Something clanged to the floor beneath Delilah, swiftly followed by a shout from Orin and a scathing reply from Park.
Ari continued, keeping his voice low, “This Captain Park, Theo. Was I wrong in surmising that you were taken by him unwillingly? I have been chasing after him for weeks now, only to find that you appear to be something like his friend.”
Theo shook his head again, lifting it from Ari’s shoulder with a tight smile that reached for his eyes but never quite connected. His fingers remained clutched tight to Ari’s arm.
“I will tell him you said that; he will not be pleased to hear he gave you such an impression. His face will be an absolute delight. As for my abduction. I suppose one could say, technically, you were correct. I wouldn’t say I was abducted entirely unwillingly, however. It was quite late in the evening, and I was exceedingly bored. You know how I get when I am in need of diversion, Ari.”
Ari took a step back to gape at him through a fog of ever-growing consternation, pain radiating between his temples in the beginnings of a very familiar Theo-shaped headache.
Theo continued on, oblivious, “Alright. So yes, he did abduct me. But as it turns out, he had a very good reason for doing so. Well, perhaps not for kidnapping me at gunpoint. That was a bit of a faux pas on his part. We have since grown past it, as you can see. He could have simply asked for my assistance, which I have made clear to him would have been the better choice. He isn’t terribly good with words, I’m afraid, but he does have other redeeming qualities, I assure you.”
Ari took a deep breath, counted to three, then exhaled noisily, prying Theo’s fingers from his arm to hold them tightly in his hand.
“Theo. By all that is holy, tell me you have not fallen in love with him.”
Theo winced, lips twisted into a hopeful curve that boded ill for the structural integrity of Ari’s stomach lining. “No?” he tried, sounding entirely unsure. “No. Absolutely not. Of course not, Ari, don’t be a goose.” His certainty appeared tissue-thin.
Ari had hoped for a more unequivocal answer because when Theo fell in love, it was a bit like a natural disaster. Swift, brutal, and leaving a trail of destruction in its path that Ari usually had to be the one to tidy up.
Theo beamed at him, squeezing his hand between both of his, a slight chill from the loading bay clinging to his thin fingers. “And besides, Ari, just see how wonderful it has been for you to go on this adventure! Now that I have you before me, I can tell I did the right thing in leaving those clues. I did worry it might be too much for you, but here you are, altogether radiant from the experience! I would say it was rather good for you to get out of the house, regardless of the less than ideal circumstances.”
Ari had once read the phrase “seeing red” in an overblown gothic novel and had scoffed at the description. How ridiculous, the notion that rage could alter one’s visual perception.
Now, as Theo happily declared himself to have been quite clever for setting them both upon such a wonderful adventure, Ari saw red.
He dropped Theo’s hand, stumbling back a pace, and then another, until his heel scattered something small and metallic across the metal grating of the floor.
“You thought—you thought it would be good for me. To get out of the house. You dare say those words to me in that order? Now? After all I have done for you?”
Theo’s smile fell in little increments as if someone were dialing back the brightness on their screen, hands slowly raising between them in a gesture of consolation that was far too little, far too late.
Ari jutted his chin, hands rolling into fists as he held his arms stiff at his sides, attempting to control his breathing before he screamed.
Theo’s face paled as Ari set his jaw, hands now held out between them as if asking Ari to take them into his own. “Oh, don’t give me the chin, Ari! You cannot tell me it hasn’t been a grand adventure. I would indeed say it has been good for you. Just consider how far you have gotten out of your comfort zone! And with a strapping young man at your side, no less.” Theo threw him a wink that might as well have been a lit match on a barrel of fuel crystals.
Ari silently counted to three, and then five, and then ten. Then he took a deep breath and launched himself at his brother, hands and hair flying.
Theo shrieked, covering his face as the pair fell to the ground, Ari immediately sitting up on Theo’s stomach to slap at every inch of him he could reach, shouting at him between every slap.
“You! Absolute! Idiot! How could you!? You. Could. Have. Died! I’m going to kill you!”
Theo reached up and snagged Ari’s hair, prompting Ari to grab a fistful of Theo’s longer hair and yank until they both had tears in their eyes, snarling in each other’s faces.
Ari had to let go with an indignant squawk as he was lifted off his twin by one thick arm and held immobile against Orin’s chest as he fought to catch his breath. He glared at Theo where he sat on the ground, rubbing his head angrily and glaring back at Ari.
Ari felt more than saw Orin jerk his head at Park.
“Go on, Captain, see to yours. Seems like whatever this hullabaloo is about, we won’t be settling it like adults.”
Ari slowly turned his head on his neck like an owl to stare incredulously up at the pilot who had, not a half hour before, been ready to brawl at a moment’s notice with nothing more than a minuscule blade at his disposal.
Theo sniffled piteously as Park helped him to stand with a swift yank on his arm before stepping away and craning his neck to the ceiling with the closest thing to a smile Ari had yet seen flitting across his face.
Theo sniffled again twice as loud, glaring at Park from under damp lashes, face flushed the same burning red as Ari’s own skin. “Whatever are you doing?”
Park turned an actual, genuine, extremely brief smile on Theo, gesturing carelessly at the ceiling. “Checking to make sure the cameras got that. They did. I’m thinking of selling copies to the crew.”
Theo turned his back on Park rather pointedly, aiming sad puppy eyes in Ari’s direction as he rubbed gingerly at his scalp with an exaggerated whimper.
Ari pointed a scornful finger at Theo, boots scrabbling over Orin’s shins as he tried to launch himself once more, shoving at the arm holding him still.
“Oh, shut up, Theophrastus. You deserved all that and worse!”
To his annoyance, he could feel Orin battling laughter behind him, the muscles of his abdomen shaking with the effort.
Theo had the nerve to pout, lower lip jutting out and arms crossed tetchily.
Ari mimicked the way Theo liked to toss his hair over his shoulder with a flick of his head, but since Ari had much shorter hair, he only managed to appear as though he were avoiding a fly.
“Look at me!” He pitched his voice in Theo’s characteristic upbeat inflection. “I’m Theo, and I think everything is simply marvelous all the time and I never stop to think before making incredibly stupid decisions! I never take the time to consider the consequences of my actions! Aren’t I just so fun and whimsical? Isn’t everything such a lark?”
Ari dropped his voice to his normal tone, bypassing it completely and continuing on down to a scathing snarl. “You almost got me sold by raiders, Theo! You almost got my—my— My pilot killed!”
Theo’s eyes welled with tears, his nose going that unattractive rosy hue that let Ari know they were genuine, and Ari’s rage deflated like it had been stuck by a pin. “I’m sorry, Aristotle. Truly. I should never have made light of things. I really have missed you most terribly. Thank you for coming to find me. You are the best brother one could ever wish for.”