Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

“I got an idea,” Jed says one quiet night. “I think we should take a page out of Micah's book and tell fate to go to hell.”

Octavius groans into his shoulder. “Oh, no, and I was almost asleep. At least let me get my helmet first.”

“No, no, it ain’t that bad. I was just thinking about the new caveman, remember him?”

“Unfortunately, yes. What about him?”

“Well, he had to have come from somewhere. And so did we, and that got me thinking. What’s stopping us from getting on the computer?”

Octavius blinks sleepily at him. “I trust you, my love, but I’m not sure I follow.”

“It’ll make sense once I explain. I just think I might be able to make up for one more thing that happened a long time ago.”

Rebecca sits at the front desk and ignores the notifications on her phone while she waits for closing time. Two minutes, Mom, she thinks. Give me two minutes and I will call you back. Stop panicking. I’m not dead.

A woman steps through the front door and looks around.

“Hi, I’m sorry,” Rebecca says, raising her voice a little. “But we’re actually just about to close.”

“Sorry!” the woman says. She holds out a small brown package. “It’s okay, I’m not here to visit – I’m here way more often than I should be, anyway. No, I just saw the FedEx guy drop this on the front stairs. And it’s addressed to the collections department? It seemed like something that should probably, uh, not get left on the front step.”

“Oh, thank you! Yes, that keeps happening, I don’t know what’s wrong with the delivery people lately…” She takes it and reads the label, ignoring the phone buzzing angrily in her pocket. “Oh, it’s from the diorama vendor. I’m so sorry, but if you know the building already, could you go and leave it in the Hall of Miniatures? I really need to get going soon, and the night guard should find it just fine. And if he doesn’t, then the collections team will find it when they come in tomorrow morning. Either way, someone will take care of it.”

When the sun sets, the first thing Jed notices is the cardboard box sitting on the bench seat. He squints at it; sure, it’s pretty far away, but he could swear it wiggles a little as he watches.

“Weird,” he mutters.

Then he remembers last week’s project.

“Oh, shit.” He starts heading down the sloped paths. “Hey, Annie?”

She meets his eyes from twenty yards away and nods. “I see it! Come on, Janey, it’s time.”

“What?” It takes Jane a second to react; she must still be a little bit asleep. “Where are we – oh, fuck me, I got it. I’m on my way.”

He stops at the edge and pokes his head out past the wall. “Octavius! We’re gonna need to borrow some of your guys again!”

His voice wafts out from Rome. “Is it here?”

“Yep! And we ain’t got time to waste, so come on. It’s been long enough already.”

Getting up on the bench is a lot easier than it used to be, now that he’s not being shot at. Octavius is right on his heels as they scale the left-side rope. The two Roman soldiers are making quick progress up the right-hand one – Jed tries to remember their names as he climbs, but he can’t keep a hold on both his memory and the rope at the same time. But it doesn’t really matter; there’s more important things to worry about right now.

The box is a lot bigger up close. The sides have got to be ten feet tall, towering above their heads like it is. Jedediah narrows his eyes at the cardboard. It’s almost like it’s taunting him – the thought doesn’t make any sense, but his mind is too occupied with planning to do language properly. “Octavius,” he says, “can you get up there?”

He looks between him and the top of the box, considering. “I can if you give me a boost. On your shoulders, I think, like—”

“—when we climbed those stairs?” he finishes.

Octavius nods. “Exactly.”

Jed kneels without another word. They have this down to a science, this whole “working as a team” thing, and it’s easy to help him up to the top of the box. “Slice open that tape now, would you, darlin’?” he calls, once he’s safely there.

As Octavius unsheathes his sword and turns around, Jedediah suddenly finds his mouth dry and his stomach unsettled. What if it doesn’t work? There’s a lot that could have gone wrong already, and even more in the steps of the plan that are yet to come, all of which he’s been doing his best to ignore until right this moment.

“Come on,” he mutters.

The sword cuts through the tape with ease. Octavius gets the far side taken care of in a snap and moves on to the near side, dragging the tip of the sword behind him as he goes. It glides effortlessly through the strip of tape that runs down the center of the box. He kneels at the edge and gets to work on this side, but then Jedediah sees what’s about to happen a fraction of a second before it does.

“Wait!” he calls, watching Octavius’s foot slip on the glossy tape, but it’s too late for him to recover.

He falls, taking the sword with him, and it bites a jagged line into the cardboard. The sword slows his fall just enough that Jed manages to catch him – if breaking his fall with his body counts as catching, anyway.

Jedediah doesn’t bother apologizing right now. There’ll be time to kiss it better later. When they get back up, it’s plain to see that the flaps have opened a bit, but it’s not very far at all. Jed can still see thin sections of tape straining at the corners.

“Damn,” Octavius mutters. “I missed a spot.”

He glares at the box. They’re so close. There must be an easy way that he’s just not seeing.  

“Wait!” one of the Roman soldiers says. “I have an idea.” He kneels by the hook end of the climbing rope and pops it out of the upholstery, coiling the rope as he pulls it up. He swings the hook in expert circles, preparing to throw it.

“Where’d he learn to do that?” Jed mutters, worried for a different reason now.

Octavius leans over. “I think he’s been spending time with the cowboys.”

“Oh, God.”

The hook sails over the top of the box and lands perfectly in the space under the flap on the opposite side.

“Well, I’ll be damned.”

“Brace the other side!” the soldier calls to his friend. He tugs on the rope.

Once again, Jed can see what’s about to happen. “Wait—”

The flaps pop open and the box tips over, sending a cascade of shredded paper pouring out.

Goddammit, he thinks.

Then something stirs inside the pile of shreds and Jedediah has to remind himself to breathe. This is it. This is why we’re here.

When he pops up, Luke’s ginger hair is a stark contrast against the dull browns of the packing. He spits a fleck of paper out of his mouth and grins. “Hey, Jed!”

Holy shit, it worked.

“Boy, am I glad to see you,” he continues. “How’s it going?”

He grabs his arm and helps him upright. “Hey, Luke. You alright?”

“Peachy. It’s been a weird couple weeks, let me tell you, but now it seems I’m fit as can be.” He side-eyes Octavius. “Y’all sure work fast. Made up already, huh?”

“Oh, you have no idea.”

Luke bends down and roots around in the paper for his hat. “Now, that sounds like a story I’ve got to hear.”

“You will,” Octavius promises. “In due time. I believe there are a few things you ought to do first.”

Jedediah extends a hand to him. “Come on home, Luke. There’s a few people who are gonna be real happy to see you.” 

Luke looks around the West as they walk. “It looks different around here,” he comments. “Did we replace the light? The rocks get a new paint job or something?”

“It’s probably dust,” Jed admits. “It’s been a while since anybody deep-cleaned around here.”

“Really, y’all have been slacking off? Come on, it ain’t been that long.”

Octavius looks at him, wide-eyed.

Jed shrugs helplessly. “What do you want me to do?” he whispers.

“What’d ya say?”

“I said we’re here,” he lies to Luke. “Ignore the new half of the porch - that’s a story for later.”

The doors swing open noiselessly, opening up into the cozily-lit bar.

“When did Janey find time to redecorate?” Luke wonders.

“She didn’t. I did,” Annie says, smiling at him. “Nice to see you, sugar.”

“You too, Miss Ogden.”

She gets out of her seat. “Oh, it’ll be Mrs. Ogden soon enough,” she says offhandedly, then calls up the stairs. “Hey, Jane, sweetheart?”

Luke turns to Jed. “Are they getting married? Oh, my God! When’s that happening?”

Jane thunders down the stairs and takes the corner at a ridiculous speed. “Not soon enough!” she cries, then grabs his arm and actually kisses him on the cheek. “Welcome home, Luke.”

“Well, y’all are awful friendly today!” He laughs. “Nice to feel loved, I suppose. Hey, speaking of – where’s Micah?”

“He’s on his way. MICAH!” Jane hollers. “Get your sorry ass down here!”

Micah’s footsteps break up his words as he comes down. “Janey, I’ve already told you, I—”

He freezes at the bottom of the stairs.

The pause is so thick with unspoken emotion that you could slice it, fry it, and eat it on a sandwich.

Jedediah knows they should clear out, to give them a little privacy, but he can’t stop himself from staying here to see their reunion. Octavius’s fingers tighten around his.

When Micah finally speaks, his voice is the softest Jed has ever heard it.

“Luke?”

“Hey, partner.” He smiles, bright as the sun. “I missed you.”