Fool's Rook [Closed]

[saronym]

That slightest impression of a sneer on Kama’s lips did not go unnoticed and neither did the mockery in the other man’s voice. Owen felt embarrassed that he let his guard down enough to allow Kama the satisfaction of his heartache. The muscles in his jaw contracted with the force of clenched teeth. Egotistical, pompous, self-righteous fucker. Owen didn’t vocalize this assessment of the other man. He really could have been describing himself. Perhaps the parallels between the men were what repelled them, like the same poles of two magnets. The closer they got the more persistently they pushed away.

He matched Kama’s frosty gaze allowing his anger to bleed into insolent apathy. “Your little sibling rivalry aside... I’m not opposed to playing Elliot’s game. If I learned anything from the scheming bureaucrats at the Covenant, the chessmaster’s threat is generally stronger than the execution.” Translation: Bring it. If Kama was to play the messenger, then Owen intended by that turn of phrase to let Elliot know he could offer plenty of counterplay to fuck with any unfavorable intentions the other man may have for him. Whether that would be interpreted as prideful boasting didn’t occur to Owen; it actually came from an honest interest in self preservation.

If being freed of the medical equipment was any indication, Owen’s time with Kama was quickly coming to an end. This meant he couldn’t justify postponing the uncomfortable questioning for much longer since the other man stubbornly refused to offer any unsolicited information except when it concerned Owen’s substance abuse. He didn’t really want to give Kama any further satisfaction that he was still affected by Juliana. But it was rather obvious that the wounds, for him, were still draining.

Though ten years had passed, that time had not been perceived by Owen. An adverse side effect of his resurrection, it seemed, was his mind’s inability to catch up to the present without constant effort. If left to daydream, he would involuntarily revert to thinking about his life as it had been but inappropriately in the present tense. Juliana in those imaginings was never more than an arm’s length away. At times the daydreams felt so real, Owen wondered whether he was having full blown visual, auditory, and tactile hallucinations. (Not that he would admit any of this to Kama, though it might be of medical importance). He also had vivid nighttime dreams of his life as it was ten years earlier and would wake half expecting to find himself at home in bed with her. Every awakening felt like a harsh respawning. He felt wretched. He didn’t belong. There was a gaping hole in his past which made him feel like he had no future. Sentimentality for his old life had thus become his noonday demon.

He swung his feet over the bed the motion bringing him into a sitting position. He felt cool air against the skin of his back exposed by the hospital gown. “My wife…” He used the possessive expression to demonstrate his expected continued ownership over Juliana. He liked the sound of describing her as something belonging to him. Still, it was more a show of masculine dominance for Kama’s sake; Owen wasn’t entirely sure about his marital status. Ten years was a long time. “Surely her whereabouts and wellbeing aren’t one of the many secrets she’d employ you to keep from me?” There. The question was finally asked.