Entry #12050104001305

ᴩᴚᴓᴛⱻᴐᴛ ᴀπк

Hopefully the title isn't too difficult to read but in case it is, this chapter is called "Protect Ark"

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The blow to the head the hooded man had received must have been intense because he was out cold for over an hour. That entire time, Tim and Jay sat silently on the coffee table and waited.

Jay's mind was running a mile a minute. Why was Tim just sitting there? Was he lost in thought? Why hadn't he removed the other's mask? Did he already know who the hooded cryptic really was? Were they on the same side or not? Probably not, Jay figured, considering that they had been fighting and one of them was knocked out and tied to a chair.

The restrained man's head slowly shifted to the side and a quiet breath was muffled by the black mask. As he slowly began to regain consciousness, his muscles tensed, pulling against the rope that held him. Once he was fully awake, his head snapped up, the eyes on the mask drilling holes in Jay and destroying what little confidence he had over the situation before he turned his head to look at his former accomplice. The frown on the mask seemed even more disapproving than before.

The hooded one pulled against his restraints and the masked one shook his head. A quiet huff left the other's mouth and he nodded his head toward Jay then Tim who simply shook his head again. A rough hand reached down to tap the edge of his cast before he tapped the edge of his mask once then twisted his fingers. A sense of realization seemed to dawn on the hooded cryptic but it was fleeting. The dark eyes of the mask became trained on Jay and the rest of Tim's gestures went unnoticed. Becoming fed up with the cryptic's inattentiveness, the masked man stood up, awkwardly limping forward so that he was directly in front of the other.

The tension in the room shifted as Tim leaned down, a hand tightly gripping the hooded man's shoulder so he wouldn't topple over. With their masked faces mere inches apart, Tim leaned down and pressed his thumb into the covered skin of the other's thigh. The cryptic's shoulders relaxed and he held perfectly still as symbols were traced into his body. Jay watched with rapt attention and thought he saw the letter "T" but it could have been a "+" sign or something else entirely. When Tim's hand stilled, the hooded one tilted his head to the side. Simultaneously, the two shared a glance back at Jay before focusing on each other again. As more symbols were written across the restrained man's jeans, Jay felt a hint of emotion he hadn't felt in a long time.

Jay was jealous.

He knew he shouldn't be. Tim wasn't really the one pressing his thumb into the covered skin of another man's thigh and he wasn't holding tightly onto that man's shoulder, but at the same time, that was exactly what he was doing. Even if he hadn't switched consciousness with his alter, Tim wasn't Jay's to be jealous over. He truly had no right - or much of a reason - to be jealous but that didn't seem to matter. Watching how his face was trained on his accomplice and his thumb pressed quick symbols into the fabric of his jeans, Jay faintly wished he were the one in that position. Of course, he didn't want to have an alternate personality or be tied to a chair, but imagining how it must have felt to have Tim's hands gently but firmly holding and touching him had his mind wandering and he had to reel himself in before things got out of hand.

His attention was forced back to the two cryptics as Tim began to untie the rope that held the stranger hostage. Jay wasn't exactly comfortable with that but he figured it would be best to trust Tim's alter's judgement. He hadn't tried to hurt him yet so Jay had cause to believe that they were on the same side.

Once untied, the hooded stranger sat up straighter in the chair, stretching his arms out in front of him before lightly rubbing his wrists. Tim pushed himself up from his place on the carpet and hobbled back to the coffee table. (Now that Jay thought about it, when had the table been righted from its previous position on its side?) With his hands free, the uninvited stranger leaned forward so he sat on the edge of his chair and pressed his finger into the exposed skin of Tim's forearm, tracing shapes into his skin like Tim had done to him.

Several minutes passed with the two engaged in silent conversation while Jay simply watched. It was awkward for him at first, but the longer he watched the two converse, the more he realized how deep their connection was. It seemed strange, being able to communicate with little or no words - none spoken, at least - and mostly gestures but the two got along just fine. Jay had to wonder how long the two had known each other and how long it had taken to refine their system of transmitting ideas.

Tilting his head to the side, the interloper pointed to his chest where his heart was then leaned forward and did the same to Tim's chest. As Tim took the other's hand and used it to trace something against his black t-shirt, Jay's jealousy flared. Why was he feeling like this toward him? If there was an emotion he should be feeling, it should be fear. It was one thing when Tim was the one in control of his body but it was something else entirely when his orphic personality was in control. The two were complete opposites in the most extreme ways and Jay immediately felt guilty for feeling something for Tim and his other personality. Regardless, the jealousy coursing through him was stronger than ever and his heart sank when the two looked over at him as if they had forgotten he was there.

Sliding over on the edge of the coffee table, a masked Tim approached Jay before turning his body to face him. Jay was wary of the hooded stranger who had moved to sit on Tim's other side until a warm finger was pressed against his chest just like the two had done moments ago. Jay's mind went completely blank and his heart jumped in a mix of fear and excitement at the touch; he gaped for a moment before he realized that Tim was trying to tell him something.

"But I thought..." Jay began before trailing off, his voice shaking slightly, watching as Tim shook his head just barely. Removing his hand from Jay's chest, Tim's alter instead moved his hand to Jay's bare arm before tracing a shape into his skin. If Jay wasn't mistaken, it was the letter "U". The lack of explanation left Jay's mind reeling, a hundred different interpretations of the gesture popping into his head one after another.

A warm hand rested on Jay's wrist as its owner turned to face the third member of their party. Jay leaned forward enough to see the hooded man spell out something against Tim's thigh above his cast then stand up, staring long and hard at Jay before fleeing out the front door. How he moved without making a single sound was impressive and only added to the element of danger that surrounded him.

Left with only Tim's other personality and a million questions, one thought finally occurred to Jay. He had forgotten to grab his camera.