Chapter Text
"I swear to Christ's fucking taint there's no goddamn good reason to be up this fucking early, mornings should be banned from activity..." Blitz grumbled, shivering as he climbed down the steps of the office building
Six A.M.
He was fucking awake.... at six... fucking..... A.M.....
Who in their right goddamn mind-?
"SHIT!"
He was still so tired and brain-fogged that he had damn near run into Penn, having to press himself up against the railing of the steps to avoid a collision
"OH! Ssssso ssssorry my freind! ....What are you doing here ssssso early...?"
"Uh..."
Blitz paused, rubbing his eyes and staring down at the creepy crawly slithering around in the terrarium Penn was holding
"...We're on our way outta town and I had to grab some shit from the office.... what about you? Don't tell me you're an early bird,"
"Oh! Heavenssss no not really," Penn laughed
"I jusssst sssso happened to get a phone call earlier about a resssscue operation though and needed to sssssstop by and get ssssome food for Mr. Tom on our way home,"
Blitz blinked slowly, wondering breifly if he was dreaming that buttfuck of a sentence
".....Ok, slow up bud, first off, you-.... fuck, please don't tell me you named that snake fucking Tom,"
"No no," Penn corrected
"Missssster Tom,"
....
Why was that any better?
"....Alright, humor me, why does he get a title?"
"He wasssss found at quite an expenssssive esssstate ssssso it sssssseemed only right,"
"......I mean this sincerely," Blitz said slowly, reaching out to put a hand on Penn's shoulder
"I wish everybody had your brain pal,"
God, wouldn't the world be such a better place if everybody was able to think with that kind of childlike bemusement?
"Thank you!"
"So uh, now I have to ask though, what's his deal? Like, some rich kid decided to sneak a pet home or...?"
"Oh no no, I received a call thisssss morning from Animal Control, unfortunately Mr. Tom had ended up in ssssssomeone's toilet around Buckhead,"
"I-...."
...
No
No way
That couldn't be real
"....That.... actually happens?" Blitz winced, shuffling uncomfortably and sort of trying to cross his legs
"Every now and again, sssssnakes do find their way into the plumbing,"
Blitz bit his lip, trying not to gag at the idea
"Well I'm sure Mr. Tom has had quite a traumatic fuckin' morning then, I can't think of too many creatures that wouldn't be terrified of just.... minding their own business and then seein' somebody's giant ass turn the lights out right before a golden shower hits... or something worse.... although I do know of a few people who are into that,"
"......I don't think I want to asssssk.... but thankfully the woman in question sssssaw Mr. Tom before anything occured ssssso he essssscaped unsssscathed!!!"
"Well thank Snake Christ for small fucking miracles,"
"Indeed!" Penn agreed with a nod
"In any cassssse, we'd better be on our way, I promisssssssed Nikki he could play with Misssssster Tom before I came into work propper today and got to work on getting my good new freind back to a more sssssssafe environment,"
Blitz could only assume Mr. Tom wasn't dangerous then, but he still-
"Who?" he blurted out, realizing a beat later that that was really kind of only half a question
"Sorry, I mean... who's Nikki?"
"OH! Oh right I haven't told you! I have a freind sssssstaying with me for sssssome amount of time!"
"Oh really?"
Blitz was actually glad to hear that, Penn seemed kind of lonely and like he had a hard time socializing, he was relieved to hear that the fella had some actual freinds
"Is he a freind though or, ya' know, a... freeeeiiiind?" he asked, making a little jerking motion with his hand and winking
"....I'm not ssssssure what that meanssss, but he'ssss indeed my freind,"
"Ahh ok, so, just like... a freind freind then, got it,"
"Yessssss! I'm quite happy he'sssss with me, though the circumsssstances are unfortunate, he wasssss in sssssome ssssort of accident you ssssee, and without any family or any other freindsssss to care for him after, the role sssssseemssss to have landed on me~!"
Blitz's easy smile dropped
He had assumed some long-time pal had come down for a week or two from out of town or something, but this already sounded more like a grifter looking for a free nurse, and Blitz couldn't stand the idea of this guy being taken advantage of like that, it was bad enough with anybody, but Penn had been so kind to him and Stolas, such a good neighbor to I.M.P., so sweet over all, if somebody was taking advantage of him of all fucking people....
"...Uhh.... how close are you two....?"
"Oh, well we're getting closssssser by the day!"
"....That.... wasn't...... what I asked.... listen, Penn, I don't wanna harsh your vibe or anything here but.... are you absolutely sure this guy is really your freind and not just.... using you? 'Cause I've been on the other end of that and it.... it really sucks...."
"Oh I don't think that'ssssss the casssssse, I mean it wasssssn't assss though he'd had any inclination that the accident wasssss coming when we met, and we'd hit it off right away you know! Assssss a matter of fact, I'm the one who invited the freindssssship to begin with,"
"That.... doesn't always mean anything buddy.... look, do me a favor, ok? You've got my number, just.... just text me his full name later, alright? Please? It's gonna help me sleep better at night just to make sure you aren't involved in some type of bullshit,"
For a moment, Penn looked like he was about to protest, but something must have convinced him not to, because a beat later, he merely nodded his agreement
"....Alright, ssssssure, I'll do that, thank you for being sssssuch a good freind and trying to look out for me Blitz,"
"No problem," Blitz smiled back warmly, hoping he didn't look pitying
And god, he really hoped he was wrong about this
He so badly hoped he was wrong about this, he just.....
Had a bad, bad feeling somewhere in his guts that he wasn't.....
~+~
When are you coming to get this man?
Goodness, causing that much trouble is he? Well, I'll be on my way in about ten min|
"I'm headin' out,"
Alastor poked his head up, frowning a little as Angel brushed past him
"You've barely eaten breakfast,"
"I had enough,"
Alastor glanced towards Angel's plate, a brow raising- it seemed like most of what he'd had was coffee
"I think you should eat a bit more, also, heading out where?"
Angel, in no mood to argue apparently, simply gave a long, loud exhale and trudged back to the kitchen table
"Gonna go see Husk, make sure he's alright,"
"And you feel that's a good idea...?"
"Yeah, hell if anything, now's a better time than any, he's still sober and he's in an actual propper rehab so...."
Alastor scoffed under his breath, leaning back in his chair and picking up his own cup of coffee for a sip
"I'd hardly call that place a 'propper rehab', but whatever you say my dear,"
Angel only shrugged a little, picking a peice of bacon off of his plate
"Point is, I wanna check on 'im and see how he's doin', and I think this is a good place and time to do that,"
Alastor definitely didn't agree, but he also knew he could only argue that point with Angel so much before it was ignored entirely
".....Finish eating and I'll go with you,"
"Ya' really don't gotta do that,"
"I know, but I need to stop by the hotel anyway, Charlie has been after me to come by since last night and I promised her I would, I was going to pick up the..... pain in the chaps first, but I suppose I can do that this afternoon instead,"
Angel bit into his bacon, cocking his head to the side
"Uh-huh.... and.... Charlie's really wanted ya' to come to the hotel...? You ain't just sayin' that are ya'?"
"No no, I can show you my text history if you'd like," he offered, holding his phone out across the table, wich seemed to be enough to stop Angel from questioning it any further
"Nah that's alright, I trust ya',"
Shrugging with consideration of his own, he hummed a little and bit into the bacon
"I guess I'll come with after to help ya' with Striker then,"
"Perfect, I'll tell the babysitter,"
Backspacing over what he had just typed, Alastor adjusted his ETA a bit
Goodness, causing that much trouble is he? Well, I'll be on my way in about... two, perhaps three hours at the most, I'll see you then
~+~
"If you're serious about getting into conventions, especially if your booth focuses on cosplay needs, here are the top ten conventions in the U.S. to try for! Number ten is Emerald City Comic Con, in Washington-"
"I finished my math!"
Stolas glanced up from the fabric he was cutting, moving to pause the video he'd been listening to and eagerly holding his hands out as Octavia ran towards him and delivered her papper
"My, that was even faster than yesterday! Could it be that you're getting the hang of this?"
"I think so!" Octavia beamed excitedly, watching as Stolas scanned the papper
....
Well
......
She was getting the hang of addition atleast, but.... subtraction on the other hand.......
"...Well the good news is that it looks like you got a PERFECT score on your addition!"
"YES, I knew it!"
...
Ah, but here came the unfortunate part...
"...The um... bad news however.... is that unfortunately dear, I... think you got all of the subtraction wrong...."
"Really? All of it?" Octavia pouted, sitting down on the floor next to her father and squinting at the papper, as though that would somehow make it make more sense
"I believe so, for example, ten minus zero isn't one, my dear...."
"But... you took the zero out of the ten.... that just leaves you with a one..."
"......Ah......."
Well, atleast he understood now how she got that one, the rest of it was considerably harder to grasp, why she somehow thought that seven minus four was also four, on the other hand....
"...Alright love, go get the M&Ms,"
In the mean time, he grabbed his phone and sent a quick text to Alastor
Are you a math gay by any chance?
Blessedly his reply was speedy...... unfortunately though-
HA! No :)
....
Damn
Evidently, Stolas was going to have to handle this himself then....
"Here you go!" Octavia beamed, plopping down and handing her father a bag of M&Ms
"Thank you dear, let's just... start with the basics," he suggested, moving a bit closer to the coffee table and carefully pouring a handfull of candies out onto the surface
"Let's see.... one... two.... three...... alright Via dear, can you count how many we have?"
Nodding obediently, Octavia started to count the M&Ms out loud, until she reached the final one
"Sixteen,"
"Sixteen, lovely! Now let's take away..... mm.... four," he decided, gently scooting four of the M&Ms out of the pile
"Without counting, can you give it a try at how many are left?"
Octavia looked up at Stolas blankly, then, clearly guessing, replied with "Six,"
"...Ah... no..... oh! Alright, let's try making it a little easier and taking away six from sixteen, how many do you have now?"
Octavia stared at him.... and......
"Six,"
"....Still no, but good try,"
Honestly, that one may have been on him, had he phrased it wrong perhaps?
"Um.... why don't you try counting what's left?"
Octavia nodded and went about counting the M&Ms, looking thoroughly confused at the results
"...How many are there?" Stolas prompted gently, a little concerned with how confused Octavia seemed to be
"Ten...."
"That's right! So sixteen minus six is....?"
Oh how desperately he had hoped she'd say "Ten", but alas....
Instead, she just pouted, glaring down at the candy
"Can we do another one?"
"O-Oh, um... alright, sure, what about... ah, here's a good one, ten minus one," he suggested, scooting one M&M away from the pile
Octavia......... did not seem pleased
"It should be zero... you took the one out of the ten...."
...Ah.... so visual learning wasn't helping that much it seemed
"...I can see how you would get there love, but unfortunately that's not quite how it works...."
Octavia, increasingly unhappy, just huffed in annoyance
"I don't get it...."
And unfortunately, Stolas didn't have the skills to explain it to her
This was one of those rare occassions where he really understood why people got so out of sorts when it came to untrained parents homeschooling their children, but he wasn't going to give up, in fact, he was still convinced that because he knew his daughter and understood his daughter, he could teach her better than anyone!
"Alright, let's try this instead, can you tell me what five plus five is?"
"Ten!" Octavia beamed confidently
"That's right!! Good job!" Stolas grinned back, grabbing an M&M and handing it to Octavia with a nearly overjoyed smile
"Now, what's ten minus five?"
Octavia.... stared at him like a deer in the headlights of life
....
That wasn't... great....
Hmm.....
"Alright... um.... Via love, do you recall that subtraction is the opposite of addition?"
Octavia didn't seem especially confident in that
"...Ok...?"
"...Alright, well, if five plus five is ten, then... the opposite of that would be ten MINUS five, wich would be...?"
"...Five....?"
"There we go!!! Great job!" Stolas beamed, giving her a little high-five before handing over another M&M, much to Octavia's delight
"Now, let's try this again, what's ten plus six?"
"Sixteen!" Octavia grinned, eagerly accepting another M&M
"So if ten plus six is sixteen, then what's sixteen minus six?"
"Ten!"
"GREAT!"
Another M&M, but now it was time to get a little more experimental
"Alright... what's five plus seven?"
Octavia paused for a moment, quietly counting on her fingers, before turning to Stolas with a grin
"Twelve,"
"Good girl!! So then, what's twelve minus five?"
A breif pause....
"Seven!"
"EXCELLENT!"
Rewarding her with two more M&Ms, Stolas took a breath- now it was time for the hard part
"Alright Via, remembering what we've learned about subtraction being the opposite of addition, what's six minus four?"
Octavia was quiet for a moment, wrinkling her nose
"....Um... well.... four plus one is five... and four plus two is six.... so...... two...?"
"YES!!! Yes you've got it!!"
This time, Stolas scooped up the remaining M&Ms and handed them all to her, excitedly giving her a double high-five
"Now do you think I can print you another copy of this work sheet and we can try again?"
"Yeah, I can totally do it!"
"Oh hooray, that's exactly what I want to hear!!"
Stolas was fucking ECSTATIC!
Not only had Octavia learned something, but he had taught her something! Something she was struggling with!!
"Can I eat M&Ms until it's done printing?"
"Ofcourse my dear!"
It was almost a struggle for Stolas not to tell her that she could have an entire bag of M&Ms if she wanted after that display- but he knew better, particularly because he always bought the family size bag....
A celebration was certainly no reason to make the poor child sick....
Humming joyfully, he turned the YouTube video back on and pulled up the work sheet he had printed earlier, sending off another copy
"What're you watching?" Octavia asked curiously, peering over her father's arm to take a look at the screen, though, the video was only playing in the background, so that wasn't especially helpfull to her
"Oh, just a video about good conventions to try, I don't think it would interest you dear,"
"Oh.... ok," Octavia shrugged back, clearly agreeing with him and standing up
"I'll go get the papper from the printer, when I'm done with math I can have a play break right?"
"Ofcourse my darling little starfire,"
Stolas was just so over the moon, Octavia could have damn near anything she wanted
He couldn't wait to tell Blitz, hell... Blitz would probably bring home some sort of cake or something to celebrate
Imagine, if he had managed to teach Octavia something that the workbooks couldn't, his theory about homeschooling would win yet another point in it's favor! And perhaps he could really do this after all!
"-in Atlanta Georgia, Momocon is the biggest-"
Wait what was that?
Having heard his city's name, Stolas hurried to back up the video so he could catch what was being said
"Number six is Momocon in Atlanta Georgia, Momocon is the biggest anime specific convention in the southeast and one of the largest in the country, regularly attracting over fifty THOUSAND attendees across four days, Momocon also has a massive cosplay attendance, hosting a cash prize competition, several independent cosplay events, dozens of panels specifically for cosplayers, and over a hundred unique photoshoots, Momocon is definitely one of the higher ranking cons for cosplay, they also boast an impressive vendor hall and artist alley that's notoriously difficult to get into, and is known for it's high return on investment, if you sell cosplay wares, Momocon is a GREAT option to check out, especially if you live in or near the southeast,"
"Momo Con huh...?" Stolas repeated slowly
"That.... may just be something to look into...."
~+~
"Hun, have you seen the vitamins?"
"Uhhh.... they should be in the cabinet where they always are,"
Vaggie squinted a little, wincing as pain throbbed through her bad eye
For the most part, her eye didn't give her much trouble, particularly when it came to pain, but there were always occassions and exceptions to that rule....
And today seemed to be one of them
Deciding to skip the vitamins, she changed her trajectory and reached for the eye drops instead
....
Except....
".....Have you seen the eye drops?"
"..Uhh..... no? Right... where they always are....?"
Sighing, Vaggie stood up a little on the tips of her toes so she could lean over the sink more and get a better look at the cabinet without squinting
She moved aside several pill bottles, and much to her releif-
"AHA!"
Grabbing the tiny bottle of eyedrops, she snatched her favorite hairclip from it's resting place on the edge of the sink and pinned her bangs back, tilting her head to the side and pulling the cap off of the bottle, she aimed it over her bad eye, squeezed.... and....
........
Felt air
"Goddammit!!"
How had she not noticed it getting that low before?!
Sure she knew that she'd have to refill within the next few days, but she had been pretty sure there was enough left to atleast get her through till the middle of the week
She supposed this was what she got for pushing it though...
"What's wrong?" Charlie pouted, poking her head into the bathroom as Vaggie tossed the empty bottle into the trash
"My eyedrops are out..."
"Oh no!! Do you need me to go get your prescription refilled?"
"No... that's ok, I'll do it,"
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, the electric guy is coming over in like, an hour, and honestly, I'd much rather run to the store than deal with that, atleast wile I have a headache,"
Unfortunately, pain tended to breed pain so when her eye hurt, headaches were typically quick to follow
Charlie pursed her lips a bit, wringing her hands
"Vaggie, are.... you sure you should be driving with your eye bothering you? It's just.... I know you can see fine in your good eye! But... well when the bad one bothers you they both tend to water alot, and then there's the headaches...."
Vaggie smiled warmly, taking a step closer and gently cupping Charlie's face
"I'll be fine, but thanks for worrying,"
Charlie didn't look nearly as convinced, but-
Hey hobo-man, hey, dapper Dan, you've both got your style but brother you're never fully dressed without a smile~
The familiar text tone prompted Charlie to grab her phone from her pocket as Vaggie gave her arm a reassuring squeeze and slipped past her
"I'm gonna call in the refill and brush my hair, then I'll be down to work, I... might take on looking at the leak in the basement until it's time for me to leave, any excuse for a dark place, ya' know?"
"Oooor you could stay here and rest with the lights off until your prescription is ready," Charlie suggested as she glanced at the text message
I'm here, you said you needed my assistance?
Charlie wasn't religious per se, she was more spiritual, it was.... it was complicated, but! She did believe strongly in God, and CLEARLY God believed strongly in her, because he (or she!) had just sent Charlie a blessing from heaven!
"We've got alot going on hun, I'll be fine as long as I stay away from bright lights and anything that'll make the headache worse- you know, like most of our patients,"
Oh my goodness YES, in fact, I need a favor really badly, I'm sorry!! ;_; Can you wait for me at the lobby elevator pretty please? I'll be down SUPER quick!
"Riiight...." Charlie said slowly, wincing a little
"Uh, well, I'm gonna run downstairs, and uh... do me a favor, before you go to the basement, could you stop by the front desk? I just need you to... sign something I just remembered I got yesterday,"
Vaggie raised a brow, tilting her head
"Uh.... alright, sure, I'll... be there so-"
"Thanks Vaggie love you byeeee!!!!"
Vaggie blinked slowly as Charlie took off, quietly sighing as she grabbed her phone
Why did she have a terrible feeling about this....?
Charlie, in the mean time, hurried down to the lobby, bouncing on her feet anxiously and lighting up like a Christmas tree the *second* Alastor came into veiw
"Oh my gosh, Alastor, it's so good to see you!!"
Alastor, who had only barely made it to the elevator by that point and was giving Angel a quick wave as the blonde darted off, turned his attention to Charlie with marked concern
"Charlie dear, what on earth has you so panicked? Your text message seemed rather.... frantic...."
"Right, ok, so.... Vaggie's bad eye is acting up and she's out of eye drops so she has to go get her prescription refilled and I offered to go for her but she wasn't into the idea and I really don't wanna take away her independence or make her feel like I'm coddling her or anything but I really do worry about her driving with her eye causing problems and I know she can drive just fine with only one good eye but the good one sometimes gets kinda blurry when the bad one is all jacked up and plus she gets headaches and it's just not a good situation BUT I really really don't wanna make her feel bad SO I was wondering if maaaaaaybe you might be interested in helping me out by coming up with a lie to drive Vaggie to the store,"
.....
Alastor hadn't been timing her, but he was willing to believe that she had managed to get all that out in under a minute
".....That..... certainly is alot of information....."
"I know, I'm sorry, I just... will you... would you please....?"
Alastor..... wasn't exactly thrilled with the idea, but.... seeing the look on Charlie's face, it was hard to say "no"...
Sighing quietly, he rubbed his face, the next words coming out with fairly serious reluctance
".....What..... reason would I have exactly for needing to drive her to the pharmacy...?"
The way Charlie gasped, one would think that she had just received some incredible gift all of a sudden
"Oh my god thank you so MUCH Alastor, I owe you, I owe you so big!"
"Just.... put it on your tab I suppose...." he exhaled, unable to believe that he was doing this
"Alright, so, YOU need to go to the store for something that you only remembered just now- we use the Publix pharmacy so you can make up an excuse for a grocery item if some sort of medicine doesn't work for you! And Angel needs the car for some other errand he has to run, so THUS, carpooling is your best option!"
Charlie seemed so proud of herself for this scheme, but... unfortunately, she was forgetting a fairly key detail
".....Mm-hmmmm.... and.... why would I insist on driving your car?"
"You're very chivalrous so you don't think women should drive!"
More than a little off-put by that, Alastor shifted his stance, arms crossing over his chest and brows raising in deep concern
"I mean... you don't think women should HAVE to drive,"
He popped his jaw, head tilting, brows falling down to a look of sardonic disbeleif as he shifted his weight to the opposite side
"....I mean.... uh..... in exchange for using our car, you very politely offer to drive as compensation for the albeit minimal amount of gas and millage it takes to get there,"
Charlie smiled so worriedly, but atleast she had finally come up with something that wasn't just.... painfull for him to hear....
"......Charlie sweetheart, I mean this with as much love as I can possibly put into it- your girlfreind is not nearly that stupid,"
Charlie finally deflated, groaning miserably and tossing her head back
"I knoooooow..... but I'm a HORRIBLE liar! And... no offense but uh... Angel has said you suck at it pretty badly yourself...."
Alastor was going to protest that- one couldn't exactly be a modern day serial killer and never muster a fib or two- but.....
".....Yes, you're right, unfortunately the so-called 'Tism has got me there...."
Alastor knew himself well enough to know that wile he could slyly slip pretty much any fabrication past anyone to get suspicion off of him for serious matters, the mundane sorts of lies had never been his strong suit, and his partners called him on it pretty regularly....
"Damn, we need someone who can lie," Charlie said with heavy sigh
"'Sup bitches,"
As if God had once again heard her prayers and decided to grant her another unexpected savior, Charlie hurriedly turned around and beamed at the woman behind her
"CHERRI!!"
"What?!" Cherri yelped, completely startled as Charlie hurried to grab her hand, ignoring the grimmace on Cherri's face from the sudden uninvited touch
"You can lie right?"
"You bet your ASS I can lie!! What're we lyin' about?"
Charlie took a deep breath, and Alastor saw visions of the next ten minutes of listening to an even longer rendition of her earlier rant flash before his eyes
"Dear god, no, no," he rushed out, hurriedly jumping between the two of them
He could typically handle more than this, but the weekend had strained his social senses more than he thought it would he was quickly getting overstimulated
"I need to drive Miss Vagatha to the pharmacy due to her being slightly unwell at the moment but we don't want her to know that I'm doing it because of that due to.... intersectional disabled feminist independence of some sort, so we're trying to cook up a reason for me to suddenly offer to drive her car,"
Cherri gave a slow blink, face blank for a breif moment, before grinning from ear to ear
"Yeah, bet, I can do that,"
"Oh my god thank you so much Cherri I owe you!!"
"Beer?"
"...Uh.... no, still gotta be in the confines of your recovery, I was thinking ice cream,"
Cherri sighed heavily, looking considerably put out
"....Better be some goddamn good ice cream, ya' know if this wasn't fun for me I'd be demandin' beer right?"
"I... I know, that's what makes you so special~!" Charlie beamed, giving Cherri a thumb's up, as though patting a dog on the head for pissing in the yard and not the house
Cherri looked less than pleased
Alastor, in the mean time, reluctantly pulled his phone out and started to type another message to Sera
As it so happens, I'm afraid my timeline is going to be pushed back a bit further, but I'm sure you can handle him until evening
His thumb hovered over the "send" button, but....
Angel had been trying recently to teach him about "tone over text"....
....
:)
There
"By the way Charlie dear, what is it you needed me here for to begin with?"
"OH! Right! You're good with taxes right?"
Alastor... stared at her in confusion
"I-.... what?"
"Well you're an investor so you've gotta be MEGA good at taxes, right?"
Theoretically that would probably be true................... if he paid taxes
A fun little bonus to long-term identity concealment, however, was in fact tax evasion, wich he felt....... giddy about, to be perfectly honest, as Angel had so eloquently put it- "When the government starts treating our communities like actual human beings, THEN maybe we'll consider lettin' them have some money"
....
But he couldn't exactly say any of that out loud, atleast not to Charlie, she was far too straight-laced so to speak to support that
"....I have an account, love," he said gently, wich at the very least was true, Alastor was good at people- atleast in the business sense- not numbers, he went about the people aspect of investing, his account was the one handling the actual larger numbers
...
And sometimes he did have to listen to her read him the riot act over the phone when he acted impulsively and made bad business decisions- like investing in this hotel, for example
"...Oh..." Charlie said quietly, her demeanor utterly deflating once more
"Weeeeell can you reccomend your account to me then? I.... see, um, since Dad was the one actually responsible for the money end of this place up until a few weeks ago, I'm uh.... kinda..... completely unsure of what to do with alot of things, especially taxes, I don't even understand my taxes, and I can't really just.... look for an account on the internet and rely on them because the hotel is uh...."
"Illegal," Cherri concluded for her
".........I need somebody who can keep their mouth shut," Charlie explained with a little wince
And Alastor.... honestly understood her much more than he usually did, for once they were in an actually similar position
"I... am sorry dear, but my account is in New Orleans and only takes very..... specific.... clientele, locals mostly, I don't think she would be of much help...."
Oh, but Charlie looked like she was about to cry, and Alastor had never been able to say "no" to her- as per the driving situation he was currently in- so he hurried to add a bit onto his statement
"But perhaps she could reccomend someone to you...?"
Charlie's expression softened, and with affection clearly painted across her face, she jumped forward, giving Alastor a tight, squeezing hug
"Thank you Al, thank you so much, I don't know what I would do without you!"
"Ofcourse dear, it's... no trouble,"
What an extremely blatant lie that Alastor didn't even try to conceal, but he must have sounded enthusiastic enough for Charlie to atleast partially buy it, given she didn't question him further
Honestly, why did she have this sort of affect on him? Usually the only people who could get him to cave like this were the ones in his polycule, and even then that was mostly an Angel-exclusive privlege....
"Ok, I'm gonna go wait for Vaggie at the front desk, you guys come with me so you can jump on the opportunity,"
"...Ya' know if you were a worse person you'd be one hell of an opportunistic killer," Cherri said with a snort, though she didn't seem interested in protesting, just following along with Charlie as Alastor reluctantly pulled his phone out and texted his accountant
I have an acquaintance with special circumstances who's in need of an accountant (not you), give me a call when you have a moment please
There was a text from Sera waiting for him, but.... he was going to choose to ignore it for the time being
Besides, he needed to text Angel anyway
Charlie has roped me into something of an errand, so don't be alarmed if I'm not here when you come looking for me, the car is staying here, remember to take care love
The response was almost instantaneous, wich either meant that Angel hadn't gotten to Husk yet.... or things weren't going well
lol what's she hooked ya into? poor baby xD But no worries, I'm outside Husk's room, I'll SOS you if I need to but I'm sure it'll be fine <3
Somehow, Alastor was far less certain
"Textin' Angie?" Cherri asked nosily, peering over his shoulder
"Just letting him know I'm leaving and not to panic,"
"Well since you've got 'im on the line, ask 'im to come see me after he's done with his side-gig, I've gotta pick his brain about Molly,"
Alastor paused, glancing at Cherri in confusion
"Do you not have your own phone?"
"Left it upstairs," she shrugged back, earning a sigh from Alastor as he started typing again
"What is it you need to ask about Molly?"
"I kinda wanna take 'er on a date here soon, like... a nice date, and I need to figure some stuff out,"
"OOh! Is it for Valentine's Day? You know we're gonna start decorating this week!" Charlie beamed enthusiastically
"Valentine's Day? Ain't it a little early for that?" Cherri asked with clear distaste
"It's two weeks away," Alastor replied with disinterest as he typed, though, he could practically feel the energy in the room shift as he said it
"........Two weeks?" Cherri echoed with clear unease
"Have you not planned anything yet Cherri?" Charlie asked with concern
"Well no... I mean.... I've never really given it any thought before, Valentine's Day is just seem cheap marketing gimmick as far as I'm concerned, some shit ploy to get'cha to buy a bunch of overpriced shit nobody needs to outdo your partner's exes,"
"My goodness, and here I thought I was the cynical one," Alastor commented, earning a glare from the pink-haired woman next to him
"I still think all that but... Molly is... ya' know, romantic and traditional and shit, and... just because I've got a hang-up over something, that doesn't mean she has to pay for it, I'm sure it's important to her, especially bein' her first one with somebody, especially especially her first LESBIAN V-Day, and I mean..... it's not like Valentine's Day is somethin' I really give a shit about either way so...."
"So you're willing to get over your own judgements and opinions to do something that will make your partner happy, that's SO good Cherri!!" Charlie beamed, earning a scoff in response
"Uh, no, like I said, I don't give a shit about it either way, it ain't like I'm breaking a boycott or... votin' Republican or nothin',"
"Suuuuure," Charlie winked, not fooling anyone with her lack of faith in that statement
"Well if you want some help, I'd be MORE than happy to assist!! This is my and Vaggie's third Valentine's Day together and they've always been GREAT, and I'm hoping I get to do something REALLY special this year!"
Alastor froze, glancing over his shoulder at Charlie
".....Like.... proposing....?" he asked worriedly
He and Stolas both popping the question on the same day was more than enough, he shuddered to think about another couple they knew getting engaged on Valentine's Day....
"Uh, no, I was thinking more like renovating our basement into an upscaled version of her dream bedroom from her teen years,"
Both Cherri and Alastor were quiet for a moment, before Alastor heaved a sigh and shook his head
"Damn, there really is no beating you sapphics is there...?"
"I mean it isn't a competition....." Charlie said slowly, biting her lip
"...But if it was, you'd be winning," Cherri concluded for her, earning a slightly shy little laugh in response- in other words,exactly
"Outta curiosity though, why aren't you and Miss Anger Management engaged yet? You seem like the traditional types,"
"Well we met when I was still trying to convince my dad to help with the hotel and we've been working on it ever since, so we decided to postpone marriage or kids until after we're sure the hotel is relatively stable, planning a wedding is alot of stress, even if it's a small one, so we didn't want to add that on top of stressing about the hotel, with the way things are now, I'd say I'd give it.... another two years or so maybe?"
Alastor instinctively wanted to warn her that it was going to take much longer than that, but he resisted the urge, that might just be that cynicism he had been talking about before
In the end, he didn't get the time to say anything at all, as Vaggie was arriving mere moments later
"The pharmacy said it'd be ready in under an hour so I'm gonna go ahead and get going, I figured I might as well pick up a couple of things on the grocery list wile I'm there, I know Publix is expensive but I mean, it can't be that much more expensive for a few things,"
....Right?
"That sounds good to me Vaggie! Uh, just one quick thing first though, Alastor was actually wondering if he could go with you,"
Vaggie tilted her head and raised a brow, wile Alastor made a slightly pinched looking face
".....Okaaaay....? And the reason for that would be....?"
"I have to pick up some ingredients for dinner that I just realized I'm out of, and car has to stay here, so... I'm hoping I could simply tag along with you?"
Ok, as far as lies go, Alastor didn't think he was doing too badly with this one
"Uh-huh, and why does the car have to stay here?"
"Because he and Angie bought souvenirs for us wile they were in New York and Angie wants to make sure he can give 'em out after he's done kitten-sittin'," Cherri replied easily, earning a slightly skeptickal look from Vaggie
"Why are you answering for him? Also, why can't he just take the souvenirs out now and give them to Charlie until he's ready to hand them out?"
"Because he wants to see everybody's faces when they get their shit and if he does that then Charlie will see what she's getting, I mean, it ain't like they're wrapped," Cherri shrugged
Alastor almost envied her ability to lie so smoothly
He wouldn't necessarily say she was lying well, but it was atleast smooth
"...Uh-huh, and why can't he wait until after this souvenir thing to go pick up groceries for dinner? It's still morning,"
"Unfortunately I have a meeting on the other side of town that I'm already going to be late for and it's going to be something of a time-suck," Alastor replied with an exhausted sigh- that part, at the very least, was true
"And I still have to assist Charlie with things for this hotel, and now apparently I'm finding her an accountant,"
Charlie winced, squeaking out a saddened little "Sorry" and putting her hands together pleadingly
"But I have to wait for my accountant to call me back and I'm honestly not sure when that will be, but I'd rather not be trying to juggle more than at maximum two things at a time,"
"....Fair enough," Vaggie agreed with mild consideration
"Alright, sure, we'll take my car, just let me-"
"Also Alastor has to drive," Charlie blurted out suddenly, in a way that definitely made Alastor groan and rub his face with distress
Vaggie's face wrinkled
"And.... why does Alastor have to drive?"
"He has alot of anxiety about bein' in the car with other people and not bein' the driver, ya' know, PTSD," Cherri said, almost under her breath, making a little hand-wavey gesture
Alastor suddenly wanted to kill everyone in the room, especially after Vaggie turned to him with a look of..... what was that? Pity? Disgust? He couldn't make it out it probably was just more confusion but his ego was taking a blow here so it was somewhat disproportional
".......Riiiiight," Vaggie said slowly, wich really only made Alastor's face turn redder as the embarrassment started to really creep in
"....Alright..... well..... anyway..... I left my keys in the office, so.... I'm gonna go grab those....."
"Thank you very much for your kindness and help Vagatha," Alastor smiled tightly, earning an equally awkward smile and a weak little thumb's up from Vaggie
"Sure..... no problem...."
God, he was going to have to deal with this for the next hour or two wasn't he? Why the FUCK had he agreed to this?!
The moment Vaggie left though, Charlie was ambushing him with another hug, startling him, but atleast making him feel somewhat appreciated
"Thank you so much Alastor thank you thank you thank you!!"
"S-Sure, sure, don't mention it," Alastor replied awkwardly, reaching up to give Charlie a little pat on the head, wich felt strange, sometimes he forgot that she was a good head or so taller than he was until she was hugging him like this
"I know this is kinda awkward and all but I really really appreciate it!!"
"I... it's no trouble...."
Why did he lie like this? Why did he let himself do these things when the much more apt option all around was to simply say "no"?
He hadn't always been this way, he mostly blamed Angel for it, but.... he also couldn't really find it in his heart to blame Angel for much of anything
Oh how he often despised the human race for it's propensity for hormone based decision making....
That so-called "love hormone" certainly wasn't doing him any favors at times like these....
"I had best follow and wait for her, would one of you do me a favor atleast and keep an eye out for Angel? I don't really know how this conversation with Husk is going to manifest so..."
"Don't worry about it, I'll be watchin' Angie's back," Cherri promised with a thumb's up, earning a little nod in response
Well, atleast, he supposed, he had that much in his corner....
With a frustrated sigh, he headed off towards the office, just hoping that this little trip would end up going significantly better than he feared....
~+~
$87.04
Fizz was pretty sure he was going to throw up
He didn't know how this shit kept happening lately, that no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't keep control over his bank account, it was always depleted before he could fucking blink
Maybe it could all be chalked up to inflation, but it didn't really matter at the end of the day if that was it or not, it didn't help him keep money in the bank either way....
He stared mournfully at the calander, knowing pay day was still a good three days away, and felt like he was going to blow his fucking brains out
How was he even going to keep gas in the car or handle lunch over the next few days, much less anything else?
I just wanna be part of your symphony! Will you hold me tight and not let go? Symphony-!
Scrambling, Fizz hurriedly grabbed his phone, face a bit pink, and stared down at Ozzie's text
Gotta be in court later than I thought ;_; Any way you can get groceries alone today baby? Promise I'll make it up to you!
Fizz..... wanted to say "no"
Grocery shopping was already something he hated- how mind numbing it was, all the walking, the stretching for high shelves, and so on- and although doing it with Ozzie was manageable enough, doing it alone was just... fucking skin melting as far as he was concerned- but now with his financial problems....
He and Ozzie shared groceries, they usually either went in half and half or would switch weeks picking things up, but if Ozzie wasn't going then that only left the second option, and he was pretty sure Ozzie had covered it the last time they'd done the week switching thing....
Fizz's fingers hesitated, hovering over the digital keyboard as his eyes practically glued themselves to the screen, he wasn't sure what to say, how to phrase this in a way that wasn't just..... pathetic sounding- atleast by his own thoughts on what it meant to sound pathetic over a lack of financial stability
He.... honestly sat there thinking about it for far, far too long, when the ringing of the phone caught him by surprise, forcing a yelp out of his throat as he very damn near threw his phone and ran over it with the rolling chair
....
Damn near, but atleast it didn't actually happen
Groaning, he rubbed his face miserably and grabbed the phone from the ringer
"Uhh.... A-Atlanta Police Department, Officer Rodriguez, how can I help you?"
Sighing in releif that it was a relatively easy phone call, he grabbed his cell phone and started typing
"I'm sorry to hear that Ma'am, you can come in and file a report, but I'm afraid I can't do much for you over the phone,"
No problem, just uh.... I hate to ask, but can we use your card? I'm kinda low on funds and need to wait until Friday for things to... ya' know... fill back up.... I'll pay you back then, is that ok?
*Send*
"Yeah I can help you fill them out, uhh.... I'm here until six today Ma'am,"
The reply he received was surprisingly quick
No problem! :) Don't worry about it Froggy, I'll drop my card off with you before I leave for court <3
Fizz.... wasn't quite sure what to do with that
He had never been in what he would call a financially comfortable place, for one reason or another, and it still floored him a little bit to be involved with someone who so clearly was, it made him a little nervous, actually, a little worried that Ozzie saw him as either a charity case or some pathetic little dog unable to fend for it's self....
But.... he didn't really have a choice but to go with it for now, he needed to get groceries, they needed to eat, he'd worry about his bruised ego later
"A-Ah, yes! Sorry Ma'am, I'm still here, yes, what direction are you coming from? I'll help you get to the station,"
~+~
"You uh..... got some savings built up until ya'get through with this?"
"Some, but it ain't like I really need money for bein' in here, they provide food an' shit and it's not like I can go out for shit,"
"Oh I.... guess that's true..." Angel muttered, rubbing the back of his neck and looking down at the floor, chewing his lip
He and Husk had had awkward moments before, hell half their relationship was built on them, but..... admittedly, this was an entirely different level
The room felt stuffy, the air was thick, and Angel was caught desperately in between the urge to run and not look back, and never leave Husk's side....
The worst part was that he didn't even know why he flet the way he did, it wasn't like this was his fault, he shouldn't feel like he had failed, and yet.....
"...I'm sorry about what happened with your girlfreind,"
"Hey, you tried to warn me," Husk replied with an easy shrug, as though he really wasn't holding it against Angel at all
And maybe he wasn't, but then maybe he was, it was just so..... so hard to tell with him....
Husk had this thing where it was impossible to tell if he was actually being blase about something or if he was actually internalizing it deeply and would spring it on you later, Angel had to bite back the misogynistic thought that it reminded him of "The Girlfreind Trick" he always heard about, where someone would say they were fine when they weren't....
"....I'm just.... I'm so sorry that I failed you, Husky, I tried, I really did-"
"You didn't fail me," Husk said with a huff, leaning back in his chair
"First of all, it wasn't your job to fix me and we both knew it may not work, and second of all, even if that was true, I haven't relapsed yet have I? So you weren't the problem here, Sallie May told me outright that her biggest problem wasn't that I was a drunk, it was that I lied to her about it, and the lying was my decision, you fuckin' tried to stop me, so don't take this on yourself,"
Even with that being said.... it was easier said than done, as far as Angel was concerned....
His heart was aching, he felt ill, Husk may have told him not to feel like a failure but he still couldn't quite help himself
"....So.... what made ya' decide to go through with this?" the blonde asked, instead of further vocalizing how shitty he felt
Husk glanced away, fidgeting a bit with his hands and finally offering a shrug
"......Can't say as I know, I uh..... went back and forth on it alot, I was at this intersection where I could've turned here or I could've turned in to a liquor store and.... I.... would be lyin' if I said I knew why I chose here, somethin' just push me in this direction and I guess I didn't feel like turnin' around,"
"....Yeah, I can understand that," Angel agreed with a little nod
"...'Course I don't want'cha to get your hopes up on this, it may not work," Husk warned, glancing at Angel, as though anticipating a response
Though, what sort of response, Angel couldn't say as he knew
"I understand," he replied simply instead
And then things were quiet
Uncomfortably quiet
Stiflingly quiet
And then, after being quiet for several long moments, Husk spoke again
"So where's your guard dog?"
"Al had to run an errand for Charlie,"
".....Ah,"
And then..... quiet again
This time, for a considerably longer amount of time
And then Husk, surprisingly, spoke again
"You really....."
He paused, cutting himself off, and shaking his head
And as much as Angel didn't really want to be the one to say anything, didn't quite know what to say, he felt like he was hitting a breaking point and something needed to be said at some point, so.... he let his mouth get ahead of him
"Please finish the question," he said quietly
"I really... what?"
Husk only shook his head, refusing to continue, wich pushed Angel to huff and wrinkle his nose
"Please, Husk, if ya' got somethin' to say-"
"I just don't get it," Husk finally blurted out
"I don't understand how you could be in as bad a shape as you were and this fuckin' guy comes along and now you're just.... fine.... I don't fuckin' get it....."
Oh
It was this conversation again
"....I can't say as I get it either, if I did, maybe you wouldn't be in rehab, maybe I'd been able to-"
"Would you quit that? It wasn't your fault, so just....."
Husk paused, pinching the bridge of his nose
".... Really, Angie, it.... it's fine, I just wanted to know, 'cause I just don't.... this has been so fuckin' hard on me, tryin'a quit, and I know you were goin' through the same thing-"
"And it didn't go away," Angel butted in, prompting a look of mild confusion from Husk
"The urge, it never just.... went poof, I just... handle it better, can push through it better, can ignore it better, sometimes it ain't there but.... ya' know.... sometimes....."
Husk gave a slow nod of understanding
"......Sometimes," he agreed quietly
"...Well, atleast ya' chose a good place for it, ya' know? Atleast... Charlie and everybody knows you," Angel posed, deciding to change the subject
"Yeah, kinda wish they didn't though, it's alot easier to be an asshole wantin' a drink when you don't have to worry about bitin' your employer's hand off,"
"You still plannin' to work here when you're out?" Angel asked with surprise, earning a little shrug in response
"I figure it's the safest thing to do, Charlie already promised the job would still be here then and like you said, they do know me so it ain't like they're gonna hold this shit against me, it's a rehab so I don't have to worry about people around me drinkin', and it's....... kinda still the only thing I can think of, ya' know? Not like I can go back to bein' a paramedic, don't got the qualifications to be a nurse someplace else, and honestly I don't have the disposition for it either,"
"Yeah, I can't really imagine you workin' in a hospital," Angel agreed with a little snicker
The thought of Husk's sour attitude in such a high stress environment was just begging for problems immediately out of the gate in his opinion
"Exactly, so ya' see? This is.... probably my best bet,"
Angel was quiet for a beat, but nodded slowly in agreement
"Well, I'm glad you've got some stuff planned out for the future atleast,"
"Yeah, me too," Husk agreed quietly
Silence, again
It dragged on longer this time, it seemed to claw it's way deeper, and the suffocating feeling in the room only became more and more stifling
Angel felt like he was sinking in it
He had so much he wanted to say and yet none of it seemed right, so much he felt he needed to say but...
The last thing he wanted to do was make a wrong move, the last thing he wanted to do was make things worse, and some part of him felt like everytime he tried to take a big leap and say something real and meaningfull that wasn't just small talk, all he was doing was-
"I don't like what's between us,"
To his surprise, Husk spoke again, jolting Angel's attention towards him
"I've been doin' alot of thinking since Saturday night," he continued
"I remember how things used to be, Angie, how close we were, and we always..... we had our secrets and our stumbling blocks but.... never like what's goin' on right now, and I hate it, and I want it to change, I want things to go back to how they were, and I don't know if I can ever get them to do that, I don't know if we'll ever be like that again, but..... I wanna try, I'm so sick of this tension between us, so.... I'm gonna try harder to make things ok again, I promise,"
Angel's chest felt tight, for what felt like the millionth time that day, he felt like he wasn't sure what to say, before finally, he rose from where he had been sitting and made his way over to Husk, offering him a small, somewhat sheepish smile, and settling to sit on the armrest of his chair, reaching down to take his hand and loop their fingers together
"I feel the same way, I'll try to make sure we get back to where we were too,"
And finally, it seemed, the suffocation in the room dissipated, and Angel felt like he could truly breathe again
~+~
"Valentine's Day.... Valentine's Day..!! Why the fuck did I make the deadline VALENTINE'S DAY?!"
"Why did you make the deadline Valentine's Day?" Blitz repeated, earning a completely gobsmacked expression from Millie
"'Cause I wasn't thinkin' and I wanted to help and it seemed like... ya' know, Valentine's was a pretty good bit away but not TOO far away ya' know?!"
"I mean it makes sense but still, it was a pretty shit-"
"I know!" Millie groaned, not even willing to continue giving Blitz the space to finish his sentence as she groaned and thunked a stack of folders against her head
"It'll be ok honey, don't worry so much! I'm sure you'll find someone," Moxxie insisted as gently and lovingly as he could, earning a slight smile from Millie, as anxious as it was
"Is Sallie looking for anything in particular?" Blitz asked, leaning back in the driver's seat a bit
Something that dramatic car chases in the movies never got right about bounty hunting- traffic
He'd been at this red fucking light for what felt like hours already and due to road work up ahead they were probably going to be here for a wile yet, the roads were just congested as hell...
"Not really, just.... anybody who she can get along with ya' know? Somebody who ain't gonna be an asshole about who she is as a person, somebody honest,"
Blitz hummed, tapping his chin a bit in consideration
"Well.... you're welcome to my little black book if ya' want it, I'm sure as shit never putting my foot back in that pond- I mean, ya' know, I kinda wanna stick with Stolas, and even if things go south there, I think the As are one of those roach motel situations- once I check in, I don't check out,"
As much as the thought of Stolas leaving him kept him up at night, he had a feeling that Alastor, atleast, would keep his claws burried in Blitz's spine for the rest of eternity, if for no other reason because he didn't want to risk his bloody little secret getting out, he'd probably be more likely to kill Blitz when he was finished with him, rather than break up with him, wich was honestly far more preferable as far as Blitz was concerned, he'd go for death over eternal loneliness any day-
".......What?" Moxxie suddenly asked, voice slightly concerned, but more confused than anything
"No offense Blitz, but I don't know if reccomendin' Sallie May your uh... reject pile is the nicest thing to do..."
"Oh don't worry, most of them broke up with me, not the other way around, or like, things ended amicably, I ended shockingly few relationships myself," Blitz replied with a cheerfull smile
"Oh.... well in that case, sure! Although ain't'cha worried that they ain't gonna want... ya' know.... solicitation by a total stranger reccomended by their ex...?"
"Wait a minute, you have an actual little black book? I thought that sort of thing only existed in the movies," Moxxie interjected, apparently willing to put the mild concern he had for his boss's relationships on the backburner for now
"Oh, no, I got that puppy riiiiight after Fizz and I split, I uhh..... had my reasons...."
The reason being that he had hoped to accumulate a MASSIVE catalogue of fuckbuddies so that he would never have to be alone, but unfortunately, that hadn't quite manifested the way he had wanted it to
"And don't worry about that, I'll start with the ones I'm still on speaking terms with, and the ones I'm not I'll....... send an email,"
"....Works for me!" Millie beamed
"I'm still gonna keep tryin'a find some other options myself though, ya' know, you can never have too many choices,"
"I'm not sure that that's true honey...." Moxxie winced, though he was promptly ignored
"Hey, question though, before I go sending tongue emojis to half my contacts, is Sallie May looking for something serious or like, a fling, ooooor what? 'Cause that's honestly gonna narrow the feild either way...."
"Somethin' serious I think," Millie replied, already going back to her phone to continue scouting potential matches for her sister
"Gottcha, and uh..... any chance she might be willing to move to Japan?"
Millie.... abruptly stopped, slowly looking up at Blitz
"....Hard doubt, why?"
"My favorite ex lives there, I don't think she's willing to move here either, REALLY career dedicated, but she stops in town a few times a year, wanted to know if I should give it a shot,"
Millie considered that for a moment, before shrugging in response
"I mean, I guess it can't hurt to try, what's the worst that could happen?"
"That they fall in love with eachother but are stuck with an insane long distance relationship until one of them inevitably has to make the gutting decision to either end the relationship or leave their family, freinds, career, home, and culture behind," Moxxie prattled off
For a moment, the car was filled with silence, and then-
"God Moxxie, way to find the downside to literally everything, hey I think I see some little girl walking her dog over there, ya' wanna go tell her the likelihood of her dog dying before she hits puberty wile you're at it?"
Clearly Moxxie's honesty wasn't appreciated
~+~
"So.... at what point are you just going to fess up?"
"Fess up to what?" Alastor asked as innocently as possible, though he had a terrible feeling that he already knew the answer
"To the fact that you're just driving me out here because Charlie asked you to,"
Yep, thought so
"I don't know what you're talking about dear,"
Though, fake it till you make it, he supposed....
Vaggi gave him a tired, put upon.... but.... overall mostly appreciative look
"I know that you're only doing this because Charlie asked you to," she repeated
"I mean, that story about the souvenirs was pretty rediculous,"
Alastor's eye twitched, and in that moment, he decided, fuck it, he had done his job, he had just pulled into the parking space and was turning the engine off literally as they spoke, what sense was there in trying to hide it now if she already knew anyway?
"I love that you somehow managed to fish the kernel of truth out of that story and pin that for the falsehood,"
Vaggi looked.... shocked, honestly
"Oh.... wait.... seriously? You... got us souvenirs...?"
"Angel did yes,"
He wasn't going to admit to participating in the first place but he certainly wasn't going to do so now
"Um..... oh.... well-"
"You are correct though," Alastor said as he stepped out of the car and circled around the front to meet his.... companion.... for the time being
"Charlie rather insisted, and for some dreadfull reason I've yet to identify, I had a most difficult time saying 'no',"
"Yeah, Charlie sort of has that effect on people,"
"So I've noticed..."
Though, if there was a silver lining, he supposed, atleast he didn't need to feel like it was just a him problem apparently, if there was some sort of history of this....
"I wouldn't be too cross with her though," he continued after a breif pause
"I know it's inconvenient and annoying, but she truly is just doing it out of concern for you,"
"Oh I know she is, wich is why I'm not going to be.... mad at her or anything, it's just...."
"Frustrating?" Alastor guessed, stepping into the store with Vaggie right beside him
At the very least, the disability parking tag on her car allowed them to get a bit of a closer parking space...
"...Yeah," Vaggie agreed with a loud sigh, rubbing at her face tiredly
"I've... lived with this problem for about four years now, but it never gets easier to accept actually being disabled, atleast, not for me,"
"I imagine it certainly does take alot of getting used to, and for some, they likely never get used to it," he sympathized
Alastor himself didn't have any disabilities, and wile Angel was physically completely capable, there was certain things that he had to take precautions for to consider his triggers and various traumas, and hell, just being a recovering addict made certain situations and circumstances hell on earth to deal with, watching him go through all of that, learning to deal with things from the very start, Alastor could atleast somewhat imagine what a massive and sudden change like this must be like to adjust to....
"...So four years you say? I take it then that you weren't born with a visual impairment?"
"Nope, never even needed glasses," Vaggie replied simply as she walked towards the pharmacy, Alastor keeping easy stride with her
"Is it terribly crude of me to ask what happened?"
Vaggi paused, albeit for only a moment, before continuing on
".....Freindly fire, I guess you could say,"
"You were in the military?" Alastor asked with surprise
Though, he supposed, from what little he had known of her, maybe he shouldn't have been surprised
"No,"
.....
Alastor saw that she wasn't willing to expand on that
".....I see," is the response he settled for instead, wich seemed to catch Vaggie by some amount of surprise, she must have been expecting him to argue with her and push for more information....
"So uh, do you really have to get groceries?" Vaggie asked as they turned the corner into the pharmacy portion of the store
"Well, I don't really have to, but I suppose that I probably should wile I'm here, make the trip worthwile, you know?"
"Yeaaaaah.... I.... definitely suggest that you do that,"
Alastor was about to ask why she suddenly had that opinion, but upon looking up and seeing the absolutely enormous line....
"Ah..."
"Flu season...." Vaggie said with a frustrated sigh
"That makes sense..... well, in that case, I'll be off to collect some groceries, I'll meet you back here in ten minutes or so, would you like me to pick up anything wile I'm gone?"
"That's alright Al, but thanks," Vaggie confirmed, giving a little wave and reluctantly stepping into line
Honestly, she wasn't sure if this damn thing would even move an inch in ten minutes, there was only one pharmacist working....
Rubbing her face in agitation, her eye twitched, a little dose of pain prickling at her senses and prompting her to wince
"Count yourself lucky all you lost was an eye, you deserved worse...."
The pain in her eye wasn't pleasant, but that memory....
That was far, far worse....
~+~
"All we need now should be the rice..." Alastor muttered to himself as he stepped down the aisle, squinting up at the sign hanging over head
Why on earth had they decided to put rice on the same aisle as condiments?
Surely there had to be some amount of logic there, but-
Des yeux qui font baisser les miens, un rire qui se perd sur sa bouche-
Surprised by the ringtone, Alastor eagerly picked up the phone and answered
"Rosie my dear! So good to hear from you!!"
"Same back to you Alastor, my FAVORITE client! You left me quite an interestin' message earlier, what's this I hear that you have a little freind needin' an accountant?"
"Well to begin with, I said acquaintance, not freind-"
"With you honey, they're practically the same-"
"And secondly, the circumstances are a bit.... unusual..." he began, giving a quick glance around the aisle to make sure he wasn't being listened in on, before beginning an explanation, voice dropping a little all the same, just in case
"You see my.... acquaintance.... is running an illegal rehabilitation center, the reason it's illegal is that it's focused on those with criminal charges out on them, Charlie has this idea of proving to the higher powers that imprisoning addicts is only making everything worse and the only real way to handle addiction related offenses is through rehabilitation, sadly I'm sure you realize that even though she's right, no one is actually going to listen to her, but alas, this is the business she's embroiled herself in, she needs someone to do her accounting for her though and keep things as legally vague as possible,"
"Ahh I see... I've gotta admit, that's an awfully altruistic thing for you of all people to be involved with, although given your beau, I guess it does make sense..."
"Angel has nothing to do with this, I was merely swindled into a relation-...... into knowing this young lady through other circumstances and now I'm quite literally invested in this damn money pit and the absolute least I want to come from it is that I don't get wrapped up in legal nonsense for, of all things, tax evasion,"
"...Yeah no that's fair, it WOULD be absolutely HILARIOUS though if all those bodies stacked up under your floorboards got outted because some sweet little girl made a mistake on her TAXES of all things!" Rosie exclaimed with a far too chipper laugh
"Oh yes, it would be incredibly funny," Alastor replied dryly as he finally spotted the rice, huffing in annoyance that, ofcourse, it was on the top shelf- more than a little out of his damn reach....
"Alright alright, I'll stop teasin' ya' for now, where's this little princess located anyway? Around you, I'm guessin'?"
"Yes, Atlanta," Alastor replied simply, giving the aisle a quick scan before heaving a sigh and marching over to grab the biggest bottle of ketchup he could find
"Well what a coinkydink! Guess where I've been the last few weeks?"
Alastor paused mid-stride, completely surprised by that information
"Here? What ever for?"
"Oh I'm lookin' into a few new business ventures of my own for some clients, nothin' for you to worry about, I promise,"
Alastor hesitated to believe that, but he supposed he didn't have much choice....
"Anyway, lucky for you, I've got somebody PERFECT in mind! She just moved to Atlanta herself and is lookin' for some more clients, and you know if I'm reccomending her then she'll have all the qualities you want~! Just get me your freind's information and I'll set up a meeting, sound good?"
Why yes, it did
....
Too good
"Uh-huh.... and just what do you want in return?" he asked, standing on the tips of his toes and starting to bang at the rice box with the bottle of ketchup
The bottle wasn't long enough for him to use a scooping method, but if he could make the box teeter over....
"Oh come now Alastor, I'm not a VULTURE! I'm just doing a favor for a freind to help another freind, that alone is payment enough for me~!"
"And yet somehow I don't believe you..." Alastor replied coldly, cursing under his breath as the rice box did indeed teeter.... and fall backwards....
Time for Plan B
"Well you've got nothin' to not believe, I'm doing you both a favor and that's that, although wile we're on the topic of things I'm owed, I do need to see you for dinner, how about tonight?"
"Can't, I have plans," Alastor replied, setting the bottle aside and squinting, climbing onto the shelf closest to him and grabbing a bottle of-.... what was that? Barbecue sauce?
...It didn't matter....
"You can rearrange them, I need your assistance with something, ofcourse you're more than welcome to bring your boyfreind along so we can meet! Or should I say- fiance'~?"
Alastor cursed a little louder, but this time it had nothing to do with the box of rice
"Firstly, as I've already said before, Angel stays OUT of all this, secondly, he isn't my fiance' yet, I haven't even proposed, don't you go jumping the gun as well... and thirdly, how on earth do you even know about that?!"
"Carmine and I talk over tea,"
......
Ofcourse they did, why was he surprised?
"And don't get your feathers so ruffled, my goodness! Fine fine, you can leave 'im at home, just don't make me wait until the wedding to actually meet one of my new favorite people!"
Alastor growled lowly and gave the rice box a hard *SLAP* with the end of the bottle, watching it fly off the shelf in satisfaction
He wasn't so sure he would be inviting his business acquaintances to the wedding.....
....
But he did know that inevitably, one way or another, they would end up meeting Angel before the year was up, it was only through deliberate breathing room that they hadn't traveled to lay eyes on him yet, but with marriage in the cards, there was suddenly more urgency on the part of his business dealers....
"I'm beginning to feel like a La Dommas...." he muttered under his breath as he hopped down from the shelf
"What was that dear?"
"Nothing, and regardless of Angel, I still can't make dinner tonight, as I said, I have plans," he replied, setting the bottle of sauce aside and finally grabbing that damned rice box to put in his basket
"Reschedule them, you and I have a standing appointment for these things, remember?"
Alastor sighed miserably, staring off into the distance as though hoping that somehow, someway, something old and eldritch and full of teeth would snap him up and save him from this conversation
He had known better than to call Rosie, and yet....
Charlie.........
"Why the sudden urgency?" he asked as he straightened out his clothes and made his way out of the aisle
"Well, it was actually pretty fortuitous that you called, I was plannin' to get in touch with you today anyhow, I have one of those problems that I need taken care of before Valentine's Day, initially I was going to give you more of a flexible schedule to meet with me, but Carmilla told me just yesterday about your plans- what a dirty little rat, keepin' that from me for so long!- and I figured you'd want that entire week to prepare,"
"....You figure correctly...." Alastor agreed with reluctance
"And as it so happens I have plans for next week, I've gotta head to Pittsburgh for a few days, so it seems like this week is the only time I can make a meetin' with you work, and you know I'd always rather give you more time than less so..."
"Pittsburgh in Febuary? I can't say I envy you that,"
Although he was one to talk, he'd be going to New York....
"Right? Oh but it's for a good cause, I've got somebody up there who I'm gonna.... relocate to a warmer climate,"
Alastor's heart eased, just a bit, and he heaved a quiet sigh
"Is that it then? You need me to eliminate an obstacle so that this 'relocation' can go smoothly?" he guessed
"Right you are, you're so smart~!"
"And why can't you just tell me the necessary information over the phone or send me a packet as per usual? The post is slow, but it isn't that slow,"
".......Special circumstances,"
".....Wich I'm guessing is why this is all so sudden?"
"See there? I told ya' you were smart,"
Alastor sucked in a deep breath through his nose, pursing his lips
"....I genuinely do have other plans I can't rearrange, it'll have to be an early dinner,"
"Oh that's fine!! In fact, how about you come by around.... say.... four? I'm making meatloaf~"
"Between four and five will work better, I'm on the other side of to-... wait, where are you even located?"
"An adorable little place in Flowery Branch, I'll send ya' the address!"
Alastor heaved a sigh, none too pleased with the information
Ofcourse she'd be over an hour out of his way....
"....Right, understood, probably closer to five then, I'm a bit held up with other things at the moment, and keep my portion small, as much as I enjoy your meatloaf, dear, I'm afraid I've already committed to making Shrimp Creole for dinner tonight, the shrimp are currently in my shopping basket so I'm not going to put that off,"
"Oohh well that's no matter at all! I'll send ya' home with a doggy bag, how's about that? Then your little love can taste my cooking too!"
That.... actually wasn't a terrible idea....
"....Alright, but I still need to keep this quick,"
"Don't worry about it! I'll see ya' later, you tell your hubby-to-be I said 'hi'!"
With that and a click, the line went dead, leaving Alastor to grumble under his breath that Angel didn't even know who Rosie was, before heaving a sigh and reluctantly pulling up Sera's number
Unfortunate news it seems, I'll be arriving a bit later than I last thought