Another Heart: Elite
A little morsel to pass the time!
Cheers knol
A noise reminiscent of a raptor singing off key abruptly died as a Kevin fumbled with the keypad near the door as it opened slowly with a creak.
The silence after he finally managed to turn off the alarm was soothing and Kevin tried not to look too abashed at how long it took him to remember the code, but behind him, Wayne grinned.
"I'll let you pick the next code," he said and moved inside as Kevin shrugged, closing the door behind him. Kevin felt the familiar rush of gratitude he usually got when Wayne did...anything.
The small hallway had a table with a small dish, both of them dropped their keys in it with a sharp rattle.
Most of the keys were duds from old hideouts or flats, but the memories were nice to carry around.
"I suck at codes, besides you always laugh at the ones I do come up with," Kevin grumbled as he set the alarm again. Wayne headed towards the bathroom, his smile still very much in place.
"Cause they're funny, not because they're bad." Wayne shot back loudly, his voice echoing slightly as he entered the tiled bathroom. Kevin shrugged and kicked off his shoes, his feet screaming in relief at the sweet escape from the oppressive tyranny of footwear. He thought about leaving the briefcase in the hall as well but couldn't bring himself to put it down just yet, he did through off his suit jacket to the floor.
Kevin eyed the bathroom door for a moment, but couldn't think of anything to say in return and merely shrugged again before heading to the kitchen. What was there to say? Wayne was just being...Wayne.
The kitchen was a tough old thing, it survived the many attempts of experimental cooking. In Kevin's case that sometimes became a little too literal.
The idea of a cool glass of milk made him keenly aware of how parched his throat felt after the day he had. Shaking his head to clear his mind off that for now, he leaned down towards the somewhat scuffed and dented fridge. He had considered replacing the old thing but he always forgot, or got distracted.
"Here, let's see your hands," Wayne said quietly behind him, his voice making Kevin jump, accidentally dropping the suitcase.
Wayne really needed to learn how to make some noise when he walked around. Kevin was sure he was going get a heart attack one of these days otherwise.
The case clattered to the floor and popped open on impact, sending the colourful 8-bit Pixelblade sliding towards Kevin's feet, unfolding as it went.
The handle gently bumped into Kevin's sock-clad toes.
Both men stared at it for a little while.
"Uh...Kev? Not to be a downer or anything, but you didn't make that thing sentient did you?" Wayne asked worriedly as Kevin picked it up, almost gently.
"I can't really remember but it shouldn't be, I think. I mean I messed around a lot in that field remember?"
Wayne's grimace told Kevin that he did indeed remember it all too well. "This didn't…. feel like that you know?" Kevin finished and scratched his nose as he tried to think back to when he was working on the blade.
Overall the experience could be summed up as hazy. Kevin had experienced plenty of different Tinker fugues and mental states, but that particular session was something else, He could never remember it clearly but there was something almost … magical? to how it felt.
Kevin snapped out of his little trip down memory lane as Wayne hummed, a first aid kit dangling from his hand. Kevin almost smiled at it.
He had painted over the boring green box one day when he got bored, and now it shone proudly with its proper red cross. A proper medkit.
"I'm just saying that odd stuff happened on the way home. I mean first, there was the old lady on the bus..." Wayne held up one finger and Kevin glared at him.
"She was going to sneeze on me." he defended himself and Wayne held up a second finger.
"The homeless guy that screamed about the giant space whales," he continued and Kevin waved his hands slightly.
"He hit me with his sign." he argued and Wayne smiled at him, which made Kevin want to hit him, with a sign.
"And then there was the cat," Wayne concluded as he dropped his accusing fingers. Kevin made a couple of noises that should have been words before he finally gave up, stood straight and looked Wayne in the eyes.
"It startled me." he said confidently and Wayne quirked his eyebrow.
"So you tried to blow it up?" he asked in a tone that suggested he was trying not to laugh. Kevin turned away and slung the Pixelblade over his shoulder, hoping he looked at least a little badass in his mismatched socks.
"It was a blight on this world." he agreed and Wayne gave up and started laughing, making Kevin grin as well.
Dropping the Pixelblade on the counter, he turned to Wayne, idly noticing that somehow the other man had apparently done the week's dishes before they left that morning.
Wasn't it his turn? Wayne had never mentioned it to him...
Kevin swallowed as Wayne inspected his hands.
"You've never seriously swung something intended as a bludgeoning weapon before today have you?" Wayne asked as he set the first aid kit down and opened it, displaying its contents of cotton, wraps, and other miscellaneous medical stuff.
Kevin thought about it.
"I once smacked a kid in the face with a baseball bat in gym class, does that count?" He asked, seeing that his hands had a layer of skin torn away from where he had apparently gripped the Pixelblade too tightly during the fight. Wayne shook his head, apparently schoolyard accidents did not count. Kevin looked at his injured palms with a frown as he thought back to earlier that day.
"I thought Keynote healed me?" he asked, mostly to himself but Wayne answered anyway as he dipped some liquid onto the cotton wool, dabbing it at the raw tears, making Kevin hiss as the disinfectant stung something fierce.
"Maybe she was only trying to fix your ears? Cricket did mess with you and she didn't use her Keyblade, so it could have been a weak heal." Wayne pointed out sounding unbothered about if it was or wasn't and Kevin hummed in agreement, it did make sense.
"Without her focus, the magical girl's magic potential is greatly weakened," Kevin said in a matter of fact tone, the memory of the Keynote, the white coat and the Keyblade glowing with raw power during their fight flashing in his mind.
Wayne shook his head.
"I don't think that girl knows weak, in any way. I think if someone did snuff her, she would go out taking them with her," he said and Kevin grinned as Wayne finished wrapping his hands. He wasn't wrong, Kevin had to admit.
That girl was grade A awesome bullshit! Any cape that was continually growing stronger and used what undeniably looked like magic, transformed into a new form with her spirit guide animal... demon... whatever! Had her weapon change before the climax in an epic battle and fought OP villains to protect the innocent. Was without a doubt completely crazy, scary and respectable.
Kevin loved it, even if the girl in question was stubbornly refusing to acknowledge her status as a fantasy game protagonist.
"Still, after all the shit that went down today, it's good to be home at last," Kevin admitted and Wayne nodded as he closed the first aid kit firmly, the click sounding out loudly in the silent flat.
"Brandish, Mouse Protector, Hookwolf, Stormtiger, Cricket, Gallant, Kid Win and Keynote. I think that kind of tournament is a bit beyond us, it was a good thing it turned into a team based match towards the end," Wayne said without a hint of shame at being outclassed.
Kevin admired that about Wayne, the unwavering confidence his friend brought to bear on everything he did. From wearing different costumes to doing sometimes embarrassing acts, to fetching a first aid kit and tending to his hands without any of the usual male awkwardness that often arose from such acts.
Kevin envied it more than Wayne's good looks, built body or even his powers.
If Kevin could just act a little more like-
"Hey, bro? What are we going to do now?" Wayne asked, a frown on his face and Kevin blinked, not following the question.
"Now that Uber and Leet are done, what happens to Wayne and Kevin?" he continued then pushed off the counter, heading towards the living room, the open room a large homage to their love.
Kevin followed him, leaving the Pixelblade on the table after a moment of hesitation.
"Whatever we want to happen? Isn't that the best part of being an adult?" Kevin responded with a mocking tone, jabbing his elbow into Wayne's side and the taller man smirked.
"I guess it is. So what do you want to do? Give up the junk food and the games? go get a respectable job in the city and make our parents proud?" he asked with a serious face and Kevin put a finger to his chin, thinking about it.
"Hm tempting, but pass. I say we should leave the cape scene...for awhile at least. Other than that?" Kevin trailed off and then shrugged. He sat down on the lumpy couch and stared at the giant tv across from him, the reflective glass having a sort of sad feel to it when not in use.
Wayne sat down next to him.
"We got a lot of money saved up from all the odd jobs we have been doing. Faultline was good to her word, we got the full payment about an hour after Canary was sent off, and I checked, she was found not long after, so Faultline kept her side of the deal." Wayne added and Kevin mulled that over as he twirled the remote in his hand. As he did he looked around the room absentmindedly. Games covered a lot of the room's surfaces, but every so often a more personal piece would appear, like an island in the sea of plastic cases.
A signed game copy in a glass case, a golden disk next to a golden gun model, a framed picture of two younger men at their graduation, people in the background with their families, them standing alone together.
An odd shield that had wires sticking out of it, the first serious Leet tech that Kevin had even designed.
Then there was the mounted dragon head, but that was more a reminder of an epic fail on Leet's part than anything else.
"So a whole lot of money...and nothing to spend it on." he said aloud and Wayne hummed in agreement.
"We could live here doing nothing for a long ass time, we could go back to college...or we could always just reinvent ourselves, but Tinker's are not that easy to hide." he said and Kevin managed to fight down the urge to wince.
Kevin sighed through his nose instead and looked for inspiration where he always found it.
In the endless virtual worlds that surrounded Wayne and him, held in tiny discs or cartridges. Windows into other realms, where a loser like him, cool guys like Wayne and scary girls like Keynote saved everyone.
To be honest, Kevin and Wayne always saw themselves like the secret bosses of most games.
Hard to reach, annoying to fight and barely rewarding by that stage of the game.
In the deeper parts of Kevin's mind, however, locked behind a secret wall, was the thought that the heroes would take down Leet and Uber would reveal his true power, having held it back until then so as not to hurt his friend's feelings.
Kevin smile cynically as he wondered what he would do without Wayne as his friend and rock.
Blow himself up most likely or end the world. Kevin could do both with rather terrifying ease if he really wanted to.
His eyes travelled over a case, the colour pink catching his eye. Leaning forward, he pulled it out from a pile of other games. When his eyes adjusted, neither one of the men wanting to turn on any bright lights after the kind of day they had, he smiled.
"How about we use money...to make money?" Kevin said and Wayne leaned forward as well, his eyebrows vanishing up under his hairline.
"Odd choice, considering you said that this game had too many endings." he reminded Kevin who shrugged.
"What better way to reflect real life for us eh? I mean, we even have the cheat of free money to start with unlocked." He started to smile and Wayne sighed.
"Why?" he asked, sounding truly serious for the first time since they got home.
Kevin went red as he answered, hoping it wasn't too visible in the dark.
"I always wanted one. The dream job, you know?" he answered and Wayne blinked then nodded.
"Just like that? I guess...that's just like you, you always just do what you want don't you?" Wayne shrugged before smirking in a vaguely amused manner as he continued speaking. "Sure, we're bros, I'll tag along. Is the uniform needed?" he asked, half serious as he looked back to the box and Kevin eyed his frame.
"You would not work a skirt all that well." he decided and Wayne put a hand to his heart as if wounded.
"You, on the other hand, would look ravishing." he said with a smoky voice before he burst out laughing and Kevin hit him with the game box.
"I might wake up a magic girl because of that fairy and you'll eat those words." he warned and Wayne stopped guffawing and looked pained.
"Don't remind me..." he told Kevin, who smiled at the victory, he eyed the box and then grinned.
"I think we should call it 'Workshop!" he said, moving his hand as if to stamp the letters in the air. Wayne shook his head.
"Doesn't roll off the tongue. Hm...The Corner?" he offered and Kevin opened his mouth to argue for his name before pausing.
"If it is on a corner that would be pretty good." he admitted and Wayne thought about it then his eyes lit up.
"Underdog." he said and Kevin frowned at him.
"Uh, that definitely doesn't roll off the tongue or make sense." he told Wayne, who grinned.
"But it is...us." he replied and Kevin thought about then the light bulb went off, the name taking on new meaning as it connected, his face began to match Wayne's grin.
"That's risky. The white hats aren't stupid, well, not THAT stupid anyway." he reminded Wayne who nodded.
"But with Keynote around, I think we might get away with it. Besides, we can't leave the city. Hat lady is too much of a risk." he said and Kevin's smile dipped a little at the reminder of the gun-toting madwoman.
"So all or nothing?" he asked and Wayne held out a fist, Kevin felt the rumbles of nerves and butterflies at the idea what they were about to do, would do, together.
He put his fist to Wayne's.
"All or nothing." he promised.