Chapter Text
He shouldn't have answered the door. Anything would be better than what the decker was suffering through right now. Brelton, known as Sparkwire to most that knew him these days, felt his eyebrow twitch in annoyance as his cousin, Brammus, continued his loud com call while walking around his small shared apartment. Sighing in frustration Brelton flicked from his emails to his AR com chat with his roommate who was out for the night.
< I'm gonna strangle him, Kelp. He's gonna die here
tonight in this apartment.>
< I just wanted to get some work done in peace. >
It took Sampson, who went by Matrix Kelpie while running, a few moments to respond.
< Lol please record a trid if you strangle him
Ill pay to see that asshole get wraithed >
A few moments passed and another message popped up.
< Frag man I thought wed be rid of him with this
latest move.>
< It would have been nice. We even checked for
trackers and bugs. I still don't know how he found
us...>
Brelton sighed, sinking into his chair as Brammus kept yapping about whatever it was while standing in the doorway of Sampson's room. He couldn't really care what the Corp Mage was blabbing about. He’d spent almost fifteen years out of contact with most of his extended family. Until about four years ago when Bram stumbled into him on the street outside a Corp run bar. It'd been a living hell ever since in avoiding the pesky mage. Luckily Sampson was a decent distraction for tonight.
< Let me know if I need 2 come back dont like the
thought of u alone with him >
< I’m a big boy Sam. I can handle my douchebag
cousin. >
< Ooo the tough guy act love it ur gonna distract me
from this job if u keep that up already hot under
the collar think about u strangling him >
< Shut up, dumbass! Pay attention
before you get geeked! >
< I like it when ur rough Sparky <3
might have 2 do something dodgy >
< If you come home hurt we’re gonna have to have a
talk. Might take all night and some of the
morning. >
Brelton felt a shiver run up his spine, he knew that any talking to he gave to Sam would devolve into sex. It almost always did, and neither of them had a problem with that.
< Tempting me with a good time babe might have 2
come home with a couple scrapes 4 u 2 kiss n make
better >
< Kelp... >
< R u 4ming some kind of plan now Sparky >
"Yea man. He does still live with the grungy Englishman. Nah he's not in tonight, just me and the family baby"
Now that caught Brelton's attention, pulling his thoughts away from what he was going to get up to with Sam later. "Who in the hell are you talking to? It's none of their fraggin business who I live with." He stood from his chair striding over to his cousin. "Also I'm not the family baby." It had been long enough since their last encounter that Brelton had actually forgotten how much taller he was than Brammus when he didn't slouch. "Leave. Before I make you."
"Cute, Brelly. Very cute." Brammus patted his younger cousin's cheek with a smug smile on his lips. "Nah, I'm still here. Someone's just trying to show how much of a big boy he is. It's laughable really."
Brelton grabbed Bram by his shirt collar, the older man looking down at the cyberhand and arm that now had a hold of him. "It's been four years of this dreg and you are getting the frag out before I do something I regret." The metal of his fingers’ joints creaked as his grip tightened more. "There is a reason I didn't keep in contact with you and the rest of the family."
“Aw come on. You love me. Why else did you help me all those years ago?” Brammus smiled, the smile that infuriated Brelton to no end, smug and haughty. “I know I don’t need to remind you of what you did fourteen years ago.”
< bet u r ur always thinking >
Brelton grit his teeth, ignoring the message from Sam, what happened fourteen years ago was the reason he was in Seattle in the first place. “What do you know about fourteen years ago?”
“Only that my dear Aunt and Uncle’s ‘Do-No-Wrong’ Son vanished in the night. They were so devastated that you had left without a word." Bram had ended his com call, having said what was needed. "How disappointed they were that you had given up on your dreams. Poor Aunt Ayda was beside herself with grief. So sad that they didn’t live much longer."
Feeling his arm start trembling with rage, Brelton grit his teeth. "You lying bastard.” Pinning Bram against the wall, his other hand moving to his cousin’s neck, he was so ready to throttle that smug smile off of his face. “Mom and Dad are fine, I know they're fine.”
Bram smiled wickedly, grabbing Brelton’s cyberarm that had him by the neck now. “Are you convincing yourself or me, baby cousin?” He technically didn’t have to touch the decker for this spell to work, but he liked the flair it gave. Giving a faux sound of worry as Brelton suddenly started wincing, the grip of the mechanical limb loosening. “What’s wrong, Brelly?” His smile grew as Brelton’s fingers slipped free from his neck. “Having a little glitch in the system or has your kaffed-out brain finally fried from all those implants.”
Brelton wheezed, struggling to, at most, stay standing upright. Images from that night he had run back into Bram four years ago filling his brain. The tacky feeling of blood against his fingers, the smell of Bram’s disgusting cologne as he had stood between his drunk cousin and some rival corp thugs. “Magic bastard.” He gripped his head as he fell to his knees. “I should have let those thugs end your fragging life.”
“Now you’re just talking crazy, Brelly. Don’t worry. All will be better once we get you home with the rest of the family.”