Warnings: Slash.

Pairings: David/Millie, David/Griffin - Which will become the main pairing... Hopefully.

Disclaimer: I do not own Jumper or its characters!

A/N: Again, I have to thank you all for being such awsome reviewers! Every time I see a review-alert in my inbox I give a little squeal of joy and send a silent 'thankyou' to whoever sent it. I really, really, reeeeally love it! -Grins-

I am glad you seem to enjoy the story and I hope you won't give it up, even if it will be long. I'm currently working very hard on other things, so I'll have to focus on them too! Yet, I have a feeling this fic will get a lot of attention. This chapter is not so eventful, but I wanted to write something concerning my two favorite Jumpers, so here it is. The next chapter will contain more action and hopefully, we'll see some more of a certain white haired bastard! That's all I'll ever spoil. -Snigger-

The Solitude of Heart

Chapter Four

"Companions"

-

"So, there you are. Sure took you long enough." Griffin put away the game-controller and leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, "you got stuck in the toilet or something?" An annoying smirk grazed his features and David felt how rage was already beginning to build inside of him and he was tempted to just teleport back home that instant. He could not believe that the brunet even dared to use that kind of tone towards him. He had fucking let go of everything to get here and he was even lying to Millie about it. Or, she did not really know., so he assumed it wasn't exactly lying, but he was at least not telling her the truth.

Clenching his jaws, he stared blankly at the brunet who just grinned back at him. "I can see you haven't lost your happy facade, now have you?"

His tone was mocking and it made David's eye twitch further. Inhaling deeply he walked slowly towards the sitting Englishman.

"Cut the crap Griffin," he did not bother hiding his irritation, "and get to the part where we talk about why I'm here, okay?"

Griffin shrugged. "Fine by me," his lip twisted again, "as long as you don't expect me to be polite."

The blond actually let out a small laugh, followed by a snort. "Yeah, as if I'd ever do that."

The room they were in was just as messy as Griffin's previous hideout and the picture David had gotten definitely did not lie about the amount of papers on the walls. Glancing shortly at them, the blond was once again confronted with the face of his probably worst enemy. Roland.

The black man's eyes were drawn impressively soulful and the hard, icy expression that was evident on his features actually sent chills down the Jumper's spine, even if it was only a hand made picture.

It was weird to think about the fact that Griffin had made those drawings. They were anything but lifeless and the blond would actually go as far as calling them artistic. Griffin sure had a talent for drawing. Not that David was ever going to tell him or anything. The bastard was too full of himself already. Turning to face said bastard, the blond furrowed his brows slightly.

"You said my mother was with Roland the other night." He paused a little and for some odd reason, he bit his lip before continuing.

He guessed he was a bit nervous.

This was a feeling he was not entirely used to. Ever since he'd gotten his ability to Jump, he'd only felt real anxiousness a few times and all of them had been because someone he cared for was in danger, or something equally big. Therefore, this uneasy feeling came took him slightly by a surprise, but he managed to somewhat hold his composure.

Asking about his mother was not something he did frequently. Noticing the brunet's raised eyebrow, he let out a frustrated sigh.

"How did she look?"

Griffin's brow rose further. "How did she look?" His voice was monotone, but his eyes were burning with a blazing fire that made David want to tear his own gaze away. He shrugged, trying to hold his composure.

"Yeah?"

What else was he supposed to say?

It was not often he had the chance to gain some kind of information about his mother. Not often at all. Actually, he never really heard anything, so it was fair to say he was curious.

Griffin's ocean orbs were still flaming, and when he spoke, his voice quivered just a little. "Well, she looked pretty damn good to me." He took a moment to lick his lips and David could see how he fought to keep his facial expression as plain as usual. "In fact, I think she might be the prettiest woman who's ever tried to kill me!"

For some undefinable, odd reason, David felt his heart twinge at the brunet's word, causing him to frown faintly. His eyes locked with Griffins and for the first time ever, he thought he saw a flicker of doubt in the other's orbs. Griffin had clearly noticed the small gesture, but just as David thought he was going to make a comment about it, the brunet dropped his gaze to the floor and shook his head slightly.

"Look," his voice was rough, beaten and some of the fieriness had disappeared from him, "I don't want to make you take a stand in this, I just—"

"I know." They stared at each other for a moment and no one said anything. The blond did not know what happened just then, but for a breathless couple of seconds, they both just stared at one another, seemingly content with holding each other's gazes. Something he had never felt before around the otherwise annoying Englishman spread in his chest and for some reason, he did not even care to hide it. Rubbing his temples, he walked over to the cozy chair next to Griffin's.

Plopping down on it, he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"I know that this is not your fault," he sighed heavily, "You can't help the fact that my mother is determined to kill me." He cracked an eye open and watched the other man's expression turn into a small grin. "After all," he continued, "I can't blame you for everything." A pause, "even if it is indeed quite tempting."

The line was not supposed to be all that funny, but the moment he'd uttered it he could not help but hearing the obvious amount of humor it held. Clearly, Griffin noticed it too because just as David finished the thought, the other Jumper made an odd, chuckling sound.

With amazement, the Jumper watched as the brunet's lips tugged upwards and in seconds, his deadpanned look from before vanished and he was laughing loudly. Feeling how his orbs widened slightly, the blond suddenly became aware of the fact that this was the first time he'd ever heard Griffin laugh. For real and naturally at least.

The sound was foreign to his ears and it took several seconds for him to adjust to it. When he did, however, he found that it was indeed a catching sound and without knowing exactly how it happened, he was barking out in laughter as well.

They laughed in unison for good thirty seconds and when they were done, they were both wiping their eyes and their breaths came in short puffs.

Glancing quickly over at the other Jumper, David could not refrain from thinking about how weird what had just happened had been.

Blinking the last remains of water out of his eyes, he snorted faintly and proceeded shaking his head. Registering how Griffin mimicked his gesture, the blond let out a somewhat content sigh. It had been a long time since he had last shared a moment of enjoyment with anyone else than Millie.

Actually, the fact that it was Griffin did not surprise him all that much. Even considering that they were so obviously treating each other rudely almost all the time, he could not truthfully say that he really hated the brunet.

They had always been at some kind of connection when it came to their tempers and therefore it was only understandable that they shared the same kind of humor. Although, he had to admit that it felt a bit odd to act like this around the brunet. During their little laugh it had actually felt like they were somehow friends.

Well, companions at least.

"So..."Griffin's voice broke his trail of thoughts. David furrowed his browns slightly at the cautious tone the other was suddenly using, but before he had the chance to ask about it, the brunet opened his mouth again.

"How's the girl? What was her name again? Melinda?"

Somehow David knew he was acting. He had not forgotten Millie's name. Therefore, the blond only arched a delicate brow at him.

"You mean Millie?"

Griffin actually looked guilty. "Yeah... Millie."

"Well," the blond began, knowing this had to be a sore topic, even for Griffin, "she's doing fine. Right now, she's visiting a friend for the weekend. Otherwise, she's taken up some classes and it seems she now wants to become a guide." He almost rolled his eyes.

"Like everyone didn't know that all along. She loves traveling." He paused a little, noticing how the other Jumper sat straight in his chair, apparently waiting for more.

Griffin was really strange sometimes. He never actually seemed to care about people, except Roland and the other Paladins of course, but that was for an entirely different reason. Yet, the brunet obviously had some sort of conscience, because the way he looked screamed of locked up guilt. David guessed the brunet was feeling bad about the fact that he had earlier been willing to sacrifice Millie to get Roland. Frowning at the thought, David decided to play with open cards and cleared his throat.

"Listen. She knows about the detonator and she knows about our fight." He actually thought he saw the other flinch a little. But, knowing Griffin, that was probably his imagination.

"I did not plan to tell her, that would just have caused unnecessary pain, but she forced me into it. She is not dumb Griffin. Besides, she would have figured it out sooner or later."

The brunet nodded shortly. "Yeah, I guess so."

When he said no more, David chewed on his lip for a couple of seconds, before standing up, brushing his hands on his jeans. "So, now what?" He raised his brows at the other man.

"The paladins are back to get us, and clearly, so is Roland." Griffin scowled at the mention of the black man's name, "What are we going to do about that?"

After a rather long pause, the brunet inhaled deeply and buried his face in his hands.

"I don't really know." His voice came out muffled. "I guess we need to figure that out, eh? We'll just have to stick out heads together and come up with a plan." He peered out from a small slit between his fingers, a deep, ocean eye sparkling against the blond. "You think you have time to stay here for a couple of days? You could always bring the girl you know."

"Yeah... About that..." David bit his lip and his eyes fell to the floor. "I haven't..." he trailed off and did not finish the sentence.

Griffin seemed to understand none the less.

"You haven't told her."

"No." There was no point in denying it.

"Will you?" Griffin's voice held no harassment and the from the little the blond could see of his face, his expression seemed to be as solemn as he had ever seen it.

"Yes." The reply came a little too fast and the brunet raised a brow behind his hands. Cursing himself and his bad lying-skills, David let out a faint groan. "No. I can't! She'll only become upset and scared. Despite her trusting me, she really doesn't think I can take care of myself. Besides, I doubt the fact that I'm gonna work with you will make her look more brightly upon things."

Griffin shrugged. "Hell, I understand you." His hands fell to his knees and he proceeded standing up. Without another word, he walked our of the room, but came back moments later, carrying two cans of beer. "Here." He tossed one at David, who had to Jump to catch it in the air. Smirking at his ministrations, the brunet once again sat down in the chair. Opening the can with a sharp pop, he brought it to his lips and took a deep sip. Closing his eyes briefly he leaned back and savored the taste.

After about half a minute he spoke up again.

"You could always stay home with her, tell her you're out buying groceries once in a while and then Jump here? That way we'll have time to plan what we're gonna do."

David shook his head faintly. "That won't work. She'll understand something is not right." He sighed. "Like I said, she's not dumb."

Griffin took another sip of beer. "Hn. Right."

They sat in silence for some time, simply drinking once in a while. The room was without windows and therefore, David could not tell which time it was. He assumed it was somewhere around six in the afternoon, but for all he knew, it could be more even. It was fairly odd, staying with Griffin like this. It seemed almost as if the brunet had no problems with him being there and he guessed that was partly the truth. He did not really like the brunet Jumper, but for some weird reason he actually enjoyed the feeling of someone's presence. Someone other than Millie.

He loved the petite brunette, but seeing as he had to keep his identity somewhat a secret, he did not have a lot of friend. In fact, he rarely had any. A couple of the guys he worked with used to invite him along for drinks, but other than that, he was pretty much on his own with Millie as his only companionship.

Musing upon the odd feeling of contentment he felt around the brunet just then, he totally forgot about the other for a couple of moments. It wasn't before Griffin suddenly made a rustling sound as he moved in his chair, that the blond gave a start and looked up, only to find that the brunet was fixing him with an intense stare.

"Will you stay the night then?"

For some reason he could not define, his stomach fluttered unpleasantly at the brunet's words.

"I mean, surely you could always Jump back, but by staying here you'll lower the chances of the Paladins finding you and through that, me."

The truth behind his words was impossible to ignore.

Shaking off the odd feeling, he forced himself to nod.

"Sure. If you don't mind."

"Okay then. You mind sleeping on the couch?"

David shook his head.

"Good."

Another minute of silence passed by.

"Well," the brunet suddenly gained some of his earlier fieriness and picked up the game-controller again. "We'll just have to wait and see where they hit the next time. Surely, they'll go after the other Jumpers. I suspect you and I are the last ones they'll try to catch." Noticing David's befuddled expression, he gave a small shrug. "We are the ones that beat them the last time and they probably reckon we'll do it again. Therefore, they'll wipe away our possible coworkers first and then, they'll come for us."

His eyes locked with David's. "And when they do. We'll be waiting."

-

To be continued.

A/N: Sleepover! Yay! (Haha, I'm being childish. I know.)