nifties | You let the Devil in 😈

You let the Devil in 😈

Ever since he agreed to go on this trip with Zari, his mind's been turning over and over about it. Technically, yes, the Legends are adults. Some of them even managed to survive for years without them aboard (which seems miraculous now.) But that doesn't make it any easier for him to leave his hatchlings, no matter how many speeches Sara has about how they only live once and they should go enjoy themselves. And he knows Ava has pulled Zari aside to essentially say the same thing just in a more Ava type way.

The thing is, even when John is running away, it's never for long and he's usually only pretending to dick off. As he thinks back over the years, has he ever taken a real vacation? Ever? Something creepy or crawly always manages to find him wherever he goes and that's weighing heavily on his mind as well. If the team will be safe without him, will Zari be safe with him?

He keeps starting and stopping packing, not like it matters when he knows Zari is going to make him get a whole different wardrobe the second they're alone. He's been avoiding that one for long enough so he's kind of resigned to the whole affair honestly. Packing means leaving though, indefinitely the way his life goes. What if they damage the timeline by being out there together? And again, what if the Legends really really need them??

Yeah, so he's spiraling. When Zari finds him, he'll be pacing the length of his room back and forth - back and forth. Every time he crosses his suitcase, he drops something new in and/or takes something out so that the job never actually gets finished. He's so absorbed in his weird, manic ritual that he doesn't even notice her coming in until she's right in front of him. Her sudden appearance (from his perspective) actually makes him jump before he manages to focus his foggy gaze on her.

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The mention of Astra explains what could have driven such a desperate action. Zari wastes no time climbing onto his lap, finding her usual spot against John that allows her to lay and watch his face like the lovesick girl she is if need be.

Their temples resting together grounds Zari significantly. It's all in the past. They're safe now; happy even. She smiles, letting the gentle weight of his head reassure her further. She shouldn't let her hang ups about control ruin a perfect day. It's good to know a little more about John even if it's colored by sadness. What else can she expect from his past?

"That's all I needed to hear... for today." Zari grins slowly. She pulls her head back enough so she can grasp his chin gently. "I'm sure tomorrow you'll have so many pretty things for me to hear." She points out smoothly. Zari does look forward to her calling the shots without any interruptions for a change.

He holds his breath when she takes his bait, eyes darkening significantly more at the look she gives him. "I take it that means it's still my day?" Inquiring minds want to know, is all. John bites into his lip as he starts dreaming up the things she might illicit from him come this time tomorrow. He sobers once more, however reluctantly, leaning into her hand as he reaches out to wind his loosely around her wrist. "You know, it's alright. To ask me about it. No matter whose day it is." The hospital... or anything to do with Astra, really. He knows he'll end up oversharing on that topic sooner than later anyway.

"It's still your day. I'm totally at your mercy." Zari reminds him softly. He is the only one she'd ever allow that to happen with for what it's worth. John clearly has more to say on this very serious topic. Zari can't deny she's very curious about a few things. She has to double check to make sure he's serious about this. "Are you sure? I wouldn't mind knowing what happened with Astra. I feel like I only know like 20% of that story at best and it is still a part of my life." Astra did almost get her serial killed a lot when she unleashed the Encores.

She's always so... respectful of his many, many secrets. It's only now he's realizing she knows next to nothing about what went down. God, he hates telling this story.

"Fine, but could you warm my tea up first, my love?" he asks her sweetly, turning to kiss the inside of her palm without breaking eye contact. "And I don't suppose I could persuade you to order in from the hotel tonight, instead of going out...?"

Zari melts at the sweetness. She gets up to take care of it, taking her cup along with his for the walk. "Your day, your rules. We can order in if that's what you want." That's not really how that works, but never mind. She is game for anything that makes this easier for John. "You're still wearing that outfit again. I won't back off on that." She winks at him just before she disappears to finish taking care of her task and leave him to the mess of camera equipment. Whatever she'll clean that up soon!!

"You wouldn't rather I save it for tomorrow?" he asks after her, covertly undoing the top button of his shirt and loosening his tie so he looks that much more comfortable when she comes back over. Not that this story will particularly put him in the mood for taking his clothes off entirely, at least not in the short-term. John leans back and stares at the camera, only now realizing it looks old. Reminiscent of the stupid camcorder Gaz used to carry around before he got too high to record them all. "Sometimes, I get... confused about what happened that night. I dunno if it's from too much shock therapy, or- if when the timeline changed that night did, too."

John cautiously seeks her gaze as she comes back in even while holding out a hand for his cup.

Zari gently puts the cup in his hand without ever answering the question. It's not important right now. She doesn't bother hiding how much the thought of him getting strapped down and shocked upsets her. The horror and disgust are plain to see in those watery brown eyes. Once again, Zari takes a seat next to him while giving a fair amount of space. She hopes it's the timeline change to blame. Zari certainly has questions about how Astra is so old for starters. That's not really important so she leaves that be.

"What do you know for sure? The part that stay constant." Zari suggests gently. It's always good to start with the facts. She takes a sip of her tea while she waits, enjoying the comfort it gives her.

John reads plainly how much that hurt her and he aches too, wishing he hadn't said that. But isn't he just going crazy opening up to her today? May as well continue the trend.

"Astra was... in danger. I thought she was- possessed. It had something to do with Alex? Only he died a long time ago. I thought." John swallows some tea down, his brains already feeling like scrambled egg. "I called in my mates to help except... Gaz was high and Anne-Marie..." Are there any coherent facts left to give her? He's starting to realize why he's never tugged too hard at this thread.

"Nergal dragged her to Hell one way or another and it was my fault. In every timeline that's never gonna change."

Zari vaguely recalls seeing Gaz at the concert. It isn't too surprising to find out down the line he's chasing highs. She's known enough musicians to know how that one goes. The rest has her mind spinning. How did a night get so warped in his head? Zari wonders if maybe trauma is to blame. What went down with Astra left him in a bad way clearly to subject himself willingly to shock therapy. It takes all her restraint not to throw up at the thought.

Her brow furrows as she tries to make sense of what happened to Astra. A lot of her behavior is starting to make sense with that context. No wonder she thought nothing of unleashing serial killers on innocent people if that was how she ended up in Hell. No wonder John didn't see the need to take her down with prejudice. She is pretty sure now that anyone else would not have survived John's wrath on that one. Flawed as he is, Zari knows he doesn't take that entire situation lightly much less forgives it easily. Teenagers were literally being slaughtered. "Okay, but how was it your fault? You're telling me Astra was possessed. It is not like you put a demon in her." She points out like the very thought is ridiculous.

"You don't understand." And he doesn't blame her, he barely does. He shakes his head, numb about this when it all kind of worked out in the end; despite the massive casualty count he definitely can't record or he'll go insane all over again. "I'm the one who summoned Nergal in the first place. It was bloody arrogance to think I could control anything that crawled up out of Hell."

Zari stares at him for a long moment. She cannot believe anyone would be that stupid. He clearly owns it so she sees no need to point it out. What eludes her is so why for a hot second before it hits her. "You thought you could use a demon to save Astra." She doesn't for the life of her get how. It's the only thing that makes sense to her with what little she knows. There's nothing else to say after that. John lived with this for years. He doesn't need her two cents. Anything she might say or think already must have crossed his mind.

He nods after a moment, looking down as he continues trying his best to disseminate what alt!John did and what actually happened in this timeline.

"And Nat... Lesser demons are hierarchical. They'll fall in line if an ancient one is within their midst, even if they've never met before. I naively thought Nergal was the perfect choice to corral the other demon. Instead he latched onto Astra's soul... and her mum couldn't live with the results."

He's really wishing he had something stronger than tea about now.

Zari's eyes widen as the implication hits her like a punch. It was sad enough knowing that beautiful woman on the stage was gone forever. It's worse now knowing she killed herself in a fit of grief. What does one say to that? Nothing in English grabs her as appropriate. Thankfully, there is a phrase for that in her parent's tongue. "Nur be ghabresh bebâreh." May light shine down upon their grave.

She swallows, thinking of Astra. That girl is a menace, but it is easy to understand why the more this goes on. "No wonder you wanted her back. She..." Zari shakes her head and cuts herself off there. It's not her place to speculate where that woman's soul ended up. "Does Astra know?"

Though John doesn't understand the words, the sentiment behind them seems universal and he nods once in gratitude.

"No, and I'd like to keep it that way. She thinks Natalie was killed by a drunk driver- well, she was. Whatever." He sets his cup on his thigh and runs his other hand through his hair. "That incident destroyed everyone who was there- including Astra, as you saw. That will always be on my soul."

Zari shakes her head vehemently. There is literally zero chance what she learned leaves this room. "No one ever needs to know that about their mother." She couldn't imagine the guilt and pain that would cause Astra so better to never find out.

The rest she simply absorbs. He screwed up big. There's no telling John otherwise. The actual details are almost irrelevant and in some ways have to be. Clearly that night got really screwed up whether it be from the reset universe, timeline, his faulty brain; whatever. All that matters is who is living with the consequences now.

She can only offer this: "We all do things we can't take back, John. Whether we're being arrogant or selfish..." She releases a soft exhale, grabbing her cup. That is definitely her category. She got her brother killed over some visions and sleepwalking. Zari has to live with that too. "You're trying to make it right now. That's more than most arrogant pricks do." Now she definitely isn't talking about John. Zari takes a sip of her tea finally, letting it soothe her.

He nods, relieved though he didn't actually think she would tell anyone anything he's told her tonight. It goes without saying he's spilling his heart out and it's for her ears only. As she goes on, however, John starts to pick up on the fact that he's not the 'arrogant prick' she's referring to.

"You are too," he reminds her, lifting an eyebrow Zari's way as he gulps down some more liquid now that it's finally at a comfortable temperature. "And maybe... we can keep an eye out for one another, eh? Keep each other in line."

Zari's lips quirk up at the reminder. She doesn't deserve the comfort. She should feel bad. The influencer does appreciate John saying it.

A full blown smile reaches her lips at the suggestion. It always helps to know someone will keep you accountable. God knows the rest of them don't have the spine for it. "That's the plan. You know I love knocking you down a peg." She winks at him, sipping her tea innocently.

"We know, luv," he sing-songs fondly, stretching his leg out to tap his ankle to hers. He just has to remember to return the favor instead of placing her on such a high pedestal. "And thanks... for listening to my drivelings. Promise I'll keep it light for the remainder of the evening." Like, probably.

Zari smiles at the joke though it quickly dies at the thanks. She doesn't want John to feel like he has to censor himself to fulfill perfect fantasy night for her. She sets aside her tea and closes the distance between them. Zari takes his face into her hands to make sure this point can't be misinterpreted. "I don't need you to hold back any part of yourself. I wouldn't say I love you if I just wanted you to be some fantasy boy toy for me. You can talk to me about anything." She'll listen to him confess to tax evasion if he wants to go all out. Zari has a feeling a good dinner is probably their next move.

He reaches for her waist reflexively, meeting her intense gaze with his own before turning to set down his empty cup and returning to her embrace.

"Anything?" he whispers, knowing it's just in his nature to hold himself back from everyone, but she makes him want to share even the hard things. Even the things that make him look bad. She hasn't flinched away from him yet. "As long as I can still be your fantasy boy-toy too."

She traces the line of his jaw affectionately, enjoying how his stubble nicks her fingers. "Anything." Zari promises grandly. Maybe she'll regret that later, but right now she means it with her whole heart. "Oh, and there's no choice about the fantasy part. You can quit being my boy-toy whenever." Zari smirks knowing full well he will never be the one to end this.

As her fingers run along his jawline, he realizes he never packed a razor so he really will be in full vacation-mode at the end of the week. He rolls his eyes fondly at her version of an assurance even as a little thrill goes through his middle.

"You can tell me anything too, you know. I'm a better listener than I look like," he points out just as a loud growl emits from his tummy. Oh yeah, dinner was a thing, wasn't it? He glances out the window to see the Sun almost done for the day and it makes him want to mourn for it if all their days together will go by this quickly.

Zari smiles patiently. What would she ever need to tell him? Any of her secrets aren't weighing on her soul every day. He knows damn well what her biggest sin is getting a front row seat to the anger and grief that followed it. "How about I feed you first? You can't use your time left with me wisely if you're starving." She pats the side of his face before getting up to retrieve her phone. Time to order them some food. Naturally the process is all digital now so RIP John. Have fun staring at a phone screen with her.

Yeah, that lasts all of five seconds before he's rubbing at his eyeballs and shaking his head.

"Just pick something for me," he grunts before remembering himself. "Please." He kisses her cheek before tilting his head back against the couch and shutting his eyes to rest them.

"Lazy bones." Zari accuses without any heat to it. It doesn't take long for her to put her phone in hand and drop back onto the couch. She scrolls through aimlessly, tapping away at some yummy local delights that meet her dieting standards. Zari worked up what counts as an appetite for her between the juice cleanses and rabbit diet. She's going all out as much as she can.

"Are you sure you don't have any requests?"

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