Disclaimer: Don't own HBO, the AFN, the CIA, or Brad Pitt. That would be nice though, wouldn't it?
Dedication: To everyone who has reviewed, read, and/or thought about reviewing my fic. You guys motivate me to keep writing, you all rock!
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Rei sat at the small table, having situated Catalina back in the other room, watching her television show. She held her forehead in her hands, finally hit with the shock of everything that had happened in the last few days. Her big brother, who she had looked up to her entire life, was now blind. The woman who had rescued him...her sister had just passed away. Everything seemed like some sick little soap opera on HBO.
She jumped when Trillian opened the door, leading Jeffrey back into the house.
"It's fucking freezing in here." He said, frowning.
"The air's on. I'll turn it off once you get situated." Trillian replied, leading, apparently, by voice.
"Where're you going?" Rei asked casually, lifting her head.
"Shower." Sands said blankly, and kept walking.
"Oh." Rei said, lowering it again.
Trillian led Sands into the bathroom, once again ignoring the bright pink interior.
"Okay. I'm putting a towel for you on the counter. It's a self- explanatory shower...knob up, cold water, knob down, hot water. Pull it to turn it on, push it for off. Got it?" Trillian asked.
"I don't know...sounds tough." Sands said, shaking his head.
"I have faith that you can run a shower." She said, smiling.
"Only if you say so." Sands said, shrugging.
"I'll leave you to it, then." Trillian said, heading for the door.
"You're not going to leave, are you? You're going to sit there and watch me, real still-like." Sands said, some crazy southern accent in his voice.
"How did you know?" Trillian asked, mocking a gasp.
"Call it intuition."
"That's nice. And no, I wasn't planning on hiding out here to watch you bathe." Trillian said, leaving the bathroom and shutting the door behind her.
"Liar!" Sands called through the closed door. Trillian smiled and shook her head, heading back into the kitchen.
Rei looked up when she heard footsteps.
"Hey." She said, smiling painfully.
"What's up?" Trillian asked, opening the fridge for a bottle of water. She offered one to Rei, who refused.
"Nothing...it's just been a long couple of days."
"I know the feeling." Trillian said, smiling.
"I can't help but feel horrible for Jeffrey...Did he tell you what happened?" Rei asked quietly.
"No...I mean, I figured his eyes didn't just get sick of him and run away, but I never really thought about it." Trillian said, shrugging and opening the bottle of water.
"What he told me was that he was on an assignment, which is total crap, because the last assignment he finished was an essay in seventh grade. But that's what he said. Anyway, he was caught spying on some drug lord or something. They...well...you can guess the rest." Rei said, shivering slightly.
Trillian gaped.
"What did they do to him? I mean...you know what I mean."
"Dentist's drill, luv." Rei said, nodding.
Trillian mouthed wordlessly in shock.
"They...oh my God."
"I know. But that isn't the worst part..." Rei said, pausing to make sure that Lina was still watching her show in the other room. Trillian leaned in impulsively, and Rei lowered her voice.
"He was awake when they did it. Completely awake. The held the poor thing down, and cut out his eyes." Rei finished, a look of utter revulsion on her face.
"...What about the bullets?" Trillian asked, remembering the one in his arm, and three or so in his thighs.
"Well, Jeffey wasn't done with them, obviously. They let him go on the streets, and this little boy...I don't know how, but he got this kid to help. Took him to where the end of the assignment would be. He killed a few of the cartel's men there, and that's when he got shot."
"But...I found him in an alley. How did he get there?"
"This is the funny part. I know the whole ordeal is horrible, but it's comical. This little boy, he was about ten. He knocked Jeffrey out with something big, and stole all his stuff. Guns, ammo, cash, everything. He even got his belt buckle. Those little buggers can't be trusted, you know?" Rei said, shrugging.
"Good night." Trillian said, shuddering. Mugged? By a little boy? In any other sense, it would have been vaguely amusing. But here it was wrong.
"Eh?" Rei asked, confused.
"Nothing. An expression I use, that's all."
"Ah."
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Trillian turned the air down and went over to the fridge, hungry. The pork was in there, in a Tupperware.
"Did you finish prepping his...eh...pibil?" Trillian asked Rei.
"Yeah, I hope you didn't mind. Jeffey...he always loved it. I used some of your achiote, though." She said apologetically.
"It's no problem. I thought I was going to have to finish it." Trillian said, smiling faintly and pushing it aside. She got everything she would need to make sandwiches, and dumped it all on the counter.
"You want one?" She asked Rei, and she stood up.
"Here, I'll help. Dinner for all, you know?" Rei said, grinning and walking to the sink to wash her hands.
For nearly half an hour they talked and prepared food for everyone, reminiscing about old times.
"—My mom didn't want me in law enforcement, because that's how my dad passed away." Trillian said, shaking her head. "I mean, there's good reason there to be paranoid, right? But not so much that I'm gonna turn down a perfectly good job with the AFN."
"I can get that. But then, how long did you work for the old AFN?" Rei asked, completing the last sandwich that needed to be made.
Trillian got out a plate for them all before replying.
"Since I was like, twenty, so a good twelve years. That's when I took a bullet to the side and was honorably discharged."
Sands walked through the kitchen in a novelty t-shirt and khakis, looking very clean indeed.
"Oy, Jeffey. Did you know Trill was in the AFN?" Rei asked, leaning against the counter.
"No. That's nice." Sands said unenthusiastically as he sat at the table. Trillian could blame him, the guy worked for the fucking CIA, for Christ's sake.
Rei stuck her tongue out at him, obviously advantage of the fact that he couldn't see.
"Is she making faces at me?" Sands asked Trillian pointedly.
"I'm not gonna play the medium, kay?" Trillian replied, laughing.
"Yeah, Jeffey, she's not gonna play the medium." Rei teased.
"Whatever." Sands muttered, shaking his head.
"Look at you, you're all clean...that's a switch." Rei said sarcastically, rolling her eyes in Trillian's direction.
"Guess what, Rei? You're not as funny as you think you are." Sands said, leaning back in his chair.
Just then, the doors to the living room flew open suddenly.
"Mummy, the TV is broked." She said, tugging at Rei's sleeve, her fingers in her mouth again.
"Take your hand out of your mouth, right now." Rei said, following the child into the other room to see what was wrong with the TV.
Trillian walked to the table and sat down across from Sands, who (if he could still see) seemed as though he was peering intently at the table.
"You okay?" Trillian asked him quietly.
"Yeah." Sands said shortly, nodding.
"You don't sound okay." Trillian said truthfully.
"Look, I'm fucking okay. I don't need a goddamn nanny, got it?" He snapped, standing and heading for outside again.
"I..." Trillian began, but he was gone. Suddenly she got so irritated that she followed him out, slamming the door behind her.
He stood leaning against the wall, his back to her. She walked up to him steadily, not allowing any room for hesitation.
"Now listen to me. I'm not going to play your little games anymore, got that? I don't read minds, and I can't know what you need unless you tell me. So I suggest you have a little faith that I'm not trying to baby you, okay?" She said, her voice not too loud, not too soft. It was steady, and surprised even her.
Sands didn't speak for a moment, and Trillian tried not to think about why.
She saw Rei go back into the kitchen out of the corner of her eye, but ignored it for the time being.
Sands turned his head in Trillian's direction, then took his weight off the wall, coming face-to-face with her, only about three inches away. He was only about an inch taller, which made Trillian wonder why he seemed so intimidating.
"I don't know what you're expecting to hear from me, okay? Some speech on how I've got feelings all bottled up inside, like some troubled kid? I have a piece of news you can alert the press about, sugar butt. I don't. So quit while you're ahead, alright?" He said, his voice dangerously quiet, but strong.
"What now, Mr. Big-n-Tough? Are you going to tell me you don't need your eyes to see? You going to walk on water for me? I'm looking for a miracle, Jeffrey." Trillian replied sharply.
"Sorry, baby, it's my off day." Sands retorted. "And you know something else? I bet you're ugly."
"Maybe, but you'll never know it, will you? And you're not exactly Brad Pitt, either." Trillian said, even more in his face than before.
"That's a real shame, especially considering that's exactly how I want to look, huh? I should really look into botox or something."
"You're impossible. I can't believe I even try and act civil towards you." Trillian whispered harshly.
"Yeah, me neither. That's the problem." Sands replied, his expression softening very slightly.
"What? That I think that maybe even the slightest amount of patience can cause you to act half-decent?"
"I don't know. Is that what you think?" Sands asked, and Trillian realized her lips were only an inch away from his. He smelled good, like mint and aftershave.
"I don't know." She said truthfully.
Sands didn't speak; he only waited for some kind of elaboration on Trillian's part.
"I don't know what else you want to hear." Trillian said, before realizing that was what he had said only moments before.
"That sounds familiar." Sands said with feigned thoughtfulness.
"I know. I'm sorry." Trillian said, then with a fleeting glance, turned and headed back into the house, closing the door behind her.
"Oh, Lord, you were so close!" Rei groaned, bringing her head down on the counter jokingly.
"To what? Tearing each other limb from limb?"
"No! You almost kissed him, I could see it!"
"Don't give me that, it never crossed my mind." Trillian lied, shaking her head slightly.
"Uh-huh. And, oh look! It's a piggy, there it goes, flying across...oh, and you've missed it." Rei said sarcastically, pointing out the kitchen window.
"That's mean..." Trillian said, pouting, then breaking into a grin.
"He fancies you, you know." Rei said matter-of-factly, nodding.
"So maybe it's true, maybe he isn't Mr. Vain after all." Trillian said, with mock-shock.
"Nah, I told him how gorgeous you were...that's when he figured he'd put up with you."
At this, Trillian blushed furiously.
"That's...ah. You should have said that I was an ugly old hag, then we would have known how vain he was." Trillian laughed, and Rei nodded.
"You know, I should have. That would have been interesting." She said, shrugging.
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