"...sometimes we enter art to hide within it. It is where we can go to save ourselves, where a third-person voice protects us."
―Michael Ondaatje, Divisadero

Over the past month, whenever Marceline was at the clubhouse, which was now part of her daily routine after visiting her neighbors, she took to eavesdropping on when the Spartan men gathered in their version of a Chapel. She heard Asher order that any of their members in Stockton were to make the Sons of Anarchy their enemy and attack on sight, that someone would check-in weekly to see what the progress was. They could almost freely ride on what used to be SOA homeland territory now that there was no one patrolling the borders.

Today, when she woke up, Asher wasn't in her bed, but he popped up after she came from seeing her neighbors. Now, she was at the Spartan's clubhouse sitting on the bar and Asher was facing forwards between her legs, fluently speaking Tsakonian, so everything was foreign to her ears, but she was still listening in to see if he'd say anything she could decipher. As he hung up the phone, the door suddenly slammed open as Lucky scrambled into the room.

"Gage, we gotta go now." Lucky said as he almost dragged Asher to the door; he had a brown paper bag that was curled at the top in his other hand.

"Where's the fire, Lucky?"

"One of Arcane's guys just called for a meeting. We can't miss this."

Marceline slid off the bar. "Take me home."

"Gage-"

"It'll be five minutes, relax." Gage said as he walked towards the door where Marci was waiting.

"We cannot afford to miss this meeting." Lucky pressed, grabbing his arm to make him stop. "Arcane is not the kinda guy you keep waiting or jerk around. We've got the dope, we've got protection, we have to go now or we're all gonna have a deranged Kingpin gunnin' for our heads."

"Just go and make him shut up, Asher." Marci sighed, holding out her hand. "Gimmie your keys."

"You know I don't want you anywhere alone."

"Marceline, for the love of God, just come with us." Lucky begged the girl.

"I don't think anyone was talking to you, shithead. Learn to stay out of adult conversations and speak when you're fucking spoken to." She spat at him, making the man throw his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Marci, please?" Gage asked her with all the politeness in the world. "This'll take fifteen minutes, then we're gone. And we can stop for milkshakes on the way."

~.~.~.~.

"A junkyard, seriously?" Gage asked as the gate opened and he drove through, maneuvering through the large piles of scrap and cars.

"Arcane's terms, non-negotiable." Lucky answered from behind him.

"He doesn't trust us." Grimm grumbled from the middle seat and that made Marceline's brow twitch in interest.

"What would we do without you to state the obvious, Grimm?" She sarcastically asked him, looking at his eyes through the rearview mirror.

"You've been in a bitchy mood since the pool party." He stated. "What crawled up your ass?"

Marceline put her strawberry milkshake in the cupholder before she lunged at the older man. Keeping one hand on the wheel and the other blocking Marceline's flailing legs to prevent getting kicked in the face, Asher yelled, with a chuckle, "Hey, hey! I'm drivin' here!"

"She's not letting go!" Gage heard Lucky exclaim, under all the cursing and ruckus. "Dude, she's like a ginger Honey Badger!" He laughed. "Domestic violence! Someone call the cops!"

"Marceline, stop!" Gage laughed, hearing Grimm grunting and growling as Marceline continued to abuse him. Obviously, she didn't listen to him, so after laughing again, he tightly wrapped his free arm around her legs. "Brace!" He warned and the car jerked to a violent stop, rattling everyone riding in the car. That got Marci to stop and now, she was sitting backwards in the passenger seat, glaring something ghastly at a red-faced Grimm.

"Next time, I'll gouge your eyes out." She flung a severed dreadlock at his chest and Asher wondered how many more she managed to detach from his head. "Don't fucking talk to me."

Everyone except Gage and Marceline exited the car and just a few feet away from it was a black H2 Hummer. There was a man wearing a black suit with a cheetah-print lapel, sleeve cuffs and top collar and two very tall bodyguards waiting for someone to meet them, but Gage turned to Marci in the passenger seat.

"Marceline, I'm asking you this because I love you, so please don't attack me."

"Choose your words very carefully, Asher." She warned him.

"Is it, um…is it shark week?"

"What does that even mean?"

"You know..."

"I don't." She said bluntly, looking at him like he was crazy.

"Bloody waters...the Red Sea...that scene from The Shining."

"That was the absolute worst way to ask if it's that time of the month. Never do that again. And to answer your question, no."

"Marci, you have been a little…feisty lately, more than you usually are." He pointed out, noting what she just did to Grimm just because he said something she clearly didn't like.

"Is that the nice way of saying bitchy?" She asked him with narrowed eyes.

"No, I mean feisty. It's okay to tell me if you're on. I'll go get you chocolate and tampons, whenever you want. I wanna make you comfortable." He smiled.

"For future reference, I use maxi pads because tampons could kill me and a pint of Ben & Jerry's Phish Food keeps me calm. And, again, it's not shark week." She told him, but it looked like he was about to say something, so he sighed. "For God's sake, Asher. Do you want me to pull my underwear off and let you check the crotch for blood?"

"No, no. I believe you." He denied with a chuckle. "Alright, I'm gonna go handle business. Just get comfy and relax. After this, we can go to this new Italian place downtown." He couldn't stop the face-splitting smile that grew on his face. "I remembered you told me you liked Italian food 'cause it'll make you thick."

"I'm not hungry."

"Marci-" She grabbed her milkshake and aimed it at his head, making him put his hand up. "Okay, alright. There's a pistol taped under the seat in case things get crazy and some Jolly Ranchers in the glovebox. I'll try to wrap this up as quickly as I can."

Gage finally exited the car and went to join his members. Lucky was now holding a red briefcase and he handed it to his President, opening it. The briefcase was practically filled to the top with money and Gage was flipping through the stacks as he mentally counted how much there was.

From the cover of his dark shades, Arcane seemed to be waiting for Gage to make sure the money was right, but he was actually staring at the vintage car. He and his protection were watching when they drove up and could barely see the silhouettes inside. Arcane counted one body missing from the group and he wanted to know who was waiting for the men, not that he was worried about an ambush. The Spartans were infamously reckless, but they weren't that crazy.

"Who's in the car?"

"Nobody you need to worry about." Gage smoothly replied, his focus still on the green leaves.

"So, you won't mind if I go look." It wasn't a question and Arcane wasn't asking for permission. He left his protection, but raised a hand to tell his bodyguards to continue with the deal while he investigated whomever tagged along with the bikers. Asher stopped counting and diligently watched Arcane go to his car.

Arcane reached the Hemi Cuda and stopped a few inches before the grille just to admire the vintage car. Then, he went to the passenger side and used his knuckle to knock on the tinted window. From inside the car, Marceline was looking at the blond man like he was insane. If he was doing business with the Spartans, he had to be. She knew the windows were tinted, but the windshield had less, so the guy already knew she was in here.

Arcane knocked on the window again and this one sounded more impatient than the last. With a sigh, Marci rolled the window down enough to reveal her eyes, but Arcane easily forced the glass down further with his hand pressing down on the top. Leaning on the car, he almost had his head inside the window to see who the passenger was. He cocked an eyebrow when he saw Marci, but it was because she didn't look like a Doxy. She had on actual clothes and the makeup on her was subtle, if she was even wearing any. She was also looking at him like she was going to claw his face off if he tried anything.

Arcane reached in his pocket for his latest work in progress, a blue and red box stitch, and let the girl see it. Her eyes flicked to the colored and braided plastic, but settled on his sunglasses. Arcane smirked.

"Scoubidou, most people know it as Gimp." He told her as he twirled the plastic. "Girls usually know how to knot, it's kinda like braiding hair. Do you?"

"Yeah…" Marceline warily answered, unsure why the hell the guy who was supposed to be conducting illegal business with the bikers was talking to her.

Arcane nodded and gave her his unfinished box stitch. Marci was hesitant to take it from him, but grabbed it and began easily braiding the long plastic strands without looking. She refused to take her eyes off Arcane, but she did find some enjoyment in gimping. Jasmine was the one who taught her when they were in middle school and that's how Marci learned to braid her hair instead of wearing the ponytails or pigtails that her Dad would do because Rosemary didn't bother taking the time to style her daughter's hair.

Halfway through the braiding, Arcane asked Marceline if she knew the different styles of Gimping and she recalled the ones she knew how to do. He then requested that she change the style halfway through from box-stitch to a spiral-knot. Once Marci finished the braid, she handed it back to Arcane, but he took his dark sunglasses off to inspect her work.

She knew it was rude, but she was bluntly staring at the man's eyes. They were a lime-like shade of green and they almost looked like they were glowing in the late afternoon's sunlight. When he looked up from the braided plastic in his hand, he wasn't surprised to find her gawking at him.

"I'll save you the breath of asking. No, I'm not wearing contacts. These are my real, freaky eyes."

"How?" She asked, almost mesmerized.

"Had baby blues, wanted green ones, so I let my stupid friends drop some melted shit in my eyes. Doc said I almost burned my corneas out."

"Dude, you look like Edward Nygma took a couple shots of Titan." He had no idea what the hell she just said and his expression showed. It got Marci to smirk a bit too. "That's wicked."

"That's a first." He told her, tilting his head to the side. "I haven't seen you around before. What's your name?"

"Marceline."

"Are you the Vampire Queen?"

"That's a first." She mocked him with a smile.

"Let's blow this dump, Queenie." Arcane declared as he opened the car door. When she didn't immediately get out, he asked her, "What, you don't trust me?"

"I just met you. Stranger Danger."

"True, but even I know that I'm nothing like these guys. I actually know how to function like a normal person, but if you'd rather hang out with the Spartans instead of doing fun shit with me, be my guest." Marceline stared at the man for a moment and realized just how angelically handsome he was with his clean-shaven face, otherworldly eyes, buttery blond hair and six-foot height. She wondered why he wanted her to leave with him, but figured anywhere else was better than being with Gage or the Spartans. She unbuckled her seatbelt and took Arcane's awaiting hand, walking to his Hummer. "Gage, I'm gonna be borrowing her for a few hours. Don't wait up." Arcane said over his shoulder as he escorted Marci to his car. That finally got Gage to think about something other than the drug money and his eyes snapped to the man.

"You wanna borrow my wife?" He questioned.

"You're married?" Arcane asked Marceline and she looked at him like he was crazy.

"God, no. And especially not to that asshat."

"Well, Queenie's gonna be my wife until I decide to give her back. Don't worry, I'll be nice." He told Gage with a smirk.

"Why do you want her?" He demanded.

Arcane shrugged. "She makes my dick hard, let's go with that."

"No."

"What?"

"I said, no. You can't have her and you're not taking her anywhere."

"Gage, the deal." Lucky reminded.

"Fuck the deal. We'll find someone else to sell to that doesn't wanna take shit that doesn't belong to them." Gage barked at Lucky as he slammed the briefcase shut and threw it back to one of Arcane's men. He stomped over and snatched Marceline tightly by the arm, making her punch him in his back as he began to drag her back over to the car.

"The fuck, Asher?! That hurts!" She yelled at him, but he stopped when he heard the cocking of a gun behind him.

"Shit like that makes me itch, Gage. Do not get under my skin." Arcane growled as Marceline finally pulled herself out of Gage's hold and rubbed her arm where he grabbed her. "Pac, get Queenie in the car." He commanded and one of his men escorted Marceline to the Hummer.

Gage had already turned around and watched as Arcane went over and grabbed the case full of money, returning it to the Spartan President. He was trying his hardest not to throw a punch at the cocky smile the man had.

"I'm gonna let that little...emotional outburst slide, Asher, but I expect you to be a very good boy from here on out." Arcane told Gage with a tame, yet deranged tone. "This just turned into a trust test. If I feel like I can't trust you, you'll never see Queenie again and I'll personally slaughter any leather-wearing biker baby I see riding down my streets. If I feel like I can, we'll do business and you'll have a nice, heavy pocket full of cash."

"What about my girl?"

"I'll give her back, if I feel like you've earned my forgiveness. Then again, you could always just take a ride with me and see if that pretty mouth of yours can convince me to give her back now."

Gage shook his head at the offer. "I don't run that way."

"You're a bad boy, Ash. I know you've been in lockup half your life. Guy gets mighty lonely without someone to keep him warm. You expect me to believe you never had a bitch in jail, one of your Toads?"

"Never. I don't run that way."

"Mm-hmm, and what about your best buddy, Roman? Never had a slumber party and experimented?" He looked over at the long-haired blond who was watching the conversation between his President and the drug-lord. When his smokey quartz eyes drifted over to Arcane, the kingpin noticed the subtle interest sparkling in them. Scrap gave Arcane a once over from top to bottom and his gaze lingered on his exposed arms, then his neck before settling on his face. Arcane kept his eyes on Scrap as he finished his sentence. "I wouldn't mind being locked in a room with either of you."

"You gonna keep flirting or what?"

"You gonna be my new toy or what?" Arcane parroted with a smile before walking towards his Hummer, waving to Gage. "I'll be back when I'm back. Wait up for me, Ash."

~.~.~.~.

"Do you usually jump into the cars of guys you just met or was I special?" Arcane asked Marceline as they rode in the backseats of the Hummer, offering her a pack of blue Sour Patch Kids.

"Anywhere is better than being with them." She told him as she accepted the candy, nibbling on one as he replaced his sunglasses. "Do you always hide your eyes?"

"They usually freak people out, but you're either seriously fucked in the head or extremely unprejudiced."

"To each his own." She shrugged.

"Your arm okay?"

"Doesn't hurt anymore, but there's probably a mark left behind." She said as she rubbed her arm. "I've been through worse. I'll live."

"Ash get grabby like that a lot?"

"Only when he's mad and even then, I fight back. He's not gonna put his hands on me and think it's okay."

"You don't have to deal with that shit, just leave."

'And go where? Back to Charming where nobody can protect me or will be able to do anything about him for the next twenty fucking years? Yeah, that sounds so much better.'

"Are you gonna kill me?" Marceline bluntly interrogated the man. "If you are, then I don't wanna be all surprised. At least gimme a minute to prepare myself."

"Goddamn, girl. The fuck kinda people do you hang around?" He rhetorically asked as he ran a hand over his face. "I'm not gonna kill you. I actually like you, Queenie. Saw something in your eyes that I haven't seen in a long time."

"Which was?"

"For starters, you didn't look the least bit afraid of hanging with the Spartans and even their whores look terrified to be near them. Plus, I saw you kicking one of their asses in the car, so if I come at you, I'm kinda nervous about what you'll do to me."

"Where are we going?"

"My office."

When they got to the sole three-story building on an otherwise empty lot and walked to the door, Arcane looked up at the corner. There was a camera mounted on the wall and it looked to be automatically set to swivel left and right. The camera stopped moving left to swing right and land on Arcane. He tipped his shades down enough to reveal his eyes and the camera dinged in approval, a buzzing following after.

Arcane walked in first, but held the door open for Marceline. The first floor somewhat resembled a hotel lobby, but it was empty save for a few windows, a desk with another one of Arcane's bodyguards behind it and a chain fence separating one half of the room from the next. The man came from behind the desk to unlock the fence and Arcane easily strolled through, but Marci was stopped when she tried following after him. The new bodyguard patted her down for weapons before letting her continue.

Arcane was leaning on a wall, returning to his wad of colorful ties, and this one was to an elevator being called to their floor. When it dinged, the silver doors separated and they stepped inside. There were no indications as to what the buttons on the control panel did, but Arcane pressed one and they were being taken up. When they arrived at their floor, it looked like another lobby, but this one was decorated with red rugs, framed pictures and mainly golden décor like vases, end tables and light fixtures.

Marceline continued following Arcane and at the end of the grand hall was another set of double doors that led into a big, office-like space. There was a wooden desk with elaborate carvings and an executive chair behind it. A flat-screen TV was mounted on a wall with a fancy, white cabriole sofa and marble coffee table in front of it. There were matching chaise lounges or egg chairs with golden accents and a bar on the opposite side of the room. Lounging around like accessories were women in enchanting lingerie. Some of them were watching TV, a few were making drinks and a pair of them were on the floor slowly putting the pieces to a puzzle together.

"If I've fucked you, get out." Arcane ordered and most of the women began leaving, though the two working on the puzzle had to be shepherded out.

"Even me?" Someone asked and a head of short, golden-blond hair rose from one of the chaise lounges.

A man in his mid-20s was standing on his knees on the lounge chair and his caramel eyes were glinting with desire as Arcane went over to him. Marceline was instantly made aware of how much the man resembled Scrap if the biker would get a haircut. She didn't see what Arcane did or heard what he said, but it made the blond pout before he climbed over the lounge, purposely rubbing against Arcane like a cat, in only a tight pair of briefs. The blond strutted out of the room, winking at Marceline before he shut the doors behind him.

"Take a look around, make yourself at home." Arcane told Marceline as he sat behind his desk and logged onto his desktop.

When Marci looked at him, she noticed that there was a black flag pinned on the wall behind his desk and she could see the white and cyan coloring from across the room, but what it spelled wasn't clear, so she got closer to it until she recognized the words.

"You're Krull?" She asked Arcane, aghast.

"The one and only."

"You jerkoff. Do you know how many times I got arrested because the cops thought I was you?"

"Thanks for taking the heat for me." He smiled as he typed, but looked over the screen at her. "What's your tag?"

"Nuxee."

"So you're the one who kept challenging me. It was a fun run. You've got mad skills, girl." He complimented. "How'd you come up with that tag?"

"My best friend thought it up when we were kids. I never asked how she came up with it. How'd you get yours?"

"It's a play on cruel."

"Why do you call yourself Arcane then? You could've gone with your graffiti tag."

"Arcane is a Latin word, originating from 'Arca' which meant 'chest' and went through the transformation of 'Arcere', meaning 'to shut up', and 'Arcanus', meaning 'secret.'" He elegantly explained, almost sounding like a history teacher. "In the mid-16th Century, the adjective 'Arcane' was finally created, meaning 'understood by few.' That's what I am, a puzzle. If we're being honest, I'm a fucking mystery to myself sometimes."

"Did you just Google that?"

"No." He answered and he even turned his screen around to show her he wasn't lying. Marci wasn't sure what she was looking at, but her best guess was that Arcane was reviewing stock charts. "I almost went with Zion too."

"The hill of Jerusalem on which the City of David was built doesn't sound very threatening."

"Scott's Valley was going to be my Zion, my heavenly kingdom to plunder and poison. Then I thought, 'If you're poisoning your kingdom, doesn't it lose its heavenliness?' My answer? 'Not if the poison makes the subjects of my kingdom feel like they're in Heaven.'" He explained in a daydreaming kind of way as he stared off at the ceiling, leaning back in his chair. "I decided 'Zion' was too religious for someone like me. I haven't been to Church in decades and I'm pretty sure a Priest would try to drown me in holy water if I came near him."

"What's your real name?" She asked, truly curious.

"Roderick." He answered as he stood and dug in the desk for something, putting three cans of spray paint on the top. "Wanna go tag some buildings? Cops usually stay off my ass nowadays."

"It's been a while since I've used a spray can. I think I've lost my touch. I'd love to watch you though."

~.~.~.~.

It was nighttime now and after tagging some abandoned buildings, convincing Marceline to do the same, Arcane told her that it was due time for him to get her back to the Spartans, so after stopping for two slices of pizza, they were driving to their clubhouse.

"You've caught my interest, Queenie." Arcane said as he began braiding a portion of her hair.

"How so?"

"When it comes to the women I associate with, they usually think my eyes are outlandish and they're afraid of me because they think I'm a rogue Area 51 project or that I've been exposed to toxic waste or some shit. Some of them think I'm lying when I tell them I'm not wearing contacts and they think I have 'a narcissistic, demi-god mentality' to match my 'complex.' I know I'm hot shit, but I'm not divine." He explained, pausing for a moment to look at her eyes. He liked the color of her eyes and her freckles. "You aren't on either side and you don't look like you're about to piss yourself when I look at you, when we talk. My Mom and sister were the only females to ever look at me like you do, like I'm still a fucking human and not some freak show."

"I think you have beautiful eyes, Roderick." She gently complimented. "In Catholic church, green symbolizes the renewal of vegetation and the promise of new life. The altar cloth is always green on Sunday service too. Maybe you could come to a sermon with me one weekend. I think a few minutes in the confessional would do you some good too."

"…would they really let me in, sit through a service? I almost went to Church once. Guy at the door got one look at me and locked me out."

"Then you were trying to go to the wrong Church. There is no judgment in the house of the Holy Father." She told him as he finished the lace braid on the side of her head leading into a ponytail. "Father Anthony says all are accepted and none are cast away at St. Helena's doors. I sit in those pews and pray with homeless people or recovering addicts or just lost souls looking for purpose. All the pain those people have, they bring it to the Church and release it."

"I lied when I told Gage you give me a boner. You're pretty and all, but I just wanted to bust his nuts while I stuffed my dick up his ass. He's gonna be begging for more when he hears the news. I like making him squirm, it's cute. Scrap is too. He was checking me out earlier." He saw how confused and probably offended she was by his careless use of profane words. He really didn't need to go into detail, but sometimes, his mouth just wouldn't shut up and that was likely why she asked him to stop speaking so vulgarly around her. He couldn't just turn off his mouth though. "Yeah, I'm a little queer. I just got outta lockup again a few weeks ago. Guess I shouldn't talk about that at Church, huh?"

"Definitely not." She advised. "I don't discriminate, but that's the opinion of one against many. Father Anthony said that he doesn't care about people's race or their sexual orientation because as children of God, we are supposed to spread and share His love as far as we can. God wants us to be happy and if that makes you happy, so be it."

"My god..." He rolled his eyes at the expression on her face. "I can literally see the hope in your eyes. Don't think I can be saved so easily, Queenie."

"I think there's some good in you, Arcane." She smiled at him as the car came to a stop in the parking lot of the Spartan's clubhouse. She saw Gage sitting on his bike, but he stood when he noticed the parked car.

"Here's my number. I call, you be ready in fifteen minutes." Arcane typed his personal number into Marci's phone and took a picture of them to set for his contact. "Tell Gage we've gotta deal. I'll be in contact with you when I'm ready to do business because he's a cocktease."

"First service is from nine to noon, then one to four-thirty. The first reading of the week will be Isiah, Chapter Nine: The people who walked in Darkness have seen a great Light." She told him as she got out of the car. "You don't have to get a tailored suit, but wear something nice, cover up your tattoos, leave your guns in the car and don't you dare so much as whisper a profanity while you're there."

"You've got sons, don't you?" He questioned, noting how her maternal instincts seemed to spike around him. She said she wasn't married to Asher, but that didn't eliminate the possibility of her being a mother. He thought it'd be pretty damn cute to see her with a baby on her hip.

Marceline was compassionate and kind when she needed to be, but she also let him know about the things she didn't like and she didn't have a problem spitting fire right back at him. And to top it off, she smiled like a sad little angel. She was innocent and honest, so how he managed to get more than a second of her time was a mystery.

"I don't know if you're implying that I look like I recently had a child or if I've got a few stashed away somewhere."

"That shit right there is exactly why I don't mess with girls full-time." He shook his head. "I'll make sure to keep a fifty in my pocket for the collection plate. You go run on to Ash before he starts crying." Marci waved goodbye and shut the door, but Arcane called out to her from the window and she turned around. "Give Scrap my number." He smiled from the window.

"You're not gonna use me to get laid, Arcane." She rolled her eyes at him.

"Come on, help me out! I'm going to Church for you!"

With a smile, Marceline told Arcane to go home and went into the clubhouse with Gage trailing behind her.

"Marci, are you okay? Did he hurt you?"

As soon as he touched her, she slapped him as hard as she could, the impact mimicking a punch. "How many times do I have to tell you to keep your fucking hands off me, Asher? I am not one of your club whores."

"I'm sorry." He honestly apologized, but she didn't want to hear it.

"I don't care. Keep your hands off me and that's the last time I'm saying it." She sternly told him, glaring at the man. "Arcane said you guys have a deal. I don't know why, but he said he'll call me when he wants to talk about meetups." She turned to Scrap, almost smiling because she couldn't believe what she was about to do. "And he wanted me to give you his number."

Scrap didn't say anything, but he did pull his personal cell out and unlocked it before passing it off to Marceline. She shook her head, but took the phone and saved Arcane's number. Marci went searching for her own phone and that led her upstairs. Scrap was still looking at the new number saved in his phone, having a mental war in his head about what he was allowed and forbidden to do. He didn't know what the hell he could do, if he was even allowed to talk to Arcane.

His phone buzzed in his hand and a text popped up from none other than the Kingpin himself.

Arcane: i'm still outside. let's go have some fun. Tell Ash you won't be coming home tonight.

Scrap's head tilted to the side in interest. His first thought was how Arcane got his number, but he decided that he didn't care. He knew what taking a ride with Arcane meant and he wanted to, but he couldn't just accept the offer. With him being a Spartan, he had to keep his unorthodox activities under wraps. He did that by having his way with the Doxies and he honestly enjoyed having sex with women, but he still had a taste for men every now and then. None of his brothers knew he was alright with bedding another man until he volunteered himself to make a male client happy back in his Toad days. Nobody commented on it or treated him any differently and Scrap could give less of a fuck about what anyone thought of him. He only cared about Asher's opinion because they were like blood. To his surprise, his best friend wasn't disgusted and didn't end their friendship. Asher seemed to have a sixth sense when it came to everyone's secrets because it seemed like he already knew about Scrap's unconventional taste.

"Is this okay?" He asked his best friend.

"What, you and Arcane?" Scrap nodded and Gage shrugged. "He likes you and if you're keeping him occupied, he won't be so focused on trying to rape me. Have a fucking blast with your new psychopathic admirer. Don't come crying to me when he tries to do some weird shit to you either."

"Asher, seriously. I don't know if he's just looking for a fuck or-"

"Oh, he's definitely looking for a new toy." Gage said with a wiggle of his eyebrows.

"Regardless, is it okay for me to get into something with him?"

"Scrap, so long as Arcane keeps his word and his dick away from me, I really don't care what you do with him. You wanna go play with that crazy fucker? Be my guest. What and who you do with your dick is not my business." Gage watched as Scrap quickly texted a response and his eyes were glued to the screen as a smile grew on his face when the device buzzed in response. "You're gonna go see him now, aren't you?" Scrap nodded, a bit too eagerly, and made Gage laugh. He told his best friend to make sure he had condoms and lots of lube before sending him on his way.