Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Heeeyyy Peacemaker! It's your bestest friend in the whole wide world, Vigilaaah—" Adrian stopped mid step in the entryway to Chris' trailer and frowned at the super buff, but very unfamiliar middle aged dude who was lounging comfortably on the couch like he owned the place. "Uhhh, you're not Peacemaker?"

"No, I am not." The man smirked and gestured casually to the helmet sitting between his legs. It was a familiar menacing shape, one that Adrian had certainly thought he would never ever see again. "You may refer to me as the White Dragon."

"Uh, no, you're not that either," Adrian said matter-of-factly, frowning and blinking slowly as his brain worked to process the unexpected scene he had just walked into. "Because I most definitely saw Peacemaker kill that racist motherfucker."

The new "White Dragon" threw his head back with a laugh and the irritating sound of it grated on Adrian's ears. The jerk honestly looked like a cartoon devil person with his slicked back dark hair, pointy goatee, and dark red and white armor. He seemed even more super villain-y than Chris' bad dad, and that was really saying something considering what a piece of shit that guy had been.

"There will always be a White Dragon," the devil man declared as he sat up straight and met Adrian's hateful glare with one of his own. "As long as there are those willing to defend American ideals, to cleanse the world from filth, to preserve Aryan—"

Adrian let the jackass rant about being a shitty bigoted Nazi person while he took a moment to subtly check the rest of the trailer. He clocked three more bulky bad guys wearing stupid white pillow cases over their heads. One was in the kitchen right next to him and two more were behind him in the short hall leading towards the bedroom. All of them were clearly armed but their handguns were still holstered and none of them looked like they'd be quick to draw. Adrian was pretty sure he could take them all out in hand to hand combat, no problem.

Faint squeaking and clawing sounds could be heard coming from the closed bathroom door, presumably where his other best friend was trapped. The realization made Adrian even more pissed off and itching for a fight. He was not going to hold back if these dicks hurt Eagly again, no fucking way.

Regrettably though he had just come from a dinner shift at Fennel Fields and he wasn't wearing his Vigilante armor or carrying around his usual arsenal of weapons. His plan had been to wait and see what Chris wanted to do for the night, even if that meant not going out and kicking some serious bad guy butt.

He did just so happen to have a handy five inch bowie knife strapped across the small of his back beneath his sweater in case of an emergency. He pictured himself throwing said knife and impaling the asshat in front of him right through the face just to shut him up. Adrian grinned to himself at the thought.

"—and now that I have taken up the sacred mantle, I need something from Christopher that I'm sure I can get with the right incentive." The new White Dragon suddenly rose to his feet and pulled the ugly helmet down over his equally repulsive face. His eyes glowed a creepy red and his voice was distorted and scary deep when he said, "and I believe his best friend will be able to help me with that."

"What?" Adrian admittedly hadn't been paying much attention to what the guy was saying, but he knew there was no way he was ever going to help the son of a bitch with anything. "Yeah, no, I don't think so you total piece of shit. I do think you need to get the fuck out of Peacemaker's house before I go Vigilante all over your nasty trespassing ass!"

The Dragon barked out a cruel laugh. "We shall see."

With that he nodded his head and the tense, still scene suddenly erupted with motion. Adrian flipped his bowie knife free and let it fly, aiming specifically where he remembered Chris' dad's armor had been weak—he had a strong hunch that this moron was just as terrible at costume design.

The bastard cried out as he fell back onto the sofa with the knife embedded deep in the red cloth gap between his neck and right shoulder pad. But Adrian barely had a second to savor his minor victory before the hooded henchman rushed forward into the fray.

Adrian round housed the shithead in the kitchen and knocked him right over the counter before spinning to face the two assholes coming at him from the hallway. He easily ducked under the first one's meaty fist and blocked the second's, then punched that same guy right in his stupid pillow cased face hard enough to break his nose and knock him back a few steps.

Peacemaker's trailer was long and narrow which did not make for an ideal space to fight in, especially not when he was completely unarmed and technically outnumbered four to one. He knew he needed to end this fight and end it fast.

Adrian jumped and braced his hands on the walls on either side of the hallway so he could vault himself towards the bedroom easily over the two idiots, then used both legs to kick back at the closest guy as hard as he could. The prick was thrown forward into his douche bag friends and all three fell over each other on Peacemaker's kitchen floor in an awkward groaning heap of white trash.

With the bad guys seemingly out of the way for the moment Adrian moved onto his next main priority: saving his second BFF.

"Don't worry, Eagly," he called into the bathroom door. The bird screeched in response. "I'll save you, buddy!"

He pulled on the door's handle with all of his strength but it didn't budge—evidently the eagle hadn't been taught how to unlock and open doors from his end just yet. Adrian reared back to slam himself bodily against the wood and force it open, but before he could make contact the White Dragon charged at him with a terrifying roar and tackled him bodily into Chris' bedroom.

Adrian went down hard beneath the bigger man but was quick to retaliate. He threw his elbow into the creepy mask with a loud crack and managed to twist out from under the asshole just enough to kick him in his bloodied shoulder. The Dragon stumbled back into the hallway with a curse which Adrian knew would only buy him a few precious seconds. Fortunately he also knew that Peacemaker kept extra weapons stashed all over his room.

Adrian rolled over onto his stomach and army crawled himself swiftly beneath the bed frame. He had just managed to brush his fingers against the barrel of a shotgun hidden below the bed's headboard when he was suddenly grabbed by the ankles and yanked backwards.

The White Dragon flipped him over and punched him in the face so hard that his glasses went flying. He managed to block the next blow and lashed out with a quick jab of his own but the much bulkier, armored man had him effectively pinned down and wasn't budging from where he straddled Adrian's sides. He punched Adrian once more in the eye before wrapping both gloved hands around his neck and squeezing tight.

Adrian choked and clawed and kicked but the Dragon's hold was merciless. His fingers couldn't get a grip on the thick armored gauntlets strangling him and his sneakers kicked uselessly against the trailer's hard floor. Just as his already fuzzy vision was turning black around the horrifying sight of a blurred white mask and menacing red eyes, the monster suddenly loosened his grip and leaned back.

Adrian coughed and sputtered while he instinctively tried to suck in a much needed lungful of air. But the heavy body on top of him didn't move any further, and the creepy man's close proximity was making his skin crawl.

"You're no good to me as a hostage if you're dead before Chris even gets home," the Dragon gloated while Adrian gasped and writhed uselessly beneath him. "Besides, I'm sure I can think of more creative ways to finish you off while we wait."

With that the motherfucker forced Adrian onto his stomach and pulled his flailing arms roughly behind him. More sets of hands were suddenly pushing down on his legs and shoulders, followed by a familiar ripping sound. Then all he could focus on was the terrible sensation of sticky uncomfortable tape being wound tightly around his crossed wrists.

"No no no, FUCK!" he shrieked into the floor. He struggled harder against the hands holding him down but it was no use. Any defensive moves that he could have utilized to free himself were instantly forgotten under his suffocating panic. "Get the fuck off, you fucking piece of shit asshole dickheads!!!"

The tape was wrapped firmly in many layers from his knuckles up to almost his elbows before they did the same to his legs from his ankles to his knees. It hurt and pinched and overall sucked wherever the tape touched his exposed skin—it felt like he was covered in prickling pins and needles, even underneath his clothes. He was suddenly burning hot and freezing cold at the same time, sweating profusely while he spat every curse word he knew at his captors.

"Smith did say you had a mouth on you..."

Adrian knew the Dragon was still close, still practically sitting on him, but the warped voice sounded as though it was coming from miles away. A rough glove took his jaw in a bruising grip and forced him to turn his head to the side. The helmet was right there in front of his face but all Adrian could see was an ugly white and red blob while he hyperventilated.

"…He said you thought you were being funny when you taunted our men in prison. Said you thought you were some kind of tough guy. Not so tough now are you, you little bitch?"

Then Adrian heard the ominous tearing sound again, followed by buzzing static in his ears that drowned out anything else. The tape was pulled tight over his mouth and wrapped around his head and suddenly it was all too much. He felt numb and dizzy as he sank away from himself into cold darkness for a brief moment, and then felt nothing at all.

Chapter Text

"…Wait, you want to get rid of the piano too?" Chris said, sounding uncharacteristically despondent.

When Leota set down the box she was carrying and looked over at him she was surprised to see that he was staring at the instrument with grief in his eyes.

"It never really made sense to have in the office anyway," she reasoned. "And if we're using the place for a permanent HQ I don't ever see us ever actually needing it. It's just kinda taking up space."

The two of them had spent most of the afternoon doing some necessary renovations to the old video store turned office and the apartment above it. A few weeks had passed since the butterfly cow incident, and Leota—with support from her loving wife, of course—had come to the decision to stay in Evergreen rather than return to Gotham.

Harcourt would be taking over whatever A.R.G.U.S. operations were needed in the greater Pacific Northwest area and the familiar headquarters was intended to serve as a base and safe house for all members of Task Force X, past, present, and future. Leota had been meaning to clear out some of the furniture and junk that was still left behind by the Henenlotter Video Store's previous owners and figured who better to help her then her hulking super hero best friend.

"Yeah, I guess, but…I mean it's like…" Chris growled in frustration. "You shouldn't just throw it out like fucking trash, okay?! These things are expensive."

Leota stared at him for a moment then smiled when she caught on to what he was trying to say. "Christopher Peacemaking Smith, do you know how to play the piano?"

"No," he scoffed. "I used to play the keyboard, that's way more badass."

"You think you know someone," she muttered with a soft smile. "Well, see, now you gotta play me something."

"It's probably out of tune. It'll sound like total shit."

"Man, I don't care! You're supposed to be convincing me to keep it! Pleeeaaase?"

Chris looked ready to protest until he held a single finger in front of her face. "One chord," he snapped. "I will play you one fucking chord just to show off how fucking awesome I am at everything and that is it."

One chord turned into hours of Chris showing off his pianist skills and Leota honestly lost count of all the songs he played. She was entranced by how his thick fingers moved across the black and white keys, impossibly graceful considering the sheer bulky mass of him. He played some random chords, then Chopsticks, then what little classical melodies he could remember, and then a vast amount of 80s and 90s rock songs that she mostly didn't recognize but still had a lot of fun dancing around to while he belted out lyrics at the top of his lungs.

The last song he played was a slower one, and it was so unexpectedly moving that Leota had to wipe a tear from her eye while he wasn't looking.

When he was finished he sat there for a long moment, staring forlornly at his hands. "It's 'Home Sweet Home' by Mötley Crüe," he muttered while he flexed his fists. "It was Keith's favorite when we were kids."

"That was beautiful, Chris." Leota swallowed a lump in her throat and put a comforting hand on his broad shoulder. "Thank you for sharing it with me. We can definitely keep the piano in the office for you."

He nodded stiffly and sat there deep in thought for another minute before shrugging her off. "Alright, that's enough of all this sentimental bullshit," he grumbled even as he sniffled and tried to cover it up with a lame clearing of his throat. "What time is it anyway?"

She glanced at her smart watch. "A little after ten."

"Ah, shit," he muttered as he got to his feet and grabbed his phone off the nearby desk. "Vij is probably at my place already."

"Ugh, don't tell me you guys are going out super heroing now," she groaned, disappointed that her pleasant evening with Chris was coming to an abrupt end. "Or I guess out murdering in Adrian's case."

"I told you we're not doing that shit anymore," he said, sounding surprisingly defensive. "He still comes over all the time after work, but we just hang out at my place with Eagly."

She shot him an incredulous look. "Really."

"Yeah really, ask him! I even had to give him a key to the trailer because I got so sick of hearing his annoying fucking knocking or finding him just loitering around like some creepy stalker on my porch when I wasn't there."

Leota's expression softened. "Aww, that's actually kinda sweet of you."

"It's not like he's moving in or some shit," Chris snapped. "Don't make it weird."

"Mmhhhmm sure," she smirked. "I always knew you were a big softie deep down."

"Fuck you, dude," he said without any malice. "Wanna give me a ride?"

Leota nodded and grabbed her keys. She sent a quick text to Keeya telling her where she'd be and not to wait up while Chris grabbed a box filled with random old knickknacks and small appliances that Leota had thought were going to be left for garbage. To her surprise he hauled the box outside and into the trunk of her new leased car, explaining sheepishly that they were for him and Vigilante to use as target practice in the woods.

"And we've, uh, never blown up an old timey projector before," he said. "I just think he'll get a kick out of it."

She raised an eyebrow but opted to not tease him any further and then they were off.

"Thanks, Adebayo," Chris said after a long stretch of comfortable silence. "For…you know, just the ride and stuff. That's it."

"Of course," she responded. She looked over at him with a gentle smile, knowing that there was more that he wasn't saying and probably never would as emotionally constipated as he was. "Anything for my BFF. I am still number one BFF, riiight?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "After Eagly. But you're kinda tied with Vij even though he's still fuckin' annoying all the time, and Harcourt and Economos have gotten up there in the rankings too. So you've got some tough competition these days."

"I'll keep that in mind," she laughed.

It wasn't long before she pulled up in front of his trailer. Adrian's so called Vigilante Mobile wasn't anywhere in sight, but there was a light on in the living room area and she thought she could see a shadow of movement through the blinds. He must have Ubered over from Fennel Fields or parked somewhere else.

"Wanna stay for a couple drinks?" Chris asked her expectedly. "You know V and Eagly love hanging out with you too."

"Oh I know that Eagly doesn't," she grumbled. "But yeah I can hang for a while with you guys, it'll be fun! Just don't try making that nasty ass drink you gave me last time."

"Hey don't knock the Peace Train, it is an awesome cocktail," he yelled as they both got out of the car. "I just don't have the yak butter right now!" He went around the back to haul out his box of stuff to shoot and dropped it unceremoniously to the ground next to his front porch. "Just you wait, I'll get a real life yak as my next pet and figure out how to make fucking butter like some Amish dickhead just to prove to you how awesome it really tastes."

She snickered at the idea of Peacemaker with a huge yak—Yaky?—and followed him up to his front door, admiring his bizarre collection of garden decorations as she passed.

Chris pushed open the door and held it for her to enter first like a gentleman. "After you, sweet cheeks."

Leota rolled her eyes at his teasing grin and couldn't help but smile back. "You're lucky I like you so much," she teased. "You—oh shit!"

Chapter Text

Leota stopped short and gasped in horror at the unexpected scene before her. The place was slightly more trashed than usual and there was a large man in a frightening white devil mask sitting on Chris' beat up couch. His one arm was slung around Adrian's shoulders to hold him close in what might have been a friendly gesture had it not been for the bloody knife the intruder wielded in his other hand. That and the massive amount of silver duct tape keeping Adrian still and quiet.

Leota had never thought she would see the normally lively young man look so vulnerable.

And then Chris was screaming profanities from behind her just as a set of hands yanked her roughly away from him towards the opposite side of the trailer. She felt the barrel of a gun press into the back of her head through her thick hair and immediately froze with her hands up.

Squawking could be heard from the closed bathroom as Eagly recognized his owner's voice but it was clear the animal was just as trapped as the rest of them.

"Relax, Christopher," the man—who Leota recognized as the infamous White Dragon, or rather a copycat of the villain—drawled, his voice distorter so scary and unnatural sounding that it sent a shiver up her spine. There was a massive crack going through the side of the mask that split right through the left eye's red lens, no doubt Adrian's doing before he was subdued. "You and I have some catching up to do."

Leota's eyes darted from him to Chris who had been pulled further away into the kitchen by two more armed goons in ominous white hoods, one of which was streaked with blood. She was sure Chris could take them both out easily, but it seemed the threat to his friends' lives was enough to keep him compliant for the moment.

"What the actual fuck," Chris snarled. He glared at the costumed man sitting on his couch with terrifying rage in his eyes. "Let him go!"

"Not until you and I get a chance to chat," the Dragon said calmly. "After all, we've been waiting so patiently for you to come home." Leota shuddered as she watched him trace the knife along Adrian's jaw beneath the mass of tape.

But Adrian didn't react—she realized then that he hadn't even acknowledged she and Chris were there. His red rimmed eyes were halfway open but staring unfocused at nothing, like he had completely checked himself out of the situation. He was a sweaty and beaten up mess, and his congested breathing was painful to hear.

"Yeah, well I don't know who the fuck you are or what you're doing with my dad's shit," Chris was yelling, "but I am going to fucking fuck you the fuck up for this!"

The evil voice chuckled. The arm he had around Adrian shifted just enough so he could reach for his mask and lift it up off of his face. He was completely unrecognizable to Leota, but Chris narrowed his eyes hatefully.

"Heller, you piece of shit," he growled.

"Who?" Leota couldn't help but ask.

"William Heller," Chris clarified, still not tearing his eyes away from the man and Adrian. "Used to work with my dad back in the day. What are you even doing here, motherfucker?! Dad's dead and I never wanted anything to do with any of you racist dick bags!"

Heller smirked, clearly amused by Chris' anger. "I am here because I want access to your father's very special closet. The government has confiscated his home and everything in it, but I'm sure you can assist me."

"Fuck no!"

Heller tightened his grip on Adrian and pushed the knife against his throat. "Then I'll just have to convince you by hurting your obnoxious friend here. Or maybe threatening her will be better motivation for you?" He nodded towards Leota and she glared defiantly back at him. "And then perhaps I can cook up your pet turkey for my dinner."

Chris was trying to look tough and unaffected but Leota could tell he was more terrified than she'd ever seen him. Veins were popping in his neck from the tension and his white knuckled fists were shaking where he held them clenched at his sides.

"If you hurt any of them," he said, his voice trembling, "I swear to fucking god—"

The White Dragon barked out a cruel laugh. "Pathetic. No wonder August was so keen on ending your life the last time we spoke, considering the company you keep," he taunted. "Spending time with some black bitch and this half-wit, pansy excuse for a man." He suddenly grasped Adrian's wavy hair in his fist and yanked back, exposing a very bruised neck further to his knife until a thin line of blood was drawn. "I'm more than happy to kill them both slowly and painfully to show you the error of your ways. Or you can get me what I want and I can put you all out of your misery rather quickly, it's up to you."

Now what Leota had noticed that Heller apparently didn't was Adrian's green eyes widening when his hair was pulled, as if he was just coming out of his trance. She glanced over to Chris who she was sure saw the same panic in Adrian's expression that she did, but he didn't give anything away with a reaction. The other masked men seemed as oblivious as their leader—she doubted that they could even see very well through the tiny eye holes cut into their fabric hoods.

"I don't know what you think I can do for you, Heller," Chris said slowly. "I have absolutely nothing to do with any of that government bullshit. I swear, I have no fucking clue what they're doing with my dad's place. And it's not like I can just waltz back in there and take whatever the fuck I want!"

Adrian blinked unevenly but his eyes managed to stare in Chris' direction when he heard his friend's voice. He still looked dazed and miserable but knowing that Chris was there seemed to help snap him back to reality at least a little bit.

"That is bullshit!" Heller yelled. Adrian flinched at the sound and his sniffles became more labored but the Dragon still didn't acknowledge him while he glared at Chris. "I know you were working with that bitch Waller, your father told me all about your shady dealings with the government. How you were working against everything he ever taught you!"

Adrian's eyes had darted over to the man holding the knife on him and in the process he finally noticed that Leota was in the room too. She waited patiently for him to focus his bewildered gaze in her direction before pointing down to the floor with both hands. It took him another moment but eventually he blinked and his stare drifted downward. She prayed he could see well enough without his glasses on.

"Fuck you!" Chris was shouting even louder to keep the attention on himself. "All my dad ever taught me my entire life was how to be a total piece of shit! And you clearly know nothing, you fuckwad, I don't have anything to do with Amanda Waller or A.R.G.U.S. or any of that government bullshit anymore! I only worked with them to keep my ass out of fucking prison!!!"

Leota was ready to move as soon as she saw Adrian's sneakers going for one of the brightly colored pool balls that had fallen out of Chris' random coffee table bowl. He managed to roll one onto his foot and hold it there like a hacky sack, then looked up again at Leota with wide eyes. She nodded slightly and he didn't hesitate to jerk his bound legs upwards so that the pool ball was shot as a perfect projectile towards the White Dragon's face just as he was about to snarl something at Chris.

Heller really should have kept the helmet on, it might have protected his front teeth from shattering with the impact. His head fell back and he howled in agony, his grip on Adrian finally loosening as his hands instinctively went to his bloodied mouth.

Leota moved to disarm the hooded man holding a gun on her from behind while Chris grappled with the other two. She turned the pistol on her now unarmed captor and put a bullet in his chest then spun around again to help her more vulnerable friend. The Dragon had recovered enough to lunge at Adrian on the couch with one hand wrapped around his neck and the other straining to stab him. That arm was effectively blocked by Adrian's bent trembling legs, though it didn't look like he would be able to hold the larger man at bay for very long.

Leota aimed for the back of the villain's head but he was moving around too much and her shot merely glanced off his blood splattered shoulder armor. It was enough to distract him from Adrian as he turned on her instead with the knife still raised while he spat blood and racial obscenities in her direction. She waited until he had moved just enough for Adrian to roll himself safely to the floor and then there was Chris, finally getting in on the action before she could take another shot. He bowled over Heller and body slammed him against the back of the sofa, then literally tossed the man to the side as far from Adrian as he could in the small room.

The sound of fist hitting flesh was all Leota could hear for a moment as she rushed passed them to crouch next to Adrian. He was on his side on the floor with his eyes squeezed shut while he frantically rubbed his duct taped cheek against his shoulder in a futile attempt to get it off.

"Adrian!" She put the gun down and her shaking hands hovered over him, unsure of where to even start with the restraints. "I'm gonna try to get this shit off you, hang on."

Adrian flinched away when she reached for his head but eventually she found the end of the tape smoothed down at the base of his skull. It had been wrapped tight at least a half a dozen times around his mouth and she knew there was no way she could safely tear through all of it at once.

"I don't wanna hurt you," she said shakily. "Just…just try to chill out, okay?"

If Adrian heard her he didn't react except to panic more when she started peeling the tape away from his head. It stuck in his hair when she pulled and he kicked spastically with his bound legs in an attempt to push away from her.

"Sorry sorry sorry," she cried. "Fuck, I'm so sorry!"

Then she heard a loud crunch and the White Dragon let out a final, gurgled scream before falling silent.

Chris appeared next to her not even a second later. He had the bloodied knife in one hand and used the other to hold Adrian's legs still while he swiftly cut them free from the tape. Then he moved on to cut through the tape on Adrian's arms, all the while holding him down as gently as possible so Leota could finish her task without him fighting her. Her hands unwound the rest of the tape from his face as quickly and smoothly as she could but Adrian still whined in discomfort and tried to pull away from her with every pass.

Chris finished cutting through the thick tape and tore it off of Adrian's hands just as Leota stripped the last layer of the gag away. Adrian gasped once he was finally free and surged upwards on shaking legs out of Chris' loose hold, all the while wheezing harshly and rubbing at his reddened cheeks with trembling hands.

"Adrian! Are you okay?!"

Leota reached for him but he pulled away from her with a choked off cry. He tripped over the corner of the coffee table in his haste to get away and fell on his face but just as quickly scrambled to his unsteady feet again. Eagly suddenly shrieked from inside the thin walled bathroom. Adrian flinched at the sound before stumbling blindly around two bodies on the floor and right out of the trailer's front door in a jittery panic.

"Vij, what the fuck?" Chris shouted. "Where the hell are you goin'?!"

"I...I think he just needs some space."

Chris stared at her for a whole second before getting to his feet and stomping after his friend. "Eagly," he called over his shoulder as he went, "I'll be right back for you!"

"No, Chris, wait!"

Leota followed them outside just in time to see Chris tripping over his box of junk as he rushed around the trailer towards the woods. She caught up to him where he was stopped outside of a small clearing in the tall trees not even twenty feet behind his home.

Adrian was pacing frantically and muttering to himself while he alternately rubbed at his cheeks then wrung his wrists in clear discomfort. He was just starting to claw violently at his face where the duct tape had been when Chris stepped towards him.

"Chris, don't…"

Leota didn't even know if approaching him was the right thing to do, she just knew that Adrian was having some sort of panic attack and touching him in this state might not be the best course of action. She'd seen plenty of dogs in her shelter freak out and react very badly to gentle contact when scared, but this was a "fight or flight" situation that she was completely unfamiliar with. Vigilante was an enigma under normal circumstances—she was sure that even a dissociating Adrian would be more than capable of lethal violence.

But Chris didn't hesitate. He got all the way into Adrian's space and grabbed his hands to lower them away from his face.

"Hey, dude," he said as soothingly as she had ever heard him. "Adrian. You're okay, don't do that."

Adrian stared right through Chris while he continued to hyperventilate and tremble restlessly. He said something Leota couldn't even understand in a high pitched, hysterical voice while Chris quietly shushed him. He let go of Adrian's twitching wrists so he could instead cradle the younger man's expressive face in his big hands. He tilted Adrian's head up until his wide, terrified eyes were finally focused on Chris'.

"You still have all your skin, dumbass," Chris said with absolute seriousness. "I promise, you're going to be okay. I've got you."

But Adrian just kept whining erratically and Leota was just about to step in and tell Chris to back off when Chris muttered, "fuck it" and brought his lips down to meet the other man's.

Adrian went rigid in surprise before his eyes fluttered shut and he practically melted in Chris' caress as all of his jittery, frantic movements completely ceased. Leota stared slack jawed at the scene—the kiss was so passionate, so surprisingly tender while they stood in a moonlit clearing surrounded by the dark forest that she felt a swell of affection in her heart just watching them. She kinda wanted to take her phone out and capture the moment to prove to herself later that it really happened.

Eventually Chris pulled back a little to let Adrian catch his breath, then pressed another set of soft kisses to either side of his mouth.

"Could you feel that?" Chris asked.

Adrian blinked up at him and nodded slowly, eerily calm as if he hadn't been freaking out just a moment ago.

"Good. Really glad that worked, otherwise I would've had to knock your annoying ass out just to shut you up," Chris said, his tone affectionate despite the harsh words. "Right, Adebayo?"

Leota just kept staring. "Uh, y-yeah. Totally."

Chris nodded and moved his hands from Adrian's face so he could wrap his massive arms around the smaller man's shoulders. Adrian shivered and didn't return the embrace but he didn't pull away either. He just let his head fall against Chris' neck with a shaky but contented sigh.

"Get in here, Ads," Chris abruptly said. He reached towards her and Leota immediately wrapped one arm around his back and the other around Adrian's. She didn't even realize she had been crying until Chris bent slightly to press his lips to the top of her head.

"I've got you," Chris muttered softly while he held them, his voice choked with emotion. "You're both okay. Thank fuck."

Leota didn't know how long they stayed like that, listening to Adrian's hoarse but thankfully steady breathing once her own quiet sobs had died down. For as rock hard as his muscles looked Chris was surprisingly soft and comfortable where she rested against his chest.

"You're a really good hugger," she told him with a sniffle.

"And kisser," Adrian added softly.

"I know, I know. I'm the best at everything," Chris said without any of the usual macho manliness that came with his bragging. "Oh man, Eagly's gonna be so pissed he missed this."

Chapter Text

Eventually they made their way back to Chris' trailer with his strong arms wrapped firmly around his two companions for the entire brief journey. Adrian still seemed out of it, but Chris thought Adebayo had composed herself pretty well all things considered. He was still reeling from what had happened, from how shockingly close he had come to losing some of the closest people he's had to family in a long time. He didn't think he could ever go through something like that again.

Speaking of family…

"Eagly!" he called once he shoved the door to his bathroom clean off its frame. "I'm so sorry those jerks locked you in here, buddy! Are you okay?!"

The eagle trilled happily and flapped his wings.

"I'll take that as a yes," Chris said with a gentle pet to the eagle's white, feathery head. "Alright, go on outside. I need you to keep Vij company, he's had a rough night."

Eagly gave a little squawk and waddled his way outside to where Adrian was sitting on the top stair of Chris' porch, leaning heavily against the support beam next to him. He had Adebayo's puffy coat draped over his shoulders while she was off standing by her car, talking rapidly into her phone. Eagly took one look at Adrian then flew off into the dark sky.

"Damn it, Eagly," Chris muttered. He stepped outside and down the couple of steps so he could crouch in front of his partner.

Adrian was staring blankly into space while he absentmindedly scratched at some sticky residue on the back of his wrist. Chris put a gentle hand over his to still the movement.

"Hey, dude?"

Adrian blinked down at him and gave a little hum.

"Seriously, you good?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm all good," Adrian rasped. "Just still feel kinda…tingly?"

"Well, you look like total shit, man."

Shit was an understatement. He looked pale and exhausted, with sweat soaked hair hanging limply from his head. Under the light of the trailer doorway Chris could see all the dark bruises on his face, not to mention the painful looking red stripes and scratches on his cheeks where the tape had been. Chris' blood boiled when he got a clear look at the hand shaped contusions and long, shallow cut that marred the younger man's neck.

"Nothing's broken though, right?" Chris asked while he gently pushed some curls back from Adrian's forehead to check a bloody cut on his brow. He was relieved to find it was nothing more than a superficial scrape. "I mean besides your fucked up brain, but that's nothing new."

Adrian didn't bounce back and react to the jab like Chris had kinda hoped he would. "I think I just need a really long nap," he eventually mumbled, his voice wrecked. "Then I'll be fine."

"Okay. Weirdo." Convinced there was nothing else he could do for the moment Chris settled next to Adrian, sitting close enough to gently bump his shoulder.

A small, very dead animal suddenly fell to the ground in front of them as Eagly returned with a triumphant cry directed at Adrian.

"Awww, thanks buddy," he said before Chris could reprimand his bird. "Normally I would totally eat that, but I don't feel so great right now. Sorry."

Eagly cooed and rubbed his head against Adrian's leg. Chris was relieved to see that Adrian petting the bird's soft feathers served as a good distraction from him picking at what remained of the tape on his arm.

Adebayo appeared in front of them, sighing dramatically. "Of course your eagle's fine with him. Of fucking course."

"They've known each other longer, that's all," Chris defended. "Eagly'll warm up to you too eventually. Probably."

"Sure," she said with a roll of her eyes. Then her expression got serious again, like it did whenever she was taking care of business. "So I called this in legit to A.R.G.U.S., they'll be coming around to take care of all the bodies and shit."

"Thank god," Chris muttered. "I was kinda just thinking I'd have to burn the place down to not have to fucking deal with it."

"Yeah, let's not resort to arson on top of everything else we got going on," she said with a humorless chuckle. "We can work out an official report in the morning. I'm assuming the hospital is a no go?" She directed the question at Adrian but he wasn't paying attention to anything besides Eagly.

"I'm thinking that won't go over well," Chris said. She looked concerned, but he tried to reassure her by insisting, "I can take care of him."

She nodded like she trusted him to do just that. "Okay."

"Could you drop us off at a motel or something? Not one that's too shitty, but probably not five stars either. I'm still pretty low on funds—"

"A motel?!" Adebayo scoffed. "Oh hell no, you're coming home with me! That house me and Keeya are renting now has plenty of space, it's no problem. I literally just told her you're both staying over so that's that. She'll want to know you guys are okay too, ya know."

Chris thought he should argue with her on principle—considering he barely even knew the other Adebayo—but found that he was really just relieved to have some extra support for once.

"Fine. Let me go get some stuff then we're getting the fuck out of here."

"Make it fast," Adebayo instructed. "Me and Adrian don't wanna be here either."

Chris got to his feet and turned to go back inside but hesitated at the doorway. A cold wave of panic suddenly washed over him and he didn't think he could let any of them out of sight, not even for a second. He glanced back just as Adebayo was settling into the spot he'd left. She rubbed her hand in comforting circles on Adrian's back and rested her head against his shoulder while he continued to pet a softly cooing Eagly.

Chris let out a shaky breath. He'd only be inside for a few minutes, they'd be okay. He forced himself to reenter his home where he came face to face with his most recent acts of carnage. He'd killed three people in his normally safe space, but it didn't get to him like he thought it would. Seeing his friends in danger had put his new no-kill policy on the back burner pretty quickly, and he hadn't hesitated to beat Heller to a pulp before driving the knife all the way through his neck for what he'd done to Adrian.

Then Chris was staring at his beat up couch—the cushions and pillows held together with strips of horrifying duct tape—where all of this had started and it was suddenly too overwhelming. He spun on his heel and made a beeline to his bedroom so he could collapse to his knees and have a quick, manly breakdown to himself. He was on the floor at the foot of his bed, stifling his cries in his hands, when he spotted something shiny next to him. He bit back another sob when he realized they were Adrian's discarded glasses.

One of the arms was bent in the wrong direction and the lens on that same side seemed a little crooked, but otherwise they were undamaged. Chris gently maneuvered the wire frame and tightened the tiny screws with his fingernail until the glasses sat straight again and found himself calming down while he worked.

It wasn't long before he managed to compose himself and wipe all emotion from his expression even as he held the spectacles close to his chest in a protective fist. He set about gathering up some random clean clothes and shoved them into a back pack. Anything else he and Adrian needed for the night he could probably get from the Adebayos. He hurried out of the room and finally left the chaotic mess of his trailer behind him.

His friends were right where he'd left them on the steps, all safe and sound. Adebayo watched him as he gently guided Adrian's glasses back onto his nose and over his ears.

"Alright," he said in as normal a voice as he could muster. "Let's get the fuck out of here before any of those A.R.G.U.S. assholes show up."

-_-

They were just pulling out of the trailer park when Adebayo's phone rang. She took one look at it and showed the display to Chris. "It's Harcourt," she said, surprised even as she answered the call. "Uh, hey Em, what's up?"

Harcourt's blonde head filled the screen, and Chris thought it was kinda nice that her glare wasn't directed at him for once.

"What's up? What's up?!" Harcourt screeched. Adebayo subtly turned the phone's volume down. "What the fuck is up with you, why did you just submit a request for a level five cleanup at Peacemaker's place? Is he with you, are you guys okay?!"

"We're fine," Adebayo said, automatically passing the phone to Chris so she could focus on driving. Chris waved hello at the device and Harcourt let out a relieved but somehow still frustrated sounding sigh.

"Thank god."

"But girl," Adebayo continued, "what the fuck are you doing monitoring reports this late? Did you forget you're still supposed to be recovering from getting shot to shit?!"

Chris watched Harcourt roll her eyes. "I have to do something or I'll go fucking crazy. And don't try to change the subject, what happened?!"

Before Chris could even think of how to respond the phone buzzed again in his hands and another alert popped up on the screen above Harcourt's head. "The fuck?"

Adebayo glanced over at it and reached out to tap the screen for him. "And there's Economos," she said.

Chris stared back in shock at the two familiar faces that now appeared in front of him.

"Hey, what the—thank fuck," Economos sighed in clear relief when he saw Chris' face. "And, oh, hey Harcourt."

"Hey."

"John, you're watching this shit too?!" Adebayo said in surprise. "Isn't it, like, two in the morning over there?"

"Dude, you know I don't fucking sleep," he yelled in response. "And sooo sorry for being fucking concerned when I see an alert that an A.R.G.U.S. crew is being sent to take care of a bunch of dead fucking bodies at my friend's shithole trailer!"

"Exactly what I was saying," Harcourt agreed. "What the hell happened, Chris?"

Chris stared down at their tiny heads. "I just can't believe phones even do this," he muttered. "It's witchcraft, man."

"Fucking focus, dude!" Economos snapped. "What happened?!"

Chris groaned. He appreciated the concern—he really did, considering he didn't think he'd ever had so many people actually give a shit about him before—but everything still felt too raw for him to process and he didn't even know where to begin. "Uhhh…"

Thankfully Adebayo was there to answer for him. "So some of Chris' dad's minions just tried to get the drop on Chris at his place when we showed up there."

"Not those assholes again," Economos groaned. "They're the fucking worst."

"But you took care of it, right?" Harcourt pressed. "You're both okay?"

Adebayo glanced over at Chris then into her rearview mirror before answering slowly, "we are all totally fine. Adrian was there too, he got held hostage a little bit, but he's gonna be okay—"

Both voices on the phone exploded, yelling over each other unintelligibly.

"Shut the fuck up!" Chris snapped at them.

He peeked back over his shoulder and saw Adrian still lying on his side curled up in the back seat under Adebayo's coat with Eagly perched protectively next to his head. He had been staring forward at nothing but blinked to awareness behind his glasses when he noticed Chris staring at him. Chris wasn't sure if he had been following the conversation or not, though with all the noise they were making in the small car Chris figured he couldn't not hear them.

Chris looked back down at the heads in the phone. "He's right here," he said, twisting around to point the screen to the backseat. "Say 'hi,' Adrian."

"Hi, Adrian," Adrian rasped. Eagly fluttered his wings in greeting too.

"Oh shit," Economos gasped. "Hey, dude."

Even Harcourt's voice softened when she said, "Jesus. Adrian, are you okay?"

Chris watched Adrian give them an unconvincing smile and thumbs up before he turned the phone back to face himself. "I'm taking care of him."

Harcourt nodded at him. "Good. Where are you going? I'll meet you there—"

"Nuh uh, Em," Adebayo interrupted. "While I do so appreciate it, you are supposed to still be resting! You can barely even walk, and you definitely aren't supposed to be driving right now."

"So fucking pick me up!"

Adebayo sighed. "We're going to mine and Keeya's new place, I promise one of us will come get you first thing in the morning. I just think we all need to chill tonight. Got it?"

Harcourt growled but gave in with a terse, "fine."

"And I can catch an A.R.G.U.S. jet and be there in the morning too," Economos piped up. "Because that's totally a thing I do now, it's fucking awesome."

Chris felt himself smiling at them even as manly tears stung his eyes again. "Thanks, you guys."

"Yeah, well, fuck you for freaking us out like this," Economos yelled. "Seriously, fuck you, dude!"

"Just make sure he's okay, Chris," Harcourt ordered. "I'll see you in the morning."

Chris nodded. "Yeah, see you soon."

"11th Street Kids forever!" Economos yelled, then the two hung up and Chris passed Adebayo her phone while he quietly got his emotions in check again.

"We've got such nice friends," Adrian mumbled tiredly from the back seat after a moment. "Just the nicest."

Chapter Text

Chris settled himself onto the Adebayos' comfortable sofa for the night, or at least he attempted to. He tossed and turned for what felt like hours but when he glanced at his phone not even ten minutes had passed since he'd laid down. There was no way he was going to get to sleep like this, not when his mind wouldn't stop replaying the terrible night's events in full, gory detail whenever he closed his eyes.

"Fuck it."

First Chris checked on Eagly where he was sleeping perched on the back of a dining room chair with a pile of newspapers strategically placed on the floor underneath him. Leota and Keeya had decided he'd be okay there after shutting their three little dogs into their bedroom just in case there was a chance of them becoming midnight snacks for the bird of prey.

Then Chris was peeking his head into the spare bedroom down the hall, surprised to see that Adrian was wide awake and sitting up in bed with his knees hugged to his chest. His face still looked a shade too pale in the darkness underneath all the bruises and bandaged abrasions, but at least the sweatpants and old Queensrÿche t-shirt that were normally stretched taught over Chris' bulky muscles fit comfortably on the smaller man.

And Chris knew that Adrian should have been feeling at least a little better after the nice long bubble bath he'd taken to clear away any uncomfortable tape residue still lingering on his skin. After all, Chris was the one who told him that there was nothing better than a good, manly soak in a tub after a hard day.

"Hey, dude," Chris said quietly as he entered the room. "I thought you were looking forward to your nap."

"Hmm?" Adrian looked up but he wasn't wearing his glasses and probably couldn't see very well in the semi darkness. "Oh yeah, I was, but I think I realized I might still be too freaked out to go to sleep."

Chris sighed and settled next to him on the bed. "Me too."

"Really?" Adrian croaked. "I kinda figured you'd think it was, like, a total pussy move or something."

"Even tough guys have nightmares, dude," Chris admitted. "Trust me, I do all the time and I'm as tough and badass as they come."

Adrian blinked at him, clearly surprised. "You do?"

"Yeah. And I think seeing you get hurt tonight is gonna haunt me for a looong fucking time."

"Oh. Sorry, man. That sucks." Adrian was quiet again for a moment before continuing, "but I don't think I feel scared, exactly? I think I just don't want to go to sleep yet, because I still feel sort of fuzzy, and if I turn my brain off to try to go to sleep I think that I think I might wake up somewhere that's scary again…I dunno. It's dumb."

Chris swallowed hard. He didn't think that was dumb, considering he was feeling something pretty similar at the moment.

"How about this," Chris eventually responded. "I'll stay to make sure you don't wake up somewhere scary again, and you just being here will help me not think about you almost getting fucking murdered in my living room. Deal?"

"Yeah, okay," Adrian said with a relieved smile. "That sounds good."

They made themselves comfortable then Chris pulled the blankets over them both. The bed was plenty large enough for the both of them but they stayed on their backs shoulder to shoulder anyway.

The two men laid there, staring at the dark ceiling for a long time before Adrian whispered, "hey, Chris?"

"What."

"So, I actually think I felt a lot better when you kissed me before, maybe we could do that again?"

"Yeah, okay," Chris said without hesitation as he propped himself up on an elbow to lean over the other man.
Chris' free hand gently cradled Adrian's face as he brought their mouths together again. Adrian's lips were chapped but thankfully no longer sticky like they had been when they'd kissed in the forest behind the trailer. Back when Adrian had been freaking out because he thought that the tape had ripped the skin off his face and he couldn't feel anything except needles so Chris had done the only thing he could think of to calm him down.

It dawned on him suddenly that that had been their first kiss. For all of the sexual acts that they'd engaged in over the years—either with a woman between them or not—they'd never actually shared a simple kiss. Vigilante always kept his mask on for one thing, and Chris' father had made it perfectly clear what he thought of men who kissed other men. He refused to think about his old man in that moment and let himself enjoy the feeling of Adrian softly kissing him back.

Chris' hand was just finding its way beneath his t-shirt on Adrian's body when he forced himself to gently pull away before things could get too hot and heavy between them. Adrian pouted at the loss of contact.

"Nope, that's enough," Chris told him seriously. "I'm not looking to make a mess in Adebayo's place. Don't want to have to hear her complaining about cleaning up our jizz in the morning, you know. We'll finish this when my place isn't full of corpses."

Adrian smiled dopily up at him. "So we can have a three way, but with just us? Like a two way?"

Chris chuckled and pecked him on the lips one more time before rolling to lay onto his back again. "Yeah. Weird way to put it, but sure. Now go the fuck to sleep, you're traumatized."

"'Kay." Adrian shifted slightly so that he could rest his head on Chris' chest and curl up under the larger man's muscled arm. He was fast asleep within seconds.

Chris was sure he would have followed suit soon enough as exhausted as he was, but he had already sensed Adebayo's presence long before he saw her lurking in the doorway.

"Hey, Adebayo," he called softly, not wanting to disturb Adrian in his arms. "That's super creepy, ya know."

She took that as the invitation she needed to come in. "Hey, Smith," she whispered back. "It's technically my house, I can creep all I want. And thanks very much for not full on fucking in my guest room. How very considerate of you." Her deadpanned words were playful but she still looked upset, her wide eyes shining even in the darkness.

"Bad dreams?" he guessed.

She nodded.

"Yeah that shit's goin' around."

She stepped further into the room towards the bed. "But Keeya said I might feel better if I just saw that you guys were still okay and…and that there was no evil dragon guy in here trying to kill anybody or some crazy shit."

"Well, I definitely haven't seen any dragon guys around," Chris lied, "and there's room for one more if that helps. I have nightmare fighting meta powers, apparently."

He glanced down at Adrian who was snoring softly and drooling on Chris' shirt. He lifted his free arm out to her in an inviting gesture, just like he had earlier that night in the woods. She smiled then crawled under the covers to settle herself against Chris' empty side. He curled his arm around her and savored the feeling of comforting weight and warmth on either side of him.

"Best three way ever," Chris whispered with a grin.

Adebayo made a little sound of disgust and looked up at him like she was going to tell him off for the comment before she rolled her eyes and smiled right back. "Good night, Chris," she said softly.

It wasn't long before Chris found himself dutifully keeping watch over his friends while they rested securely in his arms. Finally he knew they were safe, so finally he could rest…

"What a fucking pussy," a voice suddenly hissed from a familiar silhouette in the darkness. His father's ghost had been there for almost the entire night, standing just beyond the periphery of his vision and glaring hatefully at him.

The specter had taunted Chris at the trailer and cheered on the new White Dragon even though no one else could hear him. He had spat profanities and sneered at Chris for kissing Adrian in the woods and embracing Adebayo. His wrinkled, evil face had followed Chris from the living room to where he now lay, sputtering in revulsion the entire time.

"You think they're your fucking friends," the old man seethed. "They make you weak! Just look at you, you'll always be a pathetic piece of shit! Hell, you're such a dumb fuck that you'll probably get them killed anyway, like you did with your brother!!!"

Chris swallowed hard and forced himself to ignore his father's—his subconscious'—cruel words. Instead he looked down at his companions as they slept peacefully in each of his strong, protective arms. He listened to their soft breathing and felt their chests rise and fall steadily next to his.

Chris silently made a new vow to himself right then and there, a vow to protect them and the rest of his newly found family at any cost. And if that made him a fucking pussy, well then he supposed he was happy to be one.

"Fuck off, dad," he muttered and cuddled his best human friends close as the ghost sneered at him one last time before fading away into the shadows to finally let him sleep in peace.

FIN.