The Morning After [House Party cont]

[Seven]

Seven’s palm lingered in Gideon’s, but not for the reasons one might assume. It wasn’t flirtation or tension that kept the contact lingering—it was something more elusive, more difficult to name. His gaze held steady, locking onto Gideon’s amber eyes as though trying to read the secrets etched in their depths. He murmured softly, his voice carrying just enough weight to be intimate but not overbearing. “I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure, but… I feel—” He faltered, the words slipping away before he could catch them, replaced by the sharp tang of uncertainty. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure what he felt.

Hayden’s laugh broke the moment, scattering the faint spell that had settled over Seven’s thoughts. He straightened and glanced around the room, his sharp eyes scanning the faces for threads of connection—little clues as to who followed too closely on whose heels. This was a crowd of intersecting orbits, and he could feel the invisible tension between them like the taut strings of a harp, vibrating faintly with unspoken histories and tangled loyalties.

His gaze caught on Nox just as the host slipped quietly from the room. He couldn’t help but feel a pang of sympathy for Nox. Maybe it was the pressure of so many people, their voices and energies pressing in like the weight of a storm cloud. Seven knew what it was like to carry something precious, fragile, and secret, and he understood the need to retreat before it shattered. He made a mental note to seek Nox out later—there was a story there, and Seven had always been drawn to the stories people kept locked away on the hope those bars may be broken and the imprisoned soul freed.

Hayden’s arm draped over his shoulders, warm and steady, and though Seven didn’t pull away, he raised an eyebrow in mild surprise at the boldness of the gesture. Hayden’s tale followed, as unexpected as the embrace, and Seven’s attention sharpened as the details unraveled. He had a penchant for good stories—he could spin one into a song if the mood struck—but this wasn’t just any story. This one was layered, cryptic, and alive with implications that sent his mind whirring.

He listened intently, filing away every detail: the big mouth that brought Gideon here, the baby hacker’s cousin, and the mysterious mark on the invitation. Then there was the leather-clad woman, and the revelation that Hayden had been two doors down when Nox called. That detail in particular caught Seven’s attention. His lips quirked in a faint smile, but behind the amusement was a growing curiosity. Exactly what kind of business was Hayden involved in?

Seven leaned into the tale, his mind racing through possibilities. A hired killer? A con artist? Something more shadowy, more complicated? Hayden had the ease of someone who thrived in chaos, and the confidence of a man who could slide through cracks in the world most people didn’t even know existed. It made Seven’s chest tighten with a mix of admiration and caution. Hayden had the kind of charisma that could lead a man into the fire with a grin on his face, and that was always dangerous.

When Hayden gestured toward the computer kid, Seven’s attention shifted again. He’d been watching the boy out of the corner of his eye, noting the sharp intelligence that radiated from him even in silence.

Hayden’s comment—Nox talks a lot about him—left Seven wondering what role this kid played in Nox’s orbit. Everyone here seemed to hold a thread of connection to the host, weaving a web of intrigue that Seven couldn’t resist tugging at.

At last, Hayden’s story looped back to him. “Which led me to you,” Hayden said with a grin, “and, well, that’s all that matters.” Seven smiled faintly in response, though his mind was still caught on the implications of what Hayden had said. Nox seemed to draw people to him like a collapsing star, and Seven could feel the gravity pulling at him too.

He finally exhaled, lifting his coffee cup as though to toast the chaotic, colorful cast of characters he now found himself surrounded by. “Quite the tale,” he said, his voice low and smooth, with just a hint of amusement. “And here I thought I was the only one who stumbled into strange orbits.” He glanced at Hayden, eyes glinting with mischief.

[Ashton]

The girls hadn't followed him. And he felt slightly bad about it. But he couldn't leave his family didn't want to leave the safety of this lair. It may be sterile right now, but it was new and clean and they could make it their own. The girls didn't look like they had anywhere to go. Which felt wrong. He wished they'd have come with him. But to each their own.

Ashton came in the front door and the entrance beeped and he opened the door. "Thanks?" It was a little creepy having a house that knew him, that watched them. He wondered if there were cameras in the bedroom and who would be watching. Would she?

Up the stairs to the living space. Everyone was still there, at least everyone who didn't really belong there, Nox was gone. Probably slipped off into his room. Ashton intended to do the same thing. He could make them all leave, leave the house quiet and theirs, but he didn't he snuck past them as best he could without being noticed. Though he was certain he failed miserably as he started up the stairs, and all the way to the top floor where his family waited.

He probably shouldn't have left at all. But there was something about the girl. Something he had wanted to find out. But he was pretty sure he blew it all.

[Hayden]

Seven noticed Nox leave as Hayden noted. The man he clung to at the moment was intuitive in ways that he'd like to explore more. Both sexually and professionally. Not that he was technically qualified to call it professional, but intuition was good to understand. Hayden whispered in Seven's ear, though Gideon was sure to hear, it wasn't him hiding the words but more or less passing on his flirting to the man he'd actually spent the night with and not his half brother. "You can go talk to him. He likes to talk -- about everything."

Hayden wasn't sure if Seven had picked up on the fact that he and Nox had shared a bed or that he was the point of his entire excursion to Moscow -- a stalker as Gideon had called him. He probably made the connection, but one could never know for sure.

Gideon's cousin and Sage or Wicked or Computer Boy, Hayden liked the latter the most were off in their own world. Though Sage was completely gone, his eyes nearly glazed over as he stared off into the TV. And Liam stared at him like he was trying to figure something out. He was figuring it out too as Hayden watched the light change in his eyes. "You figure out the rumors are true?" he turned and shouted over the music that still played from earlier to entertain Nox.

Liam turned and looked at him. "They aren't true. The Wicked Truth isn't an AI. He's got a fucking computer in his head!"

[Liam H]

Liam looked at the talk blonde -- he was kinda cute. But he was a playboy and Gideon didn't exactly want him near him so there was a story there. One he'd figure out. Though Liam was pretty sure that Sage or Wicked had figured it out.

It was strange watching your heroes. They always said never meet them, they'll disappoint you every time. And it was a little disappointing as he did nothing on the computer that meant anything, he scrolled through the dark web, typed a few comments in a chat room. It was all a show.

He wasn't really there. But he was aware. And paying attention. Liam stared at him as he just gazed off into the TV looking high and out of it. Liam noticed the green of his eyes in the hazel. He saw the scars behind his ear, and behind it a small node -- every once in a while it would blink like something was connected or connecting or. Holy fucking shit.

Hayden called out to him as the whole fucking world came into clarity for him. The rumors about Phaser was he was an AI. That he wasn't even human, and the same rumors started pooling around Wicked, people were making the connections -- He'd made the connection a long time back. But this -- this was revolutionarly.

"They aren't true. The Wicked Truth isn't an AI. He's got a fucking computer in his head!" A fucking computer in your fucking brain... how the fuck! Liam couldn't wait to get home. He had a shit ton of research to do. A fucking computer in your fucking brain! He just stared completely stunned by the knowledge. And he was totally jealous.

[Seven]

Hayden was, undeniably, affectionate—a steady presence at Seven’s side, his arm draped casually over Seven’s shoulders as if they’d known each other for years instead of hours. Seven tilted his head slightly, offering a small, warm smile in return. The gesture felt natural, almost practiced, but his mind, ever restless, was already at work. Hayden’s concern for Nox seemed genuine, palpable even, yet there was something curious about the way he let Nox slip away without following. A contradiction, like the tug of opposing tides. It struck Seven that this group was full of such contradictions.

The relationship dynamics in the room were unlike anything Seven had encountered before—a tangled web of intimacy and distance. There was an openness to their interactions, a kind of casual familiarity that suggested a shared history, yet it was underscored by a subtle guardedness. They leaned close to one another, exchanged banter and fleeting touches, but there was an invisible line none of them seemed willing to cross. It wasn’t exactly mistrust, but it was something adjacent to it, like a mirror held up to connection that reflected only the surface. Shallow, yes, but not in the cruel sense of the word. Perhaps fractured was closer to the truth. Like a mosaic held together by unspoken conflicts and unaddressed tensions.

An outburst suddenly broke through the quiet hum of conversation, and Seven’s gaze shifted, following the ripple of attention that moved away from Nox’s departure and landed firmly on young Sage.

The revelation about computer chips embedded in Sage’s brain wasn’t as shocking to Seven as it might have appeared. Neural implants weren’t entirely new—their use as far back as the 1980s to treat neurological disorders, stimulating specific regions of the brain to manage seizures, tremors, or even mood disorders wasn’t uncommon. But Sage’s situation felt different, more invasive somehow, as though his technology wasn’t simply therapeutic but transformative, a tool not just to heal but to alter. Seven wondered if the procedure had been voluntary, or if something had gone awry during the process. Perhaps it explained the boy’s aloofness, the way he seemed both here and elsewhere, tethered to the room by something intangible yet fragile.

The teenager beside Sage—Liam, as Seven recalled—reacted with unbridled enthusiasm, his eyes lighting up as though the information had opened the door to some grand new adventure. Seven watched him closely, his energy a stark contrast to Sage’s calm detachment. Liam was an open book, his excitement unfiltered, but Sage… Sage was a cipher. The boy had secrets buried deep, and Seven couldn’t help but wonder how much of himself he was willing—or able—to share with the others.

It wasn’t Seven’s business, of course. None of it was. And he had no intention of prying further into what was so clearly personal. Yet the moment was emblematic of this group’s peculiar chemistry: secrets traded as easily as glances, shared as intimately as touch. Seven wasn’t immune to the unspoken currents swirling around him. The tension between Hayden and Nox was almost tangible, like a string pulled taut between them, vibrating faintly with something unsaid. There was something between Sage and Nox too, quieter but no less significant. Even Liam and Gideon exchanged subtle glances that hinted at feelings Seven didn’t yet understand.

“Well, this has been an enjoyable experience,” Seven said finally, his tone warm but tinged with the obvious trace of amusement. “Best party I’ve been to in a long time.” His words, though light, were genuine. There was no denying the intrigue this group had stirred in him. With that, he gathered his belongings, offering a polite nod to those still lingering.

[Hayden]

Seven saw a lot and he had enjoyed his company but he didn't stop him either when he departed. He had a question for Gideon, and wanted to check on Nox. So he smiled and waved and in parting measure "Contact incoming." He said to Seven, swiping his contact to those in the room. Everyone had it already, well except Liam but it was not an issue either way for Hayden.

Hayden pulled Gideon aside away from the prying ears of the boys on the couch. This wasn't for Gideon's cousin, at least not heard from his mouth. "So, computer boy over there figured out who we are to each other. What happens to our mother's reputation if I'm found out? I could give a flying fuck about my father, but I don't want to rile your family up if it got out."

Gideon looked curious, though Hayden was sure it had nothing to do with the uncovered rumor he'd found it out and he wasn't a hacker after all. "Will he tell?"

Hayden shook his head. "He's had the opportunity since he told me so I don't think so. Nox trust him with all the shady shit he does, so I imagine it's safe."

Gideon just shrugged. No big deal. It won't affect his family. It would sure rock his parents world and his so-called brother-father. He grinned at Liam. "Looks like Liam's on his way out." Hayden nodded towards the way Nox had fled. "I'm going to check on him. I'll see ya round."

Sage sat on the couch just staring he didn't move despite the fact the apartment was emptying out.

Hayden knocked on the only door he thought it would be. There was no answer, the door just opened, but there was no one there. Fucking magic. Nox had kept his gift a secret the whole time he'd been in London, now he used it like it was a life line. And Hayden supposed it was. Hayden stepped inside and found the room far more decorated than anything else in the place. Clearly this is where Nox spent most of his time.

There were even plants in the corner and a cute little waterfall with a white lotus floating at it's center. That was meaningful. Hayden knew what the lotus meant, he'd figured that out rather quickly particularly after noticing the tattoo on his forearm that hadn't been there in London. He'd changed a bit since they actually last spoke. Where he had been talkatie on the get go, he didn't even look up from the slumbering child.

"This is new. Cat got your tongue."

A smirk played across his lips and he turned his eyes to meet Haydens. "Figured you wanted something."

"Just checking on you. Things seemed rough for you out there, and not in the social anxiety type way, you don't have that particular issue. Crowds don't normally bother you."

[[ with Gideon ]]

[Nox]

Nox shrugged and slide from the bed to let Lily sleep. He didn't go far as he sat down on the floor near the door there was a look of invitation for Hayden to sit as Nox leaned against the cabinet that housed the computer stuff Sage put in the office. Hayden sat down next to him, his shoulder and leg just touching Nox's. "I hate that you know me that well."

Hayden chuckled. "I spent a whole week studying you, and then followed you around the fucking world where I did nothing but watch you. I know you better than you know you."

Nox chuckled. "I bet you do. You enjoy Seven?"

Hayden rolled his eyes. "I don't kiss and tell."

"Coulda fooled me. But honestly, thanks. but I'm fine now. It wasn't the crowd that set me off. Was that there were too many people around Lily. The horde and I agree on one thing."

Hayden looked over at the bed where Lily lay, "Protect the baby. So you'll have to find a word that starts with F to add to their instincts."

"Family works."

Hayden shook his head. "You think?

"It's always protected family at least it's never balked because of it. But this is different, the horde feels the same way about the Blackthorn girls."

"I'll just nod and act like I know who that is."

Nox chuckled. "You should talk to them all. You'd understand what they've been through. And I think it would be good for them as long as you don't flirt with them."

Hayden laughed. "I can't promise that. But hey give me some credit. I don't sleep with kids."

"Neither do I. Doesn't stop the flirting though does it?"

Hayden shook his head. "You talk to him?"

Nox let out a long breath. "Not directly. He's not here, I don't know where he is. And I didn't ask Sage to find him. Though I'm sure he knows. I did the whole boom-box over the head gesture. Told him how I felt in letter and song and a fucking performance of said song. And then I got kidnapped by a fucking Siren, sliced and diced and feed to some Rougarous and then I killed the whole fucking nest brought the hold fucking house down. And then I nearly died. So yeah, no I've not spoken to Raffe. And I don't even think he wants to talk to me."

"You sure you're okay? I can stay."

Nox chuckled. "I'm good. I gotta pack. Don't follow me Hayden. It's not Atharim and I don't want them to know."

Hayden nodded. "You want me to lie to my cousin?"

"Consider it doctor patient confidentiality."

"I'm not a doctor, and I'm certainly not yours." Hayden chuckled. "Though I wouldn't mind playing doctor again."

Nox grinned. "Maybe when I get back, but please, don't tell them. You dont know where I went other than the US. That's all you know. And since they didn't send you you didn't follow me."

Hayden sighed. "Fine." He shoulder checked Nox before standing up. "If you are good, and you don't need me I'm gonna jet. You can call me -- anytime." Nox's wallet beeped and Hayden's contact popped up on the screen. "Anytime."

Nox looked up at Hayden and wondered why he was being nice. He was just a mark.

Hayden gave Nox a grin "I'll look in on those kids for you and talk with em. You just don't die."

"Don't plan on it." Nox watched Hayden leave and close the door behind him. It was quiet again -- and lonely. Nox crawled over to the edge of the bed and laid his head on it and watched Lily until he drifted off into his nightmarish sleep.

[Liam H]

The entire realization that there was a computer in someone's head completely seemed lost on the crowd. Those Sage had smirked a little when Liam had announced it to the crowd.

Liam was on edge, feeling giddy and needed to go. He said his good-byes to his sorta new friend and skipped out the door nearly forgetting his coat, and boots, though he did remember the books moments before stepping into a slush puddle and found Gideon holding both coat and boots at the front door with a humorous look just waiting for Liam to remember. His cousin knew him well enough anyway.

Liam donned the boots and coat and grinned at Gidoen. "I got laid." It wasn't just sex. It was a threesome and he did things with a guy he'd never thought he do. They walked to the train station. Mostly because Liam just kept walking and Gideon was amused by Liam's story. Or for some other reason Liam didn't bother to ask about. Liam probably went into a bit more detail than he needed to but he was excited.

A lot was running through Liam's mind and Gideon would most be interested in the fact that he'd been the middle of that particular threesome sandwich and he'd enjoyed it. Was a little sore but it had been totally worth it.

The train rattled to a stop and they climbed on board. It was packed with the morning rush and Liam didn't want everyone to hear about his sexploits, so his mind went towards the kid on the couch. The fucking computer in his brain.

Liam might have shouted that last bit out again. A fucking computer in his brain."

Gideon rolled his eyes but the smirk told Liam he was at least somewhat amused at the attention it had gained. "You think that's real?"

Liam nodded emphatically and leaned in conspiratorially. "He has a wireless nub behind his left ear with a little blinking light."

Liam went on about all the possibilities of what that could mean. Why The Wicked Truth was so good at what he did and how fucking awesome it would be to have a fucking computer in your brain.

The train stopped near his home and Liam climbed off half expecting Gideon to go home himself, instead he got out of the car and walked him up to the doorman. Liam continuing his stories and just random rambling at this point.

Gideon grabbed his shoulder before Liam stepped inside. "You probably shouldn't tell your mum and dad about any of this."

Liam looked at his cousin with a grin and nodded. "I think that's a good idea." The fact that Gideon had reminded him meant he didn't intend to tell his parents either. So that was a good thing.

Liam waved and rushed inside. He was going to get a talking to being out so late. He'd have to think up a lie... Or maybe a half truth. He met a guy who was the cousin of a friend and he spent the night talking about all the cool school things they did at his house... Totally not a lie! And a good precursor to actually getting to do what the hell he wanted and not go to the boring shitty school.