Entry #12050104001305

Return To Us

A short chapter so I can get back into the habit of writing for this story.

I'm sorry it's been over a month since my last update. I've been working on my other main story and I haven't felt much motivation to write for this fandom lately. That doesn't mean I'm out of the fandom - far from it. I just fandom jump a lot between the few fandoms I enjoy and I haven't come around to this one in a while.

I started this chapter at the beginning of February but it's been sitting since then. I honestly wasn't sure where I was going to go with this and got a little stuck but something finally hit me and I have a better idea of what's going to happen next. So hopefully updates will be more frequent. Anyway, here we go.

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By the time Jay had helped Tim into his room, both of the men were dead tired. As soon as Tim's head had hit the pillow, his soft snores had made Jay aware of exactly how tired the man was. Even though he meant to make his way back out to the couch before falling asleep, Jay had already nodded off, sitting on the edge of Tim's mattress beside his sleeping companion.

The sound of a loud crash jolted Jay out of his deep sleep. His back ached from being hunched over the edge of the mattress for hours but that was the least of his concerns. Jay's head whipped around but in the darkness, it was difficult to see much of anything. Thin fingers searched the mattress in a flurry but came up empty. Tim was missing again.

Jumping up from the mattress, Jay rushed for the living room where the commotion was. Eyes beginning to adjust to the darkness, Jay could make out the shape of two men tangled up on the carpet. The coffee table was knocked onto its side, the papers, water bottles, and cups that had been on its top consequently spread across the floor.

Jay had no idea what to do. Calling the police wasn't an option - it never was - because there was no way to explain what was going on. At the same time, he couldn't just let Tim be attacked by the intruder, especially not with his current injury. Thankfully for him, he didn't have to make a decision. After watching the struggle for a few moments, the one man went limp, collapsing on top of Tim. With his eyes completely adjusted to the dark, Jay could see that the perturbing white mask was on Tim's face again. That could only mean trouble.

Rolling the unconscious body off of him, Tim - could he really call him Tim anymore? - quickly pushed himself up. It looked difficult and awkward with a cast encasing the majority of his left leg but he managed. With nearly all of his weight on his right leg, Tim weakly limped into the kitchen, returning seconds later with a kitchen chair. Snapping his head up, he pointed at Jay then the unconscious man on the floor and finally the chair. Jay understood and began to maneuver the body so that it was sitting upright in the chair.

A tap on his shoulder startled him and he whipped his head around to find Tim standing above him with a length of rope. Jay had no idea where he had gotten such an item so fast but he supposed it didn't really matter. Taking the rope, Jay began to awkwardly tie the man to the chair, starting with his ankles and moving upward. The task would have been a little easier to accomplish if the light had been on but Tim made no move to turn it on and Jay felt it was best if he didn't.

With the man finally secured to the chair, Jay finally sat back on the coffee table to look at him. Face concealed and masked face tilted down, Jay still had no idea what his true identity was, but he still knew who the man was.

Totheark. Well, if he could call him that. He was the hooded stranger who seemed to be Tim's alter's accomplice. However, if Tim had just knocked him out and had him tied to a chair, Jay knew he would have to rethink that evaluation. That task could wait though.

After checking to make sure the knots securing the hooded man were secure, Tim took a seat on the opposite end of the coffee table, stretching his injured leg out in front of him. Jay wasn't sure if he was being at least a little careful of his injury because of the pain or because Jay had told him before that he should let it rest and heal but either way, Jay felt like he had won a little victory.

Casting several glances at Tim's masked face, Jay realized that he had no clue what was going to happen when the hooded stranger awoke. He had never heard either of them speak, so it seemed unlikely that they would have a conversation, especially in front of Jay. Then again, neither seemed quite like the type to jump to violence without a good reason, not extreme violence, anyway.

Breathing a deep sigh through his nose, Jay rubbed his temples, willing the headache he was beginning to get to ease. Sitting in the dark living room, the two men were left to play the waiting game.