i know i make mistakes [HOLDEN]

[HUXLEY JAMES ALLEN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] GIVE ME A SECOND I NEED TO GET MY STORY STRAIGHT The Words: enough The Outfit: maybe eventually The Notes holy jeez This was the worst night of Huxley’s life. Now, the kid often exaggerated and could be heard saying this if he was in a bad mood or depending on what had happened to him that day. He rarely meant it though. As much as he said that, Huxley could count the number of actual worst nights on one hand. And so far, the actual worst night ever had been when Huxley shifted for the first time and had ended up disappearing for most of the day. He hated making his mom and brother worry, especially unnecessarily. It was selfish of him since they both had enough on their plates and they didn’t need him to cause more problems. The worst part of everything, though, was the lying. Hux wanted nothing more than to tell them the truth but he couldn’t just dump it on them like that. Now though, this time was even worse than that. He hadn’t been exaggerating when he gave that title to tonight. Just the state the shifter was in could be proof enough. He was quite clearly a mess, what with the bruises all over his face, the blood running down his cheek from a cut, and the feeling that he couldn’t move his jaw any more. Add to that a pounding headache and Huxley felt utterly awful. And what was this from? Well, he wished he knew. The only thing Huxley understood was that he was being targeted and he had guessed it was because of what he was. What other reason could it have been? The whole thing had seemed much too organized and well thought out to be a random mugging. If it hadn’t been for the other guy who had showed up and helped him, Hux would surely be dead. Yet, even though Huxley was jumpy right now, afraid that those guys would appear again, he was dreading getting back home. It should be a safe place and for the most part, it was. Not in this situation, however. The kid knew his brother would be up and waiting for him. Huxley could swear that Holden had never gone to bed before Hux had. He thought he probably had trouble sleeping if he knew that his brother was still out and about. And as much as Huxley appreciated that about his brother, he couldn’t help but wish that Holden wasn’t quite that protective at this moment. The shifter knew he’d have to explain everything eventually because unlike his werewolf counterparts, he couldn’t heal quickly. It’d require more lying that Huxley didn’t want to do and he would have preferred a bit of a break to let his mind actually process what had happened before having to prepare himself to lie more. Huxley held onto this hope as he walked towards the door, refusing to let it go even though he could see that the light was on in the living room from the end of the street. Maybe if he wished hard enough, Holden would have magically gone to bed and let him be for this once. The kid kept thinking this even as he opened the door and shuffled as quietly as he could manage into the house. He shut the door behind him without nearly a sound and paused for a few minutes facing the door, hating feel like he had to sneak into his own house. Well that, and the fact that he was feeling kind of dizzy at this point and wasn’t quite sure he could manage stairs yet. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[HOLDEN GRANT AVERY]

[style=width:400; height: 250; background-image:url(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk301/FadedReality_88/Holden/holden3736.jpg);]

you don't have to go it alone

i will be close behind

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;] Holden kept telling himself he just needed to go to bed. That this was ridiculous and he needed to start letting go a bit. The kid was twenty-one years old for pete's sake! Old enough to legally drink, buy cigarettes and pretty much do just about any damn thing he wanted to do. Which included staying out late without having his brother waiting up for him. Yet here he was still sitting on the couch, one small lamp lighting up a corner of the room, turning a page of the Popular Mechanics magazine he wasn't really even reading. The inner argument could keep going on all night though and he knew full well he wouldn't budge from this spot until Huxley got home. Honestly it probably would have been physically impossible for him to actually forced himself to go into his room crawl in bed and go to sleep. All he would have done was lie there staring at the ceiling, eyes darting towards the door at every sound that might have been someone coming in the house.

It wasn't that he didn't trust his younger brother. The boy was probably one of the most trustworthy people Holden knew. Didn't go out looking for trouble or hang with the wrong crowd. Even as a teen he'd never done anything to purposely worry either Holden or their mother. He was a good kid. A fact Holden knew very well. This whole staying up and waiting probably had a lot less to do with Hux than it did with Holden himself really. The man couldn't remember when this hadn't been his role. Making sure everyone was safe and sound and things were alright. He could recall being eight years old and sneaking out of the bedroom he shared with Huxley at their grandparents house to hide behind the couch to wait for their mom to get home from work. Just seeing her walk through the door was all needed and he'd scoot back to the bedroom to crawl back in bed before she came in to kiss them goodnight, assuming both were dead to the world.

So until Huxley came walking through that door safe and sound Holden would be out here sitting on the couch, waiting. To be fair Hux didn't do this often. Stay out late without letting him know ahead of time or just not come home. Holden appreciated that probably more than his brother knew if only because it saved him from being a complete nervous wreck twenty four seven. Knowing what was out there in the world didn't help matters much either. Back when he was younger it had been muggers, car accidents and your other normal fears over what could or might have happened to a loved one. Add vampires, werewolves, demons and a dozen more various monsters to that line up and there was pretty much no way the guy couldn't worry. Not after what he'd been through himself and the last seven years or so of hunting the things. Glancing at the clock on the wall across from him, Holden tossed the magazine down on the coffee table, leaning foward to rest his elbows on his knees and running his hands tiredly down his face. A quick glance at his phone showed no missed calls or texts to even give him an idea where or what the kid was possibly doing. He'd refrained from calling him so far though. The last thing he wanted to do was smother the kid.

The sound of a dog barking from where off in the distance had his head jerking upward towards the front window and Holden got up abruptly from the couch running a hand haphazardly through his short hair. That's when the pacing started, back and forth in front of the couch, something he wasn't even really aware he was actually doing he just had too much nervous energy to simply sit right now. Normally he wasn't this antsy but more than just Hux being out late was worrying him. He'd received a call a hour or so ago from one of his hunting buddies, apparently something was going down tonight, groups of people were being attacked at random it seemed. Supernaturals, humans even hunters. His friend had told him to lay low for now, that that's what the rest of them were doing until they knew more about what was going on, something Holden had at first balked at but his friend had talked him down from going out after his brother. He was giving him fifteen more minutes and then-

The soft sound of the door clicking shut broke off his train of thought and Holden couldn't help the feeling of relief that flowed through him at the sound. He wasn't the sort to blow up on people and honestly wasn't even really angry at the kid just glad he was back safe and sound. Hux was being quieter than usual coming in and Holden shuffled towards the entry way. He knew the boy was likely expecting him to still be up so he didn't worry about startling him as he rounded the corner. "Hey buddy, there's some leftovers in the fridge if you're hun-" The lightly spoken words were cut off as he actually saw his brother, his demeanor immediately alerting Holden that something was off. "Everything alright, Hux?" he questioned quietly, a slight furrow of concern crossing his forehead.

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TAG: HUX NOTES: GAH!

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[HUXLEY JAMES ALLEN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] GIVE ME A SECOND I NEED TO GET MY STORY STRAIGHT The Words: enough The Outfit: maybe eventually The Notes holy jeez Maybe this was going to be Huxley’s lucky night though. It sounded like he had gotten in okay without alerting his brother. Even though the light had been on in the living room, the shifter found himself believing that Holden had just left it on, either by accident or so Huxley wouldn’t come home to a dark house. The second option sounded more like Holden, even though the true Holden reaction would have been to stay up and wait for him anyway. But Huxley could keep hoping and could keep telling himself that on this particular night, Holden decided to act out of character for once in his life, and had gone to bed without him being here. Of course that illusion was entirely shattered the moment he heard Holden walking towards him and his normal, brotherly comment. Huxley felt himself tense, making a slight fist with his hand. The absolute care in Holden’s voice caused the guilt Hux was already feeling to crush his chest, as if a rock or weight had been placed on it and he was reminded of the fact that he hadn’t called or texted Holden at all. Granted, it wasn’t the first thing on his mind when he was trying to make it out of somewhere with his life still intact, but he still felt awful about it. It was just one more thing to add to his “why I’m a horrible brother list” that already seemed to be a mile long. No doubt that had caused Holden extra anxiety because Hux always liked to let him know where he was. Though that was going to only be a minor concern after Huxley turned around. He didn’t want to see the concern and worry that was going to be on Holden’s face when he saw him. It would probably be confirming Holden’s absolutely worst fear of what could happen the moment someone stepped outside of the door and he wasn’t there to protect them. Holden had always carried that burden, something that Huxley wasn’t quite aware of until he had gotten older but something that was there all the same. It wasn’t fair to Holden at all because in all reality, there was nothing he could have done to stop this. Huxley was targeted because of what he was and Holden couldn’t change that. If anything, Holden would have been caught in the middle of something he didn’t understand and would have just gotten hurt, too. Because he couldn’t avoid it forever though, Hux took a deep breath and turned around to look at Holden. He couldn’t make eye contact at first, knowing it’d only deepen his guilt. Eventually though, he knew he needed to, so he slowly met Holden’s eyes, imagining how bad he must have looked. Hux hadn’t seen for himself yet, seeing as how that hadn’t really been his first priority, but now he wanted to know. He knew how bad everything hurt and if it all looked as half as bad as it felt, then he knew he was in awful shape. Huxley dropped his eyes again, knowing he’d have to respond to his brother’s question and also knowing that he wouldn’t be able to look him straight in the eye and lie while doing so. “I’m fine,” Huxley mumbled, knowing it’d be almost entirely inaudible due to the fact that his jaw – and really, his entire face – was absolutely killing him and talking hurt more than he had imagined it would. But of course he couldn’t just leave it at that because Holden would want an explanation and while Hux couldn’t give him the explanation he deserved, he’d give his brother one that he could at least understand. “Ran into muggers.” And that was about all he could say. Keeping his eyes lowered, Huxley ducked around Holden and into the kitchen, figuring his brother would follow but wishing he wouldn’t. All the kid wanted was an icepack (or twenty) and a chance to lie down for a while so he could sleep some of the edge off. That was all. He didn’t want to intricately weave this lie into a believable story. But Holden would want details so Hux would continue to lie to him, piling on more reasons as to why he was a completely despicable individual to his brother who didn’t deserve it in the slightest. It was honestly unfortunate that Holden, such a good guy who deserved nothing but the best out of life, got stuck with Huxley as a sibling. Of course it wasn’t Holden’s fault. It was Huxley’s father fault, for cursing him with this bad blood and isolating Hux from the rest of his family on that front. To try to keep up this appearance of being fine though, Huxley walked over to the fridge, opening it up and looking for the leftovers Holden had mentioned. He had no intentions of eating them, however, seeing as how he felt rather sick to his stomach. Even if he was hungry, Hux doubted he would have been able to work his jaw enough to chew. He wasn’t quite sure he could even get a glass of water and drink that properly. This was all probably in vain anyway, because Holden would be able to see through the guise with no problem at all. Still, Hux went forward with hit, keeping his attention on the fridge longer than necessary. If anything, it provided a little bit of a divider so Huxley wouldn’t have to look at his brother’s open face while he kept throwing lies at it. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[HOLDEN GRANT AVERY]

[style=width:400; height: 250; background-image:url(http://i283.photobucket.com/albums/kk301/FadedReality_88/Holden/holden3736.jpg);]

you don't have to go it alone

i will be close behind

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;] Holden had to credit Hux for not being the sort of younger brother who resented their older sibling for being so protective. A lot of kids in Huxley's position would have stormed past him and shot back some smart retort that they didn't need babysat or what not. Holden probably wouldn't have blamed him for it even it would have disappointed him to see Hux ever being that way. The boy was just too dang good natured and just a good kid overall to ever act like that outright, though Holden figured he might have thought those sort of things a time or two. He wasn't really sure how he'd handled things if their roles were reversed to be honest. Couldn't say he'd like it much most likely. Out of the two of them he was probably the one who would have been most prone to being the rebelious one. Hux was just such a good kid and his heart was always in the right place, even if he did make Holden anxious at times. Though that was more just Holden knowing too much about the world and what was in it than anything his brother ever did.

If he hadn't noticed the slightly odd way Hux was standing by the door he probably would have just shuffled past and up the stairs to his bedroom to sleep. Everything was at rights again now that he was home. This time though something was off. Instead of waltzing on past him with a sheepish smile on into the kitchen to take him up on the offer of leftovers Huxley just stood there, his posture stiff and his face kept angled downwards. Even if he hadn't known his younger brother as well as he did it didn't take a rocket scientist to see there was something going on here. Unease flickered through Holden's stomach as he waited for Hux to give him some sort of answer to the question, hoping he was just tired and imagining things that weren't there. A product of his over active imagination when it came to things that he feared ever happening to his family. The sorts of things that you necessarily mean to think about but that just sort of happened to pop into your mind when you were alone or couldn't sleep or waiting up for someone to get home.

Huxley's continued hesitation to answer though was starting to make Holden nervous. It wasn't like him to stall. Not unless he was trying to spare someone something that would worry them. And as soon as his brother turnd around to face him and slowly looked up Holden understood exactly why the kid had taken so long to respond. Blinking a few times in absolute shock at the sight of his younger brother's face, Holden could feel something akin to an explosion of worry, panic and anger, the latter of which was not aimed at Hux necessarily but rather at whatever or whoever had caused him to look like that. That being the fact that it looked like he'd gone a few rounds in the ring with his hands tied behind his back. Still too shocked to really even say anything his eybrows quirked upward at the boy's response that he was fine. Fine!? Not that he could really tell if that's what the kid said since it was practically inaudible but that was his best guess and most certainly not an answer he was just going to take right then.

Before he could question him further though Hux mumbled something else about muggers and slipped quickly past him into the kitchen, clearly not wanting to wait around for the interrogation Holden would undoubtedly give him. Turning around, Holden ran a hand haphazardly through his hair in a manner of absolute disbelief it would seem, watching as his brother headed further into the kitchen and opened up the fridge. Like that was that and everything was right as rain. Or at least he was sure Hux wished that's how Holden would leave it though he was also sure the kid knew that wasn't going to happen. Shaking his head slightly, he followed right after him, reaching past him to shut the fridge door with a solid thud. "Ok, first off, you're going to tell me what the hell happened to you and second you and I are taking a trip to the ER," The words were stated firmly and in a tone that very clearly suggested aruging would not be a wise move just then. One thing that wasn't there was anger or accusation though. Holden rarely raised his voice even if he was absolutely furious. It wouldn't do anything to change the situation or help it either and honestly he really wasn't that type of guy any way.

If he found out just who it was that did this to his brother though they were likely going to wish they had never touched a hair on his head. Furious didn't even begin to describe what he felt towards this supposed muggers at the present moment. Aside from all the obvious bruises and cuts scattered across his face, Holden was pretty sure Hux's nose was broken just by looking at it. And it was obvious the kid was having a hard time moving his jaw too which meant it was either just really sore or broken possibly. Oh yes, whoever they were they had really really messed with the wrong kid.

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TAG: HUX NOTES: GAH!

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[HUXLEY JAMES ALLEN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] GIVE ME A SECOND I NEED TO GET MY STORY STRAIGHT The Words: enough The Outfit: maybe eventually The Notes holy jeez Why couldn’t Holden just let Huxley be this one time? The thought kept repeating itself in the shifter’s head, reminding him how much simpler it’d be if he had a brother who just didn’t give a shit. Huxley would hate that, of course, but right now having such a loving brother was being more of a detriment to Huxley’s situation than a benefit. It wasn’t Holden’s fault; he had learned to be that way through years of it just being the two of them. He couldn’t suddenly turn it off because Huxley wanted him to or because they were both adults now and Huxley wanted to pretend he could take care of his own problems. He really shouldn’t have been surprised when Holden slammed the fridge door shut. That hadn’t been the best choice of barrier to begin with, but with Holden being so angry, he wasn’t going to let a flimsy bit of plastic and electricity get between him and Huxley at this point. And the anger was completely terrifying Hux. He knew that it wasn’t necessarily directed at him – or at least he hoped, because Huxley couldn’t imagine being on the receiving end of that – but just seeing him so worked up scared the kid. Holden was rarely like that and Huxley was afraid of what his brother might do. No one in that state of mind could think rationally. And Holden couldn’t get mixed up in it. He couldn’t. Not as long as Hux had a say. The people that had done this to him, they were trained killers with an innate trait to be cruel. As much as Huxley loved his big brother and practically thought the world of him, he knew Holden couldn’t handle that. The poor guy didn’t even know what was really out there in the world! Huxley would have to explain everything about the supernatural to his big brother just to get him to understand why he couldn’t go after the guys who had done this to Hux, not to mention the fact that he’d have to spill the beans about being a freak of nature and why he had been targeted in the first place. Even after all of that, Holden still wouldn’t be able to do anything about anything. Not a single moment of that sounded desirable situation to Huxley and he’d avoid it at all costs. It was the least Huxley could do to pay Holden back for watching out for him all these years. Still, Huxley shouldn’t have responded the way he did. He couldn’t stop himself, not after the comment Holden made. “Can’t you stay out of my business?” Hux shot back, more biting than he had meant it but awful all the same. Fear was behind the statement and that much was obvious. The shifter had never been able to mask his feelings very well and now was no exception. The emotion could be seen on his face and heard quite clearly in his voice, but there was a chance Holden might miss it since the outburst itself had been entirely out of character for the kid. Huxley just couldn’t take the thought of his brother getting hurt and definitely not because of himself. The shifter had just gotten away because someone else had helped distract the guys long enough for Huxley to shift – despite the fact that that had been the most painful experience of his life – to get the hell out of there. Holden didn’t have the same advantage that Huxley did and while he had no doubt that his brother could have taken them better than Huxley did, there were still so many of them and Holden could easily be overpowered by the group of them. But more importantly, there was the giant, glaring fact that Holden shouldn’t even be involved in any of it. Period. He wasn’t the one to get the funky family genes. That had been Hux’s responsibility and his alone, as it would seem. That had to be why he was targeted; it was only logical. Meaning Holden shouldn’t have anything to do with those awful people and if he did somehow get mixed up with it, it’d all be on Hux’s shoulders. He couldn’t do that to his big brother. Absolutely no way in hell. Huxley would much rather relive the whole experience that get Holden caught in that mess. And Huxley couldn’t explain any of it to Holden. “Can we just forget about everything?” Huxley pleaded in a much calmer tone, feeling overly guilty about the way he had responded to Holden earlier. His brother was just worried and Hux shouldn’t take it out on him. Still, he just wanted to put everything behind him, pretend that none of this happened. Going to the emergency room meant coming up with a more credible story and continuing to lie to both his brother and the hospital staff, something Huxley wasn’t comfortable with. He thought it’d be much better if Holden just let him go to bed so he could sleep on it and think through things with a clear head tomorrow. Based on how things were going though, it didn’t seem like that’d be much of an option for Huxley. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[HOLDEN GRANT AVERY]

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you don't have to go it alone

i will be close behind

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:12px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;] Hux was right. Holden wasn't just angry he was furious. And he was also right that it wasn't necessarily directed at his younger brother completely but rather the fact that something had happened that was bad enough for Hux to look like he did. And wouldn't tell him about. That was always something the two brothers had been good at was being honest with each other. They were practically each other's lifelines growing up and that line of communication was esssential to making it through each day. Lately though it seemed like neither of them were really being all that open or honest with each other, something Holden couldn't help but feel ashamed about personally. But how was he supposed to explain that he wasn't just a social work who moonlighted as a mechanic who also hunted down supernatural creatures? It just wasn't something he felt would be a good idea especially if Hux got curious about it and started investigating things more. That would only lead to one place and that was trouble. And the thought of Hux ever being drug into any sort of situation involving him against a supernatural scared the crap out of Holden.

And it was really that fear that was making him come across as so very angry. Don't get him wrong he was angry but not at Hux, not really. Irritated perhaps over his snippy responses so far but even that wasn't bothering him that much because truth be told that was not at all a characteristic Huxley reaction. The boy wasn't the snarky, talk back sort. Never really had been even during those teen years that most people considered the rebelious stage. So the fact that he did it not once but twice in the span of five minutes triggered the warning flags in Holden's mind. Something was up. Something he didn't want him know or couldn't tell him. It was the last retort that really stopped him short, surprised at how sharp Hux's voice had been. If he hadn't known his brother so well the words might have made that anger flare hotter but he knew this kid better than he knew himself sometimes it seemed. And he could see the fear in his brown eyes, the sound of it edging the sentence that had just been thrown at him. He was scared. Over what Holden wasn't sure yet but it was bad enough to make him act like this, so completely out of character and that alone was enough to worry him.

Plus the fact that he didn't even feel like he could tell his brother what had happened hurt more than Holden wanted to admit right then as well. If there was one thing he hoped it was that Huxley would know he could always come to him for anything, no judgement involved, and he'd be given the time of day and a listening ear. Pretty much all of the remaining anger he was feeling towards everything at that point drained out of Holden and he took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair in a haphazard manner. "I'm sorry, bud, you just had me worried and I-" He trailed off for a moment, shrugging a bit. "I guess I keep forgetting you're an adult and don't need me watching over your shoulder all of the time," He couldn't say just why he'd been so worried or that he had a really bad feeling about whatever it was that had happened to Hux had to do with the radicals moving throughout the city. Not that Hux should have been a target but it didn't mean he hadn't been in the wrong place at the wrong time sort of deal.

Hux had calmed down by this point too and his pleading request was stated in a way that made him want to say yes just to make the kid feel better. The part of him that was still in parent mode though wouldn't let the words come out of his mouth though and he shook his head slightly. "Sorry, but you need to get that face looked at, Hux," If nothing else his jaw and nose needed some hardcore attention to make sure they didn't heal wrong. "And you know mom will freak out if she sees you tomorrow moring looking like that when she gets home from work," Holden could only thank God that she worked third shift just now so she didn't have to worry over any of this. Pulling his truck keys out of his pocket he held them up as an indicator that they were going no matter what. "So humor me ok?"

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TAG: HUX NOTES: GAH!

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[HUXLEY JAMES ALLEN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] GIVE ME A SECOND I NEED TO GET MY STORY STRAIGHT The Words: enough The Outfit: maybe eventually The Notes holy jeez It was bad enough that Huxley had to lie to Holden. He rarely ever did that. In fact, Hux could probably count the number of times he had lied to Holden in his 21 years of life on one hand. Even when they were kids and Huxley barely knew better, he didn’t lie to Holden. It just felt wrong, seeing as how it was pretty much ingrained into Huxley’s core that he could go to Holden with everything and know he’d be helped out. That was the magic of having a wonderful big brother who cared for you as much as Holden cared for him. And lying was never worth the trouble. The consequences that came after it were often worse than whatever the reason you were lying for was. Huxley knew that the lie he was giving Holden now would only hurt him in the long run. The shifter wasn’t just going to get away with it; that just wasn’t how karma worked. What Hux hadn’t realized was how immediate the backlash was going to be. Now Holden was making it sound like Hux’s attitude towards his questions was Holden’s fault, which wasn’t true at all. Huxley’s behavior was his fault and Holden shouldn’t think otherwise. Holden was a great big brother, better than anyone could ever hope for. Huxley knew he was lucky in that respect. Holden could’ve grown up hating Hux for being the baby, for having a father that hadn’t skipped out like Holden’s had. He could have resented Huxley for having to take care of him so often when their mother was off working double shifts and for never having the chance to grow up like a regular kid. It was Huxley’s fault that Holden hadn’t had much of a childhood, after all. Once Hux came into the picture, he had pretty much messed everything up. But Holden didn’t. He had taken care of Huxley without complaining and had gone above and beyond too. Hux wouldn’t be half the man he was today if Holden hadn’t done everything he had, that much Huxley was certain of. So it wasn’t right for Holden to be thinking that he somehow was at fault for any of it. Never in a million years would it be okay. “No, no. I appreciate it. I do,” the shifter assured his older brother, hoping he caught the sincerity in his tone. “No one could have a better brother.” Huxley shrugged, wishing he could rewind this entire night, restart it somehow. It’d start with Hux texting his brother way earlier to let him know he was okay and hopefully would’ve ended with a lot less secrets between them. Huxley hated it. He hated feeling like he was pushing Holden further away by giving him lies when Hux really wanted nothing of the sort. The kid loved the relationship he and Holden had and he’d never want to change it with his own stupidity. And yet he couldn’t seem to stop himself from doing it. By this point of the conversation, Huxley felt too awful to continue to argue with Holden. He didn’t want to do anything that would make this worse than it already was. Besides, once Holden mentioned their mother, Hux knew he had to go along with Holden. He wasn’t about to let their mother walk in and see him like this. She would already be tired after her shift and she didn’t need the added mess of Huxley’s current condition. Not to mention, it’d just be more lies to more important people in Hux’s life and he wasn’t sure he could deal with that tonight and still stay somewhat sane. The guilt of having to lie to his mother on top of lying to Holden would literally drive him to his breaking point. “Yeah, okay. Let’s go,” the kid agreed, knowing there was no way out of going to the hospital. He didn’t want for Holden but instead went to go grab a jacket before going out to Holden’s truck. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[HOLDEN GRANT AVERY]

[style=width:400; height: 250; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/oEVTEGA.jpg?1);]

you don't have to go it alone

i will be close behind

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: arial narrow; font-size:12px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;] The role of big brother was pretty much what had defined Holden his whole life. It was his job to watch out for Huxley, to make sure he was taken care of and safe. That's just how it was. But now his baby brother was no longer so little and honestly Holden was exactly quite sure how to adapt to that just yet. Protecting him just came so naturally that to step back and not try to fix everything was very, very hard. It wasn't that he didn't think Hux was incapable of taking care of himself. He'd practically raised the boy and if there was one thing he'd taught him it was how to take care of himself. However, there were some things that were too big for you to handle alone and that's where Holden had always come in, saving the day or simply making sure everything was ok.

It was his first instinct to do that now. Get the truth from his brother and then proceed to go promptly kick the asses of whoever it was that did this to him. Problem was remembering that Huxley might have wanted to fight his own battles now, even though that thought alone was enough to make Holden grimace. Maybe he was being too sensitive about it all, didn't like the feeling that perhaps he was no longer needed, although deep down he knew full well that Huxley still needed his big brother, just maybe not for the same things he was used to being needed for. That fact was very quickly confirmed as Hux assured him he apprecited the fact Holden was there watching out for him, his tone back to sounding like the normal one he was used to hearing out of the kid.

A faint smile touched Holden's lips, feeling a bit less guilty about breathing down Hux's neck about what had happened. At least the younger boy was used to his habits and didn't seem to resent him for them. If Hux thought himself fortunate in the sort of older brother he had been given, Holden was equally as fortunate in the younger brother department. Plenty of other kids would have either gotten tired of being watched out for so closely and done what they could to make Holden's life a living hell. Not Hux though. He was your quissential good kid, didn't get into trouble (not on purpose anyways), got good grades and obeyed instructions without question. Came home on time, called when he was going to be late, this one instance nonwithstanding, and all in all never really made Holden nervous in any way, shape or form.

Which was just yet another reason why his behavior tonight had Holden feeling anxious and with far too many questions. Ones that likely weren't going to be answered any time soon seeing as Huxley didn't appear as if he was going to offer any explanation other than what he already had. And Holden had no plans on forcing it out of him. That just wasn't how they were with each other, never had been. He'd tell him eventually, when he was ready. Might be a day from now or a year but he'd confide it at some point. What mattered most now was getting his face looked at and taken care of best as possible. Though clearly very reluctant to even leave the house, Hux was persuaded to do as his brother was asking and grabbed his jacket before heading out to the truck, resigned to the decision it would seem.

Grabbing his own jacket, Holden followed a moment later, getting behind the wheel and starting up the vehicle without a word. It wasn't a long drive to the hospital and though he let things stay quiet for a bit there was one little thing they needed to get squared away. "So what's the story?" He questioned suddenly, adding quickly, "I don't need details or even the whole truth. But they're gonna want some sort of explanation and you need to let them know something," He wasn't condoning lying but neither was he going to push the kid to spill the beans until he was ready. All they really needed at the moment was enough to satisfy the doctor and nurses and get Hux fixed up.

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TAG: HUX NOTES: GAH!

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[HUXLEY JAMES ALLEN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] GIVE ME A SECOND I NEED TO GET MY STORY STRAIGHT The Words: enough The Outfit: maybe eventually The Notes i love me some angsty brother feels <3 Times like these made Huxley wish he wasn’t such an awful little brother, especially when he had the best older brother anyone could have asked for. With all the shit Holden had been through – both during the time they were growing up and with all the events of tonight – he deserved an equally as good little brother. He needed a brother that didn’t make him worry. One that wouldn’t blatantly lie to his face like Huxley had done so many times this evening. Sure, Hux had thought he was doing the best he could because he couldn’t drag Holden into his mess, but that was exactly it. Holden needed a brother that would trust him with anything and everything. Huxley did for the most part. The only time the trust ever faltered was when Hux’s problem crossed over that line of human and supernatural. If he was normal, if everything was normal, Huxley would never have to worry about that and Holden could have that perfect human brother he needed. Instead he got stuck with this freak of a little brother. Someone who wasn’t even human. And Holden didn’t even know it. Huxley wasn’t sure which one was worse, him having a freak brother or Holden thinking he was normal. Essentially, it made Huxley’s entire existence a lie. The kid hated lying to his brother enough as it was, but his entire being was a lie. Huxley knew that, it was one of those things that stuck at the back of his mind. Whenever he dwelled on it, made him feel even worse about being a shifter. Most of the time, Hux kept the thought hidden away because he didn’t want to feel awful about himself and things he couldn’t change. Right now though, it was almost impossible to keep the thought away. He couldn’t even distract himself from it. He and Holden were just sitting quietly together, both staring out the windshield. This wasn’t normal for them. Typically, there’d be some sort of conversation going on between them. Even if it was something as stupid as arguing about what music should be playing, there was always something. But Huxley couldn’t think of anything to say to Holden. His mind was being entirely consumed with the thought of this whole mess stemmed from him being a freak. He couldn’t think of anything to say that wouldn’t be related to that. And clearly Holden had no intentions of breaking the silence. Hux had no clue what could be going on in his brother’s mind, but he wasn’t sure if he’d even want to know. Finally though, the silence was broken and Hux found himself jumping slightly at his brother’s voice. He hadn’t been expecting the question, though he really should have. Holden had accepted the fact that Huxley wasn’t ready to give him the truth – Hux could tell that from his brother’s tone – and he only confirmed that with his follow up statement. While it should’ve been comforting to Huxley, it somehow only made him feel worse. He didn’t want his brother to have to accept the half assed truth Huxley would give him. And he felt guilty that his brother was still looking out for him, still looking ahead for Huxley when all Huxley could do was sit here and mull over his own self pity. Hux didn’t want to have to lie any more tonight, but he knew it was just the beginning of the string he was going to have to tell tonight. You always had to repeat what had happened to everyone you ran into when you were there. The receptionist would ask, and so would the nurse who triaged you, as well as the nurse who actually checked on you when you were back in the room, and of course the doctor had to know too. If you were lucky, that was the minimum number of times you had to tell your story. But often times, you’d run into some other curious people who wanted to know also. That meant Huxley had to keep the lie simple and to the point. The more elaborate his story got, the harder it’d be to remember the details of it. But it still had to be believable enough or people would know right away that he was lying. “I was trying to walk home and I wanted to get back as quickly as possible,” Huxley started, thinking that sounded like a good enough reason. “So I decided to cut through an alley. I hadn’t seen anyone else until they were suddenly there and mugged me.” It could happen. While Manuka wasn’t notorious for being dangerous, it didn’t mean it was impossible of anything like this to happen. “They realized I didn’t have anything more than a couple of dollars in my wallet, which I guess made them angrier and resulted in this.” Huxley shrugged his shoulders and glanced over at his brother. “Does that sound believable enough?” Hux didn’t want to drag Holden into the lie, but he figured it was better to have a solid story than one that people were going to poke holes through. created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[HOLDEN GRANT AVERY]

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you don't have to go it alone

i will be close behind

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: verdana; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;] If Holden could have read his brother's mind right then he would have been even more furious. Not at Hux but that Hux would actually think those things about himself. That he truely thought he was a shitty excuse for a little brother. If there was one thing that Holden hoped Huxley knew it was how much his big brother loved him, no matter what. Whether he lied to him or told him the truth or ran off and never spoke to him again. Holden would always want to protect him and would always worry over him, even if it was an over reaction. He was almost more angry at himself that he hadn't done a better job at letting it be known to Hux growing up that he could tell him anything even if it would break his heart to hear it. He had broad shoulders; he could take it. What he didn't ever want though was for Huxley to go through life dealing with burdens Holden would have gladly shared with him.

There was a fine line though between wanting Hux to feel like he could tell him everything and realizing that there were some things he just might not want to share. He understood that, everyone had secrets or things they wanted no one else to ever be privy to knowing, himself included. When it came to something like this though where whatever it was seemed to be putting Hux's life in danger that was where it was hard for Holden to not want to make the younger man tell him what the hell was going on with him. At the moment he had to keep telling himself that whatever it was that he had gotten involved in, purposely or indirectely, that it was less important just now than getting Hux fixed up. He was almost one hundred percent certain the kid's jaw was broken which was so not a good thing to ignore. Add in the other cuts and nasty looking bruises and you had a not so awesome picture of possible problems.

He'd seen enough injuries on hunts over the years to know when you could patch yourself up and when you needed to get your ass to a hospital. There would be no first aid kit big enough to cut it this time though. Granted he could take care of most of the cuts but that wasn't exactly a skill Hux would expect out of a social worker brother who moonlighted as a mechanic now was it? Putting a butterfly bandage on was normal home remedy stuff. Sewing up a split forehead? Not so much. One more reason Holden felt slightly guiltly to expect Hux to tell him straight out what happened when he was hiding half of his own life from both his mother and brother. Honestly he was half surprised neither of them had found out yet. It had been seven or so years after all and he wasn't good at lying to them. Thankfully neither had put him in a spot where he had been forced to lie or tried to cover it up. Likely would have failed miserably. Their mom had always been working too much to really be around enough to suspect and Hux, well, he looked up to Holden so much that he wouldn't begin to think he was hiding something from him. Or at least he used to but the boy wasn't stupid and the blind adoration you have for someone as a kid only goes so far.

Those sort of questions, if he did have them somewhere floating around in his mind, were obviously far from being at the top of the priority list at the moment. No words were even attempted at being spoken for most of the ride to the hospital actually. They both just sat there, quiet, very unlike their normal banter back and forth in the truck. Holden wasn't given Hux the silent treatment his mind was simply running a hundred miles a minute, figuring out what the next step should be. Once again in protective older brother mode. He saw the slightly startled look on Hux's face and then the realization that he needed to have some explanation ready. For a brief moment Holden couldn't help but wish he could tell Hux it was ok to be vague that it didn't make him a horrible person and he himself had done it a few times in his life. Sort of came with the territory when you were a hunter. And obviously blurting out a werewolf charged you or you tangled with a shape-shifter wasn't going to fly.

Hux started out slowly, almost hesitant it seemed but his words grew more sure as he kept going. Holden listened silently, nodding a bit. That was good enough to work and accounted for the injuries he had. Short and sweet and to the point. The kind of explanations that worked best he'd found. "Sounds good to me," He replied with another nod, flicking on the turn signal as they reached the hospital. "Just remember to keep it simple and vague and they don't need anything else," Parking, he switched off the ignition and got out of the truck with Huxley following suit. Inside it was rather busy and Holden was glad for that if only because it meant less attention would be paid to each individual person if it had been slower. Motioning for Hux to go sign in and get whatever paperwork he needed to fill out, Holden let his eyes wander the room in a seemingly absent manner, seeing more than one person who looked like they had lost a fight much like Hux and something went off in his head but he didn't dwell on it. Later he'd ask around but for now he just needed to get Hux taken care of and back home.

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TAG: HUX NOTES: BROTHER ANGST IS KILLING ME KEL

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TILLIE AT CAUTION

[HUXLEY JAMES ALLEN]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: dddddd; border: #cccccc solid 8px; width: 420px; padding: 15 5 15 5px;] GIVE ME A SECOND I NEED TO GET MY STORY STRAIGHT The Words: enough The Outfit: maybe eventually The Notes i love me some angsty brother feels <3 This was exactly what Huxley meant by being an awful little brother. If he had any clue what his brother was thinking, Hux would be even angrier with himself. It was just like Holden to somehow turn it and make it his own fault instead of giving Huxley the blame when it really was his fault. It was like Holden believed his little brother could never be the one to blame, even though Huxley could assure Holden he wasn’t as great of a younger brother as he seemed to think. If he was, they wouldn’t be in this situation. Or at the very least, Holden would know the entire truth behind it. One day, maybe he would. Not just why Huxley was so beat up, but everything. How his brother was such a freak and all of that. Honestly, he was afraid of Holden knowing. It was probably one of his worst fears, Holden finding out about what he was because Hux could only come up with two possible reactions. Either Holden would think he was lying and would forever be wary of his brother and messed up imagination or Holden would be disgusted and would never want anything to do with Huxley ever again. There really was no in between in Huxley’s mind. He pretty much hated what he was, so why wouldn’t his brother? As much as the shifter wanted to keep it from Holden though, he had a feeling that one day the lying would be too much. He’d have no other option besides telling the truth or exploding. It’d come one day, as much as Huxley would’ve liked to avoid it. The shifter wouldn’t be able to deal with the look in his brother’s eyes that came along with either option. Now was not the time to worry about that though, considering Holden was no longer asking what had happened and Hux no longer had to directly lie to his face. Instead, he just had to lie by blatantly refusing to give Holden all the facts. The shifter nodded at his brother’s suggestion of keeping his story short and sweet, knowing it was a good idea. Still, it felt kind of weird having your brother help you lie. In all honesty, Huxley was pretty sure his brother didn’t even know how to lie. He was always so open and honest that sometimes Hux forgot there were probably things that his older brother never told him because they weren’t things for Huxley to know. The emergency room was overwhelmingly full when the brothers went in. Hux took a moment to glance around before heading up to the front desk, checking himself in and grabbing the paperwork he needed to fill out. It was the basics, general and insurance info. It didn’t take Huxley long to scribble his information into the lines provided before handing it back to the emergency room receptionist. After that, he wandered over to where his brother had taken a seat while waiting for him, considering it looked like it was going to be a little before Hux even got triaged. He sat in silence for a few moments, letting everything settle in his brain. It had only been an hour, hour and a half tops since the radicals had attacked Huxley but with everything that had happened, it felt like days ago. He hadn’t really sat down and let it process. The shifter had run home immediately and then had been dodging the truth since then. Now was his chance to kind of let it all sink in and it was scary. Them attacking him meant they knew what it was. Hux rarely told anyone what he was, so for complete strangers to know was unsettling. How soon would people who knew him find out? But for now, that was a future worry. Instead, he still had to worry about getting through this hospital trip without too many bumps. As much as he didn’t want to be here, Huxley knew it was a good thing he was. He never would’ve healed well on his own. “Thanks,” Hux said, looking at his brother and then glancing back at his clasped hands between his knees. Thanks for making him go to the hospital, for not continuing to push him when he said he didn’t want to talk about it, for being a great big brother in general. “I don’t know what I’d do with out you.” created by ADE! Pb-ified by WILL

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[HOLDEN GRANT AVERY]

[style=width:400; height: 250; background-image:url(http://i.imgur.com/oEVTEGA.jpg?1);]

you don't have to go it alone

i will be close behind

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[style=width: 288px; font-family: verdana; font-size:10px; line-height:91%; text-align:justify; background-color: #e1e1e1; padding: 15px; color: #000;] If there was one thing about Holden and Huxley it was that there was nothing either of them wouldn't do when it came to protecting each other. Holden was ready to rip the heads off of whoever had dared touch his little brother tonight and unlike when most people said that he meant it quite literally and was obviously skilled to do just that. Clearly whatever had happened to put the younger boy in the state he was currently in hadn't just been some random mugging that much Holden knew just by looking at the kid's injuries. They were placed with purpose, areas that would cause the most pain and damage and at least to him showed that whoever or whatever had done it knew exactly what they had been doing.

However, if Hux said he'd been mugged then Holden was going to leave it at that. Did he believe that was the actual truth? Not one bit. But pushing the issue wasn't going to make things any better either. Just the fact that his little brother was not someone in the habit of lying, especially to him, worried him more than anything. If he thought he was protecting someone or namely his brother and mother that would be the only real reason Holden could think of for the kid to hide anything. His immediate instinct was wanting to protect Hux from whatever it was he'd gotten himself entangled in, accidently or on purpose. It was just part of who he was and not being able to made him feel powerless almost.

So it hadn't been easy to resist the urge to push Hux for more answers than he was giving. The need to get his injuries looked at was enough to distract from that and keep his tongue in check. By the time they were in the truck headed to the ER he'd managed to put everything else to the back of his mind and for now all he really cared about was getting Hux patched up and back home safe and sound. He hadn't exactly been expecting the amount of people seated in the waiting area, especially at this hour in the morning, but he was used to long waits as part of his day job so it didn't bother him too much. Yeah it'd make tomorrow a bit longer but that's what they made coffee for right?

Claming two of the very few empty seats left he mentally took stock of who was who in the place, an unconscious action almost, the hunter in him coming out in that regard. It didn't take Hux very long to fill out the necessary paperwork and a couple of minutes later he was heading over to the seat waiting for him. Holden had leaned back in his seat, arms crossed in a casual manner in front of him. For a few moments they both just sat there quietly, not expecting to move for a bit what with the other people here already ahead of them. Hux's voice brought Holden's blue eyes to the side catching the gaze aimed up at him for a moment and a half smiled tugged at one side of his mouth. "You'd be lying in bed right now wishing you could chop the lower half of your face off that's what," Shifting slightly on the hard chair, he added more seriously, "You know I'm not mad at you or anything right?"

He had already apologized for his earlier outburst when Hux had first come home but he still felt like he needed to let that be known to Hux. The kid was about as wonderful a little brother as anyone could ask for and basically never caused anyone grief. If he was mad at anyone it was the monsters who'd done this to Hux and believe you me they were going to regret every single second of it if Holden ever found them.

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TAG: HUX NOTES: BROTHER ANGST IS KILLING ME KEL

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TILLIE AT CAUTION