Outrun the Scythe: A Tale of Daemons and Immortals (Updated 8/3)

[Trip]

🙠 1.10 🙢

(Heathcliff)

Let’s just say I was having some crazy nights without Romeo. Most nights it didn’t matter if I was getting sloshed at the Brightmore and waking up on the sidewalk. Bridgeport was pretty safe in most parts, especially if you were as infamous as I was.

I wasn’t doing it for attention, but I still hoped to see Romeo there. He sometimes went to the Brightmore after work, or so the rumor went. He was all business and bureaucracy until they brought the jello shots out. But there was no sign of him there, or anywhere else. He sometimes answered his phone but it was like chasing a ghost, and I’m sure grandma Sheila would tell me to stop there. She’d probably be the smartest one in this, but I figured she was gone.

That day, I had to go to a dress fitting, and it would be great if it was for myself. Thankfully the subways were working that morning and I was at home on time.

An aside for Tom: with Kate’s wedding approaching, we had to let Tom out of the house more. Even daemons didn’t want the grooms to see their sacred wedding garments. We trusted that he was making good money with the music he actually loved, and that his album with Lola Belle would be his best in a decade.

Hey, I felt sorry for the guy. Tom wasn’t drawn to sculpting like I was, but had trouble leaving the studio even after the governor’s ball. Having a rapper sculpt priceless art for your home was too great of a gimmick. And I thought I was set for life by coasting off the name of Harwood Clay. People forgot who he was, not like I could blame them. But they knew Tom Wordy.

And Matty? Not part of the wedding party.

As one of Kate’s best people, I got to see more of her wedding planning than anyone else, especially for the sake of heritage. Kate was one-quarter daemon, far more than I was. Have I mentioned that one already or not? Several times now? It was easy for me to forget how much that was with her uninteresting tanned skin, or how much that would affect her wedding.

“Where were you? You look like a mess and I despise the new color,” said Pilona, who was along for the wedding planning too.

“It’s called Mulberry and I think it looks great on me,” I said. “And let me have fun, it’s not like I can have a real job or anything.”

“Or, admit that I should have played matchmaker with you. This boyfriend has caused you nothing but grief.”

“Anyways, can I get everyone’s names again?” I asked him. Kate brought her family with her. She was an only child, but the two daemons in her life filled up the room.

“You are such a little thing, the sash has to tie tight so it doesn't fall off.”

“Ugh, grandma! I'm not gonna be dancing in this dress, get with the times.”

“Is this about a club wedding? Oh my little berry…”

Kate’s grandmother, the shining Onilatevama’ani, looked more otherworldly than Pilona or anyone who worked for him. She was involved because Kate got her old black wedding dress. Her eyes glowed where few others’ did and her white hair glowed almost as bright. In a way I almost got why every full daemon had cursed hybrid children. I was fascinated...not attracted but I thought that I’d look like a fool and a human to ask Vama too much.

Sikanitava, Vama’s son and Kate’s dad, was a little more ordinary. Horns still sprouted from his silvery head but like Pilona, he looked old as dirt, much older than his own mum. He leaned on a cane like my uncle did. Meanwhile, Vama’s white hair was far more natural and young. He stood next to me while Vama tightened her granddaughter’s sash for the final time.

“She’s just nervous about losing a little more of her bloodline,” said Tava. “Funny how that used to be our goal. Mum wanted a human wife for me too.”

“Well, I’ll give Tom a six outta ten. If he had to enhance my bloodline…” I twiddled my thumbs. “I can’t be the first gay daemon, can I?”

“Of course not, when the men of this world are so delectable,” he said. I swore he licked his chops too. “I’d bump Tom up to an eight.”

“Hang out around him first, it’s a real turn-off.”

I was Kate's man of honor by default, at least for the daemonic wedding. The human one, scheduled at The Brightmore downtown (they knew me well), also needed a sassy gay friend to help. Of course, I loved to be petty about drink menus and dresses. So I naturally should have been paying a lot of attention.

If Romeo was here, I would. I'd get distracted by him of course, but it was easier to deal with than…rejection.

I loved that man like how upper-middle class families love those crusty little white dogs: embarrassingly. I'd stick Romeo in a purse like one if he fit too. And I wouldn't dump him for the crime of being busy. It stunk that it happened after Tom and I were done with the governor's ball. Plus, I really wanted someone to cuddle with.

“Hey Tava? Can you ask my uncle what he'd do if he had a boyfriend who wouldn't call him back?” I asked.

“Is this about the fed?” asked Tava.

“C'mon, it's not that big of a deal. Have you seen the guy's paycheck?” I blushed at the thought of being treated to dinner that I could afford anyways. I still sent Romeo a message about dinner. It didn't need to take much time at all. I'd settle for a glass of wine and a kiss on the cheek. “At least I’m not guilty of anything.”

“What a charming life, ain’t it?” he said.

“Look at this!” Kate exclaimed. She twirled around in her dress, which was actually quite stiff and heavy. But I liked the design.

“Yeah, I’m more interested in the party on Earth, though,” I said, dreaming of being judgmental about the bridesmaids’ colors or whatever. The venue was my real dream. I was so much of a regular at The Brightmore, that I sat in on a redesign panel for that big discotheque. They had dreams of becoming a niche wedding venue too. I was sold on it for someone’s wedding. Mine seemed like a silly dream though. “Gotta think about anything else but having three separate weddings with Romeo or whatever.”

“If I have to hear any more about this Romeo character.” Pilona whacked me in the back with his cane. “You have lost your touch.”

“Be careful with that thing,” I said to him. I never got cross with Pilona, because I was at least grateful for the place I was in. But I did that without him trying to drag a boyfriend into it.

We were treated to a lunch cooked by her co-workers at the bistro. Kate got absorbed into other people’s conversations quickly. But I think she also missed her grandma a lot.

I leaned over the table and wondered if my mum was better to ask than Pilona. At least she admitted her life was a wreck rather than having her head held high like him. And I was ignoring a lot of voicemails.

“Elbows off the table, I had my own agents gather everything they could on Agent Krishnaverma.” Pilona waved a folder in my face, like learning my boyfriend’s old surname was a shock to me. “If he wants to investigate me for what I do on Earth, then surely I can do the same.”

“Can’t say either of those shock me,” I said.

“Please read through it. He is suspicious, to say the least, even if it is only as much as I am. But I am only your rich uncle.”

“I think that’s just you being scared.” I grabbed it and hugged the folder close to me. “But whatever, anything for my sugar daddy.”

“Man, do you know how much coffee I’m gonna need with those two around?” said Kate that night. Her family was staying in one of the hotels downtown and otherwise didn’t let her get a moment to herself. She poured four mugs of coffee: one for me, three for her. “But, like, my mum’s not that much better either and daemonic dresses are so much comfier.”

“Well, I guess I missed out.” Kate lived life as a daemon far more than I would have guessed too. She went to daemonic boarding schools, most of her friends were daemons, and yep, she knew the language. I never saw her and Penama interact though. Maybe she could have asked the little imp where she was going.

I still felt bad about not having a real engagement party for her, but it wasn’t relevant anymore. Kate was preparing to send out save-the-date cards. She narrowed down her dresses for the wedding on Earth down to five. The maid of honor was picked out (not me unfortunately). And she assured me that I could have any hair color I wanted for the wedding, but that mulberry suited me.

If nothing else, Pilona’s revelations about my boyfriend weren’t going to stop me. Because it was nothing I didn’t expect. I wasn’t going to set myself up for disappointment by pretending the feds were flawless or even good. Most of his work was uneventful sting operations and gathering intel on suspects within our state. He made headlines but the good ones.

And trying to smear Romeo on his personal life was just tasteless. I actually didn’t care that he left a woman at the altar or that his ISP caught him pirating death rock records. That stuff made him a little cooler, if anything. What I liked about Romeo was the present. What we did together or wanted to do together.

I lived for parties, and deep down, so did Romeo. I missed the days when we did more of that, and the Brightmore wasn’t exciting anymore. Meanwhile, what was more alluring than Heathcliff’s house party? We had so much wasted space and I usually kept my living situation a secret. But at this point, most of the city had to have had it figured out.

“Can you get everyone out of the house tomorrow?” I asked Kate. “Or have Tom do it, he’s scarier.”

“Well, Bridgeport has some nice beaches…”

From what I heard, my friends and the daemons had a lovely day in the cold Pacific. There was frisbee and whale watching and going out to one of the nearby islands. I would have gone if Romeo was a born sailor or beach bum, but I knew what he loved deep in his heart. He spent his non-working Christmases at a groddy dance club after all.

And the text messages flew out. To him and the rest.

Continued in next post...

[Trip]

Hey Ro, my ol’ stick in the mud. Come over to see what you’re missing out on. I flexed for my front-facing camera and texted him, since it was hard to take a call over the pounding bass of a party. You could probably hear it from across the bridge, it was pretty big. I told everyone to spread the word to total strangers, which worked. I felt like a stranger too. But I had a few friends, even unexpected ones.

“Alright, do you think that angle’s impressive enough?” I asked Tarik, back by popular demand (from only myself). My first crush, who I let go of since he was forever with Kyra. She was on a business trip in Bridgeport and we figured something out to bring them back. At least all of us got our dreams crushed. My foot had surgical pins in it, Kyra treated ballet as a hobby when she got older, and Tarik didn’t make the NFL.

Anything awkward between us was long in the past. At least Tarik seemed relieved when I actually had a boyfriend. But he wasn’t interested in my photos.

“Uh, I bet he likes anything you send him?” Tarik said. “You could just try to call him.”

“Hmm, easier said than done...oh hey look who the cat dragged in! You can’t smoke in here though, those are hydrogen balloons…”

My buddy Victor got a day off from bartending and was enjoying it by dancing on the counter instead of smoking. Easy deal, and he was hardly a pack-a-day smoker either. I also once danced on his counter while he was bartending too. It was so much fun. I couldn’t believe that crusty old Waylon was more lenient than the chief special agent that Romeo was under. I even looked her up one day and she looked like everyone’s least favorite teacher with that harsh face.

That was why I couldn’t hold a real job. I’d be angry and miserable if I was like Romeo. It was hard to make him spit out any information about himself, but he was one of the youngest men accepted to Quantico. And I thought that place was fictional! That’s what would make me angry. If I had that kind of ambition and couldn’t even get a night off to smear gaudy makeup on my face and hang out with my boyfriend? I’d fight someone, and probably get fired.

Alright, maybe Romeo had a point. That and his text back about not sleeping for 36 hours. Instead of inviting all my exes over for a night of EDM and chugging colorful drinks, I should have tried to find my boyfriend some better insomnia meds. They used to work well on him! Or at least I thought. I usually fell asleep before he did, slowly fading while he stared at the ceiling.

Well, I felt like a complete buffoon. A clown in short-shorts and tube socks.

But I was a man easily swept off my feet those days. And to think I was worried about gaining weight due to stress drinking eating. I could recognize those hands anywhere. Of course I wanted Romeo to make me forget about them, but the mind is a tricky beast.

“Have you seen the new guys coming into Bridgeport?” Apollo scoffed. Just as happy as when I boinked him in the photo booth at Mick’s Karaoke. The story went that he went back to modeling after Little Celebrity but was never that important. “Gross, bloated, classless, mustache-and-sleeve tattoo heathens--”

“Hey...some of them are a little cute,” I said. “But I mean it when I say that I’m taken.”

“Ro’s a five at best.”

“I’d tell you to try it out, but he’s very tired tonight.”

Of course, Apollo leaned in for a kiss.

“Not in a million years,” I said, pushing him back a little. “Even if we had fun...uh, Truman! Hey, stop worrying about the plants.”

We hung out at the counter for a bit, watching the lights above us. I rented a few gobo setups for the night, and was happy that they arrived quickly. “You know, maybe my uncle’s assistant should stay missing,” I said.

“I had a parent say that to me at my old jobs,” he said. “They’re in jail now.”

“Well, my uncle’s world can’t be worse than child neglect, but boy he can try.”

“You didn’t even check the jails, did you?”

I groaned. “He’d kill me if I did. What a buzzkill, both of you guys. And these beats suck.” I hired a DJ too, who was less great than the rental store. I needed a stranger to dance with and clear my head with. Thank goodness I asked for strangers.

Blondie over on the dance floor didn’t care who I was or what problems I had. Until I moved away from the other Ironstars, I forgot that people thought of all your problems as conversation pieces. And this was supposed to be the big, impersonal city! At least Tarik was a small town boy like me and had that excuse. Truman grew up here. Apollo in another city. And so on and so forth.

That guy wouldn’t even let me remember his name.

Also, some of my exes were a lot less intrusive. Devin Ashton sneaked out of his morning talk show dressing room for an hour or so.

We also opened up the basement after we hired a renovator. Pilona sat on his hands about it, telling us which doors not to open and generally being a pain in the butt. But hey, he was family, and I wish he could have been here. He sounded like an awful, philandering sociopath in his younger days, and I needed one in my friend circle.

Tarik came up behind me for a shuffleboard game. I didn’t blame him because the basement was much quieter. It was like listening to music in a club bathroom, one of my favorite experiences. “Tarik, I need your honest advice. Do I keep the shuffleboard, or do we get a pool table? I went with the first item in the catalogue myself.”

Tarik exhaled. “I guess you won’t talk about anything else tonight.”

I was better at shuffleboard than beer pong. A bunch of Bridgeport bars taught me well, but I never went to college, so becoming a beer pong champion was out of reach. I must have dodged a bullet, getting blackout drunk on my own terms instead. And he was a good listener even when I was being a knucklehead.

Of course, as things went with Tarik, my memories ended the moment multiple drinks were involved. That part never improved in Bridgeport.


I woke up unharmed, makeup running down my face as usual.

Tarik found his way to the couch and missed, waking up with his butt on the floor. If I wanted someone crashing after my party, it was him. Better than ousting strangers from my bedroom.

“Hey, thanks for staying,” I said to him.

In Kate’s absence, I made Tarik some coffee.

“They’re gonna come back,” I said to Tarik, worried. “And they’re nothing like my family back in Twinbrook.”

“Well, as a former football player, I fear one thing,” he said.

“What’s that?”

“Alzheimer’s.”

“You’re a lot funnier than I remembered…”

It was tempting to laugh and kick the balloons on the ground, as long as the gas range was off anyways. It was funny hearing about a world where you could freely fill balloons with inert helium instead. That was a holdover from Vega's day.

The front door creaked open, and the worst I expected was a tongue lashing for Tarik. Pilona had no special powers, and Tava even fewer. They themselves probably rented a giant suite at the hotel for the night, guzzling champagne and ogling models of both sexes.

Or they watched Matty fall sleep with his girlfriend. Who knows.

They didn’t bring my housemates with me. They didn’t even bring Tava, who must have been in a stupor somewhere in the city too. It was just Pilona and Vama walking arm-in-arm through the door, disappointed at what the house smelled like.

“Heathcliff, I know this is your property, but you are out of control,” said Pilona. “Why all the balloons anyways? We still have a helium shortage.”

“Relax, it’s hydrogen, I have my moments of genius,” I said.

“I seriously doubt that. I bet you did not even read what I gave you.”

I rolled my eyes. “I read it all. You’re just mad about your own life.”

“Everything?”

I clenched my jaw. I knew why my uncle was being tough on Romeo, trying to bring me down because he was in trouble on Earth. But then again, nothing was possible without him.

“I’m not leaving him. Ro’s gonna come back, why is it your business?” I asked him.

“Heathcliff, he will not come back after this,” he said. “You did not choose well.”

“Then make him come back! It’s your fault anyways!” I grabbed my uncle by the shoulders, almost ready to crush his feeble body under my hands. “I’ll do anything else for you, but I want my boyfriend back.”

“Vama, a little help here,” he grunted.

She raised a glowing hand to the pile of balloons. I tried to run and stop her before my common area turned into a furnace.

“This is your house too!” I called the fire department as fast as I could while Pilona panicked. And yes, they probably heard that. Did my uncle expect her to just peel me off of him? Probably. And I wondered why Kate was so normal.

Meanwhile, Tarik had to get himself to the shower after a spark lit up his back pocket. He tried his best with the fire extinguisher, but it was a task for a bigger force.

The fire department was also quick in getting here, since they had a small garage on the hills for any celebrities in danger. By noon I was done explaining to the firefighters why my common area had turned to ash. And I was more than done with smelling burnt tiles and balloon latex. Vama had escaped but Pilona stood around and pouted. It was his property after all, not hers, now in need of some special treatment and new windows.

Tarik didn’t get any serious injuries but his butt still hurt. I debated whether I needed to get him to Urgent Care or not but it would get us out of the house. My treat. And I figured Kyra was worried about him by that point. She and her coworkers took off to a show after a whole day of conferences.

“Well, I’ll see you later,” I said to Pilona. “Uh...don’t know if you know any contractors for this.”

“I am sorry,” he said, sighing. “Vama does not use those powers often. I simply feared breaking more bones.”

“Thanks.”

“I know Krishnaverma is on my trail,” Pilona said to Tava. They hung out near the waterfall that cascaded down the hills and into Bridgeport’s main reservoir. “And my nephew is more stubborn than I thought. If you and your mother could follow me into the city tomorrow...sadly I do not think I have another choice.”

“Prison again?” asked Tava, rubbing his friend’s shoulders.

“Never. But any husband of his would have to learn this after all…”

[mpart]

Gosh I love this story so much. Your writing is amazing! I feel like I have said that already, but oh well.  I like Romeo, I really do, but at the same time I feel like he doesn't deserve Heathcliff at times. Heathcliff may hang out with some individuals who are not so law abiding, but come on! He's adorable! Husband him already, Romeo! It's just a little crime with some otherworldly creatures. Go meet your future husband's family already. Anyways, I'm excitedly looking forward to the next chapter.

[CeresIn]

I wasn't going to catch up on this story until August started, you know why, but I just can't help myself. This is so good!

The last scene has me a bit worried, but mostly intrigued by what Pilona is going to do with Romeo.

[Chubling]

Onilatevama’ani is stunning! My heart! My loins! Every time we met a new hot deamon lady I just want to go to there! Land of hot, fancy women.

I can't wait to see where it all goes! And Heathcliff looks great in the new color!

[Trip]

Gosh I love this story so much. Your writing is amazing! I feel like I have said that already, but oh well.  I like Romeo, I really do, but at the same time I feel like he doesn't deserve Heathcliff at times. Heathcliff may hang out with some individuals who are not so law abiding, but come on! He's adorable! Husband him already, Romeo! It's just a little crime with some otherworldly creatures. Go meet your future husband's family already. Anyways, I'm excitedly looking forward to the next chapter.

One of those "haha working on that!" kinds of comments (yeah working on another Romeo-centric chapter for later today how convenient-) I don't like seeing my boy's chain jerked around like this either. So obviously it's been a tough month for me.

I wasn't going to catch up on this story until August started, you know why, but I just can't help myself. This is so good!

The last scene has me a bit worried, but mostly intrigued by what Pilona is going to do with Romeo.

Just means you did a lot of writing. Glad to see you here! Did I miss you? Can't say I try to overthink it...

It makes the other Ironstar spouses look like they got off easy. And I didn't use pose player back in 2013 to make it worse.

Onilatevama’ani is stunning! My heart! My loins! Every time we met a new hot deamon lady I just want to go to there! Land of hot, fancy women.

I can't wait to see where it all goes! And Heathcliff looks great in the new color!

Love Vama too. You can thank Kate, I use reverse-engineering to make family for pre-mades and such so Vama has her bones. I never thought magenta would look so great on Heathcliff, I was worried that it would clash with teal too much.

[Trip]

🙠 1.11 🙢

(Other)

“He’s on Earth.”

Those three words were the only thing that could jolt Romeo awake. He couldn’t sleep, but was in a stupor that could only be relieved by putting the Ironstar case to rest. Let the judges handle Pilona. Let them handle Heathcliff if they must. He still wanted to believe in his boyfriend, but it was hard to look at him too.

There was otherwise a tangle of bureaucracy and hopelessness in his life. Romeo tried to call his doctor about getting his meds re-adjusted, but he got waitlisted until the end of the month. And he celebrated his 45th birthday alone earlier. It was easy to dwell on what went wrong, but that night, everything was about to go right. They simply needed someone to go undercover and confront Pilona.

Romeo drew the short straw in that, dressed in a shabby shirt and vest found in the back of the field office’s locker room. He had to lure Pilona into a false sense of security. Yet, Romeo had a feeling that the daemon already knew who he was. The faceoff invigorated him in an unusual way.

With the van of feds behind the corner, Romeo walked on a street close to the hammam on a hazy night. Pilona didn’t strike him as a man that anyone would come across on the streets. He was a ragged old daemon who walked with a cane, after all. A simple massage could snap him like a twig. So perhaps the van was overkill, but it didn’t come out of Romeo’s paycheck. They could seize the hammam after all and gather more evidence.

“Sir, excuse me, do you know if I’m on Bayshore Highway or not?” Romeo asked him.

“I am sure you know it better than I do,” Pilona said.

“No, I’m new to town.”

“I know who you are, Romeo. Heathcliff never stops talking about you.”

He walked closer to the strange man. Despite all the intimate details that the task force revealed, Romeo was still surprised that Pilona glowed so much and how thin his limbs were.

Digging around in his pocket, Romeo had his thumb on a little alarm that would ring inside the van. At the press of it, a dozen armed men would descend upon the scene and Pilona would face justice or crumble into dust. They were not in sight of the van, but it wasn’t a long scramble to get there and catch a decrepit man.

“Do you know what you did?” he asked Pilona. His hand started to tremble inside his pocket.

“Nothing unusual for my species.”

“Well, you have the right to-”

His finger missed the button as a new figure grabbed his face, digging their thick claws into it.

“You have to play by our rules now,” they said.

Romeo didn’t see what hit him, but he was out cold. And no one was around to help, not even the FBI at that point.

When he started to wake up, Romeo felt blood pooling in places he never expected. The pain hit him immediately, all throughout his head and shoulders.

He was still drained, but it was also the best sleep he had in weeks, and he woke up to swirling auroras above him. Cool grass nuzzled his wounds and provided a hint of relief. The air was thick and heavy, much worse than Bridgeport’s could ever be. It was almost like paradise.

The worst part was counting all the places that hurt. It was like he fell down 10 flights of stairs. Worst of all, it sounded like Pilona had escaped yet again. The whole place was silent, but there was a portal nearby, if only he could walk there.

Romeo tried to move his leg, and the gravity of the situation took hold. It wasn’t about where he was. His arms worked fine, even with the bruises. But his right leg was weighed down and while only sore when still, was the worst pain he felt when trying to move it. It was like his shins were made of crushed jelly. One of the bones was snapped in half. He could almost feel it wiggling around.

“There is no easy escape,” his assailant said. “You would get lost in there anyways. But welcome to Hell, and all it entails.”

Romeo had so many questions swirling around in his head. What else did she hurt and was it even fixable? Was this Hell if it was so tropical? Were his men still in the van? Did she need to do any of this?

“Go to hell yourself,” he coughed out. His chest rattled. “Why did you do this anyways?”

“You would not wake up.”

“Where’s Pilona?”

“He got distracted while you were asleep.”

No matter what he did, she would not remove her foot from his leg. Granted, he wouldn’t be able to move that fast anyways. If Romeo made it back to Earth, the bulk of the work wouldn’t be on the FBI’s shoulders for Pilona, but with an orthopedic surgeon. Probably his ex-fiancée knowing the luck he was having...

Time was meaningless, but he watched the auroras above, which didn’t seem to let up. It seemed like his daemon wasn’t getting bored either while standing still on his crushed leg. Maybe it was part of their training and Heathcliff slept through it. That man couldn’t sit still, but it only added to his charm.

Then there was laughter, a trio of giggles from the distance, echoing off the glass and stone ruins nearby.

Of course, Pilona had a grand time while escaping Romeo’s clutches. He walked into the scene with two other daemons, a man and a woman. At least now there was nowhere for either of them to escape to.

“What did you do to him?” Pilona asked, dropping his cane. “You were supposed to keep him alive.”

“And he is,” she said.

Romeo didn’t want to watch the fight. He was a captive watcher until Pilona’s last line.

“Heathcliff will kill me if he sees what you did to him!”

Pilona sat down across from him, legs extended onto the ground. “Sit on the grass and straighten out your legs,” Pilona said. “Take it from experience, and I am sorry I let her do that.”

Romeo shook as he got into the position, but found that the ground helped his bones settle a little bit. They both took a fistful of grass.

“Why should I let you win?” Romeo asked him.

“Do it for your boyfriend,” he said. Pilona was much more clear and calm than he was on the streets, like he actually had a bad day without Romeo’s help. “You and I both hold Heathcliff dear to our hearts. He is sharp and funny, big and friendly, and as dumb and loyal as they come.”

Romeo smirked a little thinking of him.

“Don't be so harsh on him, I’ve met some pretty big dumbasses/morons.”

“Did you know he had a party two nights ago?” Pilona asked. Romeo sighed. He started to feel bad about missing it and he did spend that whole night looking at the selfies Heathcliff sent him. What Pilona forgot was that Heathcliff was also beautiful, with big androgynous features and a tall, sinewy frame. And they were a dime a dozen in Bridgeport, but what Romeo liked the most about him was never leaving him alone.

Well, except when he was trying to sleep.

Maybe Heathcliff was more innocent than the feds thought. They were ready to blame him with Romeo sometimes threatening to leave him as an innocent.

“You’re trying hard to get out of this,” said Romeo, furrowing his brows. “You’re still a guilty man. I wouldn’t let anyone get away with what you did.”

“Besides the fact that you yourself are in the industry of torturing prisoners, I think that is a bold statement, Romeo.”

Pilona’s strongest partner came up behind him with a sword held close to his neck. It was silent and unknown to him until the tip of his blade almost rested between his eyes. He didn’t dare to move forward any more.

“Well, can’t get charged for anything you do on another planet,” said Romeo. “This isn’t gonna be a fair deal.”

“More than you think.”

“You want to leave me dead.”

“Hardly, you know Heathcliff would find out,” said Pilona. “I have an interest in staying in his good graces too. I worry that he knows even more powerful daemons who could hurt either of us, like that /** Victor.”

Romeo had met Victor a few times. He was a jovial bartender, though something did seem otherworldly about him, like staring into one of those Himalayan salt lamps. And he was huge. Taller than Heathcliff and broad like a brick wall.

“Point taken.”

But he wasn’t going to let himself be fooled. Victor wasn’t a criminal or at least not on their watchlist. But willowy Pilona was and his hired muscle was far more dangerous than any bartender. They made people disappear. They made threats. With all the complaints, Pilona’s crew was difficult to ignore. And yet, all Pilona thought he needed to do was ask for clemency and receive, like Romeo was a /god** charity worker.

His eyes were closed for a while, but opened to a worse sight.

“You should not have meddled with our society.” Pilona had crouched close to his face, and Romeo couldn’t escape. It was muscle and blades and pain in all directions. “My deal is simple: let me go, let my assistant go, and go back to your boyfriend, at any cost. He would do the same for you.”

“Or don’t let your arrest control Heathcliff’s life. He is much more than you,” said Romeo.

“He would wither and die without his favorite uncle bankrolling every moment of his life. You should have seen him before I stepped in, all lazy and with his hair tangled. You have committed yourself to a daemonic life with him even if it stays in the back of your mind. Be thankful that we are letting you in at all.”

“What is that supposed to mean, you old bat?”

“Lots of arranged marriages in these parts. Heathcliff beat me to that. I admire his stubbornness.”

“I’m going to tell him what you did to me,” said Romeo. It still hurt to breathe or even lie down. And if he had to explain that to a doctor? He’d be in a whole different kind of hospital. “And we still have a file on you. Any time you come back to Earth is fair game.”

“Anywhere in your puny country?”

“Anywhere in the world, in some sense.”

“Never accuse me of not having a backup. Mina’akami, we are going all the way to Plan Z. Fetch my elixir.”

Romeo was free. Akami was the one who was holding him captive by sword. She disappeared with Pilona behind one of the ruins.

“This man will die in a few years.” Pilona produced a clone, nearly perfect but a lot weaker and held up by Akami. “I do not have any real documentation on Earth. I am not a citizen of any country, I am unable to legally vote, and everyone confuses me with my friend Tava. You are a brilliant species most of the time, I suppose.”

“That’s ridiculous,” Romeo said.

“Or, should I sweeten the deal, reject it and Heathcliff goes away. He cannot die, of course, but he goes away into some arranged marriage in a quiet mountain village. He does desk work for me and forgets what a nightclub is.”

Romeo was also helped up, also by Akami. Pilona’s clone had learned to stand on his own two feet again, even without a cane. Romeo kept his weight off his right leg, hoping that there was something left to save.

“And there’s no guarantee he takes me back, is there?” he asked.

“No, but that boy loves you,” said Pilona. “And he is very worried right now. Vama will get you to the hospital. You suffered a nasty fall in pursuit of me, if they ask.”

He gulped, looking at the swirling blue vortex that would bring him back. It was the color of clear skies and Heathcliff’s favorite sweatpants. It was the end to a story he would dare not tell him.

(Continued in next post...)

[Trip]

Whatever Vama used to knock Romeo out again was potent. He was crying in pain as he traveled faster than the speed of light, like the flesh was peeling from his limbs. In some places, it looked like it was already doing that. She still promised that regular medical help was closeby. She didn’t tell him anything else, like about the dreams.

Now most of it was this absolute darkness that went by quickly, like he went under the knife for surgery. He probably was knocked out that way with the state his leg was in. But sometimes he could hear a voice, wondering if he was starting to wake up or if it was like an answering machine message that he kept.

After a long slumber against his will, he woke up to a familiar scene from a decade before. In a moment of potent doubt, he looked through a vertical slat curtain on his bride to be: the young Diana Patterson. His sisters adored her far more than he ever could, planned the whole wedding with her alone, and did her henna too. Nicoletta's horoscope matched hers better than Romeo's did.

The disconnect was hard to pinpoint. She was a lot younger than him, but that didn’t seem to matter when it was Heathcliff instead. And for them, it was a twenty year gap compared to fifteen for him and Diana. He and Diana could talk endlessly about their big bicultural families, but her other interests bored him. What was an escape room again? And he hated kayaking. But it shouldn’t have been an insurmountable horror. Maybe all the hype around the big wedding week let him down right before it kicked off.

Every time Romeo remembered it, it felt like he was given the choice again: stay and get married or leave. There was one correct answer, and he instead took a taxi far away and tried not to talk about it at work the week after.

But it had been so long since he thought about it. He was still in touch with Diana. Things were less awkward once she found a different husband and became Mrs. Jones instead. And now Dr. Jones. She was an orthopedic doctor and surgeon and just finished her residency. Soon her interests were all about casual bedside manners, broken legs, and spiral fractures.

Spiral fractures…

Spiral fractures…

“Stop! You’re better off not marrying me!” He sprung out of bed and almost tore the stethoscope off Diana’s neck.

She looked disappointed in him. “Anyways, we had to surgically set your tibia with a metal plate. You’re in that cast for the next six weeks.”

Romeo was wide awake again. The heavy plaster over his right leg was easy to feel. The pain was dulled by a nearby IV full of magic. Thankfully, his mind didn’t feel like a pile of wet noodles with that. He felt rested and eloquent for once. And he missed that gift of sleep while awake, and never asked how Pilona and his minions did it.

“How’s the husband?” he asked, like a weight was lifted from his chest.

“Johnny’s good, but I don’t talk about him much here,” she said. “And I won’t press you about your life either except that you need someone to get you home.”

It turned out Dr. Jones was the only orthopedic surgeon on call that night. Not everyone knew about her history, since it wasn’t worth talking about, and she wouldn’t let any grudge get in the way of her job. But for Romeo, she was the ex who would be the most hurt and honest about it.

“Wait, can I tell you a secret?” he asked Diana. “This stays in the room.”

“Don’t make this weird for me, Romeo.”

“My boyfriend’s uncle did this to me.” He had to leave out the details of a very confidential case, but knew that Diana could fill it in. “And I know it has nothing to do with him. He’s so...well, I wouldn’t leave him under the mandap.”

“A glowing review, of course,” she said.

“But what should I tell him? This isn’t someone estranged from him or crazy, they’re very close and his uncle is the only person coming between us. And even he still wants us together.”

“You wouldn’t give me advice about Johnny, and if you did, I wouldn’t take it,” she said. “We have different lives now. Maybe your boyfriend does too and you have to stay out of it.”

“Well, I’ll call that advice,” he said.

“And Romeo?”

“Yeah?”

“Congratulations, but you could have just come out to me.”

Good news started to roll in afterwards. His office got news of his injuries and lauded him as a hero, even though Li-Anne ended up arresting the (fake) Pilona. But the broken leg effectively retired him, even if they didn’t want to say it to his face.

And his other injuries? Nothing that couldn’t be addressed at home or at followup.

He was soon discharged with recovery instructions and a lot of pain relievers. The thought crossed his head to have Heathcliff pick him up. He had access to a truck and a van for sculpting materials and general joy rides, after all. But the clock would start immediately on when to talk to him, when to admit truths or tell small lies.

Being at home would let him get his wits together and answer his phone. He was mugged, or was in a motor accident, or fell off the pier during a bachelor party.

It was easy to forget that he lived on the top of a hi-rise. But one challenge at a time...

[Trip]

🙠 1.12 🙢

(Heathcliff)

Tarik escaped our house fire with pretty mild burns, though he was glad I took him to Urgent Care and paid for it. I tried to call Romeo that night and tell him about what happened, but his phone immediately went to voicemail. He at least kept it on, even when he was avoiding me.

I took Tarik and Kyra out for pizza and video games during that, looking at my phone between bites. “Maybe you should check on him in-person,” he said.

“No...he’ll be fine. He’s pretty tough.”

“So’s Kyra but I’d still be worried if her phone was dead.”

After days of sitting on my hands about it, I took Tarik’s advice on his last day there. It was nice to bring him and Kyra around the city like I was a seasoned native in the meantime. The picnic at the Butterfly Esplanade wasn’t a wasted idea after all, but I found myself looking up at Romeo’s building.

He lived close to the top, in a unit full of tinted windows. I always wondered how much the city could see of us when I was over there. It probably wasn’t much, but I couldn’t even see the curtains being opened or closed. Lights turning on and off. Window cleaners in those skyscraper hoists being amused or concerned.

Actually, asking one of them was the turning point for me. He didn’t care about rich city bachelors like Romeo but said it was like no one had been there in days. And he cared a lot more when I said that Romeo was my boyfriend! I knew this city was going to be kinder to me after all.

Kyra wanted to get some mochi for dessert. There was a mochi shop a few streets down and I’ll admit, I liked marveling at the colors and fillings too. But Tarik agreed to be my backup, not that I was afraid of getting tackled by Romeo. I was the taller of us two, after all, and pretty good at pinning him down.

But I’ll give Tarik for being a more developed human with a wife and a real job. I’d let problems fester without anyone’s guidance, and most of my friends would too. It worked out most of the time…

We ended up watching TV once it was clear that there was still no Romeo. Not dead in his bedroom, not hiding in the bathroom, not stuck in the elevator either.

“It’s been nice sitting in a stranger’s apartment with you,” said Tarik. “But at some point…”

“...his car, would you leave a Vaguester in the parking lot?” I asked Tarik. “It’s gonna get dinged by a pinecone if he waits any longer. Oh, is that what I should be welfare checking? Ro’s gonna kill me if I don’t.”

“No, but it’s probably the only thing we can--”

There was a rumbling at the door that jarred us. We hoped it wasn’t the maid service, but also that it was. I wasn’t prepared to answer any questions Romeo had about what I was doing. Maybe I was cleaning out his fridge for him. And of course, had Tarik judge if his strawberries were too far gone.

Or it was a surprise party...of two. When his 45th birthday had come and gone already, and every other birthday afterwards was a tragedy.

Or anything if I saw my boyfriend looking better than he did that day.

Romeo limped into the apartment on crutches, with his right leg wrapped tightly in a cast. Half his face was bruised around the eye and nose, and his throwaway hospital pajamas looked like they covered more. I remembered those well from after my foot surgery, and no one wanted to keep them on. I felt for him deeply, but I had so many other questions too.

His breathing was heavy as he leaned against the door. Romeo glanced over to me. There was no anger, no joy, nothing because it was all beaten out of him. I wanted to do the same to the monster who did, though killing was outside of my expertise.

I didn’t know what to say to him because I felt none of that either. There was anger, but not at Romeo. I didn’t think it was possible to be angry at him.

“Heathcliff...it was a car accident,” Romeo said. His voice was a lot rougher too, as if he’d been screaming all night. “Bessie's wrecked. You don’t need to be here.”

“Stop being ridiculous, you need to take a bath,” I said. “I’ll fill up the tub just for you.”

“With this?” He pointed to his cast.

“Let it hang out, I’ve been there before.”

I crouched on the floor near his tub. I always believed in a hot bath or shower before bed, and he needed sleep just as much. If I found Romeo curled up under his sheets, then I’d drain the bath and breathe a sigh of relief. I had an answer to his absence, but not a good one. One that hurt my head a lot.

He undressed and climbed in cautiously, obviously in a lot of pain. For once I didn’t like the sight of it. The water dirtied a bit with the medical iodine that Romeo forgot to wash off and he winced when the water hit his wounds.

“You know, you don’t have to lie to me,” I said. “Not even to make me feel better.”

“I’m not.”

“I saw your car in the parking lot, and I get it. You don’t want the wrath of some daemon kingdom coming down on you, but that’s not actually how it works.”

“I asked for it, didn’t I?”

I sulked as I leaned against the bathtub, and realized that Pilona was never wrong.

“My uncle’s a tough one,” I said.

“To be fair, he didn’t want this to happen either.”

I offered to help him wash his hair. He didn’t break his arms or anything, but was thrown to the ground with reckless abandon by one of Pilona’s goonies. I could only imagine which one. As I squeezed the shampoo into my palms, Romeo buried his face in his own.

“Calhoun was right, I couldn’t separate the case and you. And there’s nowhere left in the bureau to go now.”

“I’d hate to be the one who ruined your job,” I said.

“No...that was only me,” said Romeo.

I kept massaging his head. Romeo had enviable hair, after all, and it was still thick and a little rough against my fingers. He smiled a little and the world started to heal. My cheeks flushed with each passing moment. I was still madly in love with Romeo because of who he was. He was the perfect person to navigate this wild, sleepless city with. He was understanding, patient, and just needed to loosen up a little.

“But I think retirement would be nice for you,” I said.

“Of course it would.”

“Is this an honor thing?”

He rolled his eyes. “My mum was part of the Carabinieri. She would hate to hear this if she was still here to see me.”

I got out Romeo’s comfiest bathrobe after he dried off and hugged him around the waist. He even got a little smooch on the forehead. I didn’t care if it hurt, I just wanted to feel him melt into my arms again and he did. Good thing his apartment was small and getting to his bed was easy. I couldn’t do any of our favorite things to him but he had to have been drained. And there wasn’t any more adrenaline for me to run off either now that Romeo was back.

“So, where is my uncle?” I asked him. As much as I wanted otherwise, we didn’t cuddle and instead stared at the ceiling and held hands. Good enough.

“That’s up to him.”

“So it was all a rumor?”

Romeo closed his eyes. “Of course not. But he’s free. I had my cousin start the process to drop his little friend’s charges.”

I breathed a sigh of relief until I realized that I had to tell Truman some bad news. Or he could work with Penama and learn Daemonic, it was a good skill to have. Maybe I’d even learn some too and ask for her real name!

“What happened to your hair?” he asked me.

“You ever gone into a drug store with two friends and let them blindfold you in the hair dye aisle?”

“Can’t say I ever did.”

“Me neither. I meant to pick this out.”

I quickly lost energy and fell asleep on the spot, drooling on Romeo’s pillow again. From what I could gather, he hated not being able to toss and turn in bed while awake. At least that let him choose between the ceiling, the windows, and the wallpaper. But I’d let him figure that one out with a professional.

“Well, I’m sure this is how you wanted it to end. Sad, limping, degenerate...though I’m just quoting the rude guys in the Cyber Task Force.”

“I’m...proud of my years of service.”

Romeo filed for retirement quickly and his shoulders immediately relaxed. But being on crutches meant that he couldn’t do much with cleaning out his office. That was when I met Li-Anne for the first time. Anything that the FBI didn’t need to keep or burn went with him, which sounded like it would be nothing but Romeo soon had a pile of boxes to sort through.

“Forensics decided to give you a parting gift too,” Li-Anne said to him. “It’s their newest shiny toy.”

“Li-Anne, you know how I feel about forensics…”

“Listen, it’s a remote DNA sampler. Scan your clothes with it and see how much of Heathcliff got on there.”

I had to laugh a little. Romeo didn’t want me going through everything work-related, so I just sat around and waited for us to have some alone time. A lot of the light came back to his eyes even though he was still in rough shape. And I was getting nothing else in my life done, but I wanted my Romeo back.

Anyways, his new toy looked fun. If I had a kid I’d give it to them to wow everyone at a science fair with.

“I have a long road ahead of me,” Romeo said, flopping into the loveseat next to me. Some of the boxes ended up making for a good ottoman for his broken leg. “But thanks for being here.”

“They say crutches make your arms stronger.” Okay, they didn’t do much for me. I only got sore armpits and a right foot that technically worked. I had my trust in Romeo’s doctor. She did her best with one of the worst foot injuries she ever saw (and kept the foot for). I also figured out the other thing about Dr. Jones. Matty helped out with that one, but only because Pilona couldn’t shut up about it...

“I heard you almost married the woman who saved my foot,” I said to Romeo, narrowing my eyes and grinning.

“Look, it was a different time. For one, I didn’t have to pluck out grey hairs.”

“Well, you sure downgraded. I’d have just cut your leg off.”

It was getting a little steamy between us, but only a little. The thought of hurting Romeo any more kept me in check ever since his injury. So we usually didn’t do more than a little peck on the lips. But anything done alone with him was precious, and we’d finally have some more time for--

“Not to worry, I would rather not watch,” said Pilona.

Romeo was less shaken than I thought he’d be seeing my uncle. But I still put myself between them and squeezed Romeo’s hand as hard as I could.

“Please, I have a lot of bruises there too,” Romeo whispered to me.

“Haven’t you done enough to him?”

“To be fair, I am smart enough to know that hurting Romeo would not help matters,” he said. “I was going to give him an apology gift, and thought you were wasted on the side of the road again.”

“He’s smarter than that,” I said.

“I’m not,” said Romeo. “He was nicer than the rest of them.”

I thought back to Vama setting our house on fire. It was a move beyond even Pilona’s pettiest moves.

“Alright, but I’m not taking my eyes off you...and not just ‘cuz you’re still cute and left your crutches on the other side of the room.”

“Go wild, Mr. Rake,” said Pilona, handing the man a box. “Put it at your bedside. It will make your bedtime activities a little spicer, as the new daemons say.”

“Thanks, that’s really thoughtful,” said Romeo, giving the box a little shake. He even smirked at Pilona. “Can you believe your nephew? We had this picture-perfect reunion, but he hasn’t slept with me in weeks.”

“I get it! I’m not boinking anyone with my uncle around, we...we can talk about this later.”

“Very well, Heathcliff,” he said.

Romeo came up to stroke my cheek. “You’re never this angry,” he purred.

“I let it all out for my number one.”

If there was one thing Pilona was, it was sadly always correct. Because I had a lot of fun with Romeo that night. We even made a big decision with our lives while beneath the sheets: he was joining Casa Ironstar. Unlike him, we had a garage, and he wanted to work on vintage cars.

I was over the moon about living with my boyfriend. Beaming ear-to-ear whenever I saw him asleep in the morning, disappointed when he wasn’t, arguing over who used up the conditioner…

Those were the problems a couple deserved. Not the meddling from above. We were ready to celebrate our victories at the club lounge! Tom’s word got us into Aquarius, the place that Devin and I got kicked out of for trying to bang in the hot tub. It didn’t seem like they remembered me, as if everyone did that.

We were dressed in our finest board shorts and bikinis and cover-ups, when someone knocked on our door. Everyone but Romeo scrambled to answer it. He was still pretty immobilized. But he insisted on a night out with everyone, which is exactly why he was my kind of guy.

It was our Penama, soaking wet on a very dry night. This must have been the only place she could get back to.

“Ti’fehazha Pilo, filake sakomi’le?” Pava, filakelela? She was inconsolable while hugging me.

“Now now, I don’t speak Daemonic yet, can’t speak a language they don’t have classes in…”

“She wants to know where Pilona is or where we’re going,” said Kate. “Oh my god, you didn’t go to daemon school!”

“No, I thought that was a myth, like Quantico.”

Kate offered an un-worn swimsuit to Penama and even squeezed out part of her name. Her family incorporated cities into their names, she was born in Yibin, China, and by squeezing that word into Daemonic, she became Ipina to us.

The reformed Ipina fell for the domineering types. We thought that we’d teach her how to swim or just see what she was like drunk, but she flirted with a bouncer all night. It distracted her enough to let Romeo and I into the VIP section.

Romeo was a guy eloquent enough to not get hampered by painkillers or insomnia meds. They were helping him be himself, and he got weaned off the former which was a reason to celebrate itself! But set him up with enough whiskey or psychedelic bubbles and he became a bit of an introspective moron.

Finally, a man on my level.

[Trip]

I'm really sorry on the late chapters, implying we were on some sort of schedule but both of these were posted to my blog on July 31st to meet the deadline for a sims writing contest you either participated in or know nothing about. My blog was the official landing place for entries because it has a word counter (and the forum codes for italics and other formatting, which I write into my documents like a normal person, count as words in programs but not in a normal person's reading) It does take a little work to post everything here so I ran myself a little ragged before I could fulfill my promise. We'll be back to normal after this I promise.

Hopefully this means less splitting up chapters too. Usually part of editing means paring down a chapter to 25 images or less but that goes by the wayside when you're running out of time. I mean everything is a modest JPG but I've tried to read your stories on a crappy phone connection in Western Massachusetts and know that every kilobyte counts...

Pilona was supposed to give Romeo some woohooium, which I actually did have on hand but forgot to place on the nightstand. He was supposed to drink a clone drone elixir in 1.11 until I forgot to turn Supernatural on (there was a lot of reloading already!)

Sorry for ignoring Matty this whole arc! He was just as boring in-game until he went full midlife crisis on me.

Alright no more six month hiatuses but August is going to be more quiet. I’m pooped and also moving to my first apartment with my two doges (Churro and Tater) but I tend to love to focus on The Sims more than life…three days in and I made suits for women again instead of packing or whatever.

[CeresIn]

I hadn't realized that you had posted this last chapter. I'm following the story here and I thought I had read all of them.

I don't know if you've ever had a broken foot, but I want to tell you that you did a good job describing how difficult everything is after that. If you didn't have it then it just shows what a good writer you are. Like Heathcliff, I have a technically functional foot, so he, Romeo and me can form the broken feet club.   Seriously speaking, as someone who went through it, I was really impressed with how well you described and incorporated the convalescence into the chapter. The scene in the bathtub brought back a lot of memories, and not the fun types. Although as a woman, what hurts the most about walking with crutches are not the armpits. 

Foot aside, I'm glad Romeo and Heathcliff are together again, I don't know what else the future holds, but I happy for them. I'm becoming a huge fan of their relatinship.

[Trip]

I hadn't realized that you had posted this last chapter. I'm following the story here and I thought I had read all of them.

I don't know if you've ever had a broken foot, but I want to tell you that you did a good job describing how difficult everything is after that. If you didn't have it then it just shows what a good writer you are. Like Heathcliff, I have a technically functional foot, so he, Romeo and me can form the broken feet club.   Seriously speaking, as someone who went through it, I was really impressed with how well you described and incorporated the convalescence into the chapter. The scene in the bathtub brought back a lot of memories, and not the fun types. Although as a woman, what hurts the most about walking with crutches are not the armpits. 

Foot aside, I'm glad Romeo and Heathcliff are together again, I don't know what else the future holds, but I happy for them. I'm becoming a huge fan of their relatinship.

[flexes] I'm in the "never broke a bone" club but I had to use crutches after a different foot injury (stitches on the bottom of my foot) For me it was mostly pit + muscle pain but yeah, the boys are lacking something we have to contend with. I did my best to dig into stories from friends about leg/ankle/foot injuries. It's a horribly made limb, that's what!

They're very sweet together and it keeps me motivated writing-wise.