London, Friday Fandom time

[sharp_as_knives]

Even if Hannibal hadn't genuinely wanted a motorcycle, the sheer glee on Jono's face when he discussed it would have made it a very tempting prospect. The looks Hannibal got trying on leathers weren't discouraging, either.

So, after most of Thursday afternoon and a bit of Friday morning, they were the proud owners of a 2015 Triumph Thruxton and a Norton Commando 961 SF, and Hannibal had a new jacket, leather pants, and boots.

And when you had new bikes and leathers, you had to try them out, didn't you?


[OOC: For the other boy on the bike! NFI, NFB, OOC is love!]

Comments

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal nodded and thought back a general agreement as he followed suit. Cities had their own charm, but he hadn't been on a relaxing country drive in some time.

[furnaceface]

And Jono was quite happy to lapse into silence and just ride for a while, eyes on the road, content to have Hannibal there riding with him.

Once they were well away from the city, Jono glanced Hannibal's way, just briefly. There was a nice field up ahead, with a rest area at the side of the road.

//Want to pull over here? Go for a walk?//

[sharp_as_knives]

Why not? Clearly something was on Jono's mind, and knowing the sort of thing it was likely to be, it would be better discussed on foot and out loud.

[furnaceface]

Jono nodded, veering over to the side of the road and pulling the bike to a stop. A few moments later, and he was stretching, looking up at the sky and pulling off his helmet.

//Ah, that's nice...//

Hi, England. He'd missed you.

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled over at Jono and chuckled. "I do believe I'm jealous your helmet doesn't make your hair sweaty." He ran his hands through his own, trying to get it back into a semblance of order.

[furnaceface]

//My hair and I have an arrangement,// Jono replied, looking over at Hannibal, amused. //It doesn't misbehave on me, and I'll continue to not blow off that portion of my head, too. So far, it's been working well.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Ah." Hannibal nodded seriously. "That explains its recent behavior - revenge for last year."

[furnaceface]

//... It hasn't been that bad, has it? Even after I cut it that one time?//

Jono really needed to take better care of his hair. He acknowledged this. And then continued to not do so.

[sharp_as_knives]

"I thought the cut was very flattering," Hannibal relented. "And it's been no worse than usual lately, though it might be time for a trim again."

[furnaceface]

Jono only wrinkled his nose a little at the thought.

//When we're back on the island, then,// he allowed, //unless there's another stopover on the way back that's anything like the first. Second. Never the first again, so help me.//

No more space invaders.

//So... how're you enjoying the trip?//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Very much." Hannibal smiled at Jono and wrapped his arm around his waist as they started walking. "The symphony and hotel are lovely, thank you. And I've quite enjoyed all the shopping. I haven't been to London in quite a while. And you?"

[furnaceface]

//It's been... good,// Jono decided, his own arm slipping around Hannibal's waist in turn. //It's a little bit like home away from home these days. Never thought I'd see that happen, that this place would come in second or third or... I've lost track.//

He glanced Hannibal's way.

//It's the 'away' part I think I needed the most.//

[sharp_as_knives]

"Fandom can be intense at the best of times," Hannibal said, looking back. "And this Spring has not been one of those."

[furnaceface]

//No,// Jono agreed, leaning into Hannibal a little more. //That it hasn't been. I'm so bloody ready for summer by this point, I can't stress that much enough.//

As if the turning of the seasons was going to change anything at all.

Summer was going to get off to a great start, at this rate.

//You know, I never did ask how your time with your sister went...//

Which he'd feel more like an ass about, except he'd been putting off talking about that whole weekend a fair bit.

[sharp_as_knives]

And Hannibal had been giving him a bit of space to process it all first.

He smiled. "It was lovely, having her for the weekend. Not so strange as I might have thought; I was always more of a father to her than an older brother. And she was so happy." He sighed and looked at Jono. "And yours? You seemed very settled, after."

[furnaceface]

//It was...// Jono paused for a moment, and then shrugged his shoulders. //Different. She was still very much Didi, and there wasn't very much of me left that was the same Jonothon that she used to know. It was good, but... odd?//

Odd. That seemed like a good word for it.

//When we stopped by to visit, I'm sorry she wasn't, er...// He waved his free hand around a little. //Politer?//

She'd said creepy. Just outright. Jono had actually been slightly appalled by that, standing in that odd position where his dead ex met his current flame and then tension happened over a mention of coffee.

//She's not generally like that.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal smiled at him. "As I said, I'm certain I wasn't seeing her at her best. And she was honest; I won't fault that."

He thought for a moment, stroking Jono's side. "You have grown; more than the years you've lived, even. Of necessity, she hasn't. I can imagine it would be odd."

[furnaceface]

//It was... there were moments when I didn't even think about it. We could laugh and joke like old times as naturally as anything. And then I'd let a thought slip that came from some other mind, some other life, or I would just be more... more comfortable in my own skin, and it became shockingly obvious just how long it's really been. Years here, lifetimes in my head, and all of that is... it's not even a heartbeat for her. Not even a blink. I kept moving on.//

She hadn't.

[sharp_as_knives]

"If you hadn't, I would worry," Hannibal told him. "We move on, or we die. Nobody stays the same as long as they're living. You've changed in the time I've known you." He chuckled. "And I don't even mean from large and blue to this."

[furnaceface]

//In fairness, that was a very notable change,// Jono noted, leaning toward him a little. //Came hand-in-hand with another one, up here.//

And at that, he reached up to tap the side of his head.

//Didn't even get to that one, when I was catching up with Didi,// he noted, brow furrowing a little. //Huh.//

That was something else, too. That they'd spent hours talking, and they'd only barely scratched the surface of what had happened. Didn't touch much on the war, didn't touch at all on Fortress X. Weapon X and Akkaba had been too much. They'd needed to stop for something, er, different.

[sharp_as_knives]

"You had a weekend of nostalgia. You didn't need to spend it getting her up to date on your life, because the weekend was a slice outside of it," Hannibal said.

[furnaceface]

//Yes, but...// Jono paused for a moment, trying again to put together words. //It... bothered her, that I'd moved on. That I'd changed so much. That she missed so much.//

He hesitated a second more before adding, //She offered to come back to the island. As Death, not Didi. Which doesn't sound like much of a distinction, not when you've only met one aspect, but the difference between the two is...//

He held the hand that wasn't currently around Hannibal's waist out in front of himself. Waved it around a little, as if that would magically make words happen.

For some reason, the hand wasn't much more eloquent than the rest of him.

[sharp_as_knives]

"Large, I am guessing," Hannibal said. "And you didn't want her to come back if it wasn't the same?"

Please forgive Hannibal for being so off-base. It was rare, but he had a bit of a blind spot when people he cared for were involved.

[furnaceface]

Jono shifted his weight a little, suddenly finding the grass underfoot to be absolutely fascinating.

//The difference is large,// he confirmed, //and I told her...//

Hooboy.

//We both agreed, everything would be different. She barely knows who I am now. And Death is something so vast and incomprehensible, like Didi, but a millionfold, and if I'm being completely honest with myself, I'm a little intimidated by her. By all that she is. And... I... couldn't say no. Not to a second chance at having her friendship.//

It was not given for mortals to love the Endless.

And it wasn't Death that Jono had loved. Hell, maybe his answer would have been different, had it been Death asking, and not Didi.

//When she left... the first time... she asked me to come with her,// he noted, quietly, as that thought came to mind. //Picture that. Me. A stupid kid, offered eternity by the side of Death. And god... I was tempted. I can't possibly... There aren't words for how tempted I was.//

He'd said no. Of course he had. He was still here, after all.

//For a brief glance at Didi from time to time, through that filter. Through that larger, impossible self that was Death, I was tempted. But I knew it wasn't meant to be. Not me and Death. Not like that. Even as a stupid kid with a newly broken heart facing what seemed like eternity alone, I understood that. And then? Then I had nothing else to lose.//

That came with a pointed look at Hannibal.

//It can't be Jono and Didi again, not the way it once was. Didi is dead, is Death, and I've found other reasons to go on in her absence. We could be friends. But she was right, back when she told a stupid kid in high school that it wasn't given for mortals to love the Endless. I just didn't grasp why, then. Not yet. Meeting her again, knowing how much I changed and how much she didn't, even though she went on as Death, that put it more into perspective.//

[sharp_as_knives]

Hannibal was silent for a while, parsing everything Jono had said. It came out...mostly positive. "And her friendship is all that you're interested in? For old time's sake?"