. "I drove by the shop on my way back. Cops everywhere, what a sad scene. I think I saw Joel in handcuffs. That wasn't part of the plan, but it did give me a good laugh."

Davin grits his teeth and plants his hands in the water, hiding the way his fingers curl into tight fists. Anger burns in his belly and he wants to scream and get up and fight, but he knows that will get him nowhere. He thinks about what Spencer says and does his best to remain calm, looking up at Roman with a slightly clenched jaw. "What is it ya want from us?"

"Done with smalltalk already, huh? Well, fine." Roman shrugs and hikes up his pants a bit before crouching down in front of them. Davin sees the handle of the gun sticking out of his jacket and it's so frustrating because if he had his powers, that gun would be in his hand in under a second. But now, he can't even reach for it without endangering them both. "You know, Davin. I met your grandmother. Real spitfire of a woman, isn't she?"

Fear like Davin has never known strikes his heart and he looks up at Roman with wide, terrified eyes and his shoulders jerk up, like he wants to lunge at him, but he reigns himself in even as he trembles with it all. "If ya hurt her, I swear - "

"Oh, you'll what?" Roman pulls out the gun and holds it up, close to Davin's face. "It's killing you that you can't just use that cute little brain of yours to snatch this from me, isn't it? Without your magic, you're useless. You've never had to adapt."

Roman's eyes spark with anger then and he strikes Davin across the face with the base of the gun handle. His head snaps to the other side and Davin gasps from the pain that sears through his cheekbone. Skin opens and blood runs down, meeting what;s already staining the collar of his shirt. Roman just laughs and looks over at Spencer before standing up and putting the gun back in his coat.

"Anyway, as I was saying. I heard of this great and powerful witch. One of a kind, really, so I flew all the way to Ireland and she wouldn't help me. Can you believe it? So I looked into her and found out she had a beloved grandson in America, all alone and unprotected." Roman grins and suddenly ducks down to grip Davin's shoulder, hauling him close. "So I thought, you know what? I'll just use him."

"Use me for what?" Davin rasps out, glaring defiantly at Roman, who grips his chin and pushes him back hard enough that his head cracks against the brick.

"There's a spell, and you're going to cast it for me. That's it, really." Roman stands back up and grins manically, hands on his hips like he's so proud of himself. "I'm sick of being human. I'm so much better than that. I deserve more than that. I should be better. So, Davin, you're going to do the spell your grandmother wouldn't. You're going to make me a witch."

"That's impossible," Davin grits out, teeth stained with blood. "You're born a witch, not made."

"Oh, but I can be born again. I can be so powerful, Davin. But only with your help." He looks over at Spencer and crouches down in front of him, staring at him with a grin even as he speaks to Davin. "You're going to take someone's magic and put it in me. And not just anyone's magic, no."

Davin's stomach turns as Roman reaches out and pats Spencer's cheek. "Spencer's precious husband's magic. That's what I want, and you're going to give it to me."

[doublethepain]

There's no telling whether Roman is lying about seeing Joel in handcuffs or not, he's so utterly flippant about every last thing that Spencer can barely decide whether this is a dream or not; but the mere thought, the mere suggestion that anyone could possibly think Joel would hurt him makes him angrier than being locked in this wretched room with this vile man every could. There is absolutely no one in this town who treats him better than his husband does, nobody who understands him as well Joel does, and Spencer thinks that their friends, those who have seen them as a couple, will know that. It's everyone else he's worried about, the ones who'd found it so easy to believe that Spencer could kill his own mother and father--they're the ones who are going to try to persecute Joel for something he hadn't done, and Spencer can only imagine what his husband must be feeling right now.

It'll go back down to Amy, he knows it will, and he wishes he could be there to reassure his husband that her death hadn't been his fault, that he shouldn't blame himself for that or for Mark coming back or for this or for anything; but then, he supposes, that would mean they wouldn't be in this predicament in the first place and so, the words wouldn't need repeating.

When Roman reveals his master plan, the chill Spencer had expected to go down his spine is notably absent, if only because the enormously smug smile on their captor's face is so infuriating that Spencer can only feel a swell of fury rise in his chest. It isn't just him or Davin or James Thornton or even any of their friends that Roman is affecting right now, it's Joel and their unborn child and that, above all, is unacceptable. Beyond the fact that Davin has a new bleeding cut on his face, they're both still in relatively working condition and in that moment, Spencer decides that when they leave this place--and they will leave this place--it won't be with Roman in just one piece.

Perhaps it's a darker thought than he's used to, but he doesn't care right now. He'd convinced Joel not to kill Mark at the lighthouse and then he'd gotten that letter in the mail that makes him sick to think about, even sicker to wonder whether he should have let Joel finish the job; but right now, the sickest thing is that this hardly has anything to do with him at all. Roman wants Joel's magic, but Spencer had been the easier target.

"I'm a proxy," he says, giving voice to his realizations, and he frowns as Roman starts a slow clap.

"Very good, gold star for our little genius," Roman answers, rolling his eyes dramatically before reaching out to ruffle Spencer's hair. "Listen, we can make this really easy, all you two have to do is cooperate. So Spencer, you're just going to lie down and take it, sorry about that whole crazy painful part of it, can't escape that. And Davin, you're going to do the spell from my handy dandy Crossroads-sold book. If you don't?"

Roman sighs, getting to his feed but grabbing onto the lapels of Spencer's shirt as he does, hauling them both off the ground and kneeing Spencer in the gut, which Spencer responds to with a pained yelp, before holding him at arm's length.

"Well, if you don't it's not going to end well."

With a grin, Roman slams a fist into Spencer's nose, a spray of blood cascading to the water at their feet, then pushes Spencer back until he hits the wall with a grunt. Another punch to the nose make Spencer sag in Roman's strong grip, one to his jaw makes him cry out as he hears a sickening crunch of bone and god, he's known greater pain this but all he wants is from Roman to stop.

"Please," he shouts, a bruise already blooming around his eye so that his vision starts to close off, and he paws for purchase that he doesn't find against Roman's shirt until he's met with several hits to the ribs. He's expecting another round when suddenly, he's dropped unceremoniously to the floor, knees already curling to his chest the second he hits the water, trying to ward off the pain in his abdomen that he knows won't pass anytime soon.

"That's example one," he hears Roman say. "Do we all understand each other?"

[davin]

Davin feels sick.

This is dark, devastating magic that Roman wants him to do. It's no wonder that his grandmother turned him away, and Davin wonders how he even got an audience with her in the first place. At least his gran was intimidating enough that he didn't try anything on her. He never would have succeeded, and he must not have appeared to be too much of a threat, or she would have given Davin some sort of heads up.

Roman wants him to do something that would turn his soul black and his magic dark. It would sully Davin's magic and it would destroy Joel. He can't even imagine what it would be like to have the magic ripped from your body. Davin is feeling it now, just having his muted, but the more time passes the more that he's aware that it's still there. It's just been muted, snuffed out, and the flame just has to be re-lit. It's not gone, not like Joel's would be. He can't even imagine a witch surviving something like that. He doesn't know if he even would.

That's not even taking into consideration what Roman would do with such power. Davin isn't entirely clear as to the full extend of Joel's abilities, but any power put in the hands of someone like Roman is too much.

Davin's thoughts are cut off by Roman hauling Spencer up and starting to give him what can only be described as a beating. Davin gets up and staggers over to Roman, grabbing at his shoulders and shouting for him to stop, but all it gets him is an elbow to the face that sends him stumbling backwards and landing on his ass in the water. The anger that surges through him makes him feel the buzz of his magic, barely there and gone in a flash, but it's something. It's not gone and maybe if Davin works hard enough, he can reignite that flame on his own.

"Stop!" Davin cries out, and there are tears streaming down his face when Spencer falls to the floor. He crawls over on his hands and knees, water splashing as he goes, and puts his hand on Spencer's shoulder. He puts himself between Spencer and Roman, shielding him as best he can, and he turns around to look up at Roman. He has to stall this somehow, because there's no fucking way that he's doing this spell. He doesn't know what harm it would cause Joel, and he can't let Roman walk out of here with magic. There's just no way.

"I understand," Davin spits out, keeping his arms spread out at his sides like he can protect Spencer, like he's in any shape to. He's fairly certain that he has a concussion and he's in so much pain that he's pretty sure he would throw up if he had anything in his stomach, but he has to try. That's all he can do. "But why do we need Spencer? I'll do the spell, just let him go."

There's no fucking way in hell he would ever do it, and he hopes Spencer knows that. He even lays a hand on his arm and squeezes, just trying to reassure him.

"Oh, Davin. I see what you're trying to do." Roman crouches down again and reaches out to slap Davin's cheek before gripping his chin. It's a move that probably wouldn't have hurt at all without his injuries, but it sends enough white-hot pain roaring through his head that he lets out a whimper. "I know it won't be easy to convince you. Don't you think I planned for that, Davin? I know right now you're thinking that there's no way, you'll never do it."

Roman laughs like he isn't bothered at all and pulls out his gun, cocking it and pressing the barrel to Davin's forehead in such a casual way that Davin is stunned, and it takes a moment for the fear to really register. He lets out a shuddering breath and swallows hard, eyes wide open and trained on Roman as the cool metal presses to his skin. "We have time, Davin. By the time we're through, you'll be begging to help me."

He drags the gun away and points it at Spencer, and Davin nearly lunges for it, he's so terrified, but he manages to stay in one place. Roman grins over at him with his finger on the trigger, raising one eyebrow. "It's amazing what a little desperation can do, huh? I know you, Davin. You've got one of those pesky big hearts, and I know you could never live with yourself if you were the reason I put a bullet in Spencer's brain. If you were the reason a baby grew up without his father."

Roman stands up suddenly and slides the gun back into his coat, smiling down at Davin and Spencer huddled together like it's an adorable sight. "Well, I think I've given you two enough to think about. You look beat. Ha, get it?"

He laughs at his own joke and walks backwards, lifting a hand to wave at them as he moves through the water. "Enjoy your evening. I'll be back later."

Roman leaves and Davin listens as the locks click, stunned into silence for a moment before he scrambles around to look at Spencer, reaching out to grip his shoulder. He doesn't even realize that he's crying until he speaks. "Spencer, fuck. Are ya alright? I wasn't gonna do the spell, ya have t'know that. I just was tryin' 't'get ya out. I'm so sorry."

[doublethepain]

In the moments between being thrown to the ground and Roman walking out the door, Spencer barely registers anything around him. His vision has gone blurry--what's left of it, that is--and the pain in his body is unyielding. Roman is strong, much stronger than he looks, and Spencer wants to be able to lift his head from the wet floor but really, it's better down here. He can sense Davin beside him, though he lets his eyes flutter shut at the conversation between his friend and their aggressor because right now, he doesn't care about any of this. He doesn't want to know Roman's story, doesn't want to be a part of it, he just wants to go home.

Home is where Joel is, where his ring is, where his baby will be. It makes him feel lighter to think of his husband, to focus his energy not on the pain that's radiating through him but on what it will be like to be gathered safely in Joel's arms again, knowing that he's protected in that warm embrace from anything and everything around them. The clarity he needs to have in this room is there, enough for Spencer to know that he'll take whatever Roman has to give if it means he can ensure that Joel keeps his magic. He would do anything for his husband, anything, and he knows how utterly devastated Joel would be stripped of his powers. It would be without warning, without any hint of what was happening, and Spencer doesn't know how it would physically affect him but regardless, his mentality after the fact would surely be irreparable and it would be Spencer's fault.

The click that he hears then isn't like anything he's heard so far, and he doesn't know why it's caught his attention but there's no denying his curiosity now. With a brief shift of his head, one that still aggravates his bruising jaw, but the second he spots the source of the sound, he wishes he'd just kept his head down. A barrel of a gun is pointed right at him, and the fear that's already paralyzed him only grows when Roman threatens to take him from his unborn child and if there's one thought that's worse than never seeing his husband again, it's never getting to hold his son or daughter in his arms for the first time. It makes his bottom lip tremble as his cheeks are stained with newly spilled tears that sound against the water beneath him.

It isn't just fear for himself that has him so out of sorts, it's fear for Davin. Davin, who's put himself between Spencer and Roman in an admirable show of protectiveness, but they all know that this is hopeless. Spencer are Davin are defenseless in this room, weaponless, and to make matters worse, Roman has seen firsthand that they're friends and seems practically gleeful to use that against them.

He wants to say something, but he can't find the words, can't even remember how to breathe properly until Roman's putting the gun away and walking out of the room with a disturbingly casual wave, and it isn't until Davin is turned back to him, asking him questions that are processing so slowly in his mind, that Spencer makes an effort to sit back up. It's slowgoing, but he manages it, hiding his face from Davin the whole way in spite of the fact that his friend has already seen the damage done. It's not that he's ashamed, not that he's self-conscious about the state of his face, but he doesn't want Davin to see the way he cries because way his shoulders are shaking now is far too close to a sign that he's close to giving up.

He isn't, he would never, not with the life that's to be returned to him when they make it out of here, but he doesn't want Davin to think for one second that he's going to have to go through the rest of this alone. "I'm fine," he murmurs, and it's a bold-faced lie because his jaw aches with every word, but he suspects Davin would tell the same one. "I-- I know you'd never do anything like that, I know, none of this is your fault." He finally glances up with his good eye, noting with a choked sob that Davin is crying, too, and without a second though, he pulls his friend closer toward him so he can throw his arms tightly around Davin's shoulders. It's a strange thing, being in such close physical contact, being so vulnerable with anyone who isn't his husband, but this is an extraordinary circumstance. A small bit of comfort has to be allowed.

"They'll find us," he says, voice husky from his crying, and Spencer makes a mental reminder to himself to apologize to Davin later for getting his shirt wet with tears but for right now, he lets himself bury the uninjured side of his face against Davin's shoulder. "They'll find us. I know they will, they have to, and we're going to be just fine."

[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.