How It Goes - Part 13
#13 of How It Goes
Real life circumstances have significantly slowed down my progress on the story, and as a consequence, there will be longer delays between each posted part.
No commentary today.
Do enjoy the read.
Langdon hurries into the room with his .357 in hand. The gunshots ring through the building, and last he checked, only Umbra was on his tail. In the hallway he can't see anyone else, and with a tremble he closes the door.
"Why are you here?" whimpers a female voice from the other end of the ravaged bedroom. The vixen tries to hide behind a ruined mattress, most of her features visible. Langdon stares at her, heart in his throat. His grip on his Magnum tightens as he takes a step closer. His left ear twitches rapidly and the shots downstairs seem to die down.
"You're Mrs. Hewitz, right?" Langdon asks, his voice cracking. He raises his gun and points at her face.
"What do you want with me?" She cries. She cringes and clings closer to the mattress. "I didn't do anything wrong, what did I do to deserve this?"
His throat dry, Langdon finds no answer. The tension rises as Langdon can hear footsteps outside. He turns around and aims at the door, which slowly opens to reveal the jet-black panther. Umbra strides into the room and throws one look at Langdon. Unfazed, he walks past him.
"The others are fine," Umbra smirks. "Ishtar got shot in the shoulder, not like that'd stop her. Remiel and Dumbledore got out unscathed."
Langdon bites his lip. Umbra glances over at the vixen.
"What are you waiting for?" He purrs coldly. "Point at her and pull the trigger, Langdon. It's easy. Trust me. Or are you getting cold feet?"
"What did she do?" Langdon whispers, panic in his throat.
"It's not about what she did," Umbra smiles. "It's about the message we're going to send."
"It doesn't feel right..."
"Oh, why do I bother?" Umbra rolls his eyes, and shoves Langdon away. Langdon can only watch as the panther draws a gun at blinding speed. He aims at Mrs. Hewitz's face, and with not a flicker of hesitation, he pulls the trigger.
"This game's cold," Scott chuckles weakly.
"I did tell you it'd be gritty," Bax smiles. He sweeps a handful of dice into a small leather pouch. "I hope it wasn't _too_gritty, though?"
"No, I love it," Scott says meekly. "It's unsettling, but in a good way."
"Am glad to hear that." Bax gets up to stretch his feet. Oscar, in a buttoned up beige shirt, a simple set of spectacles, and a set of heavy headphones around his neck, does a quick sketch. Duke, in a pink shirt, rests his head on the table, thoughtful. Cecil looks through the Mage books with interest. Scott checks his watch.
"I missed my bus..."
"No worries, I'll drive you-" Bax is interrupted by his phone. "Sec."
The lion leaves the room for a moment. When he returns, it's with a look of exasperation.
"What's wrong?" Oscar asks quietly.
"My sister's at the airport," Bax sighs. "Mum and dad are pissed, and they refuse to pay for a cab 'cause 'I can just drive her'."
"Joy," Duke shrugs.
"Scott, would you mind at all waiting for me to drive her home? Only your flat's on the other end of town, and she can be a bit of a nightmare."
"No, don't mind at all," Scott replies.
"Right. Good. Thanks. I should be off right away, then."
"You can drop me off on the way then," Duke says, rising from his seat.
"'Course. You don't mind Scott staying, do you?" he looks at Oscar. The white bear shakes his head.
"I'll be heading home. Got to get up early," Cecil says, grabbing his backpack. "Thanks for the fun. I'll talk to you later, Scott."
The bunny leaves with a bounce in his step. The lion and deer follow him out, leaving Scott with Oscar.
"I like your character," Oscar says quietly as he tidies the gaming table.
"Really?"
"Yeah. I like the flaws."
Scott smiles and glances over his character sheet again. "Is Duke always so intense?"
"Yeah." Oscar fidgets a bit, and pulls out a white 3DS from his pocket. Scott glances at it curiously.
"What are you playing?"
"SMT IV," he mutters.
"How far are you?"
The bear looks up. "Second playthrough, about to enter the Expanse."
"I just started my third one," Scott nods, and he pulls out his own 3DS.
"What endings have you done?"
"Neutral, then Law. Going Chaos now."
"Yeah, that's what I'm doing," Oscar nods at his screen. "I never was fond of the Law routes in SMT as a whole..."
"Me neither," Scott admits.
"You like SMT?"
"Favourite series," Scott murmurs fondly.
"Mine too. Got a favourite?"
"DDS for the story, Nocturne for the gameplay."
"I'll sound like a parrot at this stage," The bear smiles. "Never met anyone who likes it."
"Me neither."
They both look away with a flush. "How'd you get into it?"
"My dad," Scott mutters. "He got me Nocturne and a PS2 when it was released. I...never actually asked why, but I love him for it."
"You dad sounds awesome. Lot better than..." Oscar trails off.
"How about you?"
"Oh. Well, mate of mine talked about P3, and I gave it a go, back in '09. I didn't really like it much." Oscar rubs his forehead. "Then I read up on P4 and SMT, and just... completely fell for it."
"I didn't like the Persona games," Scott says quietly. "I enjoyed them, sure, but... Tartaros in P3 was just annoying, and P4..."
"Don't get me started," Oscar adds. "Game was really good up until Teddie grew a body and became annoying as fuck."
Scott chuckles. "Yeah. And Yosuke was a cock."
"I loved Kanji, though."
"I did too," Scott smiles to himself. "Did you enjoy SMT IV?"
"It's too easy. I love the mechanics, the story is good, but there's no challenge."
"I know, right? I'd love the mechanics of IV, and the difficulty of Strange Journey."
"Oh, god, don't remind me," Oscar groans. "I'm stuck on Ouroboros."
"It doesn't get better," Scott says softly.
"I can believe that." Oscar smiles back. He stands up and moves towards the fridge. Scott blinks and stares at the white bear. He had not quite realised how small Oscar was - by the table, he thought the bear was a bit slim - but now that he could see Oscar properly, he realises that the bear is around his height. There's a bit of belly, and he isn't particularly broad across the shoulders.
"Is something the matter?" Oscar asks as he pulls out a fizzy drink from the fridge.
"No, I..." Scott says weakly, his cheeks afire. Uncomfortable, Oscar looks away. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to..."
"I know I'm short," Oscar mutters unhappily. "I hate it."
"I like it," Scott says, breathless.
"Are you mocking me?"
"No," Scott shakes his head calmly. "I really like it."
Oscar scowls, but his ears splay. He shifts awkwardly on the spot. "Nobody's said that to me before..."
"I don't get why," Scott replies, before he's able to think. "You're gorgeous."
Oscar drops his drink.
The silence breaks when the front door opens, and Bax enters. "Sorry about that. Bloody jesus christ..."
With a sigh the lion takes off his coat and enters the kitchen. Oscar stares at Scott, who looks away with splayed ears. Bax casts a glance at the spilt drink. "What happened?"
"I..." Oscar mutters; his breath is fast and hard. He glances over at Bax, before he storms out of the kitchen. There's a slam of a door. Bax glares at Scott, a growl in his throat. "What the hell happened?"
"I told him he's gorgeous," Scott says flatly.
"You ... what?"
Bax's glare softens for a bit before he sighs. Scott looks up, and his voice tightens. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be," Bax shakes his head. "It's just... Oscar's always been... Blimey..."
"Could you maybe drive me home?" Scott asks, meekly.
"Yeah, of course. Let me just..." Bax leaves the kitchen. Scott spots the lion's tail flicker as Bax enters Oscar's room. Weary, Scott gets up and grabs his coat in the entrance hall. He stifles a yawn as he's joined by Bax shortly after.
"He's not mad," Bax says shortly. "Taken aback, but not mad."
"I didn't mean to make him uncomfortable," Scott mutters.
"Well... we all make mistakes," Bax replies with a shrug. "Where is it you live again?"
"Thanks for driving me home," Scott sighs, dispirited.
"No worries. You okay, though?"
"Got a lot on my mind." Scott unbuckles the seatbelt. "Can I still play with you guys? Or will it be too uncomfortable?"
"I'll talk to Oscar," Bax replies sympathetically. "But I'm pretty sure it'll be fine, don't worry."
"Yeah, thanks..."
"Thanks for tonight. I'll talk to you later." Bax salutes him and drives off.
When Scott enters the warmth of his apartment, he isn't greeted by the familiar scent of beer. All lights are off bar the dim one from the kitchen. Scott leaves his jacket in the hallway as he enters the living room. The door into Brian's room is open, the bull nowhere to be seen. He checks his phone to find that it's on the verge of ten o'clock.
He slumps into the sofa and calls Theo.
"Hey, Scott," Theo answers shortly after. Loud music drowns out his voice.
"Hey... where are you?"
"At a party out in Reading," Theo replies. Scott splays his ears, realising the bear's drunk. There's a loud cheer from somewhere near Theo. "What's up?" .
"I..." Scott grasps for words and glances out the window. "It doesn't matter."
"It's good that you called, actually, I was going to call you,"Theo carries on, brazen. "Listen, Amy's here too and I think she wants to...y'know... She keeps being touchy with me and Brian."
"Brian's with you?"
"Yep, he came over for a beer and stuff. Then Byrne invited us to this party, so we just went for it. Sec." Scott's phone is slightly muffled and Theo yells something unintelligible. "Anyway, would you mind if something did happen?"
"I... I suppose not?" Scott mutters. He shifts uncomfortably. "I kinda want to talk to you about something, though..."
"Great! Listen, things are getting sorta hectic here, so I'll talk to you later, yeah?"
Before Scott can reply, Theo hangs up. Scott stares at the screen of his phone until the screen goes blank. He continues to stare out the window.
Scott's phone rattles on the coffee table, and Scott wakes up with a start. He grips his neck and blinks furiously, stifling a yawn. Bax's number flashes on the screen underneath the time: two o'clock.
"Hello?" Scott mutters, exhausted.
"Uh. Hi. It's... it's Oscar." Oscar's voice is meek and quiet. "I woke you up, didn't I?"
"You did," Scott sighs. "Sorta."
"Uh. Bax told me that you... you were worried if you could come back or not." He pauses for a bit, and takes a deep breath. "I... I want you to come back and play with us. I'm sorry for running away like that.
"It's okay..." Scott leans back into the couch, and stretches his neck. There's an awkward silence.
"Why..." Oscar croaks after a while. "I'm not gorgeous."
Scott stares down at his own lap. "I think you are."
...
"You sound sad... Are you okay?"
"No," Scott mutters, shaking his head. "No..."
"I'm sorry."
"It's not you," Scott says, wearily. "It's... I just need sleep."
"Yeah, of course... Sorry for waking you."
"It's okay, you did me a favour, I fell asleep on the couch. My neck hurts." Scott forces himself up on his feet. "You didn't do anything wrong. Please. Don't worry about it."
"Okay. Sleep tight." There's another moment of quiet. "I hope I get to see you soon."
"G'night." Scott hangs up. He throws the phone onto the couch and, with a frustrated yawn, staggers towards his bedroom.
Scott flips his omelette as the refrain of _Give Me Love_sets in for the first time. He sways slowly to the beat, as he scoops a handful of chopped leak and throws onto the frying pan, followed by a sprinkle of pepper and a heap of cheese. As he lets his meal cook, he prepares two loaves of bread, and he does not hold back on the butter. He scrubs the sink and the counters in anticipation, washes the used dishes and utensils, and, when his time to feast has come, leaves the kitchen spotless.
Halfway through his breakfast, his phone rings. Scott glances at the screen and spots Theo's number. Hesitating for a while, he resigns with a sigh and answers. "Morning."
"Hey, Scott," Theo grunts, his voice hazy. "Did you sleep well?"
"Well enough," Scott replies flatly, as he continues his meal. "How was your night?"
"It..." There's a long sigh. "Things happened."
"I see." Scott stares at his food. He hears shuffling from Theo's end, and a familiar voice.
"We can borrow the shower, yeah?" Amelia's voice is in the distance.
"We?" Scott mutters quietly.
There's a long silence. "Me, Amy and... and Brian."
"Brian too?" Scott croaks, slumping backwards into the couch.
"It... I don't know, it ... we were drunk, it seemed like a good idea, we took a cab back to my place, we were horny, and... I really wanted her. And he did too. And..."
Scott closes his eyes and sighs. "We need to talk. Face to face."
There's a choking sound, and Theo's voice breaks a bit. "Are you... don't break up with me, please, Scott, I'm sorry, I..."
"I'm not..."
"I fucked up, please don't. I love you, Scott, I shouldn't have-"
"I'm not breaking up with you," Scott interrupts more forcefully. "Can you just... come over?"
There's a sniffle. "... Yeah... yeah, of course. I... let me just shower first..."
"I'll see you soon." There's an awkward silence, before Scott hangs up. He stares at his food for a while... He reaches for the remote to put the final track of _Plus_on repeat, and continues to gorge on the remainder of his breakfast.
When the front door opens, Scott gets up from bed and walks over to the doorway. From the hallway, Amelia's energetic banter echoes out into the living room.
"Oh, nice flat," Amelia says as she comes into view. "Oh, hey, Scott-"
She stops as she sees the wolf; when Brian and Theo appear, they both recoil.
"There's a café down the road, right?" Amelia says hastily, as she grabs Brian by the hand. "Let's go get breakfast."
As quickly as they arrived, Amelia and Brian leave. Theo and Scott stare at each other for a long while, until Theo hangs his head in shame.
"I'm sorry," he mutters. "I'm sorry, I fucked up."
"How?"
Theo looks up, but fails to meet Scott's gaze. "I... you called to talk to me and... I just wanted to fuck Amy instead of ... of talking to you."
Scott remains quiet.
"It was shitty of me to blow you off like that, and... I'm shit for cheating on you, and and you deserve better."
"It was shitty," Scott grits his teeth.
"I don't blame you if you're going to dump me."
"Oh, for fucks sake, I don't want to break up with you." Scott buries his face in his palm. He walks back into the bedroom, and gestures for Theo to follow. The bear looks perplexed, his face lined with distress, as he trails after the wolf. Once they're inside, Scott closes the door and goes over to sit in the bed.
"I don't feel cheated on," Scott says quietly as he looks up at the bear. "You told me about it."
"You didn't sound like you wanted me to..." Theo mutters.
"I wanted to talk to you, and you blew me off. What did I do to deserve that?"
"Nothing," Theo shakes his head. "I fucked up."
Scott gets out of bed, and walks towards Theo. The bear shies away for a bit before Scott grabs him by the collar, and pulls him down until they are face to face. Their breaths mingle, their noses touch, and Scott starts to lick the bear's lips slowly. Theo is stunned for a moment, before he eases into a kiss. Scott pulls the bear over to the bed, and Theo, who picks up the cue, gently lays down on the wolf.
"You're..." Theo huffs quietly. "You're not mad at me?"
"No, I'm not mad at you, you goof," Scott murmurs sadly. "I just..."
Theo shifts onto his back and pulls Scott on top of him. "What did you want to talk about last night?"
This time Scott averts his gaze and splays his ears. "Have you ever had that... that moment where you meet someone, talk to them for about five minutes and in those five minutes you completely fall for them?"
"Once," Theo mutters, and nuzzles between Scott's ears. "You."
Scott flushes hard and buries his face in Theo's neck.
"Are you worried about it?" Theo rubs Scott's cheek.
"It... it confuses me. All these ... the sexual stuff, intimacy, emotions..."
Theo kisses Scott's forehead. "Who was it?"
"One of the guys I roleplayed with last night."
"What's his name?"
"Oscar." Scott nuzzles Theo's throat.
"Huh." Theo continues to rub Scott's muzzle slowly.
"You're not...?"
"What, upset? Mad? Disgusted?" Theo shakes his head. "No. Should I be?"
"I don't know..."
"I'm not," Theo replies with a sigh. "I mean... okay, maybe a bit if you've feelings for the guy..."
"I don't know," Scott replies anxiously. They say nothing for a while.
...
"What are we?"
"A couple?" Theo suggests, with a hint of fright.
Scott nods and nuzzles at the bear's chin. "Are we exclusive?"
"Do you want to be?"
"Sexually, I don't... I don't care," Scott admits. "I guess I'm a bit envious of you. You know how to get laid."
"It's... look, fucking somebody else? You're better. I mean, last night was exhilarating and fucking great, and a bit awkward, but..." Theo stops for a bit when Scott splays his ears. "Christ, I'm a fucking idiot...
Scott, you are the best I've ever had. If I had the choice between anyone else in the world and you, I'd pick you. Every time." Theo squeezes the wolf tight. "And if you're worried about not... not getting any from somebody else, I'll help you if I can."
The wolf buries his face into the mane of Theo's neck.
"Look... at the end of the day, what is it we want from each other?" Theo asks.
"You," Scott mutters. "I want you, Theo... I want to be close to you, and talk with you, and... I want to share beds with you. I want to wake up next to you."
Theo nudges Scott's muzzle upwards. Scott squeals softly as the bear brings their lips together, and squeezes him tight. Theo slowly rubs down the wolf's back, and grinds up against his waist. Their breaths mingle for a long while.