GO FALLING ACTION! xD Yeah, that's basically all this is. Oh, and the end of this chapter won't be continued, sorry. I'm probably going to make one more chapter, and that'll be it. -gives Bart4Nat a bandaid- Sorry, mate. Dx
So, flashbacks, loose ends are wrapped up, Jakob is Book Binding Boy, no offense to Texans, Ed has a gay mugshot, Flamel's moving to Africa, Kitty makes sex jokes, I make up a new word, Barty explains his feelings, and Natty gives in. This chapter has it all! xD
Kitty stood before Piper, holding Jakob's hand, smiling cheerfully. She didn't feel any regret for anything that happened over the past couple days. She could hardly believe that whole adventure had gone by in just a day and a half.
A day ago, she had promptly made out with Jakob, and somehow Nathaniel got away from Bartimaeus again, as virgin as ever. She really had no idea how he did it. She wasn't paying much attention at the time anyway.
Nathaniel made Bartimaeus break them up again (much to Kitty's annoyance) to tell her that she needed to get immortal quickly because Piper expected them back in London in less than a day.
That was a weird experience, obviously. She was now immortal, and it was as easy as saying a few words and not dropping the Stone. That's all she had to do, really. Her fingertips buzzed lightly, and she felt great, as if she could never get sick again, which she probably couldn't.
Nathaniel had done the same thing, gotten tackled by Bartimaeus, and he promptly dismissed the djinni so Barty's shoulder could heal. They took the first plane back to London that they could manage (after changing all of Nathaniel's clothes three times, of course).
So here she was, clinging to Jakob, while Nathaniel told Piper everything over the past few days. It was surreal to review it all again. Obviously, Nathaniel left out the part about the three of them being immortal and everything. Kitty doubted that would go down well with the new PM. She tuned it out and leaned on Jakob until it was over, and Piper had someone confiscate the Stone. Five minutes later, and they were walking leisurely back to their homes.
"So Piper is going to destroy the Stone," Jakob said slowly, glancing at Nathaniel. "Don't you think the Flamels will be angry?"
"I'm sure they'll understand. If we didn't give it to her, we would have directly disobeyed her orders, and she'd probably have us kicked out. Just because Piper likes me doesn't mean she won't crack down if she has a reason to," Nathaniel said. "Gosh, it feels so weird now, not running from anyone. I think I've gotten used to danger."
"Well, now we have eternity to find those dangers," Kitty said cheerfully. Jakob made a face.
"Kitty, I'm just the son of a book binder. I don't think I'm qualified to be a proper sidekick."
"Oh, don't worry. You're a fine sidekick." Jakob rolled his eyes, and they continued walking, each of them taking a huge sigh of relief. Finally, the stress was off, and their problems were gone. Almost. "I have one question," Kitty said, frowning. "When you were shot, that police guy said you had no pulse. But you're still alive."
"It's called immortality, Kitty," Jakob said, as if explaining it to a toddler. "I thought we've been over this."
"No! I meant, if you're immortal, shouldn't your heart have kept beating?"
"No. It stopped. But then I started recovering, it began beating again, and I think that's about the time that Barty started acting. If Bartimaeus hadn't stepped in, I would have been as healthy as ever by the time they got me to the hospital."
"Oh," Kitty said intelligently.
"I have a question of my own now," Jakob said, turning towards Nathaniel. "You gave the Amulet of Samarkand and the Seven League Boots to Piper, didn't you? Well what do you think she's going to do with them?"
Nathaniel hesitated, scratching his chin. "Well, I think she's going to destroy the Amulet but keep the boots. The Amulet is far too powerful for it to be controlled, and it has helped along most of the bad things that have happened recently. Maybe she'll keep the boots for studying, or perhaps she'll just store them for later, if they're ever needed. I honestly can't tell you for sure, but that's what I would do if I were in her place."
Jakob nodded, and they walked along in silence for another few minutes. Nathaniel sighed.
"Okay, as long as we're all answering questions here, what are the Flamels going to do? They can't stay at their house."
"They said they were going to move sometime soon," Jakob said. "Mrs. Flamel was thinking about France but Mr. Flamel wanted to go somewhere farther south." Nathaniel nodded, and Kitty giggled.
"Does anyone else have any questions?" she asked. "You might as well get it all out in one go."
Nathaniel raised a finger, frowning. "Yes, I do. What do you think the Flamels will do with Ed?" he asked. Everyone blinked and pondered this for a moment, tapping their chins.
"Maybe they'll kill him?" Kitty suggested.
"No, I don't think they would. What if they just keep him locked up somewhere?" Jakob asked.
"I doubt they could keep him in one place for long, if he's really that great of a mercenary," Nathaniel added.
"Well, can they make him forget who he is and all his training?" Kitty asked.
"I don't think so," Nathaniel said, frowning confusedly. "If they can, I've never heard of it being done."
"I suppose it's anybody's guess," Jakob said. Suddenly, they could see their houses in the distance, and they picked up the pace.
"Perhaps it'll be on the news?" Nathaniel suggested excitedly. He got there first, hopping up and down impatiently for Kitty to arrive and unlock the door. As soon as Nathaniel hit the couch, the TV was on and flipped to the news. Jakob sighed and sat down beside him, while Kitty ventured into the kitchen and made herself some tea, bringing Jakob and Nathaniel a cup too. They all sat around for a bit, Kitty and Jakob chatting casually, with Nathaniel's nose pressed up against the screen. Thirty minutes later, Nathaniel's patience was rewarded.
"…In other news, a wanted mercenary was found unconscious today on the sidewalk outside of a Prague police station. One man claims he was coming to work in the early morning and saw the man lying outside, and instantly recognized him from an artist's sketch. The authorities don't know his legal name, but he is suspected of working briefly with another known mercenary, Verroq, who was behind the theft of the Amulet of Samarkand. This man has been sent to Huston, Texas, for his trial. If you have any information about him, please contact the authorities at this phone number…"
They flashed a picture of Ed's pouty mugshot and a phone number up on the screen. Nathaniel stood up and punched a fist in the air, whooping.
"I heard that people in Texas are quite fond of executions," Nathaniel said, grinning. "Ha! He won't last a week."
"Alright, now that that's over, why don't you go over to your own house and watch TV with your boyfriend?" Jakob suggested, slinging an arm around Kitty's shoulders. "Kitty and I have things to see, places to go, people to do." Kitty collapsed into giggles.
"You're really starting to sound like Bartimaeus," she said, trying to hold in her laughter so she could talk straight.
"Hey, he's a good person. He rubs off on people," Jakob defended, grinning.
Nathaniel blushed. "Yeah, he is. I guess his shoulder should be healed by now. It was a relatively small wound… alright, see you later, then."
Kitty giggled and waved at Nathaniel. "Hey, watch your back, though. I think you're on Barty's To-Do list." She and Jakob burst out laughing again. Nathaniel chuckled and left, stumbling his way back to his bedroom, wondering if he really should call up Bartimaeus so early.
Meh. If Bartimaeus wasn't fully healed, he could simply dismiss him again. Skipping all the unnecessary protective spells, he spoke the words of the summons. Almost instantly, Bartimaeus tackled him to the ground.
"Hi there, Natty-boy!" the djinni said cheerily. Nathaniel grunted.
"Hello, Bartimaeus. I see you're feeling well. Would you mind getting off me?"
Bartimaeus chuckled and stood up, pulling Nathaniel with him. He promptly wrapped his arms around Natty's waist and cuddled him closer, nearly purring with satisfaction.
"So, how did the meeting with Piper go?" he asked quietly in Nathaniel's ear, running a finger up and down said man's shoulder in a rather distracting way. Nathaniel began squirming, trying to get away.
"Ah, ahem, it went well, I suppose. All potential weapons are in the hands of the government, Ed's in jail, the Flamels are moving to France, and Kitty and Jakob are probably going at it like rabbits right now. I swear that boy is sounding more and more like you every day. Speaking of which, would you mind telling me why you're molesting me?" he huffed, grabbing Bartimaeus's hands, which were rapidly trailing down past Nathaniel's Line of Decency.
"Do you remember that one time I told you that you were going to get raped as soon as we were back in London?" Barty asked innocently, placing a kiss on Nathaniel's nose. "Well, Natty. Guess where we are." Nathaniel's face turned bright red, and he gulped.
"B-But… Bartimaeus! Uhm, I was kind of trying to remain abstinent," he lied.
"Is that even legal?" Bartimaeus asked skeptically.
"Well… probably not, but…"
"In that case, morals be damned." Bartimaeus lunged forward and kissed Nathaniel, who was rapidly forgetting why he was nervous in the first place. "I promise I'll be gentle," he heard Barty mumble in his ear, shortly before nipping at it lightly. Nathaniel gasped and bit his lip. He could feel one of Bartimaeus's soft hands sliding up under his shirt, the other quickly undoing the buttons. Nathaniel wrapped his arms around Bartimaeus's neck, dragging him closer, simultaneously muttering weak protests.
"B-Bartimaeus…" he gasped, not quite sure whether it was supposed to be encouragement or a otherwise.
"So, Natty? How about it?" Bartimaeus asked, pulling away to grin seductively at him. "I'll go as slow and gentle as humanly and djinnily possible, and you don't have to do anything but lie there and moan until you can't talk any more. Please?" he whined, pecking Nathaniel's nose again. Natty cleared his throat nervously and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, surprised to notice that he would have fallen over if Barty wasn't there to support him.
"Just answer me one question," Nathaniel said slowly, his mouth suddenly dry. "It's about… Ptolemy. You said you loved him one time. I was just wondering… how much did you love him?" He frowned and stared down at his shoes, waiting for Barty to talk. This was something that had been on his mind for a few days now.
Bartimaeus snorted. "You've kept me waiting… this entire time… because you were afraid I'm in love with a boy who is two thousand years dead." He sighed wearily and pulled Nathaniel close to his chest again, probably so Nathaniel couldn't see his face. "Yes, I loved him. But I wasn't in love with him. He was the nicest human I've ever known, and I would have done anything for him. But Ptolemy was distracted by the thought of humans and djinn working together, and he never glanced twice at any male, female, or djinni. The thought of me being in love with him never crossed my mind." He paused, and dragged away to grin at Nathaniel again. "Now, if you're done asking questions, I'd like to have sex with you, please."
Nathaniel blushed bright red and stuttered the best word he had ever said in his entire life.
"O-Okay."