Young Writers Society

Light came through the blinds in slats lining across the room, bending as they fell over the coffee table, Bo's feet, the couch, and stopped just before his face. His chest rose and fell softly as he napped peacefully on his old, wilted couch on a Sunday afternoon. With nothing set in his schedule, and a long week weighing on him, he was quickly brought into a much needed deep sleep the moment he finally slowed down and stopped moving.

His apartment was small and dingy, but it was home.

The yellowing walls had faint water stains that had never been painted over, and the ceiling had faint spots of unknown origin. One brick wall, adjacent to a wall with a row of tall windows, housed an unused fireplace. He'd stuck a small bookcase in there, and that was about as artsy as the apartment got: the rest was a little messy, and all of the furniture was a little worn and scratched up. All of it was thrifted or gifted, and decorations were sparse.

In the middle of the wooden coffee table there was a small vase with wilting flowers and a few books stacked with no particular intentionality. The single couch faced the windows, but there was a small blue single-seat that filled up the corner.

Two small pictures hung on the wall by the door - one, a picture of his father, when he was young - and another of James and his family. Apart from those and a sole clock, the walls were blank.

Bo's peaceful breathing amongst the musty air was abruptly interrupted when a body fell into his lap. With great alarm, Bo's entire consciousness came to alertness, and he instinctively punched the body with full force. Whoever it was fell to the floor in a puddle of black clothing, and Bo found himself pointing his gun as the intruder before he could even think.

Everything that had happened to Kartiel had been a blur: the sudden magical jerking from one reality to another, the falling onto a body in a rundown apartment, the punch and the gun being pointed at his face had all happened far too quickly for each event to register separately.

His body responded in autopilot; it perceived a threat and acted accordingly.

He hopped back to his feet, a hand shooting out to grab onto the arm holding the gun. The bullet wouldn't have technically caused any harm, and he was surely going to get hit with at least one of them. But he really didn't want to get this shirt dirty, so he would try to keep the blood loss to a minimum.

He started to twist the arm in a way that would surely hurt with a strength unfit for someone so lean, only to stop when the face of its owner finally clicked. He had been so focused on the weapon that he hadn't thought to look at the face - which was stupid, in retrospect, seeing that few people were as big as Bo was.

He let go of the arm.

"Bo?" he said.

Bo was seconds from pulling the trigger when the person's hesitation stopped him. He looked up at the guy as they said his name - not in a confrontational way, but as if they hadn't expected to see him.

He blinked, and slowly drew his arm away, resting his gun as his side.

If the person hadn't meant to break into his home and was surprised to run into him, then who even was he? Bo squinted and looked the guy up and down. Their garb was far from fitting to their period, or to their setting in LA, unless there was some kind of comiccon nearby that he hadn't heard about.

The gears in his brain reached for the only reasonable conclusion that would even make sense for his current reality.

"...Kartiel?" he asked, a part of him hoping it was Kartiel, but also dreading the possibility if Kartiel was in trouble again for some reason, and had brought that trouble to his home.

At least it was his apartment and not close to his friends or anything.

He nodded, pushing his hood back to reveal a face that would undoubtedly look familiar to Bo. Though the majority of their time together had involved him being in bodies that weren't his own, he had always tried to keep the faces similar - it was the most he could do to prevent himself from losing his identity to whatever appearance he was taking on.

"It's me," he replied.

Then he paused, trying to get a grasp on what had led to this point - it had been another magical artifact. He had been using them ever since he began searching for Matt; there weren't many other options that would allow him to switch worlds so quickly. But the artifact was nowhere to be seen, and he hadn't expected that the artifact would actually bring him to another world.

"This isn't like the last time we met," he reassured Bo, sensing his unease, "or the time before that."

He scanned the room for the closest door, and slowly started to make his way over to it - the sooner he was away from him, the better. Searching for Matt was bad enough; he hated to think of what would happen when they finally met again. But even though Bo had been there for the incident with the underdeveloped body, he had still been responsible for ruining his life twice.

"This was a mistake," he said. He rested his hand on the doorknob. "I didn't mean to impose on you."

Bo stared as Kartiel hurried to his apartment door, and tried to process Kartiel's brief and hurried explanation. This wasn't like the other times- so... Bo wasn't being kidnapped or dragged in to help with some crisis. This was really just an accident and happenstance?

Bo quirked his head to the side and got up, slowly approaching Kartiel by the door. Despite his jarring awakening from his nap, his head still felt a little fuzzy.

"You don't need to like, hurry out," he said, rubbing an eye booger out of his eye. "I mean, obviously jumping on me wasn't the ideal way to greet me but I figure you had little choice in that, considering it was a 'mistake,' so, no hard feelings."

He leaned on the wall just a foot or two away from Kartiel, looking down at the god standing in his doorway.

"Besides, if you go outside like that you might get some trouble... I mean, I know you can handle it of course but I feel like you're not the kinda guy who likes to draw attention when you've been spoofed into a different world or reality or whatever."

He looked down at himself.

He had been so worried about leaving that he hadn't even thought of the implications of his outfit and appearance. He didn't want to touch his hair - that was something sacred, as it was a key part of his appearance. But his clothing could easily be changed, especially when he was aware of Earth's standards. Going off of what he remembered of Bo's area, he tried to imagine something that wouldn't stand out.

Then he cast a quick spell underneath his breath, imagining the change. Sneakers replaced his boots, and his pants were replaced by black exercise pants with white streaks. His shirt became a dark blue t-shirt, and his long jacket was transformed into an unzipped black hoodie.

He pulled the hood up to hide his hair.

"I really need to go," he said, twisting the doorknob. The door slowly began to creak open.

"Ah..." Bo whispered under his breath. I see you have left me with no other choice, he announced dramatically, but in his head.

Bo reached up and over Kartiel, pushing the door shut, and twisted the deadbolt lock into place. Then he wedged himself between Kartiel and the door, and gave Kartiel a friendly pat on the shoulder.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but uh, you haven't always proved yourself to be the best as caring for yourself in the past - like... physically, or emotionally - and as your self-appointed friend I think it might be a good idea for you to like, stop and eat something. Maybe take a breather. I could make you a sandwich. You could go to the bathroom. Have a party. Read a book. Aye?"

A burst of air left his lips - maybe a sigh, or maybe a groan. He couldn't really tell himself. He just knew that he was frustrated by this turn of events; the last thing he wanted to do was stay with Bo for any extended period of time. But there was little he could do in this situation. Though he was stronger than he appeared to be because of his godly heritage, it would take an incredible feat of strength to push Bo out of the way.

Then Bo's words registered, and he gaped at him from underneath the hood. Bo thought of him as a friend? Why would he ever think of him like that? The first time they met, he had abducted him and forced him to take part in an experiment. The second, he had abducted him - albeit accidentally - and had him help save the multiverse. Every time they had ever met involved him ruining Bo's life in some way.

His posture still tense, he let out a quiet sigh.

"A...A sandwich would be good," he relented. He had eaten recently - even if his stomach was trying to pretend otherwise - but it had been awhile since he had eaten something so Earth-like. He hesitated, his face growing red underneath his hood. He felt embarrassed by asking for what he would say next, but it had always been a favorite of his when pretending to be Keith Quinn. "Do you...Do you have peanut butter and jelly, by any chance?"

Bo felt himself relax, glad that he wouldn't have to force Kartiel into staying or muscle his way around him anymore. A smile of relief turned to genuine happiness when Kartiel agreed to the sandwich, and he couldn't help but beam down at him as he asked for something as simple as a PB&J.

"Do I have peanut butter and jelly?" Bo echoed, leaning forward a little. "Of course I have peanut butter and jelly! I hope you like smooth peanut butter, but I've got a few jelly and jam options," he began to explain as he walked towards his kitchen - small, and a little crowded - and opened up his fridge.

"What's your style? Are you a strawberry man? A grape guy? Wildberry? Boysenberry?"

He followed Bo into the kitchen, casting a brief glance in the direction of the door before stopping a few feet away from him. Now would have been the perfect time to leave, but he was allured by the possibility of eating Earth food again.

"Grape works," he finally said. His gaze traveled around the apartment as he waited for Bo to make the sandwich. He had been here before, but he had been more focused on keeping Bo's body in a stable condition while his soul resided in the copy he had made over in Atlantis. This was the first time he could actually pause and look it over.

Bo nodded and pulled out the jelly, peanut butter, and bread. He watched Kartiel from the corner of his eye as he carefully crafted the sandwich on the plate, making sure it was the most perfect - most immaculate PB&J he had ever made. Not because he wanted to impress Kartiel or anything... (obviously it wasn't that). He just wanted to be a good host.

With the sandwich done, Bo quickly poured a glass of water and chopped up an apple, artfully layering the slices on the side of the plate to frame the sandwich.

With his masterpiece complete, he turned to Kartiel and nodded over to his kitchen table.

"Come," he said with a smile, setting the glass and plate on the table, and pulling out a chair for him. "Eat!"

Kartiel had only expected a sandwich, but he appreciated the extra effort that Bo put into making it - the artfully placed apple slices made a small smile dance across his lips, even though this entire situation was one he'd rather avoid. He followed Bo over to the table and slipped into the seat closest to the meal.

He carefully lifted up the sandwich and took a bite out of it.

The smile grew a little more.

"It tastes good," he said. He couldn't remember the last time he had eaten one - it had to have been before the incident, back when he was still pretending to be Keith Quinn. He quickly took a few more large bites, his hungry stomach growing all the more satisfied. He felt embarrassed for eating like that in front of Bo, but he couldn't help it. He was hungrier than expected, and the food tasted really good.

But just as he was finishing off the first apple slice, he suddenly realized that he wasn't the only one who hadn't been able to have something as simple as a PB&J sandwich. Matt wouldn't have been able to have it, either.

...He didn't feel as hungry now.

He quietly pushed the plate away, gaze dropping down to the table.

"It tasted good," he quietly said. "Thank you."

Bo grabbed an apple for himself and ate while Kartiel ate, to make it less awkward. He didn't mind Kartiel going at it, and figured Kartiel must've been more hungry, or at least had more of an appetite than he let on. He watched as Kartiel pushed the plate away, apparently done.

"You're very welcome," he said with a nod. "Anytime, friend."

Kartiel didn't look up; he didn't deserve to be called someone's friend, especially when Matt was still alone in the depths of the multiverse.

He quietly pushed his chair back.

"I really should be going now," he said. "Thank you again for the food."

He started to head towards the door, furiously trying to blink away the tears forming in his eyes. He had been so good at concealing his true emotions back when he had to work for Sirun; now he couldn't stop himself from tearing up at the thought of what he had done to Matt.

Thankfully, his back was turned to Bo, so the man would never be any the wiser.

Kartiel was clearly not doing very well. He didn't finish his food. He wouldn't make eye contact. He spoke in short sentences and turned away quickly. He was getting ready to leave again. With a frown, Bo got up from his chair and intercepted Kartiel once again, though he admittedly took no pleasure in blocking his path again.

He wished he didn't have to force Kartiel to stay, or make it so he had to rest, or open up, or any of that -and he didn't want to. But he couldn't just leave a friend in the midst of their struggle and pretend he didn't see it. A sandwich wasn't going to fix Kartiel's major emotional issues.

"Kartiel," he said softly, with a sigh. "What's going on? What's wrong?"