Bene venisti (for smartass_captain )

[conjuredskies]

The last time Jim came to Bruma was upon the tail-end of a waking nightmare. The last time he walked the streets was just before he descended into a crypt to rescue Felix from himself. Hardly the circumstances to let him appreciate the snowbound town perched high in the Jerrall Mountains above Cyrodiil.

How much has changed, though. It’s afternoon in Bruma, and Felix is leading them out of the alleys behind the house, the pair of them bundled up against the cold. The snow has been swept to one side of the streets, and the town’s citizens are going about their day, from rugged fur-wrapped hunters to young women in bright cloaks heading for the chapel. The smell of smoke is on the wind as Felix takes his fiance’s hand and leads them up to the old familiar door under carved low-slung eaves. The front window shutters are open, and he’s sure they’ll have been spotted already. He lowers his hood and shares a look with Jim, a small smile before he knocks on the varnished wood.

Terentius doesn’t move too fast these days, and he’s half-consciously expecting a couple of minutes’ reprieve while they wait. Instead the door opens within seconds. He finds himself looking – up – at- gods, he does look so much like Stratos, doesn’t he? His complexion’s lighter and his face is lined; perhaps this man is a little heavier built than Stratos… and he’s smiling. Widely, genuinely, stepping back to gesture them both in. He’s clearly had time to change, whatever clothes he traveled in exchanged for a set of dark blue and gold robes.

“Come, come, it’s too cold to stand in the street.” Time in foreign parts has diminished his Brumese accent, but it’s still stronger than Felix’s: the vowels more drawn out, the hard consonants softer. “And here you are at last. Felix-” and now he’s pulling his slightly dazed son into an embrace as fierce as it is brief, before standing back to look at him, “I’m glad to see you. And to congratulate you!” He turns to look at Jim properly, eyes bright with interest. “This must be-?”

“Captain James Tiberius Kirk,” Felix says with quiet pride. “My betrothed, father. Jim, may I introduce my father, Legate Nereus Caelus of the Seventh Legion.”

Comments

[smartass_captain]

"I'd like to show you sometime, if I could. I daresay it's about the only way you'd believe me about some of the depictions of where I work." Even with Nereus and Stratos gone from the room Jim's careful to keep his voice down as he talks to Uncle Terentius, aware even with the haze of drink that he's got a part to play here and he'd best stick to it. "Felix can tell you I--Felix?"

Jim looks up from his seat and cranes his neck but the conjurer has disappeared from the kitchen. Figures he'd insist Jim not help and then disappear himself so that he didn't have to do any chores. Jim 'tsk's before heaving himself back out of his seat to try and give their uncle a hand but he's a difficult man to dissuade once he's made up his mind.

It ends in Jim holding up both hands in a show of surrender, shirt slightly wetter for the splash of water that was thrown his way. He ducks back from another warning shot and backs into the hallway with a laugh in his throat that dies the second he turns and spies the somber faces on all three of the Caelus men. Adrenaline spikes through him but Jim keeps his expression carefully friendly.

"Here everyone is." He wants to ask what he missed, but a chill passes through him the moment Stratos meets his gaze. The expression on the man's carefully guarded face tight in a way Jim hasn't seen since Rielle.

"Oh shit." It's quiet, his slip back into Federation Standard, unintentional but there all the same.

[conjuredskies]

He can see Nereus look his way sharply at the foreign words, but the man’s attention is drawn swiftly back to the look on his younger son’s face. Felix is turned away from Jim, and yet- something in his face, the stark pallor he’s taken on, clearly tell Nereus this is more than merely a story. Paternal concern takes over, and he reaches up to clasp his son’s shoulders, expression creased with gut-wrenching worry, Jim’s cloak still in one hand.

“By the gods, Felix, what-“

“I can’t- I can’t speak of it, Father.” That’s no lie, even. Felix breathes deep, makes himself meet his parent’s eyes. “But it’s all right. I’m- it’s over. What matters is that Jim saved me. He and Stratos. I can’t tell you how much he- how he’s earned our trust. And my love. There’s no-one else I’d have by my side like him.”

Nereus nods slowly, and his voice is tight with emotion. “I understand, my son.”

And then he pulls Felix into a tight embrace, one the conjurer returns after a startled moment. When they pull back again, Felix reaches a hand back to Jim, glancing over his shoulder with wide eyes.

[smartass_captain]

Jim doesn't back up at the sudden turn, though his gaze does track to his cloak Nereus is clutching with confusion evident in his gaze. It's brief--the weight of whatever is going unsaid in the room is engulfing. Suffocating. Taking all of Jim's attention as it must be Stratos and Felix both as well.

He wants to point out they had a fair bit of help, he and Stratos. But he can't speak to the close friends who aided them any more than he can his own world and if Jim mentioned Marcella or Terentius it would implicate them in keeping secrets from the Caelus Patriarch as well. Jim sits on his words and watches with a chest pulled uncomfortably tight for the emotions churning inside of him.

Yet he doesn't hesitate for even a second to reach out and take Felix's hand in his when the conjurer seeks it.

When the tension has eased a little Jim clears his throat.

"I would ask you let me speak of it, if anyone. Do not make Stratos or Felix relive it. It won't hurt me quite as bad to talk as it will them. What I remember of it, at least."

[conjuredskies]

Felix steps back as his hand curls tight around Jim’s, seeking to lean into his warm presence. But he shakes his head at Jim’s honest offer, pulling him all the closer. “You went through as much as we did. I couldn’t let you do that for us.”

It’s hard to fathom the depth of feeling in Nereus’s gaze when he turns it to Jim. There’s worry there, and love, and a new gratitude for this strange young man… and a touch of contrition. Quietly he hangs the cloak back up before he speaks.

“I’m afraid I must apologize to you, Jim. I came… terribly close to making a grave misjudgement of you. I’m glad my fears were misplaced, and I hope you understand my reasons for being concerned about any new addition to our family, but…” he looks back at Felix, and his voice softens, “Clearly I owe you a better welcome than that, to make an understatement."

[smartass_captain]

"We all knew this was a risk. No one likes being lied to."

Jim knows he's veering off script here but he shoots anyone who looks at him askance a glance that Felix of all people knows. Nereus has figured out enough of the truth already, insisting on the lie wouldn't really do anyone any favors here and the man is their family. Marcella knows. Ushug knows. Terentius knows.

"I wasn't raised the way you were, Felix. The things that trouble me aren't the ones that bother you, I expect. All the Cyrodiil dialect I know your sons have taught me so I apologize if I sound more like they than myself. I'll leave it to Stratos to determine how much I should tell. But I can't stand here and pretend to be something I'm not. I won't insult us both pretending to think you'd believe it."

Nor should he.

"Just let me tell him, Felix. Whatever Stratos thinks he should know, I'm gonna do it." His murmur to his betrothed is quiet but Jim doesn't hide it's strangeness either.

"I'm sorry. I've been practicing for months for this. I had rather hoped I'd be better at fitting in here than I seem to be." Jim's stomach churns for the idea that he's screwed this all up somehow. But he has, and he'll own it now that things are a mess. It's practically his specialty.

[conjuredskies]

"I... appreciate that." Nereus's eyebrows are rising slowly, however. He's getting the sudden and distinct impression that this goes beyond Jim's background being other than advertised, and he's wary of what else they could possibly have to reveal.

"No." Felix is shaking his head. "You can't, Jim. We prepared for this."

It's left to Stratos to make the call, and he might well look askance at Jim. His father is turning to look at him, too, and his eyes flit between all of them.

Father doesn't need to know about the blades," he says finally, looking apologetic at his father's consternation as Nereus realizes that both his sons apparently speak this completely alien tongue.

[smartass_captain]

Right, okay then. They're going to keep that skeleton well and locked up in the closet. Fair enough. Felix looks as pale as a ghost already. Jim gestures back toward the dining area, tugging Felix along by the hand so he can get his betrothed seated and a warm drink in his hands to sip at.

"While I am fully human I'm not from Nirn. The planet, er." Jim licks at his lip and frowns intensely in concentration before he remembers Felix's preferred terminology for this. "Sorry. The plane I'm from is very different to this one. Due to extenuating circumstances and a very odd coincidence I had the chance to meet Felix. We couldn't ever quite seem to stop running into each other. Getting to know Stratos was really just a matter of time."

Jim doesn't outright explain that Nereus is the only one unaware of this much but well. Given that he's comfortable talking about it in front of Terentius it implies as much.

[auspex_caelo]

Terentius sneaks them all a concerned look when they come back in together, all silent and somber. One glance at Felix and his fears are confirmed. The old soldier plunks down the cup of canis tea he's just poured in front of his younger nephew, and busies himself with getting some for everyone else as Jim goes on to spell out the situation.

Whatever half-formed inferences Nereus has been putting together, it's obvious Jim's actual confession blows them out of the water. He turned a stunned look to each of the younger men. Stratos nods in silent corroboration.

"You're from another plane?" He frowns. "There are other planes where humans dwell?"

"It's not a daedric realm," Stratos assures him.

"But then-" he gives Jim a hard look, "you're a plane-walker as well? A conjurer? I thought you had no magical ability." He turns his attention to Terentius setting their cups on the table. "And you knew?"

"Eventually. But Jim's not much to worry about. It's obvious he's not a real daedra; he's as human as they come."

[smartass_captain]

"I'm a...wh-- no. No, I'm not a conjurer." Nereus and his thicker accent and now rapid speech take Jim a moment to keep up with. He's shaking his head quickly.

"There's." Fuck, this is hard. Jim doesn't have the words for what he wants to say. He licks at his bottom lip and squints down at the table before raising his head again. "There's no one who is mage in my plane." That's close, right?

"I used to think it was impossible to...t-to cast there. But I've seen it done now. It's just harder." Repeated exposure to the climate seems to show that mages can acclimate to the area quite successfully given Felix's familiarity with his spells in Jim's world as the years have gone by but the captain doesn't even know where to begin if he wants to explain it.

"I'm not a mage. And I'm certainly no daedra. I just. It's my job to study things people haven't seen before. I ended up wandering into a place that let me meet your son." A beat. "Sons."

[auspex_caelo]

"We didn't just meet," Felix adds. There's a little more color in his face, but it's sunk in what conversation they're having and he's giving everyone uncertain looks as he rejoins the discussion.

"This is extraordinary," Nereus says, peering at Jim and shaking his head.

"But true," says Stratos. "Father, you must understand why all of this demands secrecy. The things Felix and I have been studying must not fall into the wrong hands."

"Of course." He agrees with that immediately, almost on reflex. Still. He's frowning at Jim. Secrecy being the watchword, bringing a new husband home from another plane is a very dubious venture... but why they'd take such a risk is already obvious. Much too late to argue even if he wanted to.

Of all the questions he wants to ask, Nereus can't guess how many will go unanswered. He reaches across the table, however, extending a hand toward Jim's palm up. "May I... ah. Examine your energies, for a moment?"

[smartass_captain]

"No," Jim agrees with Felix readily. "We've been together for years now. As you can imagine, deciding to do much anything else required a bit more thought and work."

Work Felix was more than worth doing. Twice, even. Jim can't help the slight crook to one corner of his mouth. He doesn't regret it. The only thing he regrets is the months they spent apart after Felix's ordeal. The captain's bound and determined not to make the same mistake again.

"Ah?" Jim doesn't think twice about reaching out with his right hand to offer it to Felix's father. There's no ingrained suspicion of what a mage could do to him. "Sure, okay."

[conjuredskies]

Neither of the brothers objects, but they're both watching closely as Nereus takes Jim's hand and passes one of his own over it. A faint pink glow tinges the air between them, limns both of their skin, and Jim's likely to feel an odd sensation, like something ethereal plucking at him gently. Nereus's eyes are distant before he lets the magic face and pulls away.

"I thought you might carry some trace of your plane's magic with you," he explains. "A residue of something truly foreign. And yet I don't sense anything strange. It must be true that your plane has very little magic. Perhaps you're at an advantage over a mage, in that respect."

"A conjurer could tell," Felix says quietly. "But only if they're good enough. And most of them only study the flashy spells, anyway."

[smartass_captain]

It's different from when Felix does it. Jim couldn't explain how exactly they feel different but it's there just at the back of his head. The tingling doesn't hurt but it's not normal, not comfortable. Jim shudders slightly and shakes his head when Nereus pulls away. He's not aware at how quick that same hand reaches over to take Felix's instead.

To seek comfort once it's over with.

"I don't know, Felix does quite alright over there." Jim shakes his head slowly. "I'm studying it as well as I'm able. So far all I've done is raise more questions than answers." He'd really rather not bring up How Felix knows he can tell Jim apart from anyone else spiritually. The last thing they need to bring up is the shit that happens in the Nexus.

Alternates, curses. Felix has had to identify His Jim on more than one occasion even when he didn't look like himself.

[conjuredskies]

Felix's fingers curl tight around Jim's hand, squeezing in reassurance. They have each other's backs here. Nereus, meanwhile, clearly has plenty to distract him as he turns his gaze to Felix.

"So when you say you intend to live with Jim..."

"In his world. Yes, Father. He's arranged everything. I'll have to keep my origin a secret just as his is here, but we've worked it all out. I'll be with him on his ship most of the time, anyway."

"His ship." Up go the eldest Caelus's eyebrows again. "Then you really are a captain?"

[smartass_captain]

"That's truthfully why I didn't think it would be wise to bring many people of mine for a wedding over here. Everything's already been settled in my world. Stratos came as a witness. I really don't have much in the way of family over there so there was no ceremony, merely paperwork to be filled out. But we both agreed it wouldn't be right or official until all of your ceremonies were seen to."

He could probably invite a few people along to this if they had enough time to prepare. Uhura knows both of the brothers. Spock, Bones. It wouldn't be much more than that but it would be something at least.

Nereus' question makes Jim smile with more than a touch of pride, though his gaze strays toward Stratos again, eyebrow raising in a clearly unspoken question.

"I am. Though not what you would call a traditional one."

[conjuredskies]

Stratos hesitates; Nereus is quick to sweep a look around all of them.

"Now," he says firmly, "I won't ask you to tell me anything that directly compromises your work. I won't ask the details of getting there and back, for example. But I will hear what sort of place my youngest son intends to run away to. And what manner of life he's going to lead."

The look he gives Stratos accepts no arguments. After a moment, his son looks at Jim and nods helplessly.

"Besides," Nereus adds more lightly, "if I am ever interrogated - and I have many ways to prevent that - it will not be about your escapades, believe me."

[smartass_captain]

They're all talking, all looking around at each other. Jim watches them all and says nothing. But he does lift one hand and point a finger straight up. Felix understands, of course he does. Stratos will only take a moment longer, and then only because he's less used to Jim's nonprofessional side to his personality. But eventually he'll have their attention again.

Their questioning stares and potentially frustrated faces.

"Oblivion. The Void. Not yours, obviously. My ship is out among the stars. A research vessel. Mapping out uncharted regions of space and documenting whatever else we may find." It's the whatever else that's usually the part that gets them in trouble but Jim knows well enough what not to say.

All of this is hardly believable as it is. He's at least got the decency not to smile. He doesn't want this to be taken for a joke in poor taste.