Acropolis Trio Multi-shot: Chap.2
WARNING: SHITTY-ASS WRITING, ANGST, VIOLENCE, FLUFF, A SHIT-TON OF HEADCANONS, RUDE-ASS LANGUAGE, AND A HALF-ASSED PLOT. Okay, bye~
"...Tearing love apart/ You're gonna catch a cold/ from the ice inside your soul…" The demon hummed to herself as she scrubbed the soap into her long dark hair. Beros made a mental note to thank the puffy chick- er, Bell for the smart phone. Being able to listen to music while simultaneously looking at pictures was the closest thing this demon would get to Heaven. Well, that and 'quality time' with Goyle, or Braz, but could you really count that as a holy pleasure? Well, it is wholly pleasurable, she thought to herself. Humming the melody of the tune to herself, she recalled how she had gotten with Braz in the first place.
Following the transition from a king ruling over the Demon World to a counsel, Braz had come to work as an overseer for the lower world. And apparently, annoy the absolute living shit out of me, Beros thought as her irritation grew since Braz had come to visit her for what had to be the 8th time in the past 2 hours. "Hi~" He grinned in a manner that made the Cheshire Cat seem depressed.
"What do you want?" Beros growled, desperately trying to suppress the shuddering that threatened to rip down her spine.
"I'm bored. Talk to me." The elder vampire whined.
"No," she angrily muttered.
"Why not?"
"Because I'm busy." She answered his inquisition, but not entirely so, since something else was upsetting her.
"Busy doing what?" Braz asked, pulling up a chair next to her.
"Paperwork." Came the short reply.
"What kind?"
"Arrest reports."
"Why?"
"It's required."
"Can't you hand it off to someone else?"
"No. Now go away." She snapped.
"Why?"
"Why can't you shut up, you little-" As she attempted to deliver the scathing comment, she turned to see Braz staring at her with a bemused expression on his face. Realizing that he had manipulated her, the snake-tailed demon gathered her stuff and stuck it in her desk. "I'm heading to lunch." Grabbing her bag, she quickly left Braz sitting at her desk alone. However, what she didn't know until later was- You know what? Let's just follow her. It'll be explained later.
Marching down the hall, she headed into the locker room to get her jacket due to the colder weather, and found a friend as well.
"Oh, hey Al, what's up?" She inquired to her cyclopic friend.
"Oh, not much. Just getting cleaned up after training." Allessa replied timidly. Even though she was big, even by demon standards, she was quieter than a church mouse, unless you put her behind a saxophone or microphone: Hence, why she was in Beros' band.
"Yeah, I'm heading out to lunch. Wanna come with? Klarice is supposed to meet me there." In an attempt to make small talk, Allie declined politely.
"Thanks, but I'm not that hungry, not to mention broke."
"Ah, it's fine. Just don't starve yourself, okay? Oh, and don't forget practice is Thursday."
"Got it. See you later." As the bigger Cyclops left, she covered her beautiful auburn hair and predominant eye with the same covering as most of the other officers; white with a red cross.
After putting on her black jacket to where it fit comfortably and kept her warm, she made her way out of the station and into a nearby carriage. "Down to the city, please." Beros asked politely. Complying with her request, the driver waited until she sat down before hitting the dog-like creatures with the switches and taking off down the road. As the boxy carriage made its way down the path, the passenger took her phone out of her pocket with a pair of earbuds, stuck one in, and let the music play. A handful of songs and a couple minutes later, a knock could be heard on the small partition between the driver and Beros.
"We're here, ma'am." The deep voice rumbled out.
"Thanks for the ride." She thanked the driver as she stepped out of the boxy structure.
"No problem," He replied before turning around and heading back up from where they had started.
Turning around, Beros thought back to where she was going to meet Klarice and started walking amongst the innumerable stands, shops and stores.
It could've been seconds, it could've minutes, maybe even hours, but in a blur of time and storefronts, she finally saw the café just a few doors down. She had picked up the pace when her phone buzzed with important news. Pulling the device out of her pocket, she swiped the screen to find a message from Klarice. Can't make it. Got mono and puking everywhere. Blergh. Rain check? This irritated the officer, her tail thrashing angrily at the belief she had to go back to the annoying vampire, before realizing she had taken her lunch break and didn't have to; She still had 23 minutes to eat, call for a carriage and get back to work. She responded with the following message: That's okay. Just get better. I'll bring you some muffins and coffee. Clicking the button to shut off the screen, Beros stepped into the small business and found a seat. Sitting down in a black booth with red and gold trim, she picked up a menu and browsed through the selections.
"Hello. My name is Kuroto. May I take your order?" Looking up, the snake-tailed creature looked up to see her server's face, but was greeted by a shapeshifter's featureless one, save the glowing gold eyes. Replacing her typical stern disposition with a softer, yet still serious expression.
"It's kind of long. I'd like a ham and cheese croissant, a white chocolate latte with a little caramel, and basket of muffins with a thermos of just black coffee. My friend's sick and she wanted something." She added the last sentence in a slightly sheepish manner and a smile.
"O-oh, alright. I'll get that in for you." The young man stuttered. As he walked back to the kitchen, Beros could've sworn he was flushed. Well, it is fairly warm in here, she added mentally as she slipped her jacket off. Despite being late fall, early winter weather, the café was surprisingly toasty. The pipes connected to the various machines would poke out of sections of wall that had been removed, and a small stage built into the wall with red curtains. It was quaint, comfortable, and the music system almost always played Alternative or Punk Rock music. This is heaven Beros thought to herself. Unfortunately, as the door opened with the arrival of a new customer, the paradise would soon no longer be a safe haven for her.
The bells chimed lightly as the patron stepped in, and a server came to assist them.
"May I help you?" A cat girl with bright red locks ran over before coming to a stop in front of their new guest.
"If you don't mind, I see a colleague of mine over there. I'd like a cup of green tea with a sprinkle of peppermint, if you would please." Wow, Beros thought to herself, this dude sounds familiar. And so boring, she added. Although, she couldn't shake off her uneasy feeling creeping up on her. She heard the footsteps of the new arrival heading in her direction. Glancing forward, she saw the other patrons. In the corner, a lone genie was sipping at a fruity-looking drink and an elf with skin problems tapping away at a laptop. Considering how lame he sounds, he's probably going to sit Greasy over there, she mentally noted, still a bit peeved from Braz's behavior, which she unconsciously took out on the elf.
The click-clack of the new arrival's shoes slowed down as she opened up her phone to check to see if anybody had texted, called, etc. Seeing no notifications, she put her phone away and shut off the music.
"Hi there." Beros' head jerked up to see what the patron looked like, and when she did, her heart sank into her boots. Motherfu- "May I sit down?" Braz inquired, his hand setting on the back of the seat opposite the woman he was asking.
"Whatever." Beros muttered in irritation.
Taking a seat, Braz shrugged off his coat and gloves as the mousy cat girl tapped her way over to her customer's place.
"Here's your tea, sir," she chirped happily as she sat his hot beverage in front of him. "Thank you." He said politely.
"Would you like something to eat sir?" She asked, hoping he'd say yes.
"A cinnamon roll and a bowl of spaghetti, please." He replied.
"I'll have that out for you real quick." The waitress smiled, her bright green eyes smiling. Turning on her heel, she headed into the kitchen to give the order to the chef.
"Chipper, isn't she?" The noble vampire asked the demon he was eating with. However, she wouldn't even dignify him with a response.
"Sorry about the wait, ma'am. Here's your order." Kuroto apologized.
"It's perfectly fine. Don't worry about it." Beros replied. As he sat the order in front of her, unbeknownst to Beros, the waiter was glaring at her coworker, his eyes flashing red.
"And here's the order for your friend." The worker added, slightly irritated but managing to conceal his vexed attitude.
"Thank you, Kuroto." Beros said as she received the thermos and small tin.
"Enjoy." Was all her waiter said before ducking into the back room. Setting the gift for her friend next to her bag and coat, Beros got started on her lunch.
"Somebody's hungry." Again, no response, but he did receive a venomous glare as she nibbled on the croissant.
"Wow, if this is how you treat someone who's trying to be nice to you, I'd hate to be the guy you just broke up with." Beros nearly choked on her deliciously cheesy and meaty lunch, her eyes the size of the bowl of spaghetti Braz's waitress was bringing over.
"Sorry for the wait. The cinnamon roll is hot." Balancing the tray in one hand and the white bowl in the other, she sat half of his order on the table, followed by the small baked good.
"Enjoy your meal." The small demon said happily, but rather than scurrying off to the kitchen, she leaned over Beros, who was coughing as she lay on the table for support.
"Is she okay?" The cat asked her patron.
"I think I caught her off guard." He attempted to explain to the other young woman.
"Ahh, makes sense. Bye!" She chirped before retreating to the back. Gently waving to the helpful young woman, he quickly redirected his gaze towards Beros, who had composed herself to summon a deadly glare directed straight at Braz. Had he not been so used to concealing his emotions, he probably would've shuddered at the sheer intensity at her irritated stare.
"Who told you?" The twin-tailed demon hissed at the vampire sitting across from her.
"I didn't catch her name, but she said she was a friend of yours." He replied.
"Sort of smaller, blond, black eyes with blue irises, and barefoot for one reason or another." Braz clarified. Smaller and blond with different eyes narrowed down to about three of Beros' friends, but the bare feet told her exactly who the culprit was.
"Jessica." She growled with an unprecedented amount of anger. Looking Braz straight in his eyes, she told him.
"Tell me what happened." Sighing, he recalled his ordeal from earlier.
Beros angrily stomped off to god knows where, and Braz was intent on following her, causing him to grab his jacket, but a voice stopped him.
"Don't." The quiet, feminine voice called out. While the voice wasn't that loud, it was surprisingly forceful. Turning around, he saw a petite young woman with short blonde hair, bright blue eyes with a black sclera, and was without shoes.
"Why?" He asked for the millionth time for that day.
"Just let her calm down. She's probably upset after her brea-" Having realized what she had almost let slip, she cut herself off, and unintentionally sparked a certain vampire's interest.
"Excuse me. What was it you said had upset her?" Sighing, Jessica resigned herself and told him.
"She recently broke up, BUT I'm not telling you with who." She firmly told him, helping to answer his inquisition, but it caused another question: Who could it have been? A smile crossed his face as he reached for the drude's hand and laid a kiss upon the back of her lightly tanned hand.
"Thank you, my dear. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a colleague to find."
With that, he grabbed his coat & hat and left the blushing demon to herself. Going back to his section, he grabbed his wallet and knitted hat, but before he made it out of the room, he ran into his coworker.
"Oh, hello Roy." He said to the small demon.
"You know she's going to be upset, and the spaghetti bowl is going too big." Said member of Team Fearless mumbled.
"Excuse me?" Braz asked, not quite hearing what he said.
"Huh? Oh, I must've been talking in my sleep again."
"I'm taking my lunch break." The vampire said.
"Alright, see you later." Roy replied. After making it to the wing where the carriages were kept, the nobleman saw one pull in.
"Excuse me," He said to the driver
"Have you seen Officer Beros?"
"Yeah, I dropped her off in the city." The gruff voice replied from under the white hood.
"Could you take there? I have something important to talk to her about." Braz asked, stretching the truth ever so slightly. While he did need to talk to her, it wasn't urgent. Sighing, the driver made a gesture to the carriage.
"Get in."
"Thank you, sir." The vampire said politely. As he sat down, the other officer latched the harnesses connecting the dog-like creatures to the carriage. After doing so, the demon took his place on the small seat and gave the reins a loud CRACK!, sending them off. Since he knew it would take a little time to make it to Acropolis City, he took out his smartphone and surveyed his messages. Neyn. Franken. Staz. Franken. Neyn. Fuyumi, who wanted to know how Liz was. Neyn. Neyn. He quickly replied to his brother and Staz's ghostly girlfriend before telling Franken he had most of the calculations complete. After those chores had been taken care of, Braz quickly started up a new conversation with his pen pal.
"We're here," the coachman said before the vehicle rattled to a stop. Opening the door to the cool autumnal air, the noble quickly gave a thank-you to the driver before heading down the brick path. After passing countless shops, stores and businesses, he had all but given up on his search when he saw a familiar spiky orange bracelet and raven ponytail through the window of a shop called 'Café Diem'. A chuckle of a sigh made its way out of his mouth as he approached the door.
Braz quickly caught Beros up, excluding his messages- mostly because he thought she would be suspicious of his plan, or even upset. Eyebrows drawn together and a frown on her face, Beros muttered something about putting syrup on a floor and inviting her friend.
"In her defense, I was asking, and it would've been impolite to ignore." Braz pointed out.
"Fair point." She replied. Grabbing her friend's gift and slipping on her jacket, Beros slid out of the booth seat.
"You mind keeping an eye on my stuff? I was gonna give these to her before I forgot. Klar lives just down the street."
"Go right ahead. But it's rude to leave in the middle of a date." He commented.
"I'll be right back." Beros responded before leaving. Realizing that she hadn't said it wasn't a date, Braz was about to make a mental note to tease her about it when she popped her head back into the shop.
"And we're not on a date, asshat." The bell on the door chimed as it shut again.
Dang it. Braz thought to himself. Since she said it would take a little time, he began eating his pasta. However, even as a vampire with a high metabolism, it was too much spaghetti. As he moved the ceramic item towards Beros' empty spot, he noticed something in the reflection of her coffee cup. Looking at where the reflection originated, Braz saw a small notebook with the word 'Private' written in calligraphy that had fallen out of the policewoman's bag. Glancing towards the others in the dining area and back out the window, he quickly snatched the small diary from its spot and opened it to the first page. Flipping through the sheets, he analyzed the script and found poems, sketches and song lyrics everywhere. Some of these are pretty good, Braz thought to himself. He browsed through the booklet when he saw a familiar set of twin-tails out the window. Quickly snapping the item shut, Braz put it back in her bag and went back to what he was doing. Glancing out the window, the vampire saw Beros a bit down the path, but a few orcs walked up to her before she could make it back.
"Hey cutie, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" The apparent leader asked her in an uncomfortably friendly manner.
"Out to lunch with a coworker." Beros replied, growing more uneasy around the group by the second.
"Well, do you think they'd understand if you 'got sick' at the last minute?" The creature said, hinting towards his motives.
"No, I just want to get back to lunch. So, if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way." She really wanted to get out of the situation without having to send them out on stretchers.
"Oh, come on sweetie. We're just having a nice conversation here. Come on, just stay."
"I'd really rather not." The cop was growing more frustrated by the second, and be reprimanded by Goyle for fighting was not on her to do list today.
"Hey, I said please. Stay here." The orc grabbed her wrist as his buddies converged on her.
"Let me go. I just want to get back." She struggled against the vice-like grip he had on her arm.
"We'll take you back; To our place, if you catch my drift." His buddies chuckled at the insinuation, and the prospect of a new 'playmate'. She struggled against the creature's tightening grip on her arm.
"I said no, and I mean it. Now, let me leave." She snapped back.
"Calm down. We're just talking here. No reason to get upset." Despite his words, she began thrashing angrily in an effort to get out of his grasp.
"You see, my friends have been very lonely for a while."
"Let me guess, the pimps have a limit of how many STDS you can give to one of their women. I'm willing to bet that syphilis you got made it to your lack of a brain and made you think treating people like that would make them fear you, but the only scary thing about you is your fugly face." She had another few insults at the ready, but was cut off by a wince as he twisted her arm to an even more uncomfortable position.
"I'm sorry, but I don't think such words are very polite for a lady to say." The orc directed her towards the alley.
"Neither is spitting. Say it, don't spray it. And Jesus, have you ever heard of dental hygiene? Learn it. What gonorrhea-ridden hooker crawled in your mouth and died in there- Your mom?" Beros was whipping out insults left and right, but it was hard to do so when you were pinned up against a brick wall, slapped in the face, and punched in the diaphragm.
"Listen, I'm not playing around here. This isn't a game."
"Too bad for you; In my case, my favorite game became my job- Cops and Kicking Ass. Now we can do this the easy way or the hard way, and considering your actions, you're heading for the hard way." Beros responded. Leaning close as his hand pinched her face, he whispered into her ear.
"Baby, I only do it the hard way." He pulled back his face, but after a split-second, a look of realization crossed his face.
"I thought you looked familiar. You're the ex-Lieutenant's kid, aren't you?" One glance at the reproachful look on her face confirmed his suspicions.
"Well then," He said a bit louder, "Let's see how he'll react to hearing his daughter was finally treated like the ho she is."
Squirming fiercely, he licked her cheek, causing her to turn away.
"Come on, don't be rude. We all want to see what sort of kinky brat that brain-dead douchemonger had. And that was it: The straw that broke the camel's back. In that moment, she saw only red as the creep was thrown through his group of buddies and into the open path. Tossing her hat to the side, she began taking out the cronies, mostly by kicking in the face and unmentionable areas.
After a minute, she and the small group of demons moved out of the view of the window, Meaning they moved into the alley, Braz concluded. He waited a few moments, and since she hadn't come out, the vampire stood up and walked out the door of the café, but right when the door chimed shut, the orc he saw with his hands on Beros was launched through the air and into a nearby wall as grunts of pain could be heard from the alley and Beros stepped out looking… different. While she had the same outfit minus her hat, her eyes darkened from a bright magenta to a medium burgundy, and what he thought was her eyeliner sticking out had made its way to her cheekbones as a series of jagged lines. She looked beautiful yet deadly. Emphasis on deadly, the vampire thought based on the look of pure rage she wore.
"Like I said, I'm a cop too, so you may want to think carefully about you say and do next." Beros told the subdued demon. But her attempt to leave was thwarted by another one of the leader's cronies who had her in bear hug from behind. A bored look on her face, the officer quickly brought her legs together, lifted them above her head, and swiftly brought them down on her captor's knee cap, which let out a sickening crunch under the force of the impact. Yelping like the wounded animal he was, he dropped the female demon who then proceeded to throw the back of her head into his face, breaking his nose and chipping a few teeth before earning a roundhouse kick to the ribs and being sent flying back into one of his buddies who was just getting up.
"You should've stayed down." Beros said with an uncharacteristic amount of seriousness. Just what did they do to her, Braz wondered. The last two orcs charged at her with absolute fury, but with the disinterested look the policewoman had, they might as well have been 2 inches tall and made of green fuzz. As one of them pulled ahead, she quickly moved to the side, narrowly missing the man, and quickly subdued the slower of the two, who she threw towards the other. The pair collided and collapsed into a large heap on the path.
With the flick of a wrist, she summoned the hounds to enforce the spell she was casting and the collar appeared on the lead criminal's neck as he lie there unconscious, and the shadow cast on her by the flames added even more to the unsettled feeling Braz was experiencing towards Beros' actions. Walking back to the edge of the alley, she collected her hat, shook off the dirt off, and laid it back on her head where it belonged. While the eye markings receded for the most part, her eyes were the same captivating yet dangerous shade of red. She was making her way back towards the café when the sound of rock and glass clattering on one another caused her to look back to see the main offender arise from the small crater.
"Did you have a nice nap, fucktard?" She asked the furious larger demon, turning to look at him.
"Bitch." He spat with a little bloody spit. It was then he realized the collar had been placed around his large neck.
"Like I said: douche's kinky, tight-ass brat." He smirked as he cracked his stiffened joints. Her eyes narrowed dangerously and the markings grew back slightly.
"Wow, that actually hurt. I think I might cry. As if. The only reason I'd cry around you is the stench of second-rate, disease-ridden, waste of space shit is making my eyes water." Beros shot back with more venom than a cobra.
"I like them feisty." The orc responded, drawing his tongue over his cracked and split lips.
"And I like mycriminals behind bars. Even though you'll be locked up soon, I still won't like you, shit stain. Why don't you do yourself a favor and just give up already, save everybody the trouble." The cop retorted with a rather serious poker face.
"Aw, you wound me. I don't care if you like me or not: I'm gonna teach you a lesson."
"This coming from the guy with the IQ and appeal of roadkill? Unless you're teaching me how to reek that badly or how to contract the most venereal diseases, I think I'm better in just about every other way." She replied in irritation.
"At least my dad isn't some moron who caught for being phenomenally idiotic." The orc said. The aura around Beros grew deadly, and the markings underneath her eyes twisted and turned in segments until the majority of her cheeks were marked.
"At least one of my parents actually cares about me." She hissed in reply. "What was it that tramp you call a mother had? A shitload counts of possession & distribution, domestic violence and multiple prostitution convictions? Seems you calling my dad an idiot is fairly hypocritical considering yours can't stay sober long enough to get a job."
"Why don't you shut the fuck up before you see my bad side?" The leader spat, clearly sensitive about the topic.
"Honestly, I couldn't tell if that was your bad side or if you're just that ugly. An albino troll could learn a lesson from you, you fucking dumbass." Beros replied, hinting towards the unsightly nature of that species and the offender it was directed to.
"I told you to SHUT UP!" He shouted before changing. He was already fairly large, but the lime green aura surrounding him seemed to inflate his upper half with muscle rather than air, growing far larger, primarily in the arms. Using his enhanced strength, he directed a punch towards the officer, who simply smiled despite the threatening limb almost at her chin. Move, move, move now, Braz internally shouted. However, before he could get within 3 inches of Beros, a familiar sight of dogs seemingly made of flames appeared and descended upon the cause of their arrival, biting, scratching, mauling the victim who only shouted and screamed in helplessness. The light cast by the spell's enforcers cast a shadow of Beros' face, contributing even more towards the wary feeling Braz possessed to her actions. Even more so when she knocked out the victim of the magic with a kick to the head, a smirk on her mouth. Only after that did she release him from the constraints of the enchantment.
"Κοιμηθείτε καλά, σας άθλια σπαταλώ του διάστημα. Θα είναι το μόνο θετικό πράγμα σε αξιολύπητη ύπαρξή σας." She hissed. What the hell did she just say, Braz thought in curiosity. However, his thoughts about her sudden change of language was replaced with concern as she held her head, stumbled backwards and fell on her rear, nearly crushing her tail in the process. Rushing over, the noble demon helped Beros up.
"Are you alright?" He asked worriedly.
"I'm fine," was her reply, as she regained her balance.
"Judging by the man who is currently bleeding and comatose by your actions, I don't think 'fine' is the way to describe you." His concerned look surprised Beros, but not quite as much as the sound of sirens down the street. "Citizens, do not be alarmed, the situation is being diffused as we speak. It is all fine." The voice blared over a megaphone, eliciting murmurs and whispers from the crowd about what was happening. "Aw, shit." Beros said, clearly exasperated. Braz was about to ask what was the matter, until a regal older man with horns that reminded the vampiric young man of the trickster god's- Toki, or something Norwegian - helmet from a movie he saw with his little brother, appeared in front of them.
"Officer Beros, I believe." The imposing stranger in question said, somewhat ominously. "Yes, Commissioner Nybbas." She replied respectfully. He must be important for her to act like this, Braz thought, taking note of her suddenly out of character behavior towards the Commissioner.
"Might I ask why I received a call about an officer using apparently excessive force to deter a few criminals?"
"I wouldn't say this was 'excess-'"
"We have 4 injured men, and one who has been rendered comatose by your actions and severe blood loss from your spell. If this isn't excessive, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IS." The end of his sentence was rather pointed towards his subordinate officer, so much so that she flinched, although not very noticeably, and hung her head.
"They were conducting themselves in an improper manner towards myself. I asked politely, warned them multiple times, and was forced to defend myself. If you don't believe me, look for yourself. Sir." She responded uncharacteristically formally.
Braz was about to remark how that would've been borderline impossible, until the imposing older gentleman made his way to one of the lackeys that had been relocated to a stretcher. His hand glowed a soft baby blue as his hand rested on the unconscious demon's closed eyes. Closing his eyes, they began to shine a light sky blue color that almost shone through his eyelids. He stayed like that for a few moments, until he reached the end of the memory and his eyes darkened again. Retracting his hand, he turned to Beros.
"In light of this new evidence, I will lessen your punishment. However, since you went above the necessary force required to stop them, as well as your injuries," he said, gesturing to her swollen wrist and a quarter-sized bruise on her left cheekbone, "you will be on suspension for the next 2 weeks effective immediately. Do you agree, Chief Goyle?" Nybbas redirected his gaze to the aforementioned gargoyle-esque demon who seemingly appeared out of nowhere.
"Yes, Commissioner. I believe that is fair." Beros looked at him, clearly irked. That much Braz could tell from his close proximity to his snake-tailed colleague. If the other two noticed, they didn't say anything about it.
"Speaking of your injuries, I'd suggest you'd have them examined. The ambulances are right around the corner." The commissioner spoke softly, gesturing towards the aforementioned vehicles.
"Yes, sir." Beros replied respectfully. She made her way just around the corner when Goyle muttered something about further discussion with his partner and took his leave. Braz was about to follow when he felt a hand on his shoulder that turned out to be Commissioner Nybbas'.
"Yes sir?" He asked the stately older gentleman.
"What were you doing with her?" The question came out stern and fairly intimidating.
"I simply wanted to talk to her about something. Nothing inapprop-" Nybbas' hand raising caused Braz to interrupt himself.
"Take care of her. She's been through enough, and Typhon'll have both of our heads if you screw up too. Have a nice day." The 2nd sentence came out in a light, yet serious manner in comparison of the calm, almost parental tone of the other 2. Braz was going to reply when Nybbas walked away, and disappeared in a plume of smoke. Typhon. Why did that sound so familiar? What sort of ties could he have to Beros, Braz thought to himself. Making a mental note to check that out later, he went back to his original objective of going to check on Beros. Turning the corner, he stopped to see Goyle on the street just below the open back doors of an ambulance where Beros was having a paramedic wrap her left forearm in a black brace. Apparently, Goyle was lecturing her about something- probably about fighting civilians, judging by her exasperated expression. When the paramedic went back to the front, something about the atmosphere changed. Something Goyle said caused his partner's expression to change drastically. From bored to surprised, quickly morphing into hurt, which in turn changed to anger. He didn't want to, but he used his supernatural hearing to listen to their conversation and sate his curiosity.
"You said you wanted something more than what we had." She said, furious.
"I did, but-"
"But you couldn't risk your position as Chief. I was willing to-" This time he interrupted her.
"I worked hard to get here."
"You don't think I did? Do you know what it's like to constantly be watched by the higher-ups because they're afraid you'll betray them like your father? To be constantly scorned and ridiculed because you're a female cop? To have to work with the guy you cared about for so long, who shattered your heart into a million pieces because of his job? I took this job because I want to keep the ones I care about safe, and help the ones who need it. But I also want to have my own life, preferably with someone I care about. Apparently, for you, it's your job." The following silence told Braz just how shocked Goyle was by the confession. And, quite honestly, he was too.
"Look, Beros, I'm-"
"Sorry? That doesn't mean jack shit to me. I trusted you, and you repay me breaking my heart? Some boyfriend you were." She spat as she looked down, her eyes shining with tears about to fall and throat tightening. Grabbing her hat from beside her, she set it on her head,and she jumped down from the floor of the vehicle to the pavement below.
"I think I should go. Wouldn't want anyone to think you cared about me or something." After shooting him a scathing glare, she walked back towards the café and Braz, who dialed down his hearing. It didn't take super-hearing to perceive the sound of Goyle's heart cracking.
Hiding back around the corner, Braz pretended he had just gotten there when Beros walked straight into his chest.
Pulling back, she muttered a quick apology and fixed her hat.
"You want to finish lunch? I think they're going to ban us if we don't at least pay for our food." He added to attempt to lighten the mood.
"Yeah, sure." She said softly. He could hear the exhaustion in her voice. She probably is. Fighting 5 orcs and telling her ex how she felt must be draining, to say in the least. Holding the door to the café open for Beros, she muttered a 'thanks' as she walked inside, back to the table.
"I-I didn't want anyone to take it, so I held onto it. DON't worry, I didn't l-look inside or anything." The waiter stammered nervously, handing Beros' bag back to her.
"Thanks Kuro." She said.
"Y-You're welcome." And with, her shapeshifting waiter retreated to the kitchen. Beros sat back down in the booth as Braz tore a piece of the now-significantly cooler sweet roll off and popped it in his mouth.
"Do you want the rest of my spaghetti? I couldn't eat any more of it. Besides, I prefer sweet to salty." He teased her with a rather suggestive statement, evoking a very slight blush.
"I'm fi-" Her declination was interrupted by her growling stomach, roughly translating to 'I'm running low on food. Feed me already!' Braz quietly chuckled at the widening blush on her face at her stomach's reaction.
"Just a little bit. I'm not that hungry." Grabbing the bowl from next to her tepid coffee, she grabbed her own fork and took a bite as Braz did with his cinnamon pastry.
"So," He said right before swallowing the bite of roll, "you and Goyle, huh?" Her reaction was immediate: Eyes wide, cheeks puffed, absolutely shocked. Again, he found himself with a stunned Beros bent over a table choking and coughing hysterically as his waitress asked what happened.
"Oh, startled, I suppose." He told the cat-like demon.
"Oh, I'll get you more tea." Taking the cup, she went to get it refilled. He turned back to Beros, who composed herself.
"What do you mean? We're partners. That's the extent of our relationship." She stated quickly and quietly in an attempt to stop Braz's questioning. Looking up, she saw the unamused expression on his face that nonverbally communicated 'Really? I'm not buying it.' Sighing, she set the fork she had nervously been prodding the pasta with.
"Well…. Yeah, we did. Stupid mistake it turned out to be." She said, muttering the last part angrily.
"Well, for a while, it was pretty good."
"Hey." Beros said to her partner as he finally made it to the park bench they agreed to meet at.
"Hey. Ready to go?" His tail twitched as he said this, indicative that he was nervous. After 3 months, you'd think he be less nervous. Her thought came and went as she stood up and walked with him to the nearby restaurant.
"Yeah, but what did you need to take care of in private?" She asked him. Leaning in, she softly added, "I'm your girlfriend. I don't mind helping you with that sort of thing." The bewildered (and extremely flustered) expression caused his partner to giggle at such a reaction. Giggle. God, if my friends saw me like this…. The thought trailed off as she mentally shuddered at the hypothetical reactions of her friends. Begs to be maid of honor, warning about having kids too early, etc. Kids, she thought to herself, not only am I too young, I'm not even going to mention fact we've only been together a few weeks.
"Beros?" The inquiring tone caused her to tilt her head towards Goyle. "Are you cold? You just shuddered." He told her.
"Nah, just remembering something not so pleasant. But you still haven't answered my que-" "Goyle!" The shout caused the two of them to jump as he turned around with a grim expression. Trying to figure out who it was that was talking to her boyfriend, Beros looked back to see a girl that clearly resembled him, but with wavy hair rather than spiky and a lighter purple tail that ended in what looked like a fleur-de-lis. She was also older, and had the most enchanting golden amber eyes. Now, I just feel so plain. Beros thought that as she took in how extravagant she looked in comparison to her old jeans, band t-shirt, and dark blue jacket.
"What do you want, Gabby?" For some reason, he seemed rather annoyed.
"What, I can't want to see my baby brother every so often?" Oh, Beros thought, Maybe that's why. She herself had an older sister- Orthrus- and she drove Beros nuts.
"Fine. I wanted to see what kind of girl you actually ended up with. Honestly though, Greg thought you would end up with a dude, so don't freak out about my prediction." With that said, she snapped a picture of Beros and sent it to sent to someone, the chime of a message sent knocking Beros' partner out of his stunned state to an irritated, blushing one.
"Tell me you guys didn't-" His statement was cut off by loud groans of disappointment and cheers of success. Looking to where the sound came from, Goyle saw his family (and his family's own families) sitting in 2 extra large circular booths next to the window in the nearby restaurant. However, when 2 of them noticed he found them, they both made gestures to get down and hush up.
"You do realize I can see you, right?" He said loudly, earning a few puzzled glances from other street-goers that disappeared as the group inside popped back up. Sighing, he looked to Beros.
"Sorry about that. Let's just head back to your hou-"
"NOPE." Grabbing her brother's girlfriend, Gabby took her into the eatery, causing Goyle to follow.
"Well," Gabby said as she stood in front of the two booths,"Goyle finally got a girlfriend!" Cheers and the sound filled the otherwise empty dive as they toasted with drinks ranging from beer to berry juice at the opportunity to finally meet the aforementioned family member's other half.
"This is….. What's your name?" Gabrielle asked Beros after realizing she didn't know her name.
"Beros." Following the simple statement of her name, chatter bubbled like a shaken soda.
"She's pretty cute."
"Seems nice."
"Quiet, isn't she?"
"Am I gonna get another cousin?!" The clamoring caused her to feel more uncomfortable(especially what the 7-ish kid said. Kids + Beros = No. As simple as 2+2); even more so when Goyle opened the door, causing everybody to cut to awkward silence.
"Wasn't the door locked?" Rather than saying anything, Goyle held up a key ring, causing a few 'oh's of realization to be heard.
"Beros, I'm so sorry you had to meet these crazy people like this. Come on, let's just go." He tried to lead her out, but another arm yanked her out of his grip and into a firm chest.
"Come on Goyle, let her stay~ Let's have some fun, cutie." She managed to gain enough room to look up to see…. Goyle? Aside from the missing scar on his hairline, the other demon was freaking identical to her boyfriend.
"Geoffrey, leave her alone." Great, a third Goyle look-alike.
"Don't get your panties in a wad, Graham. I'm not messing with her. Am I annoying you?" He asked her.
"Goyle?"
"Yeah?"
"Did your sister's death grip make me pass out or something, because I know by the fact there's 3 of you, I'm asleep: what I don't know is if it's a dream or a nightmare." Her response triggered riotous laughter amongst the others as well as Geoff's chuckling.
"Cute and funny? How'd the nerd get someone so… perfect like you?" He was a charmer, and someone so suave with a cute and familiar face was definitely attractive. "So why don't you dump his lazy bum and aim for someone like me?" Aaaannnnddddd, there's the downside. Talking a flap of skin on the back of Geoffrey's hand and pinching with the vast majority of her strength, she maneuvered his arm to unwind from around her while the family giggled at another of one of the triplets' antics.
"I'm sorry about my brother. Subtlety and propriety are areas he needs to work on. I'm Graham." The third Goyle copy said to Beros. Waaaaaaiiiiiittt, why did he sound familiar?
"I guess firefighters are known as… hotheaded for a reason." The pun caused groans from their other family members.
"Hold up. Aren't you the fire chief for the Acropolis?" She asked Geoffrey as she turned to look at him.
"In the flesh. And honestly, I'd like to see all of yo-" His sentence was interrupted as Goyle and Graham quickly threw him on his face with the force of both slaps upside his head. A muffled 'OW' followed a few moments shortly after Geoffrey's face's arrival to the cold laminate below.
"And you're the head EMS for the Acropolis, aren't you?" Beros asked Graham.
"Guilty as charged." Again, groans emerged from the other family members at his corny puns. His brother's girlfriend was about to say something when her stomach growled ferociously.
"Um, Goy-"
"Ice-cold." He replied in reference to their food that went to waste.
"Stick it the fridge. If my predictions are right, then-" The timer in the kitchen went off, causing Gabrielle and 2 other, older, women darted in there to retrieve the food. "Yep, food's ready. You wanna stay for dinner?" Graham asked with a smile.
"We were actually kinda-" Goyle's statement was interrupted by family members complaints, objections, and begging 'Please stay'.
"They really want us to stay. And food." Glancing at her boyfriend, Beros gave him a heart-melting puppy dog stare to stay. Groaning in exasperation, he gave up with 'Fine' huffed, resulting in cheers from sisters, brothers, in-laws, cousins, aunts and uncles, as well as a seat next to Goyle in the booth, but the clamoring from the others only allowed her to mouth a 'thank you' before being overwhelmed with questions. However, she only managed to answer a handful before an ear splitting whistle broke up the chatter.
"Are you gonna jabber, or are you gonna eat?" Gabrielle asked her family as she and the other 2 family members brought out the heaping pots of food ranging from spicy crawfish to savory cheesecake and setting them on the surrounding tables. It literally took every molecule of self-control she had for Beros to keep from tearing into the feast like a rabid, starving animal.
"Dig in, everybody!" Gabs announced, a slight Cajun accent bleeding through into her exclamation. The rest of the night was spent eating, talking, and ended with Goyle and Beros at home, sleeping peacefully in each other's arms.
Braz looked at her, secretly happy at the small smile she had as she recalled her happy memory. Then, pushing the empty bowl away, her smile faded into a slight frown. "Then it just sort of started to fray around the edges. He'd get more stressed, but he'd perk up after some reassurance. Then it just sort of fell apart."
"Goyle, calm down. It'll be fine." However, no matter what she said, he was still hysterical.
"How did he know? The only people who know from me are my family, and I know for a fact they're not involved with that creep or his goons." The drug dealer had been fairly high-profile, and apparently, had 'irrefutable proof' the two of them had been….. intimate….. and seeing each other for a while. Even though they denied it, the mention of a certain birthmark on a certain spot cinched it.
"Goyle, it's our word against his, and considering the dirt the others have dug up on him, who do you think they're going to believe; Their colleagues of roughly 3 years, or a douche who caused about 2 dozen OD's, the majority of which were depressed teenagers?" Looking at her, Goyle saw the look on her face, and the weight on his subconscious lightened considerably.
"You're right. I'm sorry." He leaned in towards Beros, before pulling her into his lap for a hug.
"Some asshole thought blackmailing both of us with the fact we were together was a good idea. Because of it, Goyle got really paranoid that we'd be found out." She explained as Braz watched, intrigued by her happiness. She typically had a serious and rather off-putting disposition, and for it to soften so dramatically made him happy for her. "For the longest time, we were fine, then he just left." She chuckled, but he jumped as her saw a tear streak down her cheek, which she quickly wiped away.
"Calm down-"
"Don't tell me to calm down. I'm perfectly fucking calm." Beros threw the expensive watch she had bought for their anniversary towards his head, which was the day he decided to end things- the only fucking time she remembered and spent $397 on his gift. "I'm fine."
"I don't want to break up with you, but I don't want either of us to be hurt." He explained, before dodging the orchid he bought her a few months ago that shattered upon contact with the wall.
"Well, it's too late for that, don't you think?" The sentence came out while she picked up the candleholder and threw it at Goyle, who let out an "Oh Jesus" before ducking to avoid the hunk of metal being lodged in his face. "I gave my virginity to you, told you things I haven't told my best friends, my sister- personal, dark secrets, because I thought I could trust you, but hey- you proved me wrong. Nice job, you fucking asshole." The bulb in the lamp shattered as she pushed over the skinny light, walking towards her now-ex boyfriend.
"I'm sorry, but I'm doing this because I care about you!" He instinctively shielded his face as she held up the wine bottle in a threatening manner. After a moment, he looked up to see what kept her from brutally kicking his ass, but his heart tightened at the sight of the girl he was crazy for shaking like a leaf as she clenched her teeth. The wine bottle fell to the floor as the dam started to leak, tears rolling down her cheeks without her consent as she balled her fists and brought her arms to her side.
"Get out." The command came out as no more than a whisper.
"Beros, I'm sor-" He couldn't finish his sentence before his partner grabbed him by his shirt, lifted him up, and shoved him out the door that his flailing opened. The landing certainly hurt, but nowhere as much as what she said next.
"I hate you," she said quietly. The sting of what she said was increased tenfold as she slammed the door in his face. After sitting in stunned silence for a minute, he stood up and walked down the pathway, before collapsing next to the mailbox. He remembered how often he cried as a child, and how little he cried after mourning his father's death. The grief was beyond anything he ever thought possible, and it felt like his heart had been ripped out. As the tears fell, he realized why it hurt so much: The pain of losing someone you love is beyond comparison. Little did he know, after slamming the door her ex's face, Beros stumbled over to the couch, but collapsed at the foot of it, before big drops of water slid down her cheeks. She hated how suffocating, how agonizing this feeling was. She cared for him so much, but he left her there. She began to weep at the happy memories that flooded back to her: Watching a movie, debating whether or not chess was a sport, cooking together, cuddling together, eating ice cream. She quietly let out a wail of gut-wrenching pain, her heart squeezed in the claws of despair. She had broken up before, been stabbed, shot, punched, kicked, told by her mom that she didn't love her, had her family torn apart, her dad sent to jail- the last 3 being the only ones she felt could compare in the pain. Like she did in the months following her father's incarceration, she bought her knees to her chest, put her head down, and sobbed her heart out until she was awakened by someone shaking her awake.
"Sweetie, wake up. Are you okay?" Fuck. It was her dad. Sitting up, he saw her reddened, tear-stained face. "Are you okay? Who did this to you?" She only shook her head before collapsing into his chest, sobbing hysterically. "Oh sweetie." The 7 and a half foot tall demon picked up his daughter, carried her to her bed, and held her until she could breathe again.
"I got kinda depressed for a little while after, but I'm doing better now." She looked up to see Braz staring at her with a strange look on his face. "What? Is there marinara sauce on my face?" He chuckled quietly before responding.
"I've never seen you genuinely smile before. I like it." The sudden admittance caused Beros' cheeks to become ever so slightly rosy. "Also, you do have some on the corner of your mouth." Well that killed the mood, she thought as she picked up the napkin and cleaned the tomato sauce from her mouth.
"You're a fucking moron; you know that, right?" She told him jokingly.
"I like you too." He teased her in response, causing her face to warm up.
"Idiot." She muttered before taking some of his cinnamon roll.
"Hey, that's mine," he said in amusement.
Drying her hair with the towel, Beros recalled how she had been happy with Braz- he would tell her how he cared about her, spent time with her, gave her attention and the occasional gift, and just made her happy. He, despite being an annoying and frequently possessive guy, he was also smart, kind, gentlemanly, improving at raising Liz, and a million other things. His kindness helped her to brighten up again and be happy.
Wow, 8860 words. Holy shit. Well, this is most likely the most I've written ever in a single chapter, possibly story. I had this in the making 2 days before I published chapter one, so, it took just over 2 months to write this chapter. I hope you like it. -#1O
Translations: ( I just can't smack talk. ;_;)
Κοιμηθείτε καλά, σας άθλια σπαταλώ του διάστημα. Θα είναι το μόνο θετικό πράγμα σε αξιολύπητη ύπαρξή σας.
Sleep well, you miserable waste of space. It will be the only positive thing in your pathetic existence. [Idek, she just became Satan- or maybe Hades?]