Toki listened to Skwisgaar, until a lapse in noise and creak of the bed indicated he'd probably fallen asleep. Following suit situated far from Toki's mind; instead, he explored his room. It wasn't much smaller than his space at Mordhaus, and more light came through the stiff, unmovable blinds. The single pane of glass appeared thicker than usual—same went for the bathroom counterpart. With no immediate way to escape—not that Toki would, for fear of what would happen to Skwisgaar—he familiarized himself instead.
It appeared no different than a fancy hotel. Toki moved his bedside table to coincide with his bed's new position, then checked its drawers along with those on the dresser. All were empty. The bathroom's boasted the basics for personal care, as well as standard necessities beneath the sink.
The television atop the dresser seemed the only way to keep himself preoccupied. How long, until he grew bored of that? Was he meant to remain a caged rat until the end of his days? Would he ever get to see Skwisgaar again, or would their communication be limited to muffled voices behind the wall?
Noise from downstairs compelled Toki to sit beside his door and attempt to eavesdrop, but even if Raina's voice wafted up he still couldn't comprehend Spanish. She chatted with María; their bubbly conversation only broke with laughter, making Toki feel like a ghost. Neither behaved as though two terrified men occupied the upper floor. Was María familiar with this? How many prisoners came before them? Or did their status create an exception?
Toki's heart picked up its pace when Raina ascended the stairs. However, she passed his room and closed a different door further down the hallway. Silence to follow except for María puttering around discouraged Toki that anything pertinent might occur. Bored already, he turned the television on.
No news existed still of Ludwig's murder. Hundreds of channels offered Toki more certainty that Charles tracked them as far as he'd hoped; his crime went unmentioned on Seattle, Portland, and Salt Lake City channels. For the first time since it happened, Toki was glad he got rid of Ludwig. Finally, that piece of shit made himself useful. God willing, the Mustang would zero Charles in again, to their current location.
More than likely, Santos and Jorge left to collect the vehicle. Years passed since Toki last prayed, but he sent a few words skyward that a passing traveller reported the abandoned car to the proper authorities. Its lack of mention on the local channels could go either way.
Toki chose silence over the television, when he couldn't find anything to preoccupy himself with. Boredom never did him well, and mixing it with restlessness only made it worse. For the first time since leaving Mordhaus, he truly considered what his and Skwisgaar's absence did to the others. According to the Dethklok Minute, Pickles and Murderface carried on as usual (big shocker, given how they handled his confinement a few years prior), but Nathan was inexplicably missing. With a stab of guilt right through Toki's chest, he realized it may have something to do with Abigail. Surely, since she dated Nathan, she knew he'd disappeared again. In Toki's haste to escape, thwart Charles, and figure things out with Skwisgaar, he completely forgot how this might affect her.
God, how selfish could he be? And now that totally fucked everyone up, because if he wasn't so adamant about carrying on down the road, Skwisgaar wouldn't have gotten drug into such a mess either.
This wasn't going to be like his imprisonment with Magnus. Instead of waiting around to be rescued, Toki would find the way out. He and Skwisgaar would wind up safe. Taking his own advice, Toki assumed a seat in the waiting game. Not much happened in the house right now, but he recognized the size and dark colour of a helicopter that passed over the city further north, and he knew why tires squealed down the street when Santos and Jorge returned. A hurried order sent María past Toki's door; the young girl didn't go back downstairs alone. Not wanting to miss anything, just in case they conversed in English, Toki reassumed position on the floor beside his door.
"Hm. I guess I could have already suspected that," Raina said when told the Mustang no longer sat on the side of the road.
"That's not just it. There are klokateers crawling around everywhere, out there. In Vegas, too. It's still all hush-hush, but if you know what to look for—"
"So long as we keep our noses down, we should avoid notice. That is, provided you two don't fuck up again. I should almost send you out, for a while. I don't trust either of you."
"That's hardly fair. We didn't mean to bring them down on the city. You have to understand, we were only excited to bring you Toki and—"
"You don't speak their names, anymore. As far as we're concerned, they're no longer Dethklok's guitarists. Refer to them as Alejandro and Sebastian, or I will have you two shot. I'm not kidding."
A pregnant pause weighed the house down. "Where would you have us go, then?"
"Monterrey. Francisco will keep you until everything settles here. I'll let him know you're coming, but don't say why."
"So then what would we tell him?"
"That until I'm able to scrounge together the cash to pay off my debt, you'll be in his service. No, no, let me think about this." Raina sighed. "If I start making rash decisions, I'm going to fuck up as majorly as you did. What I should do is keep you close. Keep you under wraps."
"Whatever you want, Mama."
"Forgive me. . .I understand now, what handling such big-ticket items does to you. It's still inexcusable, how you brought the klokateers into my backyard, but the more dangerous the game, the more perks that come with the reward. If we pull this off, we're going to be one wealthy family."
But they wouldn't; Toki would be sure of it. He'd dealt with his own succession of despicable people. His father got away with abusing him in plain sight. Magnus, whom the band eventually tracked by predicting his fractured mind, subjected him yet again to the poorest conditions his life ever knew. He'd survived such horrors first when young and alone, then at the hands of a friend. What could a bunch of strangers do to him, especially when Charles flooded the city with their personal army? He and Skwisgaar might be far-removed from central Vegas, but it was only a matter of time. If Charles felt for certain that they remained in the city, he wouldn't rest until overturning every single rock. Part of Toki and Abigail's homecoming was the promise that Charles would petition Congress for access to every square inch of American soil in case something like this happened again. Did Raina know about that? Obviously not, if she didn't panic about getting them out of here as soon as possible.
Things quieting down on the main floor sent Toki to the wall separating him from Skwisgaar. Ear pressed, he no longer heard snoring. Knocking yielded a response. "Dids you hears all that?"
"All whats?" A yawn pulled Skwisgaar's vocal pitch down.
"Charles found the car." When Skwisgaar didn't respond, Toki licked his lips. "And I saws one of our helicopters. He's lookings for us."
"Thanks fucking Odin."
"So I thinks we stayings put for a while. Can'ts move us without riskings getting caught, ja?"
"Ams too bads."
"At least we know what's happenings, for us."
"Ja." Skwisgaar paused. "I miss you."
"Same." Toki felt the complete weight of those three, simple words. Communicating posed its own relief, of course, but Toki completely underestimated the power of touch and smell. He closed his eyes in order to reconstruct an image of Skwisgaar. Unable to help it, his mind drifted to when they neared Las Vegas and Skwisgaar's calloused fingers made quick work of himself in the passenger seat. Colour in his cheeks, parted lips, and a lax brow would always stir something in Toki's lower stomach. Not to mention, how glassy blue eyes sought him out as ejaculation marked his end.
In need to share his appreciation, Toki got the other man's attention through the wall. "Dat ams what you t'ink about at a time like dis?"
"Guess so. Not much else to does." Maybe it wasn't a very tactful thing to bring up, after what Skwisgaar went through, earlier. "How's you doings?"
"Meh. Still feels pretty gross. Dis amn'ts somet'ing you evers get used to. Espesklies when you thirty-five and it shouldn'ts be happening, anymore."
Toki understood how it might bring bad things to the forefront of Skwisgaar's mind, even if Santos and Jorge didn't mean it that way. All the more, Toki wished to traverse rooms. "I'm sorry, elskling. I wanteds to make them stop."
"It amn'ts your problem. I shoulds has just squatteds."
"Don'ts blame yourself. It isn'ts your fault, when someone makes you do things like that."
"But it coulds has been avoided."
"Skwis—"
"Look, I gets what you tryings to do. Ams okay, reallies. I broughts dis on myself. He gaves me de chance to smartens up and I didn'ts take it."
"If you panicked, how coulds you make your brain work right?"
"You would t'ink, after knowings what to expect, dat I woulds has just gones along wit' what he say. Oh well. . ."
"It isn'ts your fault," Toki repeated. "No matters what. I always founds that you can always come up with a reason why it is, but you needs to understand that no one ever has the right to makes you feel bad. Just like my father never hads the right to whip me if I fucked up, Santos didn'ts have the right to put his fingers in you because you freaked out."
Toki strained against the wall to hear Skwisgaar's bare mumble of a response. "I don'ts wish to talks about dis, anymore."
"Okay," Toki agreed. "Woulds you likes me to give you some space?"
"I don'ts know. Cans you just sits wit' me like dis?"
"I cans do that, ja. You tells me what you needs, and I'll does my best to makes it happen."
"T'anks you."
Fingertips skimmed the wall again. What a cruel move, to let them remain close enough to speak, but to deprive them of physical contact. Would it stay this way, until they either escaped or Charles located them? Fortunately, only a little over an hour passed before time seemed to move again inside the house. He jumped when the various latches and locks on his door slid and unclicked on the hallway side. María poked her head in with a smile, gesturing him to come. Relieved, he joined her side as she released Skwisgaar next.
Toki could only remember a handful of times in his life when it felt so good to be enveloped in someone's arms. He squeezed Skwisgaar as tightly as possible, without compromising his breath. The older man didn't seem to mind, having gripped him in similar manner.
María hovered at the top of the staircase. Their new names barely registered with Toki when she addressed them as such. "Comed con nosotros."
Toki didn't need to understand Spanish when the smell of food pervaded the house and she waved for them to come downstairs. Hesitating, Toki leaned up against his lover and snuck a kiss. "Is good to sees you."
"I ams tempted to just locks back up in dis room wit' you. Don'ts really cares about food."
"Wills be good to put some food in your belly." Toki rubbed it. "Althoughs I nots very hungry either. Hards to be, with everything goings on."
"Alejandro, Sebastian." Raina's voice wafting upstairs jarred them back to reality. "Dinner's on the table."
Taking Skwisgaar's hand, Toki followed the clink of dishes into the dining room. His general dislike and mistrust rapidly returned; Raina dressed down from before, having removed her makeup and changed into more casual attire. Aware that he still wore what people of her culture considered formal, Toki felt overdressed in the strange paradigm Raina promoted.
"Sit," she invited them as they hesitated in the archway. Toki half-expected she'd at least bat an eyelash at their entwined fingers, but if it bothered or inspired questions, she ignored the impulse to inquire. Encouraged by that, Toki maintained contact with Skwisgaar as they pulled their chairs up to the table.
"We pray before we eat, in this house." Raina's folded hands before her plate already incentivised Toki to wait before helping himself. "Neither of you speak any Spanish, do you?"
The basics didn't count, in Toki's mind. Raina carried on when they shook their heads. "Today is when you start learning. English to me is the language of business. Spanish is for the home. Now, I want you each to repeat after me. . ."
"Gracias dios, por estos alimentos ques tenemos de tu abundancias, a traves de cristos, nuestro señor. Amen." Certain he'd butchered it as badly as Skwisgaar, Toki waited for correction. Instead, Raina fed him the same smile.
"Not bad, for the first time. Despite the unnecessary pluralization, you have a knack for language. English is your second, of course?"
"Mhm." Toki spooned rice onto his plate.
"How long did it take you to learn?"
"Nots very long, I guess. Mostlies was done through immersion. Skwis was in charge of making sures I learneds it, but I still spokes Norwegian for a long time when we were by ourselves." Remembering that this woman was supposed to be the enemy, Toki pressed his lips together. She did well to make him forget that; he could very easily be seated at his mother's table in Norway, catching up on the things she failed to learn through their stiff, formal letters.
"That will probably be how you learn it, here. María doesn't speak English at all, and I'll encourage her to chat with you regularly. She's a delightful young girl." Raina tugged on her braid. "Even though she will tend to you, you two will treat her like a sister. Don't learn the hard way that she's a tattletale. I won't appreciate you treating her like help, or speaking down to her. Respect is prized, under my roof."
"Says someone who's basicallys kidnapped us."
"You will find that even that doesn't hinder me from respecting you, provided you deserve it. One of my goals for dinner conversation is for you to tell me what would make your life more comfortable here."
"Likes what?" Toki narrowed an eye in suspicion.
"Anything. Money is no object. I've taken you as my sons, and I intend to spoil you rotten."
"I want our doors to be unlocked. We shoulds be allowed to see each other, and nots only when you says is okay."
"That's something you need to earn, first. But once you do, I have no problem with it."
"What dids we do to deserve that?"
"You lipped me off, and you hurt my other boys." She glanced at Skwisgaar.
He cleared his throat. "I wills apolgesac, when next I see dem."
"Skwis—" Toki stopped when the man shot him a glare. While definitely not all right with Skwisgaar taking the initiative to right things between two people that bare hours ago made him feel like trash, what could Toki say against it at the dinner table? Raina offered them opportunity to keep their doors open with correct behaviour, and Toki too would do all he could to make that happen. He swallowed his pride and outrage with difficulty. "I'm sorries too. It isn'ts much of a first impression though, when you tells us we aren'ts going home, and aren'ts against making Santos and Jorge sticks their fingers up our butts. But I gets it."
"Gracias. I appreciate your humility."
Despite their situation, Toki's appetite became less suppressed with each bite. It was too easy to forget that, beyond these walls, Charles searched frantically for them. Their stay here was truly limited, and in that case, Toki naturally wished to abide by Raina's rules if it meant a smooth visit. If he continued to get himself locked up, that meant one less buffer between Skwisgaar and hardship. Already, Skwisgaar couldn't handle anymore. Not if he legitimately believed his actions validated abuse.
Raina waited until they'd eaten their fill before surmounting smalltalk. "I'm a stickler to punishment, so you two will return to your rooms until morning. Should nothing happen between now and then, you will have earned the right to unlocked doors and to further explore your new home. Fair?"
Hardly. Toki nodded anyway.
"While you're in there, I would like you two to consider what I said earlier. Think about how you would like to keep yourselves entertained. So long as it's not an outlandish request, I can have those to you probably before this time tomorrow."
María began clearing the table, cue for the adults to disband. Skwisgaar remained seated. "Where am Santos and Jorge?"
"You may not see them too often. I've decided that they should remain at the house where you first arrived." Raina smoothed the wrinkles from her clothes. "Raùl will be around, to tend to the things that María can't. It'll be him that fetches whatever you request."
She came around the table and kissed each on top of the head, contributing to Toki's constantly flipping opinion of her. Part of him was pleased that he'd made her happy, another wanted to grab her by the hair and smash her face against the table. He settled on momentary catatonia. "I'll trust you to show yourselves to your rooms. I'll come check on you later, and see that you're settling in all right."