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It's long after morning before Vic comes home. His eyelids droop, and his hair is mussed. His clothing is in terrible condition, but it's clean, stain free. Nothing left but the tears and shredding here and there. He lets himself in and looks around. "Kellan?" he calls quietly. "Kaleb?" He then goes to the couch and flops down along its length with a long sigh. Time to lay down some more now.
Kellan appears in the doorway as soon as he hears the sound of the door and comes creeping out of the bedroom, looking around, and then glancing toward the door as if perhaps expecting to find a disapproving Strange standing there. But there is only Vic making his way over toward the couch, and Kellan tentatively goes with him, waiting until he lays down to creep onto the couch with him and snuggle up there.
Vic smiles softly and wraps his arms around Kellan, letting out a pent up breath. "I love you," he murmurs, and he cuddles Kellan to him dearly. "And I want you to know that, no matter what happens, I will always come back to you. Always." He nuzzles Kellan's cheek and kisses him. "Always."
Kellan wraps his arms around Vic and snuggles in against him, feeling a little bit of relief when Vic wraps him up in return. "I love you, too," he says quietly. His expression is very serious as he looks back into Vic's eyes, and he nods slowly, though that tension is running all through him. He opens his mouth to say something, though when Vic kisses him, he gives up trying to talk for a moment to instead kiss him back. It's only when the kiss breaks that he says quietly, "Are they going to make you stay away from me?"
Vic's brow knits, and he shakes his head. "What? No, not at all. Don't mind my Dad. He was stressed out, and he's just like that. In fact, I'd like you to meet my family. Make it official, you know?" He smiles and strokes Kellan's hair back from his face. "If they said I had to stay away from you, I would argue ti the stars fell from the sky."
Kellan studies Vic's expresion and says, "Oh.. okay. He.. didn't sound very happy, and I know they're important folks." He pauses a little and admits, "And I'm kind of scared of meeting them." The touseled strands of his hair are brushed back, and Kellan takes in a deep breath then lets it out slowly. There's a little bit of relief there. "When he said you weren't coming home til the morning, and he sounded upset, and then you said.. no matter what, you'd come back, I thought maybe… they weren't going to let you stay here or something.."
Vic shakes his head, and he strokes Kellan's cheek with the pad of his thumb, running fingers through his hair to cradle his head. "No, no, nothing like that," he says. "He was stressed out because I got hurt really badly. Worse than hurt, and it was a huge ordeal for him. I think by the time he called you, he was just tired and stressed out. He's gruff at the best of times. He sounded unhappy because he was unhappy, but not at you."
Kellan's eyes widen and he sits up, looking down at Vic, and suddenly taking him in more closely. He hadn't noticed any bandages, any difference in his movement that would have indicated an injury, no blood seeping from a bullet wound, but now he looks more closely, eyes traveling up and down before he looks back to Vic in confusion. "What happened? Are you okay? He said you were okay on the phone… "
No bandages, no marks on him. Just the torn and shredded, ruined clothes, and even they aren't bloodied. Vic's hands slide to Kellan's waist out of habit when he sits up. He studies Kellan's face. "It was bad," he says. "It was really bad. I got hit by a truck. It… physically it killed me, but according to my dad, mystically I didn't die, so my body repaired itself. It was just slow, and the effort exhausted me, so I crashed out there."
Kellan just stares at Vic, stares at his clotes, stares at his face, stares at his clothes again as this news sinks in and he tries to process it. Physically it killed him. A truck hit him, and he died, and then he came back. Kellan isn't entirely sure how to process that information and so he just continues to stare for a bit longer, letting the whole gamut of emotions run from shock and fear to relief and all back around the mulberry bush again.
Vic grimaces. "I know," he says, "I'm sorry. It came out of nowhere. I don't even remember it. I was getting baklava for my mom, then I was waking up with Dad holding me and everything hurt." He tries to draw Kellan back to him, to hug him. "It was awful. I don't ever want to do that again." He utters a shaking sigh. "But at least I know that even death can't keep me from you."
Kellan isn't sure what to feel, on the one hand, he feels a wracking grief at the thought of Vic, dying, dead, killed by a truck — that he could have been just gone, just like that. But somehow that grief is arrested by the fact that Vic is right here, in front of him, with only his clothes damaged, whole and healthy as ever. Tears well up in his eyes, but he lies back down, wrapping his arms around Vic tightly and hugging him close. He buries his face in Vic's neck and says, "I'm so glad you're okay. I'm so sorry you got hurt, and I wasn't there… again."
Vic hugs Kellan, closing his eyes as he revels in the warmth of Kellan's body, the familiar scent of him, the feel of him. They're both here, and they're both okay. "I'm glad you weren't there," he says. "It was terrible. Poor Mom and Dad, what they went through. I was all broken, babe. I wanted you, but I also didn't want you see me like that." He draws back enough to look Kellan in the eye. "I'm okay, though. Just tired and a little achy. Not bad, all things considered."
Kellan clings to Vic tightly and sniffles a little bit. He doesn't quite cry but his eyes sting and burn a little bit. He takes a few shaky breaths. It takes a moment or two for him to settle down, but eventually he does draw back a little as well so that he can look at Vic and meet his eyes. "Is there anything that I can get for you? I could make pancakes?" he offers. "I've been watching when you do it.. to figure out how," he admits quietly.
"Pancakes sound so good," Vic admits, "but I just want to hold you for a little longer." He smiles, and he brushes his thumb across Kellan's cheek, even though there are no tears. "My boy. I hate causing you pain, but don't worry. I'll always come back, and I'll always be Vic. Your Vic."
"I'll make you whatever you like when we get up," Kellan says, but he doesn't seem to be in any hurry to do that right this moment. He shakes his head and says, "No, don't. You didn't cause me pain. You were hurt and killed, and I'm just glad that you're home, and you're whole, and that you're not gone." He squeezes Vic tightly, reassuring himself that it is in fact the case, and then he rests his head in against Vic's neck again and says, "Not even death will keep you from coming home." That seems to reassure him, and dsome of that tension begins to wain.
Vic strokes Kellan's arm, resting his head on Kellan's hair. "That's right," he says. "No grave will hold me down. I'll come back to you." Let's just focus on that part. He gives Kellan a squeeze. "I missed you," he murmurs. "I know it's only been a day, but it felt like so long, and everything looks new for some reason. "Don't let Dad worry you. He's prickly, but he's a good guy."
Quietly, Kellan says, "Yeah, I mean.. I guess it changes your perspective.." Death, that is. He isn't sure what to say beyond that, about that, brows furrowing just a little bit. Then he murmurs, "I'll try not to. I really want them to like me. I'm a little afraid of how my parents will react. They.. don't know about me, anything about me. They've never really cared. But they'll be back in the states in October and.. we're still not sure about.. dad.. and I don't want them to know about you if they could possibly want to hurt you, even if you can't die."
Vic kisses Kellan's hair and murmurs, "I'll be here with you," he says. "Whatever happens. Whether your folks are okay with us or not, or if they're good or bad. I won't leave your side. I'll defend you and fight whatever battles you need to fight right by your side." He smiles, giving his lover another squeeze. "My folks are kind of odd, but it'll be okay. They're not going to care that I'm with another boy. They'll care more about your character, and you're kind, honest, and good. You love me, we make each other happy. They're not forthcoming or huggy people, but they'll approve of you."
Kellan nods his head and says, "I know you will be, and I'll be by yours." There's a slight furrow of his brow, because he hasn't been at Vic's side at least wtice now and that clearly troubles him — but the intent is there. He returns the squeeze and smiles a little bit, "I hope that they will. It would be nice to at least have one of our families be okay with everything." He smiles a little crookedly and says, "We aren't really huggy people either, usually. But you are an exception."
Vic says with a wry smile, "It'll be fine. Dad's prickly but he's fair. Mom's mysterious, but she's wise. You're the best thing that could happen to anyone. All I see is a recipe for acceptance. They're just…" He cuddles Kellan, such a beast for physical touch. "They're not cuddly people. They're important, and they've got a lot of weight resting on their shoulders. So don't take it for dislike if they're not all hugs and 'my dear boy.' If they didn't like you, there would be no ambiguity."
"I'm sure it will be okay," Kellan agrees with Vic, though there may still be some trepidation there. He seems more than willing, however, to accept that Vic knows his parents better than Kellan does. And so he lifts his head and presses a light kiss to Vic's lips before saying, "If you say it will be, then I believe you. I might still be a little nervous, but I think it'll be okay."
"Worst case scenario," Vic says, "I rebel, and we live together anyway." He hugs Kellan to him. He just can't get enough of holding him, not after the past harrowing day. "It's understandable to be nervous, though. When I was first meeting them, I was terrified. But they're very loving. They just show it their own way."
Kellan grins a little lopsidedly at Vic and says, "You're such a rebel." It makes him laugh a little bit and lifts some of the weight of the previous discussion. "Kind of like Kaleb." Because Kaleb's way of showing affection is subtle, but it's there, if you know what to look for. "People don't seem to get how much he cares. But then, I guess sometimes it's not as clear as with other people."
Vic says with a low laugh, "If I have to be. I don't think they'd be that cavalier about depriving me of happiness." His stomach rumbles, but more important than food is keeping Kellan close. "We're okay," he decides. "Kaleb's feeling better. He stood up for himself last night, did you see?"
Kellan nods his head and says, "He did. I'm glad that he did. I was fine with them talking. I said my bit. I even handed her a roadmap of how to try and start to fix things because you know, she's your aunt, and maybe if something like effort happened, then maybe there could be friendship at some point.. but.. she just doesn't seem to get it." There's some genuine sadness in Kellan's voice over that. He's still really angry about what Lorna did, but at the same time.. she is Vic's family.
Vic nods, his gaze dropping as he says, "Yeah, I don't think she understands. She's had a rough life, and I think it changed her. She guards herself too closely to let anyone or their story in." He sighs. "I hope she comes around, because that can't be a very happy lot, you know? Kaleb's so strong, though. I bet he has no idea how much, either."
Kellan and Vic are lying on the couch, tangled up together, just talking. Vic's clothes are wrecked but there's no blood on them and he looks to be completely whole, hale, and hearty. Kellan, too, seems okay at this point, and they're just talking quietly. He nods to whatever Vic just said and says, "I hope for her sake, she learns how to let someone else in, and really open up and let them in, and want to know them. Because it's.. really pretty amazing when it happens." He smiles a little bit more broadly, obviously meaning the mote. He grins a little and pats Vic's stomach. "We should feed you."
Vic grins at Kellan, and he nuzzles him before stealing a kiss. They're being disgusting again. So in love. "Maybe someday. She'll carry on one way or another. The important thing for us right now is Kaleb's all right. She's got support, so does he." His stomach growls again as food is mentioned. "We should, but it means not holding you." Still, he's getting pretty hungry. Everything he went through has taken all his energy, and even sleeping it off hasn't replenished him the way pancakes can.
Kaleb finally returned. He went out. He got off his lazy self-rightous gloriously be-suited ass and went out to Mutant Town and was returning with Saganaki. He didn't know when Vic was due home and had been trying to keep the universe together for Kellan without threatening to tear it apart for Vic. He had a busy evening of sitting on his hands really. Sitting on his hands and bringing back what might be misconstrewed as 'way too much food' by teh layperson. But there it was; gyros, flamy meats, spinich pita, and all the goodies. The door opeed and closed and while he looked fatigued form going out into that much public with the sights and the sounds (and god forbid the smells, and worse, the people) he looked relieved. "Don't get up." They weren't going to but the invitation to not do so was both a courtesy and a passive aggressive stab at trollling so no one got worried that he was body snatched on the way home. It was like thumbprint identification for his personality. "Vic, didn't know when you were returning so I got… everything."
Kellan returns the kiss, letting it linger a little bit before it breaks. He nods in agreement, but doesn't seem to have much more to say about Lorna at this point. He does laugh a little bit and says, "You know I'm not going anywhere, right? We can lay around on the couch all day after we feed you." When the door opens again, he cranes his head around to look and see who is in the doorway. When he sees that it is Kaleb, he begins to twist to actually get up, until Kaleb trolls him. Then he smirks and says, "Yep, that's the real Kaleb." He knows his brother well. But since he was invited not to get up, he doesn't, remaining curled up there with Vic.
Vic's stomach responds with an audible gurgling and growling the moment a whiff of Saganaki hits. "Hey, Kaleb," he says. "It's good to see you." He studies Kaleb for a long moment, and he smiles. Then he sits up when Kellan tarts to get up. Then he lies back and take the youth in his arms again. "I never want to get up without Kellan," he says. "You wouldn't believe the day I had yesterday."
Kaleb didn't say anything about the converation at hand, or seemed to make any indication if he even caught any of it. He was Echo. He heard everything which was a given, and also sometimes the problem. What he did to was dig out plates and… do a very convincing immitation of Kellan really. "Oh yeah? You get to ride around on anything?" It was always worth asking. "Heard you were out with your family. How'd that go?" Food was… brought over and set on teh coffeetable in reach before he went back for his own.
Kellan reaches over to the coffee table to pick up the plate of food and hand it over to Vic. If he's going to trap him there on the couch, he's going to at least make sure that he can eat, even if he's not getting up. There's a grateful smile to Kaleb, and then Kellan says a little more seriously, "Vic got hit by a truck last night.. and uh.. " well that explains the state of his clothes anyway, ".. he got killed.. physically, anyway.. though he mystically was able to repair his body and come back.. so.. that's why his dad was all stressed out when he called. It had nothing to do with me, or us.. just.. him. But he's okay now." He's mostly processed all of this by now.. so he can talk about it with only a bit of stumbling.
Vic sit up and helps himself to flamy meats. Yessssss, protein. The most delicious of the macronutrients. He gestures vaguely and nods, stuffing his face. Om nom nom. "What he said," he says when he surfaces for air. "It was the weirdest thing. I don't remember… well, no, I kind of remember being dead. It wasn't so bad. It was warm and comfortable, and I felt like it was time to rest. But I didn't want to. I wanted to come back." He gives Kellan's hand a squeeze.
Kaleb stopped at the counter and was almost done walking aorund it with plate in hand when the news hit him. Kaleb, for being brash and quick to write teh world off was a creature of complex subtlties. His eyes squint faintly and his chest tightened for a moment. He was not particularly in want of parting withteh mote, and he was not excited that they came one happenstance of existance shy of ushering in Kellan's emotional devestation. That aside he begrugingly really liked the motemallow. This was decidedly suboptimal. He swallowed and arched an eyebrow trying to process that. Oh THAT is why Kellan had this expression on //his face. It all became clear now. "Sooo you decided to rest on teh couch instead?" There was blinking. "Bold choice. I support this. We know…why this 'accident' happened?"
Kellan gives Vic's hand a small squeeze in return, and there's a little bit of tension that returns when Vic mentions that it wasn't so bad and that he felt it was time to rest. That makes him a little nervous, but that he wanted to come back, a little reassurance. It's been a morning of mixed feelings aplenty. He watches Kaleb's face and he smiles a little reassuringly toward his twin. He's had a little time to process this and talk about it now. He lets Vic speak for himself though, in regard to how the accident happened while he reaches for some of the food, himself, and nibbles a bit. He's not particularly hungry, but neither is he not.
"I just needed to hold Kellan," Vic says with a bashful tip of his chin. "I got hit by a truck, killed instantly I guess. Dad got me out of there and my body started to repair itself. I don't remember any of this. I was in a warm and light place filled with peace and tranquility. Then I was in unbelievable pain because I had a punctured lung and a shattered hip." He looks apologetically at that. Like it's really bad form to get those things.
"My dad helped magic myself better, but after the worst of it was over, I'd sapped my energy so badly I needed to sleep, so I crashed over there." He still looks remorseful. It was his bad, guys. "I'm still tired, but I'm mostly hungry. But I'm alive."
Kaleb blinked. What do you SAY to that!?? There was another deep breath and in true Miller fashion when something moved them there was a flood of questions, "Do you need me to have the vehicle found? Are you okay now? You want an asprin? Do you want my frozen bag of peas? I don't think Jay ate em." He blinked at Vic againa nd then to his brother and seeing the amount of calm that there was going to be left on him, there was a deep breath and a tightening of his jaw. "Well… either way. Good that you came back. This isn't going to eat itself." Which was Kaleb for thanks for scaring the shit out of us, I'm sorry you hurt, but am glad you are okay now.
Kellan leans in against Vic gently and he looks up at him a little bit, but doesn't interrupt the story at all. It's Vic's story to tell. Though he does give him a little squeeze when he seems to be apologizing. "There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You got hit by a truck.. and then you had to recover. We're just glad that you are okay." He glances over to Kaleb, as though interpreting what Kaleb was trying to say. He smiles a little reassuringly at Kaleb and says, "He's all healed, completely. There's not even a scratch on him. He's okay now." He then looks back to Kaleb and asks "How are you doing? Did you make it out to Saganaki and back alright, even without the helmet? Are the street sounds getting easier to deal with?" Because he has enough room to be concerned for everyone in the room.
Vic admits, "I think my mom went after the vehicle and, to tell you the truth, I don't have the guts to ask what happened to the driver." Hey, he loves his mama, but he has no doubt she's terrifying. He chews his lower lip. Poor driver, wherever he is. Then again, if he hits and runs, he deserves a Maximoffing. He tucks in to more food. Must eat. Oh god, so hungry. Coming back from the dead takes it out of a man. He even looks fatigued. "I just need this," he says. "Thank you so much, Kaleb." Usually he tries not to speak with food in his mouth, but today is a special occasion. "I was just telling Kel, no matter what happens, I'll always come home."
He puts an arm around Kel, capable of stuffing his face one-handed. He's usually a fan of food, but he's really putting it away. Even a mote of energy gets depleted once in awhile. Plus sixteen hours of sleep without eating… "My dad magicked away the dirt and blood," he mentions. "Man, this was so hard on him." Which, of course he feels bad about, but he's not one to beat himself up too much. He just looks sorry in general that it happened, that people were hurt. He perks up at Kellan's question and looks to Kaleb for the answer.
Kaleb consiered the question and looked at tehe pair of them and finally answered, "I managed to manage with only minor incident. I'm alright. The guy running the place wa spretty groovy. They got a thing out back, did ya know?" There, no need to get people more concerned than need be. "Your dad sounds pretty alright thouigh. I'd say that's a good mark in yrou favour yeah?"
Kellan leans in against Vic's side and begins moving stuff off of his plate and onto Vic's, so it seems like Vic's plate never truly gets empty while his own slowly depletes. He has a bite here and there but the majority of his meal is going to the hungry mote. He smiles a little bit gratefully over to Kaleb and says, "Yeah, thank you, for the food, and for keeping me calm when I was freaking out a bit about what Vic's dad might be thinking about me." He blushes just the tiniest bit. That might have been a small source of initial panic. Then he says to Kaleb, "Yeah, Lambert? He's very cool.. and the place out back is neat too, the courtyard thing? I'm glad that you're able to go out more. Especially if we're going to see the Beatles."
Vic would normally have a care not to eat Kellan's food, but he's hungry enough tonight he just eats, period. He gives Kellan a one-armed hug. "He's the best Dad," Vic says without reservation. "He's just prickly, and he was super stressed." He tilts his head as he watches Kellan, his proverbial heart in his eyes. "It'll be fine, though. I promise." Then Lambert is mentioned, and he says, "He's so groovy. I'm going to miss working all day when I'm going to school, but there's always weekends."
Kaleb shrugged and set his plate down and just went back for the whole container of food to bring back within Vic's reach. What was he thinking. Portion control?! Pfft!
Kaleb says, "Sounds like my kinda people. Interesting to say the least. Then again dull hasn't really been a problem in New York as of late."
There is a whole lotta food from Saganki, most of which is being placed in front of Vic as he devours it. Kellan continues to move food off his plate onto Vic's, as his hunger level is pretty low at the moment. There's been a lot going on. Vic and Kellan sit on the couch, Kellan snuggled up with one of Vic's arms around him. Kaleb has just brought out one of the containers of food and places it within Vic's reach. Portions? We don't do portions right now. Kellan grins over at Kaleb and says, "No, dull hasn't been a problem at all. And I thought this was going to be a quiet, boring summer."
And it might have had the potential to be a quiet, boring early afternoon but for the sudden sharp and rhythmic rapping upon the door. Shave-and-a-haircut — pause — two-bits. Opening the Yellow Pages and pairing up an address with a phone number is easier on the unexpecting than a glittering oculus opened upon reality proper and, for once, the good Doctor (otherwise known as 'Dad') arrives in a perfectly normal manner at the apartment.
Dressed in a silk button-down in oceanic blue and black slacks, he's an impressively formal and mildly imposing figure. Mildly. He waits in the hallway with impatience hidden skillfully away. There's a son in need of a follow-up appointment and this Doctor travels.
Vic's body is more or less mended, but the energy it took to do that wasn't trivial, and even after sixteen hours of sleep, he needs more. It needs food, and lots of. Fortunately, Vic has been scoffing it down with a quickness, and he's getting some of his color back. When there's a knock on the door, he almost gets up, but then looks to Kellan. He's convalescing, and Kaleb can't answer it because it might be Lorna, right? Tag, Kellan's it.
Kaleb was going to eat his gyro. He was not going to get to eat a gyro without interruption today. He eyed his brother and Vic and then squint at the door. He extended a hand toeards the door and paused. "Weird." Which was all he said on that. "I didn't hear the stairs." Still he got up and opened the door clearly expecting it to be someone else because instead of 'hullo' it was a sigh. "Oh." Not what he was expecting. "Soemthing we can do for you?"
Kellan seemed just about to get up when Kaleb got up to answer the door. One brow arches. Kaleb doesn't get up and answer the door unless he's the only one in the house, it seems. But he decides not to get up from where he is since he's not going to run his twin over in an effort to get there first. Instead he rests his head against Vic's shoulder and asks, "Do you need more? I can get up and get some more if you do. We can let Kaleb actually get to eat his food." There's a little grin over at Vic. Then he glances toward the door, curious as to who is there.
The door opens by dint of a young man who isn't his son. Strange gives him a thin smile, all professionalism, and replies,
"Yes, I'm here to check on Vic. I called last night to let a certain Kellan know that he would be resting overnight at my Sanctum. I'm his father," he adds, just in case his reputation does not already proceed him at this moment. "I presume Vic's inside?"
And if he's not, there's going to be one hell of a prickly Sorcerer to contend with.
Aw, prickly Sorcerer. Vic perks up. "I'll come back for round two in a second," he tells Kellan. Then he clasps the youth's hand and draws him to his feet. "That's my dad. You get to meet him!" He grins broadly, with dimples to spare. He calls toward the door, "I'm here, Dad! Come in, I want to introduce you to the twins." He's still in his shredded clothes. He hasn't had a chance to change.
Kaleb arched an eyebrow and took a step backward into teh apartment letting the Doctor in. "He's inside then." It would seem when Kellan's actually had a day of distress Kaleb was easily moved to do things he wouldn't normally. It was called care and feeding of the twin where in Kellan could care for Vic and actually eat instead of worrying himself sick. The twin in the pressed slacks and matching, neat vest offered to Vic's father. "Kaleb Miller. My brother Kellan." In vague gesture yon. "Nice to meet you finally."
Kellan hears the voice at the door and the words spoken and there's a moment where he goes a little pale and sits up a little straighter. Then Vic is getting up and pulling him by the hand, and he allows himself to be pulled from the couch. He's in a pair of jeans and a plain white t-shirt, looking much like Kaleb, but more casual, with slightly longer hair that is a little more touseled. He holds onto Vic's hand, and when Kaleb makes the introductions he says, "I'm Kellan. Please, come in, make yourself comfortable. We have food from Saganaki if you'd like some."
Strange looks beyond the brother admitting him to the apartment when he hears Vic's voice ring out with moderate strength. Good — if he can project as such, the ribcage must have healed up well. No air to shout if you can't expand those lungs.
To the first twin, "Thank you, Kaleb," and he steps into the foyer, scarred hands remaining in the pockets of his dress pants. "You as well." A few steps more brings the son he's searching for into view and the significant other by proxy of intertwined fingers. He had expected to see Vic in changed clothing, but no matter — it's the overall health of the youth he's concerned with. Those steely-blues rest upon the young man beside his son. "Kellan, I appreciate your candor on the phone last night. I'm Doctor Strange, Vic's father. I can't linger, unfortunately, but thank you for the offer of food. Vic, if you'll come here for a minute."
It'll be easy enough to look him over in the foyer. The lighting is more than adequate and there's likely nothing a little healing spell can't finish off.
Vic grins at Kellan. See? See what, who knows. Just… look! Vic has many of his favorite people in the same place, and he's bouncy as he gives Kellan a kiss on the back of the hand, then draws him along as he approaches Strange. "Kaleb and Kellan are like family," he tells his dad. "We look out for each other, and I told them what happened. They weren't happy, but I'd have been a little weirded out if they had been." So this is Vic hyper-happy. Enjoy, Pops.
At least he's in good health. The sleep helped, and food has helped even more. A little fatigue lingers around his eyes, but considering everything he went through, that's nothing.
Kaleb arched an eyebrow faintly and closed the door behind the Doctor. He watched quietly, curiously between mage and mote until filly he came to terms with he had nothing. "Right. And on that note I'm going to actually try to eat my gyro this year. " Back to the table for attempt number three. Fear in other people he could process. The unbound joy? Well good for Vic. He was, in spite of all of this, very curious to see the family dynamic at play.
"Pleased to meet you, Doctor," Kellan manages, and then Vic is bouncing over towards his father and tugging him along in tow. He doesn't resist the pull, letting Vic tug him over toward Strange. "And, of course. Thank you for.. letting me know that Vic was okay, and that he'd be staying there. I was a little worried." And would have been a lot moreso if he'd had any idea of what had happened.
Even as Vic's approaching, bringing Kellan in tow, his movements are being categorized. Lively, check. Bouncy, indeed. Full flexion in most joints, enough muscle control and tensile response to remain upright as well as balanced — no damage to the inner ear, clearly. Central nervous system functioning, peripheral nervous system online. Somatic, autonomic, it's all there and all alive and kicking.
Whew. Not that he was nervous to find something awry; that internal Mote within the youth proved stronger than impact by hurtling truck. Still…he's relieved that darkness under the eyes is the worst that can be seen at first glance.
"I can imagine they weren't settled by the news," he says firstly to his son, brows rising a little at the level of energy being displayed. His attention shifts back to Kellan. "It was no difficulty on my part. I appreciate you being present for him."
No need for a healing spell after all. Perhaps for the better in the end — he's got to conserve energy for the next task at hand.
Vic lets himself be inspected, holding out his arms like that's going to help a Sorcerer check him out. After all, Dad's also a doctor. "Kellan and Kaleb take good care of me," he says, pride in his voice as he glances at the twins. Taking Kellan's hand again, he says, "And Kel is about the best thing that's ever happened to me." Those big blue eyes, so hauntingly familiar to Strange, gaze at him hopefully. Can he keep him, Pa? Can he?
Kaleb was minding his own business as much as any sonic who heard the entire building in one pass really could mind their own business. "For what it's worth we are…glad he's okay." He didn't rattle the DOctor with a score of details. He was certain he had whatever he needed, but the words were genuine enough. As for the other? Tasty gyro was tasty.
Kellan blushes just a tiny bit as Vic proclaims that he is the best thing that's ever happened to him and says quietly, "Vic's really important to me. I love him a lot. We're there for each other." He smiles a little lopsidedly then, and one paying attention could hear the slight nervousness in his voice. "I know you are very busy and all but maybe sometime, we could all have dinner." He then falls quiet, letting Vic and Strange talk.
Strange blinks away the brightness of the Sight from his eyes after he finishes surveying Vic from head to toe and thus, the glow of amaranthine fades back to the sharp steel-blue in his irises. Nope, not an odd play of the light — those eyes really did glow for a second.
"I'm glad to hear it, Vic." He looks beyond his son at Kaleb and there's a little smile for the short-spoken twin. He can appreciate laconic communication; the Witch excels at it. "I share the general sentiment." His gaze shifts back to Vic. "You're healing up appropriately." Appropriately? …there's an inappropriate way to heal up? Oh dear. That's got to be a story from Dad. The weight of his attention falls to Kellan and the youth gets a nod. "It's not in the realms of impossibility. Dinner it is, in the near future. I'll speak with Wanda on the matter." Who is Mother and all powerful. "She'll be pleased to meet you. Family is important to us both. Now, considering that you're hale and whole, Vic, I have to go restabilize the inter-lunar polarity of the ley lines of the eighteenth dimension. Eat, rest, and don't strain yourself." Or else, the tone seems to lightly imply.
And with that, he turns to the front door of the apartment — but doesn't leave via said portal. Nope, this time, it's a Gate back to the Loft. The orange flint-sparks of his willpower upon reality burn out before contacting anything and he steps through the rift with all the nonchalance of everyday normalcy in the action. Turning about within the confines of the Sanctum, he gives a jaunty short wave and then the Gate collapses, revealing the panel of the door and its hinges. The Sorcerer Supreme has left the building.
Strange goes home.
Once Vic has said his good-byes and Pops is gone, he hugs Kellan to him. "He likes you!" he says. "He likes you both! This is great. I knew he would." He guides Kellan back toward the food. There's more Saganaki to devour, after all. "SO that's my dad," he says. "That's sweet he was worried, but I feel great. Just getting back to the normal business of living, you know?"
Kaleb gave Strange a resolute nod to the smile. See? He was speaking his language. The whole business about ley lines arched an eyebrow up up up. Nope. not asking. His attention went to Vic though when he talked about coming back to live and that drew a faint lopsided grin from teh stoic twin, "Weirdly? Yeah I kinda do know." He didn't say how or why but the general assumptions pointing back to his recent, unscheduled medical encounter. "He seems pretty groovy." He put his plate away and walked back towards them. A hand rest on Vic's shoulder to have a look at him a moment, which might be the longest contact he's ever made with his really, but Vic got teh Kaleb nod of approval and a pat-pat on the side of the head. "Stop being magnetic. You keep attracting cars and bullets." Which might have had a number of implications, but from the ease in which it was said seemed to be taken at face value. Kellan actually got a half hug. The side of his head thunked against his brother's and thought out to him on any lingering open channels Glad you guys are okay. I'm gonna crash. The people out there were a bit much. Don't… tell Vic. He'll jut feel like we were put out. He doesn't need that. . He did announce in general, "I'm gonna lay downa while. You kids have fun."
The weight of the Sorcerer Supreme's attention is something indeed, and Kellan manages to bear up under it with a minimum of nervousness. He lets out a breath that he hadn't realized he'd been holding when the man disappears through the portal. With another deep breath, he murmurs, "I think that.. went okay." He glances over toward Vic, and when Vic seems to think they are liked, he takes Vic's word for it. Taking a deep breath, he lets himself be pulled back toward the food then. When Kaleb comes over, he smiles and he reaches out to give him a half-hug in return, squeezing his twin. He nods just a little bit to the thought that is picked up in his head. "Night, Kaleb." He gives his brother's shoulder a pat as he heads off, and then he turns back to Vic. "Hi," he says once they're alone with the food once more.
"Night, Kaleb," Vic echoes. To him there's nothing unusual here, Kaleb finally ate his gyro, now it's time for Kaleb to do Kaleb things. Once more alone with his boyfriend, Vic slips an arm around him and rests his head forehead to forehead. "Easy-peasy," he murmurs. "You're in like Flynn, babe." Such a delight and relief it is to him, because even though he said he would rebel to stay with Kellan, not having to is about a billion times better. "He wouldn't leave me here if he didn't think it was in good hands."
"It seems like everything went okay, I think," Kellan says with a little lopsided smile. He leans into that arm around him and rests his brow against Vic's. "I am pretty sure that if he didn't like me that I would have been very certain of that fact." He seems to have much less tension in him now. He smiles a little lopsidedly. "Yeah, I feel a little bit better now." He looks around at all the food left then and says "You still hungry? Or should we clean some of this up?"
"I can graze while we clean up," Vic says. Best of both worlds. He has eaten an awful lot. Still, bits of delicious meats, and an olive or three get snapped down. He gets up and starts moving food to the kitchen, settling into domesticity with simple pleasure. This is the business of living, and it's worth every effort to come back to. He's got a bounce in his step. Apparently, this went swimmingly in his regard. "So what do you think of him?" he asks.
Kellan helps to clean up, because all lack of life lessons aside, Kellan was living on his own in this apartment for a while and did in fact learn how to do some things on his own — even if he didn't do them often, and picking up after himself was one of them. He brings some of the food into the kitchen and makes sure to let Vic have whatever he wants to graze on, taking a little bit here and there himself before he puts the leftovers in a container and puts them away. He pauses every so often to lean over and press a kiss to Vic's shoulder, or to give him a little hug. This quiet return to normalcy helps.
Vic grins at each kiss and hug. He does a fair amount of grazing, but there's still plenty of food to put away. "Kaleb's good to us," he says. Normalcy is good. Amidst the putting away of food and tidying up, he says, "I love you so much. I want yours to be the first face I see in the morning and the last before I go to bed."