Work Text:
ROXANNE
Another boring Saturday night in the Ruiz-Valavanis household.
I was curled up on the couch, cat purring loudly on my stomach and watching reality TV. In the kitchen, Leo was making moussaka, the smell of the spiced lamb making my stomach grumbled as loud as the cat’s purring. Content and happy, the two of us living side by side with ease.
My phone vibrated and I lifted my head to see the ID. Jo was calling me, the picture of her in a nightclub, flashing two middle fingers to the camera. She was probably going to insist I join her and her boyfriend out on the town.
I answered it with a “Hi, babe.”
“Can I ask a massive favour?” Jo sounded rattled and I could make out hurried heavy voices behind her.
“Of course, name it.” I scratched our cat, his lids heavy.
“A friend of mine got cum tossed in her hair while we were out. We’re literally 30 seconds from your apartment. Would you mind if I brought her–and uh, her cousins over?”
I sat up. “Yes, of course. Jesus, is she okay?”
“I’ll see you in a sec. Oh, and you need to prep Leo.”
“Prep him?” I glanced over at my roommate and fellow dancer. He was leaning against the kitchen cabinet, eyes trained down to the oven. Shirtless, ruffled hair, ratty sweats. I wasn’t in better shape–I was braless, and my singlet said BONE ZONE.
“Okay, we’re coming down your street now–”
“See you in a sec.” I hung up. “Jo’s coming over, she’s bringing some friends.”
Leo looked up, brows furrowed. “I don’t want any strangers in our home.”
“Her friend got cum in her hair. She’s coming over to clean it out.”
“So what? How is a messy blowjob our problem?”
I pulled the cat off my chest. “A friend of Jo’s is a friend of ours.”
He relented. Leo always relented when it came to Jo but I’d never pointed it out to him–some things were better discovered by one’s self. “Fine, but I’m not sharing our dinner. They can cook their own fucking moussaka.”
“Understandable. But put the kettle on–she’ll want some tea. Maybe even get some biscuits out.”
“Fuck ‘em. And Roxanne, she’s got cum in her hair, I don’t think she’ll be thinking about her next meal.”
He had a point but still I switched on the kettle.
Our intercom rang and I buzzed it before Jo spoke, then I leaned out into the hallway, cat curled up like an infant in my arms. When it came to buildings, ours was like most in Manhattan: overpriced, old, and contributed to crime statistics. Still the post-war building had a special place in my heart–my first home away from home.
Voices rose from the stairs and Jo came jumping up the steps. She was dressed in a tight black dress, hair pulled back into a slick ponytail. I didn’t get the chance to compliment her, because the rest of her posse quickly followed her up. Friend, Jo had said.
Well, Jo had some interesting friends.
Cobalt’s, four of them; Beckett (who I knew and liked), Charlie, Eliot and Tom. Their bodyguards, intimidating and whose faces I also recognized...and Luna Hale. Mascara streaked down her glittery cheeks, stains covered the top of her green dress and her hair...
I hoped whoever did this choked to death in their sleep.
Before anyone said anything, I stretched out my hand to Luna. She blinked in surprise but seemed too out of it to deny me and slipped her cold palm into mine. “Let’s get you cleaned up.” I brought her into the apartment and mouthed Be Nice to Leo.
His brows furrowed then he spotted the Cobalt’s filtering to the apartment and threw his head back. “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Luna was quiet but let me lead her to the bathroom. I grabbed a clean cloth from under the sink and wet it with soapy warm water. “For your face.” I passed her the cat. “For your heart.”
He instantly began purring and burying his head into her chest. “What’s his name?” It was the first words she said, and they were so quiet I might’ve missed them.
“Baby Leo.”
A tiny smile.
“Leo hates it,” I mused. “When we ring the vet, he always makes me do it because one time he did it and the receptionist laughed so hard after he said his name, she accidentally put him on hold.”
Luna didn’t smile a second time, but she did relax a little more.
While she wiped gingerly at her forehead, I ran the shower, taking the shower head and holding it above the sink (our bathroom was so small that it was easy to turn it into a makeshift salon). Luna leant back, Baby Leo purring on her chest, and watched me with uneasy eyes.
I wet her hair, washing out the disgusting jizz, then took one of Leo’s shampoos and rubbed it into the strands. While it was wet, I combed it, just to make sure it was all out.
Two bodyguards and a Cobalt–Eliot, I think–hovered in the hallway and watched me. I ignored them–they were just making sure their cousin was okay. If this had happened to me, all my Kotova cousins would react the same...after they had brutally murdered whoever had thrown the jizz.
“All done.” I twisted her hair up into the towel. It was too cold to let her wet hair lay on her neck, she’d get sick.
Another tiny smile but it fell as she looked down at her dress. Blotches of stains covered the fabric from where it must’ve dripped.
“You can borrow some of my stuff.” I grabbed her hand and led her into my bedroom. It was a mess but compared to Leo’s it was as sterile as a hospital. She stood nervously as I pulled open my dresser. “Let me see here...Any preferences? No? Okay...Here these are clean.” I handed her grey sweats and an oversized Raiders jersey.
I left her to get changed, Baby Leo still purring in her arms, running into her bodyguards in the hallway. One of them I recognised as Quinn Oliveira, Jo’s brother, but the other one I didn’t know. He was covered in tattoos, dressed in black and looking at my bedroom door with wide worried eyes.
“She’s just getting change,” I said. He didn’t appear less worried.
I passed them and entered a silent war in the living room. Leo stood his ground in the kitchen, glaring at Beckett. Beckett leaned against the opposite wall, also glaring. His brothers also stood, eyes roaming over the eclectic and maximalist mess that was Leo and I’s home. Jo was only relaxed one, sitting at the counter, eating a banana she’d taken from our fruit bowl.
“You can sit,” I said, mainly to Beckett, but hoped the others heard me. “She’ll be right out.”
Leo met my eyes. This is some bullshit, his expression said.
It’s not that bad, I urged back.
To the Cobalt’s and bodyguards, I said, “Does anyone want some tea or something to eat?”
“We’re okay, Roxanne. Thank you.” Beckett’s voice wasn’t unkind, but he seemed a little tense. Understandable.
I grabbed a trash bag out and seconds later, Luna was nervously walking into the kitchen. My sweat pants were a little small on her. She held up the ruined dress, “I’m not sure...”
I held out the trash bag and she sent me a grateful look. I tied it together. “Do you want to keep it or...?”
She shook her head.
“Fair enough.” Her bodyguard took it from me–probably worried I’d sell it on ebay or something, but I paid him no mind. “Do you want anything? Tea, coffee–” I pointed to the booze shelf “–a shot?”
“Do you want some moussaka?” This came from Leo. Beckett looked surprised; I wasn’t. Leo may be an ass, but he held my hand when I got my blood drawn and always waited up when I when out with a boy. On the inside, he was a massive softie.
Luna shook her head. “Oh, no, you’ve done enough...” She met my eyes, her expression open and raw. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” I waved away the air. “Yours is not the first head of hair I’ve had to clean cum out of.”
That made her smile.
LEO
Was I surprised Roxanne’s bleeding heart had disrupted my Saturday night plans to kick back and eat an entire steak to myself? No.
Was I surprised when Beckett fucking Cobalt walked into my apartment? Yeah. Yeah, you could say that.
In fact, the whole Mötley Crüe filled up my apartment. Bodyguards and Cobalt’s and poor Luna Hale–who I did feel bad for, but Roxanne was taking good care of her, so I didn’t need to worry–and Joana Oliveira. I couldn’t believe that Jo–Jo who I tolerated for Roxanne–was my only ally in this moment.
Jo, who’d been here a thousand times, pulled herself up to the counter and grabbed a banana. “You two didn’t go out tonight?”
“We’re trying to pinch a few pennies,” I said.
I looked over to Beckett. He was looking around our apartment with slight horror in his eyes. Instantly, protectiveness swept over me. Yeah, it wasn’t much, and sure, we had a witches hat next to the couch that we’d stolen one night when we got too drunk, but it was our home and we were doing Beckett a favor.
Beckett’s family shat gold bricks, so I was certain he lived in a mausoleum-like apartment that had no personality and had like, boulders for couches or something equally stupid that rich people did. He’d probably never been into a normal person’s apartment.
Beckett must’ve felt my glare because he looked over to me. “You should try out for America’s Biggest Hoarders.”
“You can wait in the hall,” I snapped at Beckett. “This is Roxanne and I’s home–Roxanne, who by the way, is taking good care of your cousin right now.”
To my surprise, he nodded. “You’re right.” It was as good as an apology I was going to get.
Jo looked like she was trying not to laugh. I’d deal with her later–right now, my attention moved to Beckett’s brother. It was his twin, Chris or Charlie or something–I made a conscious effort not to learn their names–who looked like he had just been fucked and was now looking around our apartment with intense focus.
I wasn’t stupid. I’d seen how he looked at Roxanne after shows when he was waiting for Beckett in the lobby and we were on our way out, or how he had spoken Russian to her a few months ago. Roxanne would laugh me out the room if I even suggested a Cobalt wanted to get into her pants–she believed the godlike descriptions of the Cobalt’s and very much saw herself as someone not worthy.
I thought Roxanne was worth 10 million Cobalt’s, but I’d never say that to her face. Didn’t want her getting a big head.
Chris or Charlie or whatever paused when he spotted a photo of Roxanne and I at the beach. We were both in our swimsuits, red from the sun and grinning from ear to ear. I was giving her a piggyback and she’d taken the photo by accident when trying to open the Maps app.
Jo held up her banana peel, distracting me. “Bin.”
“You know where it is.”
She rolled her eyes but leaped up. “God, you’d think a year living with Roxy and you’d be housetrained by now.”
I snorted. “Pot, kettle, black.”
“I’m very clean.” Charlie’s bodyguard made a face at his sister.
“Your ass can wait in the hall, as well. I do not care.”
Jo’s smile was mean. My blood heated up.
“What’s going on with dickhead boyfriend of yours?” I asked. Curiosity, I told myself. Nothing more.
Beckett suddenly looked interested. Jo’s brother rolled his eyes which meant he probably agreed with my description of her boyfriend.
She huffed. “He’s fine–and how do you even know he’s a dickhead? You’ve never met him.”
“Roxanne told me.”
“Roxy told me that she liked him.”
Now it was my turn to smile meanly.
“Boyfriend?” Beckett echoed. He’d forgotten all about the mess that was our apartment and now seemed keenly focused on Jo. “When did this happen?”
“None of your business,” she retorted. She grabbed another banana, giving me a rebellious look as if to say I’m going to eat all the fruit in this fucking house.
Beckett’s next question was cut off because Roxanne walked back into the kitchen. Her blue eyes roamed over us all.
Ever the polite one, she said, “You can sit. She’ll be right out.” When she looked at me, I gave her a meaningful look. She cringed but mouthed: it’s not that bad. She sent the Cobalt’s another polite smile. “Does anyone want some tea or something to eat?”
“We’re okay, Roxanne. Thank you.” He sounded a hell lot nicer to Roxanne than the rest of us. Good–if he had been rude to her, I’d thrown him out the window.
Roxanne grabbed a trash bag from under the sink. Seconds later, Luna came wobbling into the kitchen, pale and stricken, but looking better. She was wearing Roxanne’s clothes and her hair was twisted up into a towel wrap.
Luna threw the dress into the trash bag, her and Roxanne sharing quiet words. I watched as Luna’s bodyguard–a tall, tattooed man with piercings in his nose and ears–stretched out his hand for the bag. Roxanne didn’t resist and handed it to him, her attention already back to Luna.
“Do you want anything? Tea, coffee, a shot?”
Luna shook her head. God, she looked like she had been fucking through it. Food was the medicine in this house, so I asked, “Do you want some moussaka?”
She shook her head. “Oh, no, you’ve done enough...” She looked at Roxy. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” Roxanne waved away the air. “Yours is not the first head of hair I’ve had to clean cum out of.”
I snorted. Beckett’s brother lifted his head in interest.
“Ready to go?” Luna’s bodyguard asked her. She nodded.
Jo sent Roxanne a look. “Before we go...do you think Ren is a dickhead?”
“Your Ren?” Roxanne’s tone was sweet. “No...I like him because you like him.”
“Very smooth, Ambassador Ruiz,” I said.
The look she gave me meant she was going to give me shit for my big mouth once our guests had left.
Jo rolled her eyes. “Well, I don’t care what you think, Roxanne. I’ve never liked any of your boyfriends.” Her voice was full of good humor. Jo might be a bitch to me–and Beckett, apparently–but her and Roxanne had always gotten along.
“Neither have I,” she laughed.
They both shared a look and burst out laughing. Obviously sharing a private joke, I wasn’t privy too. Luna looked between the two of them with a perplexed look but seemed considerably more relaxed than she had been fifteen minutes ago.
“Do you want to use my hairdryer before you go?” Roxanne asked her. “It’s getting cold and you might get sick.”
Luna shook her head. “I’m okay. Thank you, though.”
“The car’s out front,” said Jo’s brother.
“Thanks, Roxanne.” Beckett glanced briefly at me. “Leo.”
I ignored him and headed to the fridge, speaking to Luna. “Take some baklava home with you.”
Roxanne nodded. “It has healing properties, swear to God. Leo makes it for me whenever I hurt myself and I instantly feel a thousand times better.”
I grabbed the container with the leftover baklava out the fridge. The container was an old margarine container, but Roxanne refused to buy Tupperware when food literally came in not-ready-to-use-yet-Tupperware. I passed Luna the baklava and she held it close to her chest.
Roxanne followed them as they began to filter out. “I hope you feel better soon, Luna.”
The tallest Cobalt met Roxanne’s gaze then mine. There was an intensity to his blue eyes that none of his brothers seemed to share. “We are in your eternal debt.” He spoke like he had fallen out of The Secret History. He was out the door before we could reply.
Jo kissed Roxy on the cheek as she walked out. “Tell Ren to go fuck himself.”
The two shared another laugh and soon our apartment was just the two of us again. A few moments after they left, Roxanne turned to me, a peculiar look on her face and said, “I’d hate to be famous.”
Roxanne was a lot more introspective than people thought. People usually wrote her off as a clumsy but sweet girl who would only ever be categorized as the funny best friend and never the main character, but she was a lot smarter than she let on and often she saw things in people that no one else could see.
“Me too, kid. Me too.” I switched off the oven and pulled out the tray with our steaming dinners. “Still feel like eating?”
“If I ever say no to that question...”
We both laughed and once again, we settled into another quiet Saturday night.