Soooooo.... It has been a long time. Which, I never meant to take a hiatus, I really didn't. I had 3/4 of a chapter ready to go, and... life got in the way. I had an absurd course load on top of work, and... personal stuff made it hard to even think about the story. 

And then, When I finally got my laptop out for once to write... Came down with the author's curse. Funny story, about a month from when I started TLO, I suffered it pretty bad. One would think that would cover me, but it must be a recurrent thing. Anyway, within a day or two after, my power and internet were out, then only half of the power was returned. As in, none of the lights in my room worked, and I wrote in the pitch black darkness with a glaringly white computer screen burning my eyes. It was like that forrr.... 4 days? Idk. I kind of lost motivation to write after that. ... then a few days after that was resolved, the basement was standing water. Needless to say, my life has been fun lately (not). 

But enough of my problems. While I was away, it was TLO's third birthday. Yay!
Also, I did end up splitting this chapter in half. Sooo.... I actually had this part ready to go for awhile. The chapter I wrote while burning my eyes out comes after this, lol. Anyway, enjoy!

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As more people showed up, Grian found him shuffling through the crowd. To his surprise, most of these people, bar three, he were friends with. Most were Hermits or Evolutionists.

When he saw Jimmy, he excused himself from Scar's rather absurd idea of owning a giant desert which he seemed dead set on for Void knows why.

"Jimmy!" He called as he ran over to his old friend, quickly embracing him in a big hug. He picked him up off the ground and spun him around.

Jimmy laughed as he tried his best to hang on. "Hey!!" He called as he was set back on the ground. Now that they were somewhat alone, or at least not with Scott right there, they both knew that a proper hello was in order. "Grian I— you know, I didn't think we'd ever see you again..." he replied, his eyes brimming with tears.

"and I thought that you had died," Grian replied. "It's been so many years..." both of their smiles faltered at that.

"I was wondering... that place— wherever I went— it felt like I was there forever." Jimmy replied, gripping his stomach subconsciously. He shook his head, smiling again. "But if I get to see you again— and Martyn and everyone, it was all worth it." He forced a smile.

Grian's eyes widened as he realized exactly what place Jimmy was referring to. "Jimmy—" he began to say, but Jimmy shook his head.

"As long as I have all of you, I can fight another day." He lifted his pinky out in greeting, and Grian found himself wrapping his own pinky in Jimmy's, just like all those years ago. "Evolutionists stick together, no matter what, yeah?"

Grian gave a shaky nod. "Oh-- but uh, if you could maybe... you know-- not say that word. Or talk about where I went." He replied, feeling his body shake as he spoke. He didn't miss the confused look that Jimmy had, the same one that BigB and Martyn had given him before.

"What word?" Jimmy asked him. "Ev--?" Grian's hand flew over his mouth, nodding feverently.

"Yes! Yes, that one!" He confirmed, glancing around them to see if anyone had heard him. He caught Martyn's cold and disapproving gaze from the opposite side of the village -- just how good was his hearing?-- But it seemed as though no one else had heard Jimmy. Good. With that in mind, he looked back at the man and removed his hand from his mouth.

Jimmy blinked a few times, trying to process this new information. "But Grian, why would you want to keep that secret?" he asked. He opened his mouth to say more, but Grian could almost hear him ask the same questions that were already asked of him on this matter.

"Look, I know-- I just--" Grian glanced around once more. Still no one but Martyn, who had begun walking in their direction. He better wrap things up fast, then. "I just haven't told my friends yet, and I just don't want them asking questions or learning about things before I'm ready to tell them." If he would ever be ready. He shivered at the lie.

"Mhm..." Martyn hummed with narrowed eyes as he walked up. "Well anyway, it's nice to finally see you again, baby bro." His demeanor lightened up as he reached up to Jimmy's hair and messed it up.

"Martyn!" Jimmy all but screamed as he tackled the elf right to the ground, not minding the mess of hair he now had.

"Jimmy, you can't just--!!" Even Martyn couldn't feint annoyance, as all three of them burst into giggles. Martyn laid his head on the ground in defeat as he kept laughing, seeing as Jimmy had his full weight on him. His mind flashed a few maneuvers to free himself, but he didn't act on them.

"Oh, this is Martyn?" Scott asked as he walked up to the three of them. Neither Grian nor Jimmy could miss the cheeky grin on his lips or the intent clearly written in his eyes.

"Wait-- no, Scott-!!" Jimmy exclaimed. He scrambled to his feet, waving his arms out in front of him in frantic motions. "Listen Martyn, I don't care what they tell you - it's not true! Not true at all, got it?" The way that his face reddened only made Grian and Scott both laugh.

Martyn hummed, rubbing his shoulder as he sat up. "What... do you mean, Jim?" He hummed before he looked up at his brother.

"Oh nothing, don't worry about it." Scott giggled into his palm, trying to hide his laughter. "I'll tell you about us later, okay?" he asked with a flirtatious wink. He reached down and took one of Jimmy's hands into his own before dragging him away.

Grian watched as Martyn blinked, then swallowed, then blinked again. The elf stood up and brushed his shorts off, never breaking his gaze away from Jimmy and Scott. "What was that?" he asked, his tone tight, disapproving.

Grian giggled again. He thought about telling him right then, but really, it was best if Scott did it himself. Forget the part where Martyn will probably hate Scott for a while -- actually, the look on his face already said he was wary of him. Ah well; Grian knew that he could get him to come around eventually. "It's best if you hear it from them directly." he replied.

Martyn only sighed, shaking his head. "Fine, I will." He replied. And without hesitating any more, he raced to catch up with the two that were doing far too much physical contact for his liking.

"Tell me what you meant." Martyn said as he caught up to them, grabbing Scott's hand and ripping it away from Jimmy's. But despite his threatening tone, Scott only smiled all the more.

"Why, isn't it obvious?" He replied, giving a knowing look at Jimmy, who quickly broke eye contact with a blush.

Oh. Oh. That did not look platonic. Or consensual. Martyn shoved Scott back, stepping in between the two of them. "No, no it's not. Look, I don't know who you are, but I don't like you. Now leave my brother alone and stop harassing him."

Said brother gently placed his hand on Martyn's shoulder. "No— it's not like that. We're cool. Honest." He offered a small smile to ensure that he wasn't saying any half truths.

"Well you may not like me, but I think you're a riot, Martyn." Scott only grinned all the more. "Me and Jimmy decided to move in together. He's my husband, you see."

Martyn sucked in a breath, turning towards his brother. "Jimmy."

"Now, now, I know what you're going to say—"

"You can't marry a man you just met!" Martyn moved closer, grasping Jimmy's hand as he dragged him off to a more private area. He thought nothing of Scott's laughter that faded into the background. He let out one loud sigh before he continued in a hushed tone. "And Jimmy, an elf? Seriously? Have you even considered the consequences of that?! Look— Me and Netty spent many, many late nights talking about this! It's not something to take lightly!"

"Martyn, he was lying!" Jimmy protested, even as his face grew even hotter.

Oh.

Martyn almost facepalmed. Of course, he should have realized that sooner. He was supposed to be a ametuer mind reader. But then again, there were truths within the lie Scott had planted. But what were lies and what were truths? He couldn't resist pinching the area just above his nose, in between his eyes. If he hadn't gotten swept away so quickly with emotion, he would have been able to dissect the conversation properly. The memory of it was faulty at best. Whenever he tried to extract truths from the past, he wasn't able to replicate the tonal shifts and everything else he needed to hear accurately enough. Not to mention, there was no mind to read, either. So much for all the training he had labored endlessly for.

He took a deep breath, pushing the failure to the back of his mind. "Lying about what exactly?" he asked instead; both so he didn't seem suspicious and for the needed data. Jimmy, of course, was an unreliable source, but he was all he had now.

"Us being married!" His brother exclaimed, opening his arms wide as though to show that he had nothing to hide. "Look, I wouldn't just marry some dude I just met! Or-- or any dude for that matter. You know I'm straight, I ain't ever checked out any guy before!"

Martyn's gaze softened upon hearing this. This was his brother, the same one that he had found as an infant. The same one that he had helped raise, then grew beside. Jimmy had always been incredibly easy to tease, and it was fun to do it (of course, anyone who teased him outside of the family would feel the full flame of his wrath). He had almost forgotten. And if he had forgotten such a simple thing, how many things did he not recall?

"Right, right." He nodded, deciding to put a pause on the interrogation. For now. A smile must have betrayed him, though because Jimmy's eyes went wide.

"Wait, Martyn, don't--"

"You think I can't tell when you're lying, James?" He asked, feeling a spark at the prod; at the way Jimmy recoiled.

"Y-you can't just use my legal name against me! Only Mom and Dad can, and only when I've done something bad!"

Martyn couldn't help the chuckle that spilled out of his lips. "And your brother. Someone's gotta keep you in line when they can't." He reasoned as he stepped forward, grabbing him by the wrist so he couldn't retreat further. He leaned in to whisper into Jimmy's ear. "And James, you've been very naughty~"

Jimmy flushed at the way the words tickled his ear, letting out a little squeak at the undertone of the words. "M-Martyn, you -- you know I'm telling the truth! Surely!" He argued, trying to pull his arm free, but the other held him fast.

Martyn tisked, shaking his head. "Seriously though Jim, what were you thinking? Marrying a complete stranger. In all my years, I couldn't imagine you'd be swept away so fast! Don't you know just how reckless that is?"

"I know, I know!" Jimmy cried, trying to pull even harder. "That's why I didn't-- I wouldn't!! I swear!" He cried.

And Martyn let out a sigh. As satisfying as it was to see his brother squirm, he knew that he had gone far enough for now. Maybe too far. He let go, and Jimmy quickly clutched his hand to his chest. Martyn had to avert his gaze from that. Definitely too far, then. "Alright, alright, I believe you. You really are too easy to tease, aren't you?" He asked, chuckling as to not disrupt the light atmosphere. He looked back just in time to watch his brother ease. Good. He was fine, even if he was protesting Martyn's statement, which he decided to ignore. "Anyway, I found a pretty good place for our base. It's up on a hill to the East. Good place to protect ourselves with the vantage point, not to mention we'd have the high ground and--."

"Yeah, uh-- about that..." Jimmy interrupted him. The human rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a nervous chuckle. "I- you know me and Scott aren't a thing, but... well, I kind of already agreed to live with him. Sorry."

And that made Martyn pause once more. So that had been the truth from before. Scott really had stolen his brother from him. The man swallowed, nodding slowly as he processed this. He and Jimmy had grown up together. And when Jimmy had wanted to move, Martyn had followed him without any hesitation, even though the thought of living outside the safety of his little elven village scared him. He had moved with Jimmy even though he had no reason to and even though they were trapped by Watchers, even though everything turned out to be a disaster in the end, if he had to go back, he would do it all again. He could never leave his brother alone, not when he was so naive and stupid, unaware of all the dangers lurking in the worlds. Not when he was doomed to find trouble. That was why Jimmy had never lived apart from Martyn, and Martyn him until — well, the Void complicated things. But regardless, Jimmy had never lived apart from him. And now, after all of that time, the man decided on complete whim that he wanted to live on his own.

"Jimmy..." He had meant to inflict a tone in his words that was serious, a scolding. But when he heard his words, he winced. Dare he say, he sounded as though he were offended and... admittedly, hurt. More hurt, the pain rippling through his throat and spilling over in the single word.

"I'm sorry," Jimmy said again, frowning as he took a step back. "It's already been done."

"But Jimmy!" Martyn heard himself say. Something inside of him bubbled, consuming all the pain, all the hurt, the sadness. Something red hot and burning like a flame; like a blazing fire, scorching his other emotions, scorching him. "Jimmy, you idiot! You'd rather go live with someone you just met than your own brother? That man is manipulative! Can't you see that?"

Jimmy winced as he looked away, taking another step back. "Sorry. I just—" the man turned his back with a heavy sigh. "I should go." He decided, walking away.

"Jimmy! Jimmy don't you dare walk away from-!!" And while Martyn had begun to follow, he suddenly stopped when he saw that his brother wasn't faltering from his retreat. And, seeing that, his anger lessened, uncovering the feelings from before. Martyn, in the end, was left standing alone.