Searching with Your Demons
"Hand 'em over, Gabe," Robbie demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about," Gabe lied, not looking up from his homework.
"The keys to the Charger. Come on, I know you have them."
Gabe's gaze slid over to his brother as he considered trying to string the lie along.
Not even a month after the hospital let them (or rather Gabe) return home and Robbie was sneaking out at night again (or had he been doing it while Gabe was still confined to the hospital?). Gabe had tried hiding the keys all over the house for the past week to keep Robbie from driving off, but his brother always found them like he'd put the keys in those odd places himself. Gabe was worried about these late-night activities, but he wasn't sure how to confront Robbie about them. Not when they seemed to be part of Robbie's way of coping with the accident (besides the overprotective hovering over Gabe as he acclimatized to his wheelchair). Still…
"Just stay home tonight. Please?" Gabe asked, turning pleading eyes on his brother.
Robbie hesitated. He didn't want to leave Gabe alone like this (he hadn't missed the subtle suggestion from Gabe trying to hide the keys), but his new passenger was so insistent on the work they had to do and he didn't want Gabe to see him lose control to the demon (he could barely insure that it didn't come out during the day and had to go on the hunt at night).
"Look, I can't stay home, got some business to take care of, but I'll… I'll be back in two hours, max. Okay?" Robbie compromised. Two hours should be plenty of time to let the Rider loose on the little dump he had tracked some of the Locos down to and get home again.
"Promise?" Gabe asked. It wasn't quite what he had been hoping for, but certainly better than nothing.
"Yeah, I promise I'll be back in two hours."
Satisfied, Gabe pulled the Charger's keys out of his pocket and handed them over to Robbie. "One last question before you leave."
"Yeah, what is it?"
"How do you always know where I hide the keys?" Gabe asked, honestly curious about his brother's almost supernatural skill in finding them.
Robbie smirked. "That's a secret I'm not revealing. Now do your homework and I'll see you soon," Robbie replied, ruffling Gabe's hair. There was no way that he was telling his little brother that the demon inside of him allowed him to possess and sense their ride, including its keys.
Three Months Later
"Gabe! Where did you hide my gloves?" Robbie shouted, stomping through the house.
He didn't exactly need the gloves, but they made the night job easier. The gloves made sure that Robbie didn't leave any finger prints behind and they allowed the Rider to make a full fist. The bones may be what make a fist hard, but a fist of just bones is decidedly less effective, so the Rider liked wearing gloves because it could extend its power to them to fill them for a nice, solid fist. So yeah, the gloves weren't strictly necessary, but Robbie still wasn't going out without them.
"You're not getting them back, you're staying home tonight!" Gabe yelled back, ignoring the fact that he couldn't feel the gloves tucked under his legs.
Taking the Charger's keys got Robbie to be back at a reasonable hour, but Gabe wanted Robbie to stay in for a night. He'd noticed that his brother always wore his leather jacket with the white arch zipped up and leather gloves when he left for a night ride. Hell, he never really left the house without them, though he would at least tuck the gloves away in the jacket's pockets often enough. So Gabe had decided to hide the gloves tonight since there was no way he could nab the jacket off of Robbie's back without him noticing. It was proving surprisingly more effective than taking the keys since Robbie was tearing through the house instead of beelining for the gloves like he did the keys.
"Gabe, come on. Por favor?" Robbie tried, walking back into the living room.
"No way. I'm putting my foot down. You're staying home tonight, Robbie," Gabe stubbornly said.
Robbie felt conflicted. Should he stay home like his crippled baby brother demanded or meet the Rider's demands to go out and wreak some vengeance? Could he even stay home (and himself) against the Rider's demands?
"Please, Robbie. Solamente uno noche," Gabe begged upon seeing his brother's hesitation.
"…Alright, I'll stay."
There wasn't anything else Robbie could say, not when Gabe was begging. He wasn't going out tonight and he wasn't going to turn into the Ghost Rider either. Tonight he was staying home with Gabe because Gabe was the reason he wasn't afraid to go out and kill in the first place, to make the 'hood a little safer for his brother (and everyone else).
Translations: Solamente uno noche -just one night
Author's Note
Just some thoughts on when Robbie was first starting out as the Ghost Rider and Gabe's uninformed reaction. I think that Robbie/Ghost Rider can kind of sense the Hell Charger or else how did he know where it was being held by S.H.I.E.L.D. when he came back to deal with Aida? And considering a car won't start without the keys, it only seems logical (to me) to include the keys in that vehicle location sense. Also tried to reason why all the Ghost Riders wear gloves in that bones don't make for proper hands, particularly in the fist position.
