WARNING: This chapter deals with topics such as substance abuse, as well as implied child abuse and underage prostitution to a certain degree. Viewer discretion is advised.
"And now we go to Misty Breeze with a special follow up report" the tv announcer spoke through their speakers. Rev sat nervously, squirming in front of the tv.
"I'm having second thoughts as to whether or not I want to watch this" the roadrunner said.
"Good, cause I don't want to watch it either" Tech commented dryly.
"Hey!" Duck interjected, "You wanted me to let you know whether or not there were any more reports on you two, and this is supposed to be another one."
"Yeah, but I don't really feel comfortable having my life under a microscope like this. It feels weird." Rev slouched. It had been true that Rev and Tech requested Duck keep them up to date on any major updates the news was breaking on their relationship, but having to sit through it like this was beyond cringe worthy. Things had fortunately been fairly quiet for the past few days, but now here they sat, sitting in front of the tv watching a news report about their relationship. Both Rev, and especially Tech, had always been more on the reclusive side when it came to flaunting it in front of the press, so now that they had become the most discussed members of the team, it did not quite sit comfortably with either of them.
"Thanks Tom" said the ever-charismatic Misty Breeze, "Last week you might remember I broke what proved to be the most talked about story in a long time, the relationship between Loonatic members Rev Runner and Tech E Coyote. Well, since then we've gone and asked people what they think of two city protectors being in a relationship, stay tuned, because some responses might surprise you." It was then that the program began cutting to different Acmetropolis citizens, each giving a brief opinion.
"They're so cute, I can't wait for them to have little hybrid babies" said one woman.
"I just don't think it's right. I mean, work and play never mix, and in that kind of job I don't know how they're gonna keep it up."
"I mean, the real question here isn't whether or not we approve of it. It's what else is going on behind those doors? I mean, for all we know they could be a bunch of sex freaks, doing who knows what every night!"
With each response, Rev grew more and more uncomfortable. Tech did not particularly like this either. He knew that once he became a public figure that there was bound to be some comments about his life, but he was not quite prepared to hear people's opinions on something this intimate. Fortunately, the segment did not last long, and Misty Breeze soon reappeared on screen back in the studio.
"So that's the word from the people on the street, but what about someone who knows the couple personally" Misty explained. Rev did not know where this was going, but he had an idea, and that was enough to get him nervous. He looked over to Tech, who wore a similar expression of fear at what they were about to witness. Before they could brace themselves, the tv cut to an image of Rev's family home out in the desert, and they both knew what was coming next.
"It is here, out in the desert, where you will find the most unlikely of people" Misty narrated over images of Rev and his family, "It is here, where Ralph Runner and his loving wife Harriet Runner, raised their two sons. And while they could not be prouder about how their son Rev turned out, they have some choice words about some recent decisions he's made." It was then that the narration ended, cutting to an interview taking place between Misty Breeze and Rev's parents. It seemed clear that it was filmed somewhere within the Runner household.
"What was your first reaction, when you found out your son had started a relationship with one of his colleagues?" Misty asked them.
"Well, I gotta admit that we found out about this the same way everyone else did. Our son didn't tell us" Pa Runner said, trying to sound as sincere and humble as possible.
"He's talking slowly" Rev gaped, "He never talks slowly." The only logical explanation was that he was doing it for the audience at home, either that or the network asked that he speak slower. Either way, right from the outset Rev could tell something was not quite natural.
"So, what you're saying is that Rev did not tell you about this relationship, and that you had to find out about it via the news" Misty clarified.
"Yes, that's exactly right"
Rev leapt up angrily, "Well of course I didn't tell you! When you go reacting the way you always do how am I supposed to tell you anything!" he yelled.
"Rev calm down, anger isn't going to solve anything" Tech pulled him back down to the couch. They continued watching.
"Do you know any reason why he might not have wanted to share this with you?" Misty asked.
"Well, we're very old fashioned, we've always held a lot of traditional values in this household" Pa Runner explained, Harriet nodding in agreement.
"Traditional values!" Tech was the one to stand up in anger this time, "Is that how you describe your outdated views!" He growled, his fur standing on end. This time it was Rev who pulled his boyfriend back down to the couch.
"What happened to not getting angry?" Rev asked, jokingly.
"Well, it's not as if they're here to hear me" Tech folded his arms indignantly.
"Have you and Rev talked about it?" Misty continued.
"We did pay him a visit, but I'm afraid it didn't go so well" Ma Runner said, mournfully.
"He just wasn't open to having a conversation. We wanted to talk about it, but before we knew it, we were being ushered out the door" Ralph explained, sorrowful.
"Now I know how all those history majors felt" Tech sighed with a face palm.
"Do you think it's fair to say your son has cut you out?" Misty asked.
"I would be lying if I said that wasn't the case."
"What would you say to your son, Rev, if you knew he was watching right now?"
It was then that Pa Runner turned to the camera, looking as sad as he could possibly muster, "Son, if you're watching, your mother and I still love you very much. We've done nothing but show you love our whole lives, now come home and let us make up."
Rev felt sick to his stomach just watching this. The way they twisted the facts around to try and seem more sympathetic was absolutely infuriating. He could only imagine what people would think of him while watching this. It made him out to be some kind of awful ungrateful son, while making his parents seem like these poor victims.
"We also managed to secure a few words from Rev Runner's younger brother" Misty narrated as they cut to a very stiff Rip Runner. He was slouching, with his collar all the way up in an attempt to hide his face; beads of sweat were visible on his forehead.
"Were you shocked when you heard the news about your brother being in a relationship?" Misty asked off screen.
"Well, I uh… I um, n-not particularly" Rip stammered.
"And why was that?"
"Because uh… because he uh… I-I mean he uh…I gotta go to the bathroom!" With that Rip ran offscreen. Not particularly fast by roadrunner standards, but still faster than Rev had ever seen him run.
"The poor guy's been camera shy ever since we were kids" Rev whispered to Tech. The coyote responded with a simple, "Oh" trying to appear like he cared. With that the segment ended, Duck turned off the tv just as Misty Breeze was seg-waying to the next host.
"You two are so lucky, if I knew getting in a gay interspecies relationship would get the whole city talking about me then I would have done it ages ago!" Duck exclaimed, jealous.
"I don't know doc" they all looked up to Ace, who stood behind them chewing on a carrot, "Dis is da sort'a publicity we really don't need. A few more hit pieces like this and public opinion on us might begin to sway into the negative."
"Surely the public won't turn on us that quickly? We've saved them countless times; everyone would be dead without us" Tech said.
"I donno, it's been quite a while since any danger cropped up, and people tend tah only think about what's happened recently. Right now, when people bring up da Loonatics, they'll be thinkn' bout stuff like this" Ace sighed.
"Y-you mean Tech and my relationship is going to be responsible for sinking our reputation?" Rev asked in a panic.
"I wouldn't say dat, we'll need to wait and see how dis interview does" Ace then strolled away, munching on his carrot. Rev sat forward, his face leaning in his hands.
"I just don't know what we're going to do. That interview has us sunk; I just know it" Rev said.
"Well, we can't worry about it now" Tech noted, checking his watch, "We've got to be leaving soon." He stood up, shortly followed by Rev.
"Where are you two off to this time of night?" Duck asked, "If it's another date then let me tag along so that I can make it into the photos!"
"It's not a date!" Tech rolled his eyes, "We're just going out to take care of some personal business." Technically, he was telling the truth, though he was being quite vague about it. This was the night they had agreed upon to go and visit Tech's mother. There was a great deal of nerves and apprehension in both of them. Tech was worried what impression his mother would make on Rev, meanwhile Rev was worried what impression he would make on Tech's mother. Tech had been quite limited in the information he was willing to dole out about her over the course of the days leading up to the event. Rev had asked what she was like, he had asked what he should get her as a gift, he asked what he should wear and if there was anything he needed to know beforehand. To all of these, Tech's answer was either "No" or "Just brace yourself and don't worry about it." Which made things fairly difficult for Rev. This was an important step in their relationship, and he wanted to be prepared, yet in spite of this he could not get any information that would prove helpful.
"Are we behind schedule? I don't want to be late" Rev asked, concerned.
"It doesn't matter" Tech answered, not seeming to care. They stopped by the kitchen and pulled two bags of groceries out of the compartment they used to hide things from Slam. They then walked over to the elevator.
"We don't know what time we'll be back, so don't worry if it gets late" Tech called as the doors closed. In truth, it was already late. About nine o'clock to be precise. Tech had wanted them to go out as late as possible so that they would not be followed. He wore a brown trench coat with the collar up, and had some sun glasses and a face mask in his pocket. Rev opted to just wear a hoodie and jeans, if need be, he could simply pull the hood over his head.
It did not take long for Rev to realize they had gone past the hangar. It was then that he noticed Tech had pressed the button leading to ground level.
"Say, aren't we taking the jet?" Rev asked.
"No, too obvious" Tech said. Rev could not help but think how seriously Tech was taking all of this. He couldn't blame him though, after all, the press were more desperate to get info on them now than ever.
They soon reached the ground floor and headed out the back entrance. From there they worked their way through several alleys and side streets until they eventually came across a busy road. Tech put on his sun glasses and face mask. Rev raised his hood, tightening it around his face the best he could. They stepped out of the alley and hailed a taxi. They then rode for a few minutes, not saying anything that could give away who they were. They then got off and hailed another taxi after paying the taxi they were just in to keep going. They then rode the second taxi in the direction they had just come from. After riding for a few minutes, they stopped, and did the same again, this time riding a third taxi in a completely different direction. They then leapt out the window as the taxi was still moving and crawled into a sewer grate. They then walked for several miles via the sewer system, until they eventually crawled out. During this entire trek, Rev had not once asked Tech what they were doing or why they were doing it. Eventually though, he was happy to see they had arrived in a residential district.
Upon climbing out of the sewers, the place they had emerged to did not appear much better. Trash was littered everywhere, and strays seemed to roam the streets. The whole area seemed to be in need of a fix. Several of the houses had boarded up windows, appearing completely abandoned, while others were in shambles. The road was cracked and poorly paved, and grass and weeds sprouted up out of the pavement here and there.
"C'mon, we're almost there" Tech reassured, although if this was the area his mother lived in, then Rev did not find it all to reassuring. They did not have to walk far from the sewer grate before reaching an old apartment building.
"Hey! Whaddid you say ta me? Get over here!" A couple could be heard yelling from one of the rooms, a baby's cries echoing out onto the street.
"Ok, just don't talk to anybody until we get inside my mother's apartment, ok?" Tech advised. Rev nodded, not wanting to step out of line. They walked up the small staircase leading to the front door. Tech pulled out a key chain and unlocked it. The door squeaked fairly loudly as it swung on its rusted hinges. The building looked even worse on the inside. The grey wallpaper was peeling off, and Rev was fairly certain he saw signs of mold. The place smelled like stale beer and cigarettes, and the carpet lining the floor and stairs had a variety of unknown stains. Rev looked up, the stairs leading from floor to floor hung above them. He could see a single light swinging from the ceiling.
"C'mon" Tech said. They began walking up the stairs. Each apartment was numbered. They passed by the arguing couple, number 3, seemed like things were getting really bad. They passed by another apartment with the tv blasting, number 5. Then there was another couple arguing, number 6. Eventually though, they reached number 8, and Tech pulled out his keys. He looked down at Rev, who was holding both bags of groceries.
"The kitchen is on the left, I'll do the talking, you just put the stuff in the fridge."
Rev nodded, then Tech unlocked the door.
Rev was not quite sure what to expect upon walking into Tech's mother's apartment, so to say he was surprised would be a misnomer. In fact, if he was being honest then this was exactly what he expected based on what the rest of the neighborhood was like. It was quite small. Upon walking in, one stands in what can only be described as the living room/dining room. Then to the left is the kitchen, quite small by the look of things. Directly to the right of the kitchen appeared to be a short hall leading to what Rev could only assume was the bedroom, with a door leading to a very small bathroom just right of that. On the right wall was a relatively large window, although it appeared to not have been cleaned in quite some time. A single lightbulb hung from the ceiling, bathing the room in a garish yellow light. The rooms decor was another matter entirely. At the center of the living room/dining room was a cheap fold out table and two plastic chairs. Piled up all around were various beer cans and bottles. At the very least, the pink wallpaper was not peeling, and the rug had no visible signs of stains, so it was an improvement over the lobby.
Planted face down on the table at the center of the room was what appeared to be a brown coyote in a red dress. Tech took his sun glasses and face mask off and began shaking her, trying to wake her up.
"Hey, mother, wake up. C'mon, wake up already" Tech said it with an intense lack of urgency, as if this were the most mundane thing in the world. As this was happening, Rev did as he was requested and brought the groceries into the kitchen. There was not much in the fridge other than some moldy cheese, and something else which Rev assumed might have been drugs, though he was never well versed in such matters so he decided to leave it alone.
By the time Rev got back, Tech was sitting at the table beside his mother, who was now drowsily sitting upright. Her eyes were bloodshot, and her mascara and lip stick smeared down her face. She seemed to be middle aged, though noticeably younger than either of Rev's parents.
"Mother, mother listen to me" Tech snapped his fingers in front of her, trying to get her to focus, though in truth he had no idea if this really ever had much of an effect.
"What is it dearie? Mommies a bit hung over right now" she said, clasping her head in pain.
"Mother, I told you to stay sober until I got here. Are you even listening to me? I called you earlier today to remind you, and yet I still find you here passed out drunk" Tech scolded. He glanced back at Rev, who was watching from the kitchen then back to his mother, trying to hide his shame at the whole incident.
"Listen baby, why don't we do this when mommy's head hurts a bit less, ok?" she rubbed her eyes, either ignoring or not noticing Rev.
"Mother, we came all the way here, it wasn't easy for us! This was really important to me, I came to introduce you to my boyfriend" Tech gestured over to Rev, yet his mother still did not bother to look over.
"Boyfriend? Damn, if I knew you swung that way, I would've had you earn some money on the side."
"Mother please!"
"Can you keep your voice down honey, you know mommy doesn't cope well with loud sounds" she then rested her head back down on the table. Tech looked over to Rev. He couldn't take the look in those emerald eyes; it was the exact sight he had feared when bringing him here. Rev was looking at him now, silently, with a simple look of shock and pity. Tech was all to use to it. He stood up and pulled out a folding chair from behind a pile of beer cans, unfolding it and placing it opposite of where he was sitting. He sat back down and patted the table.
"Come, sit down" Tech said.
Rev was not quite sure how to respond at first. After a moment to process all this, he sidled over and sat in the cold metal chair. He looked around the apartment, then down at Tech's drunken mother, who was resting on the table to his right.
"Tech did you… did you grow up like this?" Rev asked, trying his best to conceal his shock, yet doing a very poor job at it.
"Yes" Tech said back, coldly. There was a seething hostility to his voice, as if he had answered that question a million times and taken less and less delight each time it was asked of him.
"Is that a problem?" Tech asked.
"No-no-of-course-not" Rev quickly answered, "It's just…"
"Just what?"
"It's just that, I'm surprised someone as smart as you are came from a place like this" Rev said reluctantly, still taking in the surroundings.
"I don't know what else to tell you other than I did" Tech shrugged. They sat there in silence, not quite knowing where to go from here. Rev wanted to say just the right thing; he wanted to say something that would perfectly resonate with Tech, but he simply had no idea what that something was. He had expected to at least be able to get into a conversation with Tech's mother, but that was clearly off the table.
"I'm sorry" Rev said, rubbing the back of his head.
"What for?"
"Well, I don't know, just looking around at this place knowing you grew up here makes me feel bad for you."
"Rev, I didn't bring you here to get your sympathy, I brought you here to meet my mother" Tech looked down, "And because I trusted you. This isn't the sort of thing I want the rest of the gang to know about." He twirled his thumbs.
"My lips are still sealed, I assure you."
"I know, I know. It's just that… I don't know, I don't want to feel so ashamed about all of this, but at the same time I do. I can't help what environment I'm born into, and yet in a weird way I feel a sense of ownership about this place." Tech stood up, kicking some of the spare beer cans which littered the floor, "I guess you wouldn't understand."
"No-no-I-do!" Rev stood up, leaning forward, "I mean, I don't know if it's a one-to-one comparison, but the way you talk about this place sort of reminds me of how I feel about my parents. I mean, I love them, but I can't stand them at the same time."
Tech smiled, "I'm just glad, my relationship with my mother isn't as bad as you and your dad."
"Tech, your mother is passed out on the table."
"I never said it was the best relationship, just that it was better than yours. After all, you don't see my parents on the news, publicly defaming us" the coyote said coyly. It was not the sort of remark he would have made were they still just friends, but at this point he felt close enough to Rev that he could make it. The roadrunner simply smirked back.
"Ok, you got me there" It was then that a thought occurred to Rev, "Say Tech, I've met your mother, but what about your father?" He did not think much of the question. He knew it was personal, but if Tech was ok with him seeing his mother like this, then Rev could only assume that asking about his father was an innocent enough question in comparison. Once he asked it though, he regretted it, as all the joy drained out of Tech's face.
"You don't want to meet my father and you never will" he said, stern. A shiver ran down Rev's spine. He was curious to find out what would elicit such a reaction, yet at the same time he thought it best to not ask. He knew it was possible to get an answer one day, but today was certainly not that day. It was then that Rev looked away, awkwardly, staring down at the various empty beer cans and bottles which permeated the room.
"I can clean this up if you want" Rev noted.
"Rev, that's really not necessary" Tech barely said before a sudden whirlwind took the room, whipping up all of the cans. Before he knew it, all of the trash had been cleared out. The coyote looked around, stunned, "It's gone, it's all gone."
"Well-yeah-I-figured-that-I-should-at-least-do-something-helpful-while-I'm-here-since-you-did-bring-me-along-and-all-that" Rev said as he sat back down. It was no big deal for Rev, this was the sort of thing he was able to do in a jiffy. Tech knew of his super speed, and yet at the same time could not help but look around at the room in shock.
"Is everything alright?" Rev asked.
"This…this is the first time I've ever seen this room clean" Tech wheezed, "My entire life its been beer cans and bottles and now… it's so… so clear." He looked over to Rev, "Thanks."
Rev smiled; happy he could at least do something that helped Tech. The moment did not last long, however, as Tech's mother suddenly rose up in a zombie like manner. She sat up in her chair, drearily.
"Waitaminute, don't I know you somehow?" She asked Rev.
"Yes I'm-"
"No, no, no, hold on" she thought for a moment, "You're that guy on that team of… people. Oh dang, what was it called?"
"The Loonatics, mother" Tech answered.
"Yes, that's it. You two are coworkers or something?" She then turned to Tech, "You know sweetie I didn't know you had a thing for twinks."
Tech immediately became quite flustered at the comment, "Mother! It's highly inappropriate for you to say those sorts of things in front of my boyfriend!" He folded his arms, trying to look tough, though the blush in his cheeks made it quite difficult. Rev smiled, holding back laughter.
"Hey, I'm just saying what we're all thinking" she said, proceeding to turn back and face Rev, "Nice to meet you by the way, my name's Dust, Dust E Coyote." She held out a droopy hand for Rev to shake. All things considered, as far as first impressions went, he felt pretty happy with this.