AN: If I ownedanything, Juniper Leenever would have been cancelled. Contains very slight spoilers for severalepisodes in seasons two and three. All feedback, including constructivecriticism, is welcome and appreciated. Enjoy.
DennisLee had known for a while he was a terrible older brother. For a long time, hehad managed to avoid thinking about it by burying himself in his own life, lameas it was, but after he nearly got the city demolished by incompetent comicbook villains, outright denial just didnt work anymore. Not about a lot of things.
Thatwas three months ago.
Now,he found himself sitting in Junes bedroom at four in the morning, watching hersleep. She was so exhausted she had barely twitched once since her head hitthe pillow. At least,he thought sourly, shes so out of it theres no way shell remember meputting her to bed. Maybe.
Dennis frowned, tugging at the neck of his Supermanpajama shirt and readjusting the necklace tied to the amulet that allowed himto pierce the Veil. The day he had found out his sister was the Te Xuan Ze,with real superpowers and everything, was without a doubt the best and worst ofhis life. He hadnt been lying to June: magic really was all he knew, even ifAdvanced Dungeons and Dragons was a bit off, and it was one of the only thingshe really enjoyed. The idea that he could use real magic to fight evil, evenif he was just a sidekick, was just … unbearably cool.
Partof him was still surprised he was never, even for a second, jealous of June oncehe found out she was like, the living incarnation n of She-Hulk, without as muchgreen. He smirked in spite of himself. And not just because of hertemper. The stuff she can do … wow. The half-grin fell away. If he was honest, the big reason he probably didntget jealous right off was because too many things suddenly made sense: theapprehensive way she acted when she told him the truth, her badly hidden smilewhen the dog couldnt erase his memories (Again!), and all the times over the last year sheddisappeared, broken commitments and generally acted like a total flake witheveryone and then been miserable afterwards. Hed never bothered to try tofigure it out, or even admit to himself something might be wrong. No. Ifanything, I let myself be just as mean and nasty as any of her classmates. Ididnt even want her in the same room when I had friends over, even if she wasjust coming to tell me it was time for dinner. Unbidden, thoughts of all the times hedjust stood there while Reggie and the others talked down to her sprang to mind. If that werent bad enough, whenever Zach actually tried to be nice to her andinvited her to game with them, he threw a hissy fit. Even though shewouldve said no. Heresisted the urge to groan. All because I … what? Because everyone elsewas doing it and I was trying to be cool? Because I was pissed and she wasconvenient? He suspectedit was a bit of both, and the realization made him sick. She never seemedreally bothered, though, and at the time hed fooled himself into thinking sheprobably didnt really care. Like that made it okay.
Nowhe realized June just had much bigger problems, and that just made it all worse. Especially findingout the truth. Hed acted like a total prick for years, and June had still been absolutely thrilled that he knew. Even as they made plans to deal with Wrongness and his crew, he realized justhow miserable and lonely she had to be to be willing to put the past behindthem so quickly. She was a lot more like Peter Parker than Tony Stark when itcame to the whole secret life thing. At least she probably wont become analcoholic.
Junedidnt have nearly as many friends as she used to, either. Jody, Ophelia, andRoger were too close to her to give up easily, but he could see the strain, ifhe looked close enough. He had realized then, standing with her and staringout at a sky teeming with monsters for the very first time, that she was gladshe wasnt going to drive him completely away with her weirdness, even as muchof a jerk as he had been.
Dennis wished he could say that had been enough tocrush any jealously he might have harbored, but the truth was he would neverknow for sure. His adrenaline and excitement forced him to ignore anypotential emotional backlash as they headed downtown: watching comic bookvillains he himself had summoned destroy Orchid Bay did a lot to rearrange hispriorities.
It wasnt long before the three of them and the dogwere downtown, and it only took a few seconds for his entire world to flip overfor the second time in one day. It was one thing to hear June talk about beingthe Protector and having powers, but he didnt really understand, until themoment June leapt at the villains, exactly what that meant.
There was no comic book panel, no movie, no cartoon,nothing that came close to the way Junecould move. It wasnt so much her strength or speed–and she had both ininsane quantities–that left him awed. In every piece of fiction Dennis hadever seen, there had been an element of planning and arrangement and somethingindefinably artificial in eventhe most frenetic scenes. The people that planned them in movies were calledfight choreographers, after all. But the way his sister leapt and spun and twisted and fought with the ease that he might bend to tie his shoeswas so natural and the adrenaline and power reflected in her eyes so intensethat hed had to force his knees to stop shaking. It was all real, and however she might feel about it, he knewwatching her then that he was seeing someone do what they were born to do.
Then they lost the element of surprise, and the badguys started hitting back. However amazing June was, she only had two legs andtwo arms to dodge with, and he would never forget the panic that gripped himthe first time he saw her batted across a street, or the terror that set in asthey battered her when she fought back, feeling more and more like he was goingto throw up when concrete and iron cracked and shattered as she was slammedinto it.
Then she had stood up from taking blows thatwouldve turned Dennis to very messy, very dead goop, and grinned, every inch of her face letting Wrongness and therest know she wasnt anywhere close to giving in, not so much as a bruise onher head, which had just left a nice round dent in a bank wall. And in a flashof dour insight that would become increasingly common, he realized this wasntthe first time his sister had faced insane superpowered bastards that wantednothing less than to put her stuffed head on their mantles. But no one hadnoticed. For more than a year,his parents, him, all of Junes friends, and everyone else had been completelyignorant of what was going on. She couldve gone out one night and gotteneaten by a dragon and none of them would ever have known what happened. Notlike Ah-Mah would tell. June could have got put on a milk carton and grandma never would have said a word. Andthen theres the dog. He frowned. Nohelp there.
If it hadnt been for the adrenaline pumping throughhis body and the effort involved in keeping himself from getting squished,Dennis was sure he wouldve tossed his cookies, then and there. At least RayRay was too young and nave to think about it. He had no idea at all how Junemanaged to deal, and realized he probably didnt want to know.
But yeah. Watching an evil giant floating head andhis minions try to kill his sister had permanently, totally crushed anyjealousy he might have harbored, and left guilt festering in its place. He hadbeen practically useless in the battle, but swore to himself he do his best tohelp her. June didnt need him to baby her, but maybe, just maybe, if heworked hard enough at it he would be able to make up for being such a jackass.
He had no trouble admitting to himself that he wouldalso be in a position to do his best to keep Junes head attached to her body. He loved his sister, even though he never showed it, even though he denied it once or twice, and the thought of somethinghappening to her–he shook his head. That way lie bad thoughts and nausea andexcuses to his mother about expired milk at Reggies.
Maybe he couldnt lift a bridge (he still boggled atthe level of strength that implied…someday he was actually going to do themath to figure out how much she was lifting) there was plenty he could do f hestudied hard enough. And despite what some of his teachers thought, he couldbe a pretty good student, if the material was interesting.
But trying to study under that dog had been almostas unnerving as watching June get beaten with a streetlamp. It was clear fromthe beginning that the pug only warmed up to the idea of keeping Dennis aroundwhen he realized he actually knew quite a bit about magic, for a normal human. He had been especially enthusiastic in pointing out to Juniper that her olderbrother probably knew more than she did. At the time Dennis didnt think muchof it. but after the fight, he realized the dog was enjoying making June awareof what he considered her inadequacies. And not even in a tone that encouragedher to learn more. When he spoke to her, I could hear his contempt for me. In fact, he made it sound like an insult. The family idiot knew more thansomeone who was supposed to be the Great Protector. Dennis had never thought of it like that.
He figured June didnt bother with magical items andspells because she was insanely strong and wicked fast. She didnt really needmagic as much, aside from a few odd little bits she seemed pretty good at, andwhy should she want to bother learning more when her so-called teacher was anobnoxious know-it-all that enjoyed lording it over her? He could have let itall pass and just thought the dog was a jerk, but then, later that night, afterhe, June, and Ray Ray had crashed in front of the TV in the basement with a fewpizzas, the dog had taken time to lecture them all on how Dennis keeping hismemories was highly irregular, and it was probably best if Ah-Mah not be toldbecause she might not agree that it was a good idea. Of course, he was sowordy and overblown about the whole thing that he somehow made it sound likeshe would be angry about it and try todo something to take Dennis memories away. Ray Ray and June agreed withoutthinking. Dennis agreed too, even though he thought it was complete crap. Hismemories couldnt be erased, after all, and their grandmother had dealt finewith Ray Ray finding out. Whatever his reasons for having them keep Dennis asecret, they were purely the dogs own, and his brother was too nave, and hissister too trusting, or desperate, or maybe both, to realize it. Dennis hadnever brought up his suspicions with either of them, but ever sense that nighthad kept a very close eye on the pug.
Roleplaying depended on keeping a bunch ofinformation in your head at once and being able to read people–especially thegame master. And Dennis was so good at it precisely because he pick up a lotof small details when he wanted to, which really came in handy dealing with themutt. He watched out of the corner of his eye, and he listened for a bitbefore he walked into a room or in front of a doorway. It didnt take long topick up on the fact the dog didnt seem to give a damn about any of Junesproblems that didnt have to do with fighting the assorted whackos that foundtheir way to Orchid Bay. Trouble at school, her double lifes impact on hersocial life, just general stress … he didnt want to ear it. Ever. The dayafter June had to ditch one of Jodys recitals to deal with some demons tryingto kidnap the mayors baby, Dennis heard the pug griping her out because shehad the nerve to fret that her responsibilities were destroying her oldestfriendship. Apparently, June didnt deserve to complain because Ah Mah had towork the decades their father should have been active. When June pointed outthat Ah-Mah had just had to delay her retirement, but she, the youngest Te XuanZe ever, had her life totally trashed, her so-called advisor had started goingballistic, and there probably wouldve been a fantastic shouting match–orworse–if Dennis hadnt chosen that moment to barrel in with the biggest, mostoblivious smile he could manage and see if June wanted to walk to the comicbook store with him. Which wouldve been the worlds lamest excuse if therehadnt been an ice cream parlor next door and he hadnt offered to buy hersome.
Then there were all the times the runt shot foullooks at June when she failed to follow his advice because she had her ownplan, or said she didnt need his help when he obviously thought otherwise. She just seemed to think he was bad-tempered, but from what Dennis could see,it only happened when June didnt act like the dogs puppet when he clearlywanted her to, or, worse, happened to show that she was a human, almost teenagegirl and her life was about more than trolls and goblins and pus that came inthirty-one flavors of nasty. Whatever might or might not be going on, by theend of the second week, Dennis didnt trust the dog at all, and it was clearviolent monsters werent the only things that might hurt his sister if hedidnt watch out.
Maybe he was being paranoid. But then again, maybehe wasnt. The thought that the little furball might be the only one Junewould have to fall back on in an emergency just … didnt feel right. Thatwas why he practiced simple healing spells that he hoped she never needed himto use. He made sure she never saw him doing anything but the more fun stuff,like fireballs and teleportation–if she ever caught him and asked him why hefelt the need to learn magical first aid, he knew she wouldnt like the answer,if he actually managed to tell her.
He shook his head, scowling in the darkness. Damn,Im on a roll tonight. And why shouldnt I be? He usually managed to not let himself get wrapped up in his darkerthoughts to the point he started to brood, but that obviously wasnt happening. He looked at his sister, her small, moonlit body curled into a comfortableball, hair almost completely covering her face, wearing her purple pajama bottomsand an oversized KISS Army shirt hed found in the bottom of her closet, andknew exactly why he was actinglike an emo dork.
All it took was waking up to the sound of a dullthud and opening his door to find June sprawled out on the hall floor caked indirt, her clothes torn in places that wouldve had bile rising in his throat ifhe hadnt seen first hand that monsters didnt give a damn about anything butbeating the crap out of her. Or at least thats what Im going to think, soI can stay sane. What did terrify him was the way she didnt move, and forseveral long seconds before she curled up and started snoring into the carpet,some irrational, half-asleep part of him had thought she might be dead.
He was going to have to get creative explaining awaythe big mud pile outside his door, but at least he hadnt panicked long enoughto find the Stone of Healing he kept under his bed and wave it over her. Itsdull blue glow was enough to assure him that she was physically fine. Or atleast wasnt hurt enough to activate the gems magics. Whatever had happened(and he still wasnt really sure) it wouldnt be good at all if their parentsfound her like that, so he had taken it upon himself to get her back to herroom and get rid of the evidence. Looking back, he was really surprised withhow calm he was about the whole thing. When he scooped her up hed been almostshocked at how light she was. With all the things she could do he sometimesforgot she was still so small. He really didnt like being reminded,especially not like that.
At least, hethought, it made getting her into the bed easier. Whatever had happened, she was dead weight, andhardly stirred as he fumbled around getting June out of clothes literally heldtogether by a few dozen threads. Even her shoes were falling apart, and hedseen them survive kicking something with really pointy scales. In an effort to make sure they didnt getcaught, Dennis had left everything but a small nightlight off, and the darknesscertainly didnt do anything to make things any less surreal. He was sofocused on what he was doing that he almost managed to get his frayed nerves tosettle.
Until he pulled her back against his stomach andstarted tugging her tattered shirt over her head. It was a clumsy way to doit–just ripping the already ruined shirt down the middle while she was on herback and pulling it out from under her wouldve been much easier–but Junedeserved whatever bit of dignity he could spare her, and this way he was farless likely to get punched in the face if she chose that moment to suddenlywake up. Unfortunately, staring at her back when he brought the green fabricover her head left him looking straight at the gigantic yellow-purple weltspread across her shoulder blades.
Dennis had nearly dropped June on the floor and hadto bite his lower lip, painfully, to keep from shrieking like Jody Irwin at amonster movie. She just lolled her head against his shoulder and snored intohis ear, and it had taken all his willpower not to shake her awake and demandto know what had happened. He had seen her tossed around by giant things, slammed through concrete walls, stomped on by someassholes latest magical giant robot (Really, what the hell),and otherwise get knocked around on almost a daily basis, and not once had shewalked away with a single mark. The stone glowed blue; nothingsseriously wrong. Shes exhausted and doesnt need me waking her up, he had thought like a mantra until his arms hadstopped shaking, and afterwards had done his best to look June over for otherinjuries, almost laughing in relief when all he could find were broken, dirtyfingernails. He had just shaken his head, hard, and gone back to work. He would find out what hadhappened sooner or later.
Getting her into the pajamas was a bit morechallenging. She had actually started to squirm and mumble as he wrestled thepurple cotton slacks into place, muttering something about ceilings that justleft him more curious. Wondering and worrying was actually useful then; itkept him from thinking about just how incredibly awkward it was to changeJunes clothes. He hadnt seen her in just her underwear since she had beenold enough to dress herself. The one time hed almost accidentally walked inon her in the shower when she was nine, she had thrown a shampoo bottle at himhard enough to crack the plastic and screamed until his ears were ringing.
Odd how he never thought that was at all strange. Obviously, screaming and running in terror from his ranting sister had beenenough to derail his higher brain functions. He missed that, sometimes.
But he had gotten it done. Now, she was changed,and in bed, and the worst of the dirt and who knew what else was brushed offher arms and neck enough that whoever woke her up in the morning wouldntnotice the rest of her was still a mess. He would have to warn her not to letanyone see her before she got a shower, and he would be sure to wash her sheetsonce she was up. Wonder what Mom would think if she knew I was actuallyvolunteering to clean something. Hefrowned. If I do this right, itll never come up. He never could figure out how June kept them in thedark so easily. Every time he had to pull one over on them to help her out, hewas terrified he would screw it up and blow her cover.
Dennis sighed, feeling himself scowl. Enough. Ireally am turning emo. I need tofinish this up. He still hadnt washedJunes face. If they were going to pull this off and fool their parents, shewould need to not look like she hadbeen buried face first in the flowerbeds. Hed put it off until the endbecause he knew the damp, now cold, washcloth would wake her up for sure, andhe had needed the time to get his thoughts in order and calm himself down. Healso wasnt sure June would have let him help her, stubborn as she was, and shewas loud and clumsy when she wasnt completely awake. It wouldve been anentirely stupid, entirely avoidable way to get caught by their parents. Okaythen, he thought, holding the cloth overher face, here we go. Some partof his brain whispered, you better wake up, but he resolutely ignored it. Of course she would wake up. She hadto.
A few quick swipes with the cloth, and Dennispronounced her face passable. She was still dirty, but she had been playingoutside with Ray Ray yesterday after dinner. Thatll have to be a goodenough excuse for Mom and Dad. He didntwaste much thought on that, though: just as he guessed, June was starting towake.
She yawned loudly, swimming in the oversized shirtas she stretched her arms and legs out, sleepy eyes fluttering open. Denniswas glad it was so dark. There was no way June would see the dopey grin hefelt splitting his face. Then he realized she might not be able to see himclearly in the dark, and decided he better speak before she noticed him anddecided he was evil and looming, or something. Welcome back, he whispered,and his voice actually sounded calm. Awesome.
June blinked, large brown eyes focusing on him asshe rolled back onto her side. Bwa? Her voice was scratchy, and he decidedshe needed some water. In a minute. Dennis? What … how did I get here?
Thatis the question. He shrugged, willing himself to stay calm now thatthe crisis was completely over, and smiled thinly. I woke up and found youcollapsed in front of my door. Your clothes were torn to shreds and you werecovered in dirt. I … uh … he scratched the back of his head, suddenlyembarrassed, brought you here.
Obviouslyshe was still very tired; she didnt even seem to think it was odd that he hadput her to bed. Or she hadnt really thought about it yet, which was far morelikely. Oh. She rotated a shoulder and groaned as it popped loudly. Aw,man. That sucked.
Dennisblinked. Was she talking about whatever had happened? Did she remember himmanhandling her into her pajamas? Uh … what? Smooth, Dennis. He cleared his throat. What … what happened? Iwas worried. He winced. Even though it was dark, he had the distinctimpression June was blushing.
Junegroaned again, tucking her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms aroundher legs. He thought she looked very comfortable. Some demon Ive never seenwith six horns and three eyes and skin so bright and orange I was sure I wasgonna go blind looking at him. She shook her head. It was trying to stealone of the jewels out of the crown on that big statue in the lobby at the movietheatre. She smirked. I kindly kicked him in the face, took the gem, andtold him the green clashed with his skin, unless he wanted to look like a giantcarrot. She giggled. He didnt like that very much, and yelled that hewould tear me a sunder, whatever that means. It got a bit nasty after that.
Dennistwitched, and almost wanted to yell, but this wasnt Junes fault. Thats asunder It means he wanted to rip you in half. He tried reminding himself that stuff like this had probably happenedto her before, but that didnt really make him feel any better. A bit? heheard himself say. June, you were a mess. I had to toss your clothes, theywere so torn up. He was exhausted. That had to be the only reason he wasntshouting.
Juneblinked and looked at herself, and it seemed like she had just realized whatshe was wearing. You mean you, uh …
Crap. Now shes definitely blushing. Why doesnt she look pissed? He cleared his throat. Uh … I couldnt justleave you like that. Im not even exactly sure how your pants were still on. If Mom and Dad had seen you like that, they wouldve freaked. Like,police-and-ambulance style freaked. He smiled. And I was alsoscared to death. Somehow, he thought itwould be better not to say that last part.
Junewinced. Yikes? I looked that bad? She smiled thinly. Thanks for coveringfor me, I guess. I just stopped for a second to catch my breath, and then …I guess I checked out. At least, she frowned, it was you, and not Ray Ray. He wouldve probably totally spazzed out. She paused. I guess you mustvebeen pretty wigged out too, though. I dont collapse in front of your doorthat often.
Dennisscowled. Now she sounded guilty. Damn it to hell. Dont worry about it. Like you said, better methan Ray Ray. I was worried, sure, he said, trying to keep his tone light,but I checked you out with a Stone of Healing and it said you were fine, so Ifigured you were just wiped out.
Heimmediately regretted his words as her eyes grew impossibly wide. Admitting hehad been so scared that hed gone for a magical artifact that could mend brokenbones and seal cuts and gashes probably wasnt the best way to put her mind atease. June, he said quickly, hoping to change the subject, then whathappened?
Junesighed. I started kicking his butt. He was a total wuss. Dennis didnt seehow that made any sense given how he found her, but didnt say anything. Hewas losing, and he knew it. He snatched the gem from me and tried to make arun for it and–I dont know what the emerald was, but I knew if this guy got awaywith it I would regret it, so I threw a cash register at his arm. I, uh, kindasmashed the gem. Then this horn guy gets really pissed, and he waves this amulet at me and starts yelling in alanguage Ive never heard. The next thing I know theres this giant bang andthe ceiling is caving in. She groaned. And the floor. Everything caved in. I fell and I guess I wound up in thebasement and it was all coming down around me … Her eyes widened, and shemoaned. Oh, man. I didnt eventhinkthe Whammy Elves will be pissed.
Dennistook several deep breaths before he spoke, ignoring his shaking hands. Dontworry about that. He dropped a three story building on you? Holy sh– he just managed to cut himselfoff when he saw her eyes bulging. He didnt need to freak her out. You, hewhispered, as several things suddenly fell into place, had to dig yourselfout, didnt you? Oh, my God. He thought of the welt across her shoulder blades and knew now where it hadcome from. If all the wreckage had fallen just a little differentlyand hit her head she might have–no. Didnt happen. She just nodded, eyes still wide. She had neverheard him swear like their parents before. Keep your cool. June, why didnt you call for help? Ah Mah wouldve…
Ilost my cell phone when I fell, she whispered, tightening her grip on herlegs. I dont know what Im going to tell Dad. I had to beg him for monthsto let me get one and convince him I was responsible enough. So much forthat. She had completely set up now, and stared at him with sad, brown eyesthat he didnt like looking at in the least.
Dennisgaped. Why would she even be worried– He stopped midthought. Now that she was more awake she was actually startingto think about what had happened, and she had been buried alive. He repressed a shudder. Why wouldntshe want to distract herself with how Dads gonna feel about a phone?
Prayinghe knew what he was doing, he stood up from the spot where he was kneeling nextto the bed, and sat on the edge of her mattress, leaning against her headboardbefore squeezing her shoulder lightly. He didnt want to aggravate her injury. Hey, dont worry about it. He couldnt ever remember trying to bereassuring with her, and had no idea what he was doing. He just hoped hedidnt sound patronizing. Well figure out what to do about it tomorrow. Imsure we can come up with something.
Junenodded after a moment, and Dennis pretended not to notice the way she wasstarting to lean against him. Vaguely, it occurred to him that under normalcircumstances she would never do that, and he was surprised when therealization left him feeling strangely sad. Yeah, I guess. She shook herhead. Too bad we cant trick Monroe and Ah Mah into ignoring the fact I letthe theatre get destroyed.
Denniswas glad it was dark, and she was looking out the window. She never saw thescowl he felt flash across his face. You stopped the bad guy, and youreokay. Thats all Ah Mahll care about. As he talked, he felt her slidefurther against his shoulder. Youre really not okay in there, are you? As for … your advisor, he smirked, and forcedsome humor into his voice, if he gives you any crap you could always take himto visit Uncle Eddy at the retirement home on visiting day. You know how muchhe loves all those little old women that like to … cuddle … him. And theirgrandchildren. Okay, so he was being slightly evil. June let out a bark oflaughter, and he knew it was worth it.
Nice,she whispered. Her head came down on his shoulder, and once again, he saidnothing. At least, not until her arm brushed his and he felt the way it wasshivering. That wasnt right at all.
Hefrowned. June? You sure youre okay? Definitely in uncharted watershere. He felt her tense and wondered if hehad pushed too far. His sister was tough and made sure everyone knew it. Shemight not want to be called out if she was feeling off.
Aftera moment, she relaxed again. Im fine, she whispered flatly, almost like itwas a bad thing. Its just … a building fell on me. Her voice shook atthe end, and he felt ill again.
Dennisfelt his frown deepen. It wasnt like her to stick on things. Or maybe itis. Hell if I know. Yeah. In a momentof courage, he wrapped an arm around the small of her back and squeezed, morethan a little surprised when she relaxed in his grip. But you got home. Itscool now. Right?
Shenodded, still not looking away from the window. Not being able to see her facewas a bit unnerving. She started to speak suddenly, words pouring out almostfaster than Ray Ray could manage. I know, its just … before I could digmyself out, I had to unpin my legs. It took forever, and even then … therewas crap everywhere. There was barely any room to move and every time I pulledsomething loose it all started falling again and I kept climbing up runninginto spots with twisted metal and stuff that I couldnt pass and having tostart over because trying to rip it out made everything start caving in. A fewtimes I punched through some concrete or wall pieces and almost choked from allthe dust, and then all this stuff fell on my arm and I almost couldnt get itfree and I thought I was really stuck …
Dennisswallowed. Hard. Shit. He hadmanaged, so far, not to think about what it must have been like to be trappedlike that. He had let himself think Juniper would just have been able topulverize her way out. But even someone who could lift a suspension bridgeneeded room to move, and air to breathe. He tightened his grip on her andthanked whoever might be listening that she had made it home on her own. Waita second. Sounds like she was down there a while… June? How long were you, uh, underground?
Shefinally turned to look at him, and he had to work very hard not to gasp at thetears brimming in her eyes. I … I fought the horn guy at 10:30, she said,her whisper so faint he had to strain to hear it, even though her mouth wasinches from his ear.
Acold shiver shot down his spine and Dennis only managed to avoid anothercursing fit by reminding himself it made June nervous. She had been stuck downthere, without any way to call for help, for almost five hours. No wonder thinking about it was getting her sobent out of shape.
Therewere lots of things going through his mind then–chief among them finding a wayfor her to call for help without her cell phone or anything else that mightbreak easy–but there was only one thing to say. We would have found you, hebreathed, his voice lower and more serious than he ever remembered hearing it. If you had really gotten stuck down there, none of us would have stopped untilwe figured out where you were and got you out. I promise.
Evenin the dim light, he could make out a small smile on her face, and he couldalmost feel the weight lifting off his shoulders … until her expressionturned completely upside down.
Yeah,Dennis, I know, but by the time I got out there were police everywhere. One ofthem almost saw me cause I was too tired to hide quickly. If I had beentrapped in there till the sun came up and they found me in the rubble … thinkabout it, Dennis. An eleven year old under all that with no big injuries? My secret couldve been blown, orthey mightve thought I was some crazy arsonist or something, and who knowswhat Ray Ray would do if he actually realized–
Thatdidnt happen, Dennis cut in quickly. Part of him was amazed that she didntseem to be hanging on the fact she had almost been crushed. He wasnt sure ifit was because she just didnt have any conception of her own mortality orbecause his grandmother and the dog had conditioned her not to care in the faceof compromising the secret. He didnt like either alternative very much. Andeven if someone else had found you, big whoop. Getting you out and making sureyou were safe would be all that mattered. Besides, he smirked, Im sure AhMah has some sort of plan for goblin dusting entire city blocks at once if shehas to. And for once it wouldnt bother me at all. June giggled shortly, and he smiled. Dont beatyourself up over this. From everything you told me, you should be reallyproud. I know I am. Did I say that last part out loud? Damn it. No more deep, meaningful talking at suck oclock in the morning.
Juneturned fully to look at him, but she didnt break his grip on her middle. Huh? She blinked, and he realized she was honestly confused.
Aw,what the hell. Shes had a terrible night. I might as well be honest. Seriously, June. You got buried under a buildingand trapped, and no one wouldve blamed you if youd freaked out to the pointyou couldnt think straight. But you kept your head and didnt panic andworked your way out, even when you had to start over or had to deal with, caveins that could have killed you, obstacles. Thats pretty cool, June. I dont think I couldve done that. He smiledwarmly at her. If you want the truth, his smile grew thinner, Ive been watchingyou a lot the last few months. And as cool as all this stuff can be, I know itcan really suck for you, and Im not just talking about stuff like tonight. Its kind of taken over your life, hasnt it?
Thatsone way of putting it, June hissed, eyes narrowed.
Hewinced. Guess I walked into that. Well, you do it anyway, and I really dont know why sometimes, or how. Andyoure really good at it, too. If you need to vent about it every once in awhile to deal, no one should hold it against you. Damn dog.
Monroemight disagree with you, June hissed, and from the look on her face, he wasntsure if she meant to say it aloud.
Hehad to bite his tongue to keep from saying exactly what he thought about that,but Dennis couldnt stop himself from snorting. June raised an eyebrow, a wrygrin crossing her face for the first time since he had woken her up. It was afamiliar, welcome sight. Does that bother you? It wasnt the best thing hecould have said, but he could think of lots of things that would have beenworse.
Sheresponded with her own snort. I guess youre going to tell me it shouldnt,oh sage one? she shot back, a hint of humor in her voice that made him grin. The Juniper he knew was finally back, even if she was exhausted.
Doyou need me to? he smirked. She lifted her head and shook it slightly,shoving him playfully before returning to her resting place on his shoulder. Well, he assumed it was her version of playful; he almost fell off the bed.
Nope,she said after a moment.
Youknow, he said, compelled to get the last bit he wanted to say out before helost his nerve, if you ever need someone to talk to about … anything … youdont have to wait until a building falls on you. He scratched the back ofhis head and sighed. I know you and I dont get along like you and Ray Ray,but youre my sister and … well … He trailed off. He wasnt good atthese deep conversations.
Shedidnt do anything for a moment, but then she smiled. Thanks, Dennis. Illremember that. She paused, furrowing her brow. You know, since you foundout about everything, youve been pretty cool to have around. What changed? Did all the magic stuff … make you like me better? she asked, soundingunsure.
Dennistried to ignore the prickling sensation at the corners of his eyes and pretendhe didnt know what it was. I guess she would think that. I did totallygeek out, and its not like I ever talked to her before. June, I–dont get me wrong, the magic stuff isamazingly, indescribably wicked, but even on the first day, I saw the kind ofcrap you go through because some overpowered elves decided you had to be the TeXuan Ze, and thinking about all the times I treated you bad for no real reasonmade me realize I was being a, douche jackass bastard, total jerk. You dont deserve that, especiallyfrom me, and Im … Im really sorry. For everything. If what Im about tosay leaves this room, Ill deny it vehemently, he smirked, but I think yourepretty awesome, and I want to try to be a better big brother. At the veryleast, Id like to get to know you better.
Shewas quiet for a long moment, and he wasnt good enough at reading her face toguess what she was thinking. Eventually, she matched his smirk. I think …that would be nice. She narrowed her eyes, but her smirk never died. Justdont think Ill start going to the comic book store with you on Magic: TheGathering days or anything.
Hegrinned. Quest accomplished. Iwouldnt dream of it. Wouldnt that be kind of like fake work?
Shelaughed softly, sounding far more like the June he was used to than she hadearlier, and slid off his shoulder as she scooted down under the covers more. Goodnight, Dennis. One of her hands gripped his arm in a hold he knew hecouldnt break, and he realized suddenly she didnt want him to leave, at leastuntil she fell asleep. That was fine. He smiled, deciding she didnt reallyneed him to leave to get her water. He felt oddly peaceful.
WhatJune did was more dangerous than any of them wanted to think about, and nightslike tonight left him feeling incredibly drained, but as long as she came homesafe, he figured he could deal with it. And if anyone ever tried to keep thatfrom happening, well…
Notwhile Bandar the Enchanter doth live.