The Halo Effect

"—down to seventy-three—"

"If it worked, then why is he—"

"I'm not sure—it could be the difference in level—"

Noel catches snippets of dialogue and impressions of sensation. He feels weightless, suspended against something broad and warm, and every inch of him hurts.

"—have to get him in for an MRI—could be damage to the—"

"—but that would alert—"

"We'll take him to my private lab—sure we shouldn't tell his family—?"

"—don't think they're—"

Noel slips back under before he can hear any more.

----------

When he wakes up, he's vaguely shocked. Honestly, he didn't expect to wake back up, so coming to lying in an unfamiliar bed in an unfamiliar room is quite the surprise. A pleasant surprise? That remains to be seen.

The room is nice, with a high ceiling and modern furniture in a dark gray color scheme. To his left is a large wall of windows letting in beams of bright sunlight and painting the room with airy colors. To his right is an empty IV stand that probably explains the medical tape wrapped around his wrist. The only thing in the whole room that he recognizes at all is the man sitting in the chair beside the bed.

Jade is watching him, chin propped in one hand, eyes narrowed contemplatively, looking like something out of a photoshoot in jeans and a fitted t-shirt.

Noel swallows dryly. "You look better," he rasps.

Expression unchanging, Jade reaches over and picks up a glass from the nightstand, holding it out.

It takes a moment of struggling, but Noel manages to sit up enough to take the cup and drinks greedily. When he's done, Jade returns the cup to the table. Even that small bit of activity leaves Noel drained and he lies back down, placing a hand on his forehead and pressing against the dull ache throbbing inside.

"Are your hands okay?" he mumbles.

Jade frowns, brows knitting together like he's suddenly concerned for Noel's sanity. "What?"

"Your hands. There was blood—on the table, I remember," Noel explains haltingly, casting back into his fuzzy memory. "I thought you might have cut yourself."

"That was—" Jade clears his throat, placing both hands conspicuously palm-down on his thighs.. "That was just from my nails. I was trying not to break the restraints."

"You could have broken them?"

"Of course I could have. They're just metal."

Nodding as though that's a reasonable thing to say, Noel glances out the window at the sunlit skyline. "How long has it been?"

"Two days."

Noel's eyes widen. "My cats—!"

"They're fine," Jade says shortly. "Your coworker is looking after them."

Noel exhales in relief. God knows what Elijah must think is happening, but at least Poe and Coppelia are okay. "Uh…" he hesitates, eyes darting around the room. "Where—?"

"This is my apartment." Jade crosses his legs. "One of them, anyway. The one on the top floor of Halo."

Esper agencies work a bit like fire stations, in that a certain number of espers are required to be on call or on duty at any given time, and since it's inconvenient to be on call halfway across the city, larger agencies are required to have dorms for their espers to use if desired. The higher an esper's class, the nicer their accommodations. Noel knows that Beckett has a really upscale secret apartment somewhere in the building, but he'd never thought too deeply into it, nor considered that Jade probably did too. Now that he's paying attention, the view out the window does look familiar, just way higher than he usually sees it. 

"Why?" Noel asks.

"We couldn't just send you home."

"Then—the medical bay—?"

Jade raises an eyebrow. "I thought you wanted to keep this quiet."

Noel cringes. "Ah—right, yeah. Thanks, then." He pauses. "Wait, so…no one knows what happened in the basement?"

"For now." Leaning his head on his hand again, Jade regards him. "Whether that remains the case depends on your next actions."

You didn't tattle on me earlier, Noel wants to point out, but as he's very much at Jade's mercy right now, he decides he'd better not. Sighing, he turns his eyes to the ceiling. "Why…why did I pass out?" he probes, unsure how much they might have learned.

"Dr. Summers isn't sure." Jade sounds at once frustrated and disinterested. "She thought the telekinetic force could have caused a hemorrhage or something, but your brain scans were clean." He sighs. "Her best guess is that it was psychic backlash, because that happens to most of the people who try to guide me. Or that the energy surge put you into some sort of shock because you're so low class."

Relief washes through Noel strongly enough to lay him out were he not already prone. They don't know about the transference. They probably wouldn't even think to suspect such a thing, given the trait's rarity. His secret is safe. For the moment.

"That makes sense," he mutters, looking back at Jade to find him frowning. "I still feel…bad," he says eloquently. In truth, he feels as though he's been hit by a train, similar to how he felt after he guided Jade the first time, but degrees worse, and that's even after two days of unconsciousness.

Jade doesn't respond, and after a moment, Noel cuts his eyes over to him again, only to be met by an intense stare. "What?" he asks perfunctorily.

"You know what."

Noel sighs. "I have some conditions."

Jade sits up slightly and Noel fights back a smile, picturing Poe when he hears the can opener.

"I can't guide you as much as a normal guide can," Noel starts. Even as he speaks, his rational mind recoils, but he's quite literally out of options at this point. Not to mention, the unearthly cold of Jade's mindscape lingers in his bones, and try as he might, he can't stand the thought of leaving Jade in that icy expanse alone. "I can't do daily or even weekly sessions. You saw what happened."

Blue eyes remain fixed on him, Jade's face expressionless as he listens.

"I'll do my best to get your levels down before your next deployment, but you can't expect me to be on constant call."

Jade bobs his head in a curt nod.

"Second," Noel continues, "you can't tell anyone about this."

A furrow appears between Jade's thick brows and he opens his mouth, but Noel cuts him off.

"I don't want my class upgraded and I don't want to be officially named your exclusive guide. Things have to be as normal as possible at work. Don't tell anyone else on your team. Got it?"

"Why?" Jade demands. "Anyone else would kill to be my exclusive guide. I could snap my fingers and get you more money for less work. You wouldn't have to be stuck in the D-suite anymore."

"I'm not stuck there," Noel says acidly. "I like working there, and I like my job as it is. I don't want anything to change. This isn't a negotiation." 

Jade narrows his eyes. "Fine," he grits out like it physically pains him. "I won't say anything."

Noel nods. "My third condition is that you continue to sync test with every new guide that comes in."

Jade stiffens in his chair. "What?" he snaps.

"Think about it, Ransom—"

"Why would I need to keep doing that bullshit when—"

"This can't be a permanent arrangement!" Noel shouts, ignoring the way it makes his head pound. Jade glares at him, and he continues, "Our sync rate is—high, I admit that. That's probably why I can guide you despite the massive difference in our classes. But that's not enough." Noel twists his hands into the duvet. "I…I can't give you what you need, not really. The best I can be is an emergency stopgap, to prevent you from completely falling over the edge, but I'll never be able to clear your corruption completely." At least not without killing himself. "You need someone who can keep up with you. Even at a lower sync rate, a higher class guide will be healthier for you in the long run."

"You're the only guide I've ever synced with," Jade says petulantly, slumping back in his seat. 

"But what are the odds I'm the only guide you can sync with ever?" Noel presses. "Out of everyone in the world? That's virtually impossible."

Jade doesn't seem to have an answer to that, but he still doesn't look happy, scowling out the window with his arms crossed.

"You have to find someone else eventually," Noel insists. "We're not sustainable."

"Fine," Jade bites out. "I'll do it. I agree to your terms. But I have some of my own."

Noel's stomach clenches. "What?"

Sitting up, Jade leans forward and fixes Noel with his scary blue glower. "First, we set up a consistent guiding schedule and you stick to it," he says. "No excuses."

Noel swallows. "Okay."

"Second, you accompany me if I have to travel out of Novum for a job."

"But that—"

Jade waves a hand. "We'll come up with some bullshit so you don't have to travel as my official guide. But if I'm going out for work, I'll need a guide nearby in case I melt down. The last few times I've traveled have been way too close for comfort."

Biting his lower lip, Noel considers this. It makes sense, unfortunately, and being an emergency corruption sponge is about all he's good for. "Okay," he agrees. "But no one can find out I'm there for you."

"Fine." Jade arches an eyebrow. "My third condition is that you have to move in with me."