Are you going to age with grace

[dreamkid]

WHO: Adam, Gansey, and Matthew
WHERE: Raven Camp, De Chima
WHEN: May 7th
WHAT: Matthew's been out of commission for a little while, but he's back now and that means someone else is, too
WARNINGS: I doubt any will be needed

[ Matthew Lynch hasn't moved in nearly a week. When Ronan was ported out, his cheerful little brother went from being full of life to a puppet with its strings cut within an hour, and since then he has been very nearly still as a painting.

Non mortrem, somni fratrem.

All at once, six days later, he turns his head one way, then the other, and gives a huge, arms-over-the-head stretch. His eyes open. He doesn't remember lying down, but at some point he must've, because here he is in bed, still in his clothes, and feeling like he's just woken from the most intense nap of his life (and he's had some pretty intense naps.) What time is it? What day is it?

... Man, he's hungry. That feels like the important thing right now, that's what gets him rolling out of bed.

A minute later he's walking into the kitchen like it's any regular morning--afternoon, whatever it is; Ronan's sunshine dream windows make it hard to tell--and sweeping the curls out of his face with one hand. Adam and Gansey are already in the room. ]

Hey, guys. When'd you get back?

[ The last time Matthew was awake, the other boys had been underground in a cave, and needless to say he never heard them come in. ]

Comments

[quaerit]

[ Gansey has raised a blueberry pop-tart halfway to his mouth. It drops back to his plate with a clatter when Matthew walks in. For exactly three seconds, he stares fish-eyed at Matthew. Ronan's little brother - the little brother he'd literally created from his dreams - had been fast asleep ever since Ronan disappeared. The dreamer had no longer been in this world, and so his living dreams had fallen asleep.

Ever since it happened, Gansey has been doing his best to keep things floating. He and Adam had kept Matthew's fate a secret; no one had known, aside from Billy Kaplan, who they had hoped could help. When even that proved impossible, they had just kept things going. Matthew's school and work had been told he was sick, and unable to talk on the phone. It wasn't a lie that could last for long, but in this world, Gansey is even more persuasive than he is at home. His charmspeak had papered over what cracks there were, keeping their secrets floating.

Longterm, it wouldn't have worked. It had given them time, though, time for Ronan to come back, or maybe time for Matthew to follow him. If neither happened, then time to find another solution. Gansey hadn't known how long they would be able to ride their luck, but for the sake of Ronan's secret and Matthew's privacy, they had wanted to try.

And now Matthew is standing in front of them, as if nothing had happened at all.

Gansey's expression complicates and then shudders, and his eyes slide from Matthew to Adam - and back again. ]

A while ago, actually.

[ His voice is even and mild. Gansey's feelings don't tend to show in it, and to his great relief, that's holding true now. He lifts his eyebrows. ]

You've been asleep, Matthew. Do you remember what happened?

[aberth]

[ He's there to catch and hold his gaze, Gansey's shock mirrored on Adam's face. They had only been able to wake Aurora with the help of Cabeswater - and he would know if the leyline had been woken here, wouldn't he?

Adam's own response is a muffled curse as he moves to fill up his coffee mug. Part of him wants to check his device, find Ronan's number and bombard it. The rest of him does it's best to not get his hopes up.

Instead he inhales caffiene and lets his friend direct the questions, his gaze watchful and curious. ]

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew takes in the reactions--that's an expression he's never seen on Gansey's face before--without understanding the reason for them at all. He and Adam are both, Matthew decides, being a little weird.

He shrugs and gives them a naturally airy smile. ]

Yeah, I know, I just woke up.

[ Nope, he definitely does not know. The last thing he remembers is being in this kitchen getting food, and then everything goes a little fuzzy, but there was no fear or panic in the moment of his slipping away into dream sleep. In fact the experience was quite unremarkable, which allows him to hold on to the idea, for now, that there's anything normal about this day, that he simply doesn't remember getting into bed, that Gansey and Adam are just "being weird".

He grabs a pop-tart of his own and starts eating it cold. ]

I must've really crashed last night. Hey, where's Ronan?

[ The million dollar question. ]

[quaerit]

[ Gansey's mind is working as quickly as one of Ronan's cars. He shares another, more meaningful glance at Adam, which leaves a lot of things unsaid.

Matthew had fallen asleep when Ronan left. Nothing they had done would wake him up.
If Matthew is back again, then Ronan must be, too.
Ronan must be in this world, again. Which might mean he's in De Chima, or Heropa, or even Cape Canaveral.

But, most importantly, he is not here, right this second, to explain to Matthew why he's been asleep for a week.

Gansey's heart is bursting with the need to talk to his friend, to make sure he's all right, to find out what the hell happened.

He has to be careful, though. He can't alarm Matthew. And Adam will be even more eager than Gansey, because of everything he and Ronan were doing together. With casual ease, Gansey sweeps up his phone. His voice is, thankfully, even, and his expression has shuttered into a polite smile. ]

Funny you should ask. I was just going to see about that. I'll call him.

[ As if this is the easiest thing in the world. He heads for the other room, with a backwards glance to Adam which warns him to keep Matthew busy. Let's not alarm the kid before we need to, okay? ]

[aberth]

[ What he really wants to do is follow Gansey, because Gansey will get the answers they need and Adam can feel the questions already doing their best to choke him. But he knows that they can't overreact. Matthew will have to find out what happened eventually but it would be much easier were his brother here to help prove it.

So he puts his coffee cup down and offers Matthew a smallish smile. ] You hungry? [ He turns to face the counter, gives himself time to rearrange his features into something less desperate. Ronan might be back, Ronan might be --. ] I was going to make toast. Or we've still got all those Lucky Charms boxes. [ ty ten year old Gansey, ty. ]

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew blinks and watches Gansey leave, oblivious to the complexity of the older boy's emotions. Oblivious to just about everything, until he hears the offer of food, which causes him to perk up in attention. He gives Adam another smile. ]

Yeah, starving. Toast sounds great!

[ He says, as he goes to the cupboard to also get the cereal. "Starving" is an exaggeration, of course, but he's definitely hungry. He shakes some Lucky Charms into a bowl and promptly picks out a few of the marshmallows with his fingers, popping them into his mouth while Adam is busy with the toaster. ]

Mm--

[ What time is it? he wonders, suddenly. It's Monday, as far as he knows, and he doesn't want to be late to school. The clocks in Ronan's dream house are notoriously unreliable--one of them even runs backwards, and Matthew can never remember which one it is--so he digs in his pocket for his phone and takes a look at the screen.

He blinks again, setting the bowl back down on the counter with a soft thunk. Reality shifts a little. ]

Hey, Adam...?

[ May seventh, that's what it says. ]

[aberth]

[ The toaster is one of Ronan's things, a wide chrome monstrosity that never lets bread burn unless a button is pressed. The button has a flame on it. It's still a strange source of amusement for several of the boys inside this house. Adam moves to it now, grabbing the loaf as he goes. It gives him time to stop his hands from shaking as he puts each slice in, gaze far away as he looks out of the window.

But then Matthew's talking again and Adam turns, his attention immediately falling to the phone in the younger boy's hand. Shit.

Shit.

He moves over, drops into a chair opposite Matthew, fingers rubbing at his temple. He hasn't slept well this week. He opens his mouth, closes it, opens it again. ] Okay, so. [ Jesus. He doesn't even know if this means Ronan's back! ] Some things have happened.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew doesn't lift his eyes from the phone at first, trying to make sense of the date on the screen. The missed calls, far too many to have accumulated in one night.

You've been asleep, Matthew. Do you remember what happened?

Reality shifts a bit more; he's feeling almost sideways now, confused, and with a creeping sense of-- Matthew doesn't experience dread, precisely. Perhaps it's just not one of the emotions three-year-old Ronan could dream into him. Uneasiness, on the other hand... ]

Some things.

[ He swallows, looks up at Adam, and asks again, this time with a touch of urgency-- ]

Where's Ronan? Is he in the barn?

[aberth]

[ He doesn't want to be the one to break the news. If Ronan is still gone then it will be devastating to Matthew and the truth of what he is will have to be broached by someone who does not have all the facts. But if his hunch is right and the reality of it is that Ronan is back, then Adam doesn't want to open a can of worms.

He leans back in his chair to try and get a view of the doorway, to see if Gansey is on his way back with news. ]

He's -- listen, he's fine. [ He just might not be in the universe anymore. ] When Gansey gets back I'll tell you all I can.

[quaerit]

[ Gansey isn't long in coming back. His expression is guarded for Matthew's benefit. Adam might recognise the tension around his eyes, though. ]

He's been arrested. The police answered his phone.

[ This, of course, is not particularly unusual for Ronan. Gansey pauses by Matthew, tapping his hand against the counter. ]

He hasn't been here, Matthew. Ronan disappeared. When we got back from the caves, Ronan and Blue were both gone, and you were sleeping. We told school, and your work, that you were sick. You'll need to call them to say you're well again.

It's... [ A glance towards Adam. ] ...like when your mother was sleeping. We think.

[dreamkid]

[ Matthew eyes go from Gansey to Adam and then back again, like he's waiting for one of them to explain the joke. This is a joke, right? This isn't a joke. Nobody's laughing, nobody's lying, and neither Gansey nor Adam are, Matthew thinks, the kind of people who would find this funny, anyway.

It's like when his mother was sleeping? That doesn't make any sense. She was sleeping because--

Because she's--

Oh god. He needs to talk to Ronan. Adam and Gansey are both great and all but about this particular thing, he needs to talk to his brother. Who is apparently unavailable at the moment because he is apparently arrested and in jail somewhere.

Matthew slowly scoops the bowl of Lucky Charms off the counter again, without taking his eyes off the older boys. ]

Okay.

[ It's really not. ]

I'm gonna eat in my room. And wait for Ronan to get back.

[aberth]

[ He's a little surprised - though he shouldn't be - that Gansey just comes out with it. His attention immediately moves to the younger boy, trying to gauge his reaction. It's a little more subdued than the kind he would have, but it's still not great. ]

Are you going to be okay?

[ Then to Gansey. ] You're going to get him now, right?

[ He feels so impotent, it's driving him crazy. ]

[quaerit]

[ Gansey's eyes slide to Adam's. He doesn't know how much Ronan has told Matthew about Aurora. He doesn't know how much Matthew has been told at all, and that's really the problem.

He doesn't want to have this conversation any more than Matthew wants to hear it. But he also doesn't want to lie. He runs his hand through his hair and nods, before turning to Adam. ]

Yes, I said I'd collect him. I'll warn him, about...

[ He gestures vaguely around them. Then he looks at Matthew, and his expression is kind and encouraging. ]

Listen, there's nothing to worry about. I'll go and get Ronan, and he'll explain everything. [ Or at least, he had better. ] You're going to be just fine, and if anyone asks, all they need to know is you were poorly.

[ We'll see how long that sticks. Gansey looks at Adam again. ]

Will you be all right?

[dreamkid]

[ This subdued reaction is not, of course, normal for Matthew. But it's not unusual for Lynches in general, and right now he's adopting some of the guardedness he's seen in his brothers because withdrawing from this conversation seems like the only option.

He's not sure what else to do, what else to say. It's not pleasant, in fact it's rather nasty, being the last person in the room to learn something about oneself, especially something like this, if it's true. Because he does know about Aurora. He knows where she came from and why she falls asleep outside of Cabeswater, and it never troubled him after Ronan explained what their mother was, but he also never thought that he might be--

No. No, he's got to talk to Ronan before he jumps to conclusions. ]

It's fine.

[ That's directed at both Gansey and Adam, who don't seem all too comfortable right now either, which isn't something Matthew wants. ]

I'll just wait-- [ He looks at Gansey now, almost reaching with his eyes. ] Until you guys get back, I'll just wait for Ronan.

[ Please bring him his brother quickly. ]

[quaerit]

[ Gansey puts his hand on Matthew's shoulder. He knows that he's worried, and it's unfortunate that he has to deal with this at all. But the fact is that he'd been asleep for a week, and that's not something that can just go away. It's going to have to be faced.

Matthew needs to know it's okay, though. ]

I won't be long.

[ Squeezing Matthew's arm, he turns to look at Adam again. ]

Promise.

[ And then he heads out, shutting the door behind him. They'll hear the Camaro revving up and then speeding away, heading for De Chima. ]