While Demetra went to go tell her dad, Flug tried to talk Black Hat out of his insane impulse buy.

"Have you ever had a snake before? Do you know anything about how to take care of it?"

Black Hat counted on his fingers. "Keep her in a 100-gallon tank, get a bigger one when she's full grown, 125 at least, with a tight lock and good ventilation. The temperature should be stable with a bit of a gradient to it, the coolest end shouldn't be any less than 23 degrees Celsius whereas the warm end should be closer to 28 or 30 degrees. Not counting a hotspot for her to bask in, which should be in the mid to high 30s. Wood chips, bark, and fir are good to line the cage with, as well as keep in the trap box for transportation. When she's in there, I'm good to clean out the cage safely with a long shovel. Her water dish must be kept clean, and preferably should be big enough for her to soak in. Which I want her to do since Dem said that helps sheddings and I can't imagine how else I'm really supposed to bathe her. She needs to be fed twice a week, small mammals, which should increase in size as she grows. If there's anything else, I'm sure Dem knows and will be happy to tell me."

Oh crap. Motherfucker had been paying attention. Were those all things Demetra had said over the past couple hours? They sounded so detailed. How was it Black Hat seemed to have all this memorized already? Had he been taking notes?!

"Well..." Flug searched for another logical argument. "What do you know about the actual snake? Because, if memory serves, it didn't seem to like you."

"Skittish, aggressive, not very confrontational unless forced. She'd have probably run from me if Dem wasn't holding her. Or bitten me, given how close I was." Black Hat said plainly. "As fast as she is, they apparently use their speed and agility more to escape threats than to give chase to prey. Not what I was hoping for, but I suppose I understand. She'd rather be left in peace, though has the means to attack if necessary. I can work with that."

Flug was afraid to ask what Black Hat meant by that.

"But," Black Hat continued. "Black mambas typically don't tolerate any human contact at all, whereas Lil' Jack here seems to be able to...get used to us, I think. According to Dem, snakes don't really enjoy physical contact like, say, a dog would. They might allow it for our body heat, but don't particularly want or like it. I believe she said something about snakes being able to recognize specific humans, either by smell or sight, which I think is why she was able to hold her. As she said, she knew her. It might be a result of whatever other snake species she's crossed with, but whatever it is, it makes her a bit more compliant than a pure black mamba would be."

"It still hissed at you. It clearly didn't want you touching it."

"Yes, because she didn't know me." Black Hat insisted. "So, perhaps all I have to do is get her used to me. What better way to do that than to become her caregiver?"

"Have you considered the fact that no matter if you own it and take care of it, it's still a venomous snake and could kill you with a single bite? How much venom was it to kill a person, again?"

"Two drops could feasibly do it if I remember right. Her bite can inject 100 milligrams, at least. Then there's the fact that black mambas bite multiple times." Black Hat got a mad look in his eye. "I want to own her. Dem said it takes less than five minutes for her venom to kill mice, how fast do you think it could kill a human? How fast could she, if she had the drive to? I haven't shown you the video yet, have I?"

"No, but I really don't think-"

Black Hat already had his phone out and was pulling Flug to his side. "Look at her, Flug. Look at this lethal creature."

He reluctantly obliged, focusing more on the snake itself than what was being said about it. The recorded voices of the three of them fading to white noise as he kept his focus trained on the thing called Lil' Jack. He saw how it allowed Demetra to stoke it's small head, but took a more aggressive stance as she gingerly lifted it. How it raised its head and hissed, mouth wide and threatening. How it gradually relaxed as she spoke to it, moving her fingers in massaging motions all down it's underside until she was cradling it. The way it's mouth was forced open, Demetra snaking (no pun intended) her hand gently up to the head until it was holding the snake properly and squeezed it's jaws. Those small, powerful jaws opening wide like a poison-tipped mousetrap.

Flug couldn't make out the red Black Hat and Demetra claimed to have seen. A shame, but even without them the snake was a marvel. Most likely because it was such a lethal thing. It made one exercise caution, like you needed to be on your toes every second you were around it. And, well, you did. The thing could and would kill you if you got too close. Perhaps not out of malice or bloodlust, but out of primal instinct that told it to defend itself and holding back was not an option. It was a thing built for a world that showed no mercy, and hence would not show any in kind. It's silvery-like scales looked almost a cloudy gray in the shadows, like a tombstone. The width around it's jaws giving its head a sort of coffin shape. Appropriate, considering it's bite was a near guarantee of death.

Fascinating? Yes. Beautiful, even? Sure. Would Flug ever want it around him? Not particularly, no. Not without Demetra present. Loon though she was, she at least knew about the animal and was capable of handling it. She was like a manic Steve Irwin, and Flug honestly wouldn't be surprised if she died in a similar fashion.

When the video was over, Flug turned to Black Hat. "There's no talking you out of this, is there?"

Black Hat gave him a devious smirk. "You must admit, it's a very fitting pet for a villain. It's deadly, and fearsome. What's a more common and downright justified fear than that of a snake?"

"Can't you just get, like, a tarantula or something? Maybe a scorpion? Those can be deadly and inspire fear, can't they? People are afraid of those. I'm afraid of those." Flug backed off so that they weren't so close together anymore. "And they won't grow to 3 meters in length."

"No, my mind is made up. It's either her, or something that would kill her."

"So, a mongoose?"

Black Hat gave him a very disgusted look. "Just going by the name alone, I don't want one of those."

"It's a little ferret-looking thing. It eats snakes. That's kind of impressive, isn't it?"

Black Hat grimaced even further at his words. "Not nearly enough."

"Well, the only other thing I can think of is an eagle, I think those eat snakes. Or maybe falcons, some kind of large bird of prey."

"Better, but where am I going to find an eagle on such short notice?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure you can manage if you spend more than just an afternoon thinking about it. Or, what, have you really been considering this since Demetra told us about it a week ago?"

He shrugged. "Not exactly, no. She caught my interest, the black mamba's lethality being so infamous. I wanted to see it for myself. I didn't come here intending to take her home, but, what can I say? I want her. I will have her."

Flug looked him dead in the eye. "You shouldn't be allowed to have a pet."

"Well, I have you." Black Hat said, cupping Flug's chin. He chuckled at Flug's flustered pout.

"Be serious," He mumbled, brushing Black Hat's hand away.

"I'm very serious."

"I doubt that."

"I am completely serious about wanting this snake as my own."

"Black Hat, that is nowhere near enough thought to justify actually buying this snake."

"Do I really need to explain it further? She is one of the fastest snakes on the planet, she's packing venom with a near 100% mortality rate, she's about 5 feet- sorry, uh, I believe it's a bit over one meter?"

"Roughly 1.5"

"Yes, she's 1.5 meters long, and she's only going to get bigger. She's skittish and unpredictable by nature, and she's also apparently a mutt, mixed with who knows what. I can only imagine any changes to her natural development as a result will make her all the more lethal for it."

"All of those are reasons not to get her."

"No," Black Hat placed his hands on Flug's shoulders. "They are reasons why I absolutely must have her. Also, she color-matches perfectly with my aesthetic."

Flug just stared at him. "You're the kind of person to intentionally get an aggressive dog just so that it would attack people, aren't you?"

"I probably would do that," Black Hat admitted. "But I can't say that I ever have. I don't really like dogs."

"More of a cat person?"

"Mmm, no. I don't really like cats either."

"But you like venomous snakes?"

"You don't need to agree with my decisions, Flug." Black Hat said, letting him go. "Or even understand them. I'm going to have this snake, whether you like it or not."

"Have you considered the possibility that maybe you can't have her?"

"And why would I not?"

Demetra came back at that moment, with timing so impeccable it was almost like she'd been waiting outside the door for her cue. "Ok, so, my dad says you can't have her."

Flug raised his eyebrows at him, making his best Well, what now boss? expression.

Black Hat pointed at him seriously. "Not a word." Then turned to Demetra. "And why not, exactly?"

"Uh, he said that we can't sell her to just anyone." She dug the toe of her shoe into the carpet. "I tried vouching for ya, but I think I just made it worse. Sorry."

Black Hat straightened his tie with a sigh. "Dem, would you mind introducing me to your father?"

"I don't think you got any better chance of changing his mind."

"Well, we'll just see about that."

The two of them walked out into the hall swiftly, without so much as a glance back at Flug. He trailed after them awkwardly, unsure of what exactly he was supposed to feel. Annoyed? He was kind of annoyed. What, was he third wheeling? How, when Black Hat was supposed to be his boyfriend? His boyfriend that he was super conflicted about and didn't even really want anyone to know about, and Demetra only knew about it because she had no sense of privacy.

But still, what the fuck, guys? Why was this the second time in a row that they'd been in a place other than the cafe and those two left him behind?

They made their way down the stairs, to the right, through the living room and around to the back of the house to a wooden door left ajar. It seemed dark, but a very faint light shone out. Demetra pushed it open with little to no regard for anyone's privacy and called out "¡Papá! We got a man who wants him a black mamba!"

The room was dim, the only illumination seemed to be a bare light bulb hanging from the ceiling. It only barely lit up the room, which seemed to have two chairs, a desk, and nothing else in sight. Maybe there was more furniture hidden in the shadows, Flug couldn't say for sure. If there were any windows, they weren't open. Rather than feeling hot and stuffy, it seemed to be a bit cool inside. Must have the air conditioning on. Though Flug didn't hear the usual steady rumbling that typically came with A/C. The room gave off bad vibes and so did the man inside it. Demetra's father was a heavy set man, who kind of smelled like onion rings and cigars. He was currently smoking one, in fact. Making one small spot of burning red in the otherwise dreary space. He was slouched over a plain fold-out table, though Flug couldn't see what it was he was doing in this suspiciously dark and foreboding room. What he could guess at was that it was probably something a bit unsavory, and probably not even worth poking his nose into. The only other thing he could tell about that man was that he was perhaps an inch or two taller than his daughter, but shorter than his sons had been for sure. He seemed to share their lighter skin and the boys dark hair, but not much else of his appearance was discernible from where Flug stood behind his...

...Were they friends?

Black Hat entered and shut the door behind him. Right in Demetra's and Flug's faces. Jeez, what was his problem? Even Demetra seemed put out by that, if her childish pout and annoyed mumbling was anything to go by.

"Yeah, no 'Thanks Dem, I got this,' or 'Hello, my name is Black Hat, your daughter was nice enough to invite me and my boyfriend over to check out this cool snake you got and I want to buy her, can we talk?'. Don't even ask me for advice on talking to my dad or nothing, no. Just go in dry, sure, see how that works out for you."

"Uh, Demetra?"

"What?"

"Do you think Black Hat is actually capable of taking care of a snake?"

"Yeah sure, why not? They aren't all that hard once you get used to 'em. Just a ton of little things ya gotta remember. Like changing the water and keepin' the terrarium clean. I used to have a whole set of alarms on my phone to keep track of what I had to do for everyone, till I got a job and they had to stop putting it all on me. Couldn't say everyone else was too busy with work, not when we ALL got work."

"Ok, but, is he really ready to just take one home with him after one day? Especially this one, that has so many...special needs?"

"Ehhh, you're right." she said. "He's probably gonna forget all the stuff I told him." Oh girl, that guy was listening to you like he expected a test. "Maybe I should make a little instruction booklet thingy so he won't forget anything important!"

AM I THE ONLY ONE HERE WHO THINKS THIS IS A BAD IDEA!? Flug violently screamed in his head to no particular entity.

She grabbed him roughly by the arm and dragged him back upstairs. "C'mon, you're supposedly smart, you can help!"

Um, excuse you, supposedly!?

Just because he didn't know a lot about snakes and reptiles didn't mean he knew nothing! She had been raised with the animals, it wasn't fair to compare! Did she know anything about the laws of aviation? About calculating terminal velocity? About physics? You didn't even graduate high school! Do you so much as know the scientific method!? Or is your science knowledge limited to "mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell"? Can you even spell "mitochondria"!?

Flug worked his ass off to get where he was, he didn't like it being taken lightly. Just because book smarts came easily to him didn't mean he didn't put in effort and energy for his A's. It wasn't as if his scholarship just fell into his lap while he was jerking off.

Flug found himself hurled to the floor, his upper half landing on the bean bag chair. His lower half left to make do with crinkling cellophane and crushed Slushee bottles. At least he felt nothing on impact, just a dull ache as it set in. And even that he was able to will away with little effort. Hey, he might be getting the hang of this soulless thing.

Demetra sat down cross-legged across from him, and pulled out a flat wood board. Where from? He honestly had no idea. Had it been hidden underneath all the trash and debris? Did she pull it out of her hair? Where had it come from?!

She managed to scrounge up a handful of broken crayons and loose leaf paper, and got to doodling.

"So, I guess I should start with the basic stuff like keeping her space clean, yeah?"

"I guess so," Flug muttered, figuring it was best to just go along with things. He halfheartedly talked with Demetra, giving what little input he could. He basically just agreed with everything and said he trusted her "artistic vision". He tried looking on the bright side. If Demetra gave Black Hat a handy little instruction booklet on the do's and don'ts of having a pet snake, there was less chance of him fucking up in his hubris and dying, right? Although, her childish doodles were pretty distracting. Along with her penmanship. Maybe a pencil would be better than the crayons. Along with a sharpener, so she wasn't making such broad strokes. Maybe she should let him do this. The illustrations at least. Sure, the Doodle-Demetra was kind of cute, but it wasn't really something that screamed, "IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER THIS YOU COULD LITERALLY DIE!"

Not even the helpful little note on the side that said "IF YOU DON'T REMEMBER THIS YOU COULD LITERALLY DIE!"

When she had finished her work, she passed the finished piece to Flug. He had to say, while it was crude and sloppy, it was actually kind of neat. She'd stapled everything together and it really was like a little how-to guide for proper snake ownership. And then there was the fact that, well, she made this. With her own two hands. She got the paper and the crayons and put together this little book so Black Hat would remember how to take care of Lil' Jack. Was it perfect? No, it looked like something made by a grade schooler. But even Flug could appreciate something from the heart.

"So?" She asked eagerly. "What do you think?"

"I will make sure he has it." Flug said. And he fully intended to do that, too. He couldn't have his future boss dying on him before they went and became world-ruling supervillains. He was taking Demetra's instructions with him if he wanted that snake.

"You think it'll help him remember everything he needs to to take good care of Lil' Jack?"

"Yeah, it seems like you were thorough."

"Ok, think fast, bookworm!" She threw a crayon at him.

It got the side of his head. "Ah! What the hell was that for?!"

"Pop quiz! Quick, what do you line the cage with?!"

"Uh, wood or-"

"Wrong!" She wadded up a piece of paper and hit him in the face. "The answer was bark!"

"What exactly do you think bark is made of?"

"Since you got that one wrong, you gotta answer one of my questions now! Got it?" She held up half of a red crayon threateningly.

"Uh, ok? Sure?" Were they playing a game? Was this some weird way of seeing if going through the book actually helped? Quizzing him out of the blue and penalizing him with a question in turn? Oh God, it was like Who Wants to be a Millionaire met Truth or Dare. What was she going to ask him?

Demetra grinned fiendishly. "What do Black Hat's scars look like?"

Flug blinked in surprise. "You, you know about those?"

"Eh, I tried to get him in the pool back at that jerk-wad's party." Aurelio's? "He wouldn't go, and eventually told me it was cuz he didn't like showing off his scars. Wouldn't let me see anything, though. Wouldn't even tell me what they were from. So, what do they look like?"

"Oh, uh," He was trying to comprehend this new information. So, he'd told Demetra about his scars? Before he'd told him... Actually, he never told him about his scars. He'd shown him. When things got heated and words were reduced to...bedroom talk... Even at dinner, he hadn't gotten into his scars or what caused them. He'd told him a bit about his hands, though Flug hadn't seen those. "Well, he has a lot, and they're kind of all over so-"

"But you've seen them?"

"Yeah-"

"Ah ha! So you did get his shirt off! I knew it!" She threw the wood board off her knees and pinned Flug against her bed frame. Curses! She knew! He couldn't very well deny it now! Why was he so bad at this!? "Oh, now you gotta tell me what he looks like with his shirt off! You didn't happen to snap a photo or three did ya?"

"N-No!" He screamed in protest. "Get off me!"

"Not until you tell me! C'mon, on a scale of 1-10, how sexy are they?"

Well, if he had to say- HE WOULDN'T SAY ANYTHING BECAUSE HE REALLY ISN'T COMFORTABLE TALKING ABOUT HIS PERSONAL LIFE!

"Demetra, seriously! Please get off me!"

"Aw c'mon, just tell me a little about his scars?"

"He..." Flug panted, trying to shove her off. "He hasn't really told me much about them either."

"But he let you see them."

"It wasn't like he was showing me just to show me. He was...uh..." Oh wow, was he really going to say that Black Hat had pretty much been giving him a strip tease? In bed? Was he capable of saying something like that out loud? To another human being!?

"Crazy intense make-out session?" She asked with a mischievous grin.

"Uhhhhhhhhhhhh, yeah. Yeah, that's it. Crazy, crazy intense make-out session."

"Uh huh," She looked like she though that was code for...something else they may have been doing. "Give me the deets, brainiac. Your boyfriends scars. Go."

He sighed. "Look, he...he's got scars all around his body. Front and back. Up and down his arms too. You really want me to go over every single one of them? I can't do that. I've only seen them clearly maybe once or twice. I think Black Hat's kind of self-conscious about them, so we probably shouldn't be talking behind his back like this."

"Well, aren't you sweet and understanding boyfriend material? You're a regular old cinnamon roll."

"Thanks, I guess."

She finally got off of him. "So, you saw them, but he didn't tell you what they were from?"

"No."

"Did you even ask?"

"I figure he'll tell me when he wants to. I'm not gonna push it." Flug said. "If you wanna know so bad, ask him yourself."

"Like he's gonna tell me before he tells his boyfriend?" Well, he apparently told you he so much as had scars before he told his boyfriend, so it's not too unthinkable. Although they hadn't cooked up this whole dating scheme yet, so technically Flug supposed he had nothing to feel bad about.

Not that that stopped him at all.

"Demetra?"

"Yeah?"

"Now that me and Black Hat are, you know, officially t-together, can you kind of lay off us?

"What do you mean?"

"Can you not, like, tell anyone else about us being together?"

"Aw what? Why not?"

"It makes me really uncomfortable when you do that."

"Man, you know I'm not making fun of ya. I just like seeing the two of you. And I like spreading the word." She twirled the ends of her massive ponytail around. "Marietta and Esme agree with me too, y'all are the cutest couple we've had all year."

"Demetra, I..." Flug hid his face behind his hands. "I really haven't told a lot of people, so-"

"Oh wait so, like, you're technically not out out, is that it?"

"Yeah, no, I guess I'm really not, ha ha ha."

"OOOOh I see. But that's no good. What, are you just never gonna hug or kiss your boyfriend in public? That's not right."

"Please, can you just keep it, you know, low-key? At least until I'm...ready?" Not that he felt he'd ever really be ready. "I mean, I should be the one who decides when everyone else knows, right? Black Hat agreed to be private about it, so will you too?"

Demetra sighed dramatically. "Ok fine. I'll try and lay off. But once you finally come out to the world, we're throwing a party."

"A party?"

"Hell yeah man! We gotta throw you your very own coming out party!" She flopped over and wrapped him in something that was almost a hug. "We'll celebrate you and your boyfriend! Hey, hey, give me a date and I will get the entire cafe decked out. You can have as many coffees and sweets as you want. Put it on Black Hat's tab." She winked.

As supportive as she was being, even thinking that him coming out was something that should be celebrated, it didn't really get rid of any of his feelings of discomfort. She probably meant to make him feel at ease, let him know he had someone besides Black Hat who accepted him, but he just wasn't feeling it. She was trying, he knew she was trying, but it just didn't quite make him feel any better. At least she agreed she'd tone it down a little.

Another man walked into the doorway of Demetra's room. This one was a large man, even more muscle than Ivan. And the white tank top only further showed off his toned arms. He had a buzz cut and his left arm was covered in tattoos like a sleeve from the shoulder all the way down to the wrist.

He whistled at them. "Get a room, you two."

"We're in a room." She said snarkily.

"Then lose some weight."

"You're just ripping off Futurama!" She yelled, jumping up to throw an empty soda can at his head.

He dodged it. "So, this is the guy you're texting every night? Gotta say, I though even you could do better."

Ouch.

"This is Flug,"

"Would it kill you to use my actual name every once in a while?"

"Wait, that's not your name?"

"You have known me for how long now?"

"Damn sis, at least find out a guy's name before you bring him home to dad."

"Ok Alex, first off this guy is gay and spoken for." Demetra I JUST ASKED YOU NOT TO TELL ANY MORE PEOPLE. "Second, you couldn't even remember the names of your past three girlfriends."

"Those bitches weren't my girlfriends." Alex scoffed.

"Oh wow, I wonder why. With you being such a huge asshole I can't imagine women everywhere aren't just ripping off their panties when you catcall them."

The siblings got into it, making Rocinante glad he was an only child. He snuck out when Demetra hit Alex with "At least I'm not 30 and still living with my dad!"

Well, he couldn't say she didn't have a point there.

Having no real direction now, Flug headed downstairs to where Black Hat was. Assuming he and Demetra's father were still talking, he'd wait for him outside the door. He had to wonder though, was Black Hat actually going to be able to get this snake? It wasn't really a matter of price, the man seemed to have enough money to do whatever the fuck he wanted (at least he acted like he did), and Flug supposed he understood his rationale at some level. It was scary and dangerous and something he probably wasn't going to just stumble across again. But for the love of God don't let him immediately get this just because he wants it. Please let Demetra's dad be an even bigger stubborn bastard and flat out refuse him.

Wait, hasn't Black Hat murdered people before? And presumably gotten away with it, unless he left out the part where he traveled around so much because he had to constantly run from the cops?

Please don't murder Demetra's father for this snake, Black Hat. Then we'll have to kill everyone else here so that there are no witnesses, and frame the snake, and that is far too "Series of Unfortunate Events" for my taste. Besides, where the hell would we hide the snake in that scenario, given your intent to keep it? Can't just stick it in your apartment, no matter how well it matches the color scheme.

Hey now, there's a question no one thought to ask; Does Black Hat's apartment building even allow pets? Much less venomous snakes?

Reaching the door, it was again open a crack. The lock must be broken or something. Flug could faintly hear Black Hat and Demetra's dad talking. He squeezed in close to the door and was able to make out the conversation.

"That's all very interesting," Said a scratchy voice, which paused briefly. Flug faintly heard something being lit, so he assumed it was Demetra's father lighting up another cigar. Damn this guy had some bad smokers lung. "But I'm still not hearing anything that sets you apart from anyone else who wants to say they've got a pet black mamba. You can afford it and still pay your rent, big whoop. What else ya got?"

"What if..." Black Hat said, leaving Flug feeling like this pause was purely for dramatic effect. "I pay double?"

Demetra's father laughed. "For that much, you can take my daughter."

The sounds of the man's laughter was extremely grating. Flug really didn't like overhearing this man talk about his daughter like that, like he could just sell her to some guy if he had enough money. Black Hat didn't reply for a moment, and his voice sounded a bit off when the laughter died down and he finally spoke up. "I'm just interested in the snake."

"Yeah, I don't blame you. At least the snake will stay in her cage." Flug heard some grunts and assumed the man had gotten to his feet. "You know what you're buying here, right?"

"A splice, that someone gave you for safekeeping while the heat died down."

...What's a splice?

"She is a splice, isn't she?" Black Hat asked. Flug wondered what he looked like right now. He couldn't help but imagine he looked rather threatening. He was picturing the man sat back in a dingy little fold out chair like Demetra's father; his head tipped to the side, only revealing his one good eye with it's almost trademark glean of malignant motives. Just going by tone alone it seemed these two were talking about something illegal.

Flug heard another inhale and exhale of smoke. "So, you know about those, huh?"

"More than you'd think. Where'd you get her? Deus?"

"No, I don't particularly like those types." The cigar probably bobbled and shook while he talked, like in the movies. It sure didn't sound like he'd taken it out to speak. "Gettin' too old to deal with 'em, anyway. She's a little something cooked up by some kid with more brains than he knew what to do with. Long story short, things went to shit and he needed to get rid of all the evidence, so to speak. Rather than let years of work go down the drain and kill her, he cut a deal with some old acquaintances of mine who passed her off to me, and here we are."

"Are you holding her for anyone in particular?"

"Not really," Flug heard more nondescript noises. He kind of wished it wasn't so damn bright out. It would've been easy to sneak a peek inside if there wasn't such a contrast between this one room and the entire rest of the house. "They didn't have anyone set up to take her, just wanted her far away. Never said I had to keep her, so I see no problem selling her off for my trouble. Had a few prospective buyers, but none as batshit insane as you to want to take her home after, what, a couple hours?"

"I know what I like when I see it."

"Heh, sure. Whatever you say. My girl fill you in?"

"She gave me the basics."

"You understand that if this snake kills you, or anyone else for that matter, it's all on you."

"Naturally."

"Once you take her, she's yours. I won't be taking her back if she gets you into trouble."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"And, of course, we're gonna need you to be discreet. Can't have you telling anyone else what me and my boys are doing out here."

"If anything, you need to tell your daughter that, not me."

Demetra's father laughed darkly. Which Flug took as his cue to move. It seemed as if things were wrapping up between them and Black Hat was getting his deadly pet after all. Flug hastily got out of the way and walked backwards into the living room. Why?

So that when Demetra's father lumbered out, it seemed like he had only just gotten here. Flug got a bit of a better look at him now that he was really in the light. He was an overweight man, his dark hair steadily receding and going gray. His stubble made him look dirty, as did the various types of grime stained into his clothes. He had on well-worn boots, the kind made for hiking or harder outdoor activities. The kinds of things this man couldn't be pictured doing without collapsing from a heart attack. His arms were almost unnaturally hairy, to the point that Flug himself felt itchy just looking at them. He had faded blue eyes, possibly cataracts. Couldn't imagine being in that dark room helped his eyesight at all. He also seemed to have a permanent scowl on his face, which he quickly turned in Flug's direction.

"Oh, uh, h-hello sir." He squeaked in his usual nervous manner. "I'm Rocinante, a friend of your daughters, pleased to meet you."

The man obviously completely wrote him off. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. You seen my boy Mark?"

"I, um, I think he's upstairs."

The man muttered something Flug couldn't make out. The sleaze ball got a better look at his face. He pointed with his cigar. "What happened to you, kid? Looks like you lost a fight with a hamster"

"Plane crash," He looked away sheepishly. "I was right by the windows."

"And that's the worst you got? Lucky you." He walked off in the direction of the stairs with heavy footsteps.

Flug watched him go, his mind briefly flashing though that night. Julio's weight on top of him as he took the brunt of the damage. The things he couldn't protect him from. The glass shattering and hitting his face. His broken leg. His ruined eyesight. What came after he woke up.

He got much worse. But no one really saw that. Wasn't as evident. A thought he often had came to him again; if it wasn't for the scars on his face, no one would know anything had happened to him at all.

He cautiously approached the door, and knocked twice before pushing it open. Because he had been taught manners. Black Hat was sat in the dark leisurely, he grinned at Flug when he saw him.

"So, you're really getting Lil' Jack?"

"I am."

Flug sighed. "Well, Demetra made you a little booklet thing with everything you need to take care of her."

"I won't be needing that."

"Could you take it anyway? Just in case?"

"Aw, are you worried about me?" His teeth stood out against the darkness like the shadows themselves were smiling.

"As a matter of fact, yes. I'd really appreciate my lord and master not dying like an idiot before so much as getting started on that whole 'world domination' thing we got going. Especially not in such a dumb and easily avoidable way. So will you please take the book she made you?"

"If it'll really make you feel better, fine." Black Hat shrugged. "I'll take it, but don't expect me to actually use it."

Well, Flug supposed that was something. Just so long as he had it. "Does your apartment even allow pets?"

"It'll be fine, I'm getting a permit." Why was Flug imagining a blank piece of paper with the words I can do what I want, signed Black Hat in black marker?

"This isn't legal, is it?"

Black Hat chuckled evilly. "No."

"Then I guess this is your area of expertise, huh?"

"Trust me Flug, I know what I'm doing."

"I hope you do," Flug said softly as he walked away. He meant it, too. Black Hat better know what he was doing. Flug really didn't want to have to spend the rest of his life under a moron with questionable spending habits.

As he went back around he saw Demetra's father and two of her brothers approaching. Ivan and Mark, if he remembered right. They didn't pay him any attention as he passed by, didn't even so much as stop talking. Allowing him to eavesdrop a bit more. He didn't catch anything concrete, but from the snippets he got and what he'd heard earlier, he could piece together a bit of what was really going on here.

Lil' Jack was an artificially created hybrid snake. Made under shady circumstances and shipped off to Mexico because Demetra's father had some old friends who were still in the business of smuggling animals to other countries. The man himself seemed to be out of it, for the most part, but still did business from time to time. His sons were in on it, if the two heading off with him and talking about the deal was anything to go by. Hard to say if Demetra was fully aware of the illegality of the situation. She seemed to think this was all completely normal. Maybe to her, it was.

Flug's best guess, they were about to forge some legal documents to make it seem like Black Hat legitimately purchased the snake, as well as some bullshit permits allowing him to keep it. If it wasn't enough, Black Hat would probably just pay off anyone who questioned the fact that he was bringing a venomous snake into an apartment complex. And a very high end one at that. Perhaps one used to having residents with "exotic" pets, and used to being well compensated for accommodating them. Even if it was under the table.

The next few hours went by in a blur. Flug couldn't really contribute much, he mainly stood off to the side with Black Hat as Demetra and her family (her and her brothers) got to work. From getting the snake out of its cage and into its "trapbox" (the strange box-thing Flug had noticed earlier), to disassembling the cage and getting it in the van, to packing all the necessities for Black Hat to be able to care for it, to everyone piling up in their respective vehicles and driving to Black Hat's. In the family van; Ivan, Alex, Mark, Demetra, and Lil' Jack. In Black Hat's car; Black Hat and Flug. The man himself was in good spirits, smiling broadly and reaching out to hold Flug by the shoulder for the majority of the drive. Flug wondered why exactly he did that sometimes. Not that he was complaining exactly but it struck him as a bit odd that Black Hat would just randomly touch him like this.

Well, he probably didn't mean anything by it. Maybe he was just an overly-touchy kind of guy.

He got a call about halfway through the ride. The sudden sound of Airplanes jarring him out of the peaceful quiet. Who would be calling him? Maybe his parents-

Aurelio.

It was Aurelio.

Oh shit what should he do?

He said he'd call him but Flug never thought he'd actually do it! Although he'd never thought he'd ever get his number either or that Aurelio would ever text him and both of those had happened so he should really stop being surprised by these things! Should he, should he answer it? And talk to Aurelio in front of Black Hat? Who would probably be a bit curious about who that was and what they were talking about and why Flug was so sweaty all of a sudden.

Yeah, no. No no no no no. He wasn't doing this now. He rejected the call.

"Who was that?"

"Oh, uh, n-no one." Flug said. Black Hat didn't press the matter further, going back to gentle squeezing Flug's shoulder. Should he tell Black Hat about his chat with Aurelio yesterday? Maybe. Especially with Flug being an indecisive doormat who'd probably cave if Aurelio just pushed him a little more.

They were quite the spectacle out in front of the pristine building; a man in a top hat, a man with half his face scarred over, three shady looking white guys and a punk rocker with a snake in a box. It sounded like the set up for a really bizarre joke. It was a bitch getting everyone and everything to Black Hat's apartment (penthouse, remember?), and it wasn't until well into the night that everything was finally set up and settled and Black Hat's living room layout was in satisfactory condition. Which was a relief because if Flug had to "help" Ivan and Alex move that goddamn bookcase one more time his arms were going to snap like literal twigs.

Arrangements were made to get a bigger cage installed in a few weeks, depending on Lil' Jack's growth. Demetra gave Black Hat her little instruction booklet, and while he did roll his eye a bit he took it. The four siblings left, Demetra dragging their departure out to an almost annoying degree (though if Flug were being honest, there was no almost about it). Leaving Flug and Black Hat alone. In his apartment. At night.

Not that there was any chance of anything happening because the two of them were alone together at night in Black Hat's apartment. No sir. Mainly because Black Hat seemed to have forgotten Flug was even still there and was too busy checking out his new snake. He'd been standing in front of the cage, stroking the glass between him and it, for at least ten minutes by this point. In total silence.

Flug decided to speak up. "Please tell me you aren't going to try and touch it again."

He chuckled. "Not alone, no. And not right now, of course. It's much too soon to for something like that."

While Flug would rather he just never try ever, it didn't seem like that was going to happen. Fucking madman.

Fucking madman who was the only one Flug could talk to. Goddamnit.

"So, I um, I talked to Aurelio." Flug said, hesitantly.

He saw Black Hat freeze for a second, before he resumed tracing the form of his new deadly pet through the glass. "Did you now?" He asked. "And how did that go?"

"H-He said he wanted me to help him test out some things with his Gi-Gift."

"Like what?"

"Well, uh, I don't know if you know this but, he has the ability to control other p-p-peoples b-body's through skin contact." Flug explained. "He said he felt he'd never really tested out his actual limits and w-wa-wanted me to help him."

Black Hat huffed, and Flug just barely heard him mutter "I'd never do something like that."

"Wh-What was that?"

"I said I'd never do something like that." Black Hat said a bit louder. "If I had a...Gift, like him, I'd never ask anyone else to help me test my limits. I'd find them out for myself, and leave everyone else guessing at just what it was I was truly capable of."

Flug considered his words while Black Hat folded his hands behind his back, not moving from his spot in front of the cage. "What I might do," he continued. "Is find someone to test my limits out on. Someone who'd keep quiet. Or could be made to keep quiet."

"A-And...how would you keep them quiet?"

Black Hat let loose a little sigh. "Oh, I don't know, kill them?"

Flug gulped. Black Hat went on with a shrug. "It'd be the simplest solution. As the saying goes, two can keep a secret if one of them is dead. No risk of anything getting out. No chance of being betrayed. Kill them, find a replacement if the need arises, and repeat."

Wow. That was cold. Calculating. But effective, he had to say.

"But, of course, it's not as though Aurelio would ever do something like that," Black Hat turned to face him. "Would he?"

"N-No. No, I d-don't think that he'd ever kill anyone." Yeah, Aurelio wouldn't ever go that far, would he? Use people, sure. Abuse them, yeah he was fully capable of that. Kill them? Flug wasn't convinced Aurelio would ever actually kill someone. Not to say he couldn't, it'd probably be fairly easy with a Gift like his, but it seemed unlikely that he would ever truly do it.

"But use someone else as his guinea pig?" One of Black Hat's thin eyebrows arched. "You think he'd ever do something like that?"

"Uhh, y-yeah," Flug admitted. "He's no stranger to u-using people for his own g-g-g-gain."

"Is that right?"

"Ha, you saw what he did d-d-during my demonstration of the Stun Gun, didn't you? How he used Byron? An-And then there was Friday..." Flug trailed off, hands slightly shaking. "Y...You said yourself you saw him d-dr-drug m-m-me."

"Are these regular things he does?"

"Ki-Ki-Kind of, yeah." He chuckled nervously "B-B-Been doing stuff like what he d-did to Byron since middle school. I can tell you that much."

Black Hat got an odd look on his face. "I thought you said you only met him this past year."

"Oh..." Oh shit now what? "W-Well, y-y-y-y-yeah, I did. W-W-We went to the same middle and high sc-schools, but we d-d-didn't a-actually meet until this y-year."

"Oh." Black Hat said simply. That other eyebrow raising slowly to meet it's perked twin. Black Hat's mouth was small, only open just enough to enunciate his words. Leaving his face rather...blank. Flug couldn't pick up anything, from his tone or his face, that hinted at what was going through Black Hat's head.

"Y-Yeah." Flug felt like he suddenly broke out into a cold sweat. "Wh-What can I say? H-H-H-He's a guy y-you take notice of."

"Hmm." Was all Black Hat had to say in response. His eyebrows lowered, making him look all the more...suspicious. It was the kind of look that made Flug imagine he was thinking something like, You think you're real fucking cute, don't you?

And then his sudden smirk made Flug imagine he followed that up with, You know what? You are.

"So," Black Hat broke eye contact. "What did you tell him?"

"Huh? What?"

"Aurelio. What did you tell him?"

"Oh, uh, well," Flug struggled to catch his breath, trying to work past all the strain of the last minute. "I guess, I guess I didn't really tell him anything."

"What?"

"Well, I kinda...got pulled away before I could really give a definitive answer." Yes, that is still the technical truth! Roll with that shit! "I told him I'd think about it."

"You've thought about it. What are you going to tell him?"

"I'm going to...tell him no?" Flug asked with wide eyes.

Black Hat strode over towards him. Menacingly. "Are you asking me, or telling me?"

"I'm...telling you? That I'm t-telling him? No?" Was that even a coherent string of words? Black Hat looked like he wanted a more direct answer. "I'm t-t-telling him n-no."

"You're going to tell him no, that you won't help him?"

"Y-Yes."

Black Hat looked him up and down. "Tell him now."

"Huh?"

"I've noticed you have a real problem saying 'no' to people. You give in very easily. So I want to see you tell him 'no', right now."

Flug didn't know whether to appreciate the brutal honesty or take offense to it. Or be extremely worried with how he worded that. Why was every interaction between them either completely normal or nerve-wrackingly intense? What the damn hell did this man want from him!?

"Ok, ok, I'll do that. Right now." Flug pulled out his phone and pulled up Aurelio's number. He decided a text would be the best way to do this, especially with an audience, so he typed a quick, Hey so I've thought about what you said and I'm sorry but I'm just not going to be able to help you out. "There. How's that?"

"Good. Now see, was that really so hard?" Black Hat smiled at him. They both chuckled a bit. You know what? It wasn't. It really wasn't all that hard to just say no to Aurelio. Flug guessed that all he really needed was a little push.

Until Aurelio texted back. Too busy with your boyfriend?

Flug was frozen for a few seconds. Black Hat wasn't.

"So, you told him after all?"

"That w-was kind of the f-f-f-first way I tried ge-getting out of it." Flug admitted. "I said I was t-too busy, he asked about you, and I...may have said y-y-you'd be je-jealous."

"Me? Jealous of him?" He scoffed. "Please."

"I-I know you're not, I was just trying to make him go away."

"Fine, fine. Gives me an excuse not to be nice." Oh Lord if Black Hat was going to actively play up the jealous boyfriend angle Flug may not survive.

"S-S-So, what should I say n-now?"

"Well, if you think about it," Black Hat slung an arm around Flug's shoulders. "He's not wrong."

"I g-g-guess...you're right..." Flug nervously typed out, Yes.

He doesn't need to know.

Ok, this was getting concerning. Very, very concerning. Both because that made it sound if they'd be doing something he'd need to keep from Black Hat, and because Black Hat was reading this over his shoulder. And Flug could feel the change in his demeanor without even looking at him. The way that arm tightened around him was a clear sign that Flug needed to shoot Aurelio down now.

He wondered how Aurelio would respond to, He's actually reading this over my shoulder right now. And wants me to remind you that he knows where you live.

His fingers shook, but he texted, Look, just find someone else to help you test out your Gift. I'm not going to tell you again.

After what felt like an eternity of waiting, one final text, Ok, I understand.

Flug let loose the breath he'd been holding. "Ok. Ok, so, th-that's it then? R-Right?"

Black Hat still looked mad, but not at Flug. He was staring daggers at his phone like he wanted to pulverize it. He sounded threatening, even though the words were calm. "Right. You see? Not hard at all."

"Yeah, yeah. So, uh, c-could you drive me home, please?"

"Yes, of course." Black Hat didn't take his arm off him the entire walk down to his car. Flug was a bit worried about someone seeing them, but it wasn't anything obviously romantic. Not like Black Hat was holding onto his waist or hip or any other suggestive part of him. Ultimately he enjoyed the contact, too. Even on just a platonic level, he liked having someone's arm around him.

How long had it been since he'd had this much contact with people? Just today alone; Demetra had dragged him around, had pounced on him, had hugged him, and now Black Hat was holding him like this. When was the last time he'd let people be so physical with him?

And why did he feel so embarrassed by his desire to lean in to his touch? Why did he keep thinking it was something he should feel bad about wanting? He shouldn't. Should he? It wasn't as though Black Hat was actually his boyfriend, and this probably wasn't meant as anything more than just simple casual contact. So, nothing to feel odd about.

And even if he was his boyfriend, he still had no reason to feel ashamed. He shouldn't. He really shouldn't. Flug knew who and what he was and he was comfortable with himself. The only reason he kept so much of that self secret from everyone was that it was the rest of the world he wasn't comfortable with. He didn't know who could and couldn't be trusted with what he really was and until he did he'd keep it all in.

Except with Black Hat, who'd invaded his privacy multiple times, butted his nonexistent nose into his personal affairs and who knew what else he'd neglected to mention? He'd also never really seemed to care in the slightest about any of it besides the death Flug had caused. He'd never cared about him being gay, hadn't said a word about his preferred undergarments, and it could just be that he'd known all along but even after Flug had revealed both of those things on his own, Black Hat never treated him all that different. He was occasionally a bit...suggestive, but the way he spoke and acted towards him had remained the same for the most part.

Flug thought he might keep in contact in the car. Like he might put a hand on his shoulder (or thigh, but that was a thought and nothing more) like he had in the past. But he didn't. Both men were silent throughout the drive and Flug made it home safely.


Two words: Finals Week.

Easily the most anxiety-inducing period in any students life that really only gets worse with every passing year because the stakes just get higher and higher and one loses the little bit of clarity that tells them "It's okay if not everything you do is perfect". Because when it's your future doctorate on the line, it is most certainly not okay. To hell with rational thought.

Not that Rocinante Flugslys had any real reason to be especially anxious or stressed out. As a matter of fact, he wasn't. He was confident for a change. He knew himself, and he knew finals were a challenge he could take on full force. He had handled meeting a supervillain, selling his soul to the said supervillain, making out with said villain (multiple times but let's not talk about that), and getting wrapped up in a fake-dating fiasco to mask his new life of evil. Standardized tests had nothing on the lunacy that was his life. After all, he'd be a straight "A" student if the writing sections didn't trip him up every now and again. Damn those B's. Damn his lack of communication skills. Damn the fact that everything he wrote came out sounding like stereo instructions!

And now, thanks to his new soullessness, he had an extra 8 hours of study time (3 of which he actually used to study). So the entire week should've been an absolute breeze.

It had seemed like it would be Monday morning.

Things started out perfectly fine; he went in, he took his exam, finished early, didn't even bother double-checking anything, left, and texted Black Hat to see if he was free. He got no response, so he figured he was still taking an exam of his own. He had some free time before his next final and presumed that Black Hat would be out soon enough, so he went to Cafe Triste early to wait for him. He got coffee he didn't need, it was pretty much just a force of habit by this point, and took the time to get some last minute review in. Also something he didn't particularly feel a need for, but it was what any other normal university student would be doing with his time. He was the absolute picture of a normal college student; caffeine addicted, cramming every second, a nervous wreck, just ignore the scars and he's literally anyone else in the room.

But, as he wasn't really going over his notes seriously, more doing it just for show and something to do, he noticed the three women as they came in. He recognized one or two of them as volunteers from this past semesters club activity. Bianca, the girl who had let him (and Aurelio) use her flute once, and the other may have been Ruby, he wasn't totally sure. She had the same style of short hair and hoop earrings that he remembered belonging to Ruby. The third one he didn't know, but she her hair in a high ponytail that cascaded down to her thighs. They scanned the place a bit, not just getting in line like the usual patrons. And they zeroed in on...him. Yeah, they saw him and just rushed over to his table. Bianca quickly sat in the seat across from him, Possibly-Ruby and the one Flug was just going to refer to as Rapunzel hunting for empty seats.

Uh...he was kind of saving that seat for someone...

"Hey...Flug." Bianca awkwardly said. Probably she couldn't remember what his actual name was, just that everyone called him "Flug". Hey, if it bothered him that much maybe he should stop responding to it. Her soft purple lips were stretched tight into an eager smile. "How's it going?"

"It's going ok." He shifted his eyes across the three of them. Why exactly were they here, talking to him? The Gifted students usually kept to their own little clique. Not to say they never hung around with mere normal people like him, it was just what ended up happening when education was split like it was. They had been in the Gifted program their whole lives, growing up with each other for the most part and continuing on in higher education, so their friend groups tended to consist mainly of other Gifted people. "How are you?"

"Oh fine, fine. My last test was just murder, though. I hate finals, I always break out from the stress." Yeah, Flug could see a few pimples hiding under her makeup. "I only got, like, three hours of sleep last night I was studying so much. How about you?"

"I...was up all night, heh."

"Same," said Rapunzel, finding a free chair to pull over to the small table. She fought back a yawn. "I am so fucking tired."

"So, uh, what's up?" He asked. This was very unusual and kind of weirding him out that three people, maybe two of which he sort of knew, were just randomly chatting him up. They didn't have any classes together as far as he knew, so it wasn't as though they wanted to study together real quick or borrow a textbook or something.

"I am so glad you asked." Bianca said. "Word around campus is that you've been holding out on us."

"What do you mean?"

"We heard you've got a new boyfriend!" Possibly-Ruby said, poking at his shoulders a bit. She still hadn't found a seat. "And we want to hear all the details!"

.

.

.

.

.

.

.

"Uh, Flug? You okay?"

There was a loud noise. A scream, maybe? He felt himself slipping. The room spun. Dizzy. Darkness.

Apparently, he could still faint.

He came to a bit later. He had no concept of how long it had been. From the feel of it, he was on a cot. His eyes opened slowly, and were assaulted with stark white. An infirmary, then. Wonder what happened.

He turned his head slowly, and through the blurry haze of the world without his lenses, he was pretty sure that black silhouette with a vague top hat shape next to him was Black Hat.

"Why do you have this weird habit of showing up whenever I pass out?" He mumbled.

"Well, when I get a call that my boyfriend screamed and collapsed in the middle of the cafe, I feel the need to show up." He held out something. His glasses. Ah, that was a bit better. Now Flug could actually see his solemn expression from the chair to the side of the cot. And then everything came flooding back to him.

"Three women. They knew. About..." He almost said us. "Me."

"Yeah, I heard."

"H-How?" He felt himself tearing up.

"They heard it from someone, who heard it from someone, who heard it from someone." Black Hat crossed his arms. "Apparently, it's very interesting to a lot of people. Seems everyone's talking about it."

"Wh-Wh-Who?" He could feel the tears welling up, threatening to break into full-blown waterworks. His voice was high and strained. "W-W-Wh-W-Who did this?"

"Why? What are you going to do?"

"I-I-I, I, I..." He trailed off. The tears hit him full force. "I don't know." He broke. He broke out into sobs, desperately fighting back his cries of anguish. Why did this happen? How could this have happened? How many people knew? How long had it being going around for? How long had people been talking behind his back before someone finally decided to confront him about it? What was he going to do? What could he do? It wasn't as though he could deny it, not now. Wouldn't do any good to. No matter what he said people would think whatever they wanted. Like with Demetra, whatever they'd said before, she'd completely ignored and had superimposed her own version of what was going on. Even now, she insisted on knowing every little detail about their "relationship". When they refused to give her anything, she just made up her own. No matter what either of them seemed to do or say she never let up and just said whatever she wanted to whoever she wanted. The rest of the world was no different.

There was nothing he could do.

"Well, I know what I'm going to do once I find out."

"Wh-What?" Flug tried in vain to blink back the tears and get a hold of himself. He couldn't. This was just too much.

Black Hat stood up and leaned over his weeping subordinate. He brushed the hair out of his face and kissed him on the forehead. He whispered, "I'm going to rip them apart."

Flug's breathing evened out a little, as his words registered. They calmed him down, which they probably shouldn't be doing but he couldn't bother to particularly care about that. Black Hat rose back up and held his hands behind his back.

"H-How long was I out?" Flug asked in a hoarse voice.

"About an hour."

"I-I still have one m-more exam today. I c-c-can still make it."

"You really feel up to it?"

"I can d-d-d-do it." His voice shook. "Af-After all t-t-this, an exam is n-n-noth-n-nothing."

"That's the spirit," Black Hat said in a bland monotone. He helped him to his feet and walked him out. Very obviously close to him. And very obviously glaring at everyone they passed. Which was only earning them even more stares.

Flug tried to pull away but Black Hat wouldn't let him. "C-Can you please n-not do this?" He asked faintly. "You said-"

"There's very little point in being private about it now." Black Hat said, turning his icy gaze to him. It softened a bit, but not by much. "People know. Now we have to deal with it."

Well, when he said it like that, he made it sound so simple. Like it was just one more thing on their To-Do List. Go grocery shopping, do laundry, pick up some last minute gifts, find the one who outed him and tear them limb from limb, get the holiday decorations up. Did Black Hat celebrate Navidad?

But it just wasn't that easy. Flug didn't know how to deal with this. He spent nearly his entire life purposely avoiding dealing with this! Everywhere he looked, all he saw were people stealing glances, talking quietly amongst each other, about him. Averting their eyes and backing away because Black Hat looked like he was going to start his search of who to murder by beating it out of bystanders.

When they reached the classroom, Black Hat finally gave him some space. Sort of.

"I'll be outside when you've finished." Flug gave a small nod and walked silently in, taking his usual seat in the first row of desks. Not right in front, somewhere in the middle. A generic type of seat. Which he'd specifically picked out because no one was drawn to this area of the class. Not front enough to be among the other study-minded nerds with poor eyesight, not back enough to be among the lackadaisical goof-offs who take pictures of the lecture slides, just in the middle with the average people who winded up there cuz the other seats were taken.

He bet no one else ever put this much thought into where they sat in the classroom.

Flug sat, faced forward, spoke and looked at no one, and waited for the exam to begin. He swore he heard whispers. He swore he heard his name. He swore someone was tapping him on the shoulder. He slowly turned, exposing his red splotchy face. Still a bit shiny from the tears. His eyes were probably bloodshot. He still sniffled every now and again.

The guy who sat next to him gave a quick, "You know what, nevermind."

The exam paper was passed down the row, he pulled out his scantron sheet and pencil, the professor gave the word to begin, he looked at the first question.

His mind went blank.

There were words there. He knew that. He knew there were words and they went together to make sentences and those sentences were questions and he had to answer the question by filling in the little bubble on his sheet with the right letter. He knew he probably knew what the right answer was. He just had to pick it out of the choices. But. It wasn't getting through. He was looking at the paper and looking at the words but they weren't making sense. He read it again but he still didn't know what it meant. He understood what it was asking but didn't know what it said. There were words there. Letters. Letters went together to make words. He had to pick out the right letter to bubble in on his paper. If he could just comprehend what the words meant he'd be able to do that. If he was capable of reading and understanding the question he could find the answer.

He struggled to read the question. Word by word. Going over it again and again, until it began to make a bit of sense. He could hear other people filling in their answers. He could hear the sound of paper being flipped over as they finished the first page and moved on. Usually he was first to do that. He noticed a few wet spots on the exam paper. He hoped they were allowed to mark it, if not this exam might be invalid. He didn't want that. He took a deep breath, ignored the silent stream of tears running down his cheeks, and tried to read the question again. His lenses were all blurry, so it was hard.

It went like that for a long time. He struggled to make sense of what was on his paper and get it through to an answer. Was it the right answer? He wasn't sure anymore. He wasn't sure of anything. He finally finished the first page and he saw someone turn in their paper and leave. It happened again and again and again as he worked his way down the second page. He tried not to think about that. He just had to focus on his own work. The professor says that he's allowing the few remaining students an extra thirty minutes to finish. At least he'd managed to get through the multiple choice section. Short answer was all that was left. He could do it. Couldn't he? He only had thirty minutes. Twenty nine. Twenty eight. Twenty seven. He read each section again and again. He knew he knew the answers here. He did. It was just a matter of putting down the words. Twenty minutes. It was simple. It was easy. For him it was easy. It had always been easy. He was always finished first. Fifteen minutes. Ten. Now he needed extra time. He was the last one in the room. He still wasn't done. He still had more questions to answer. The professor is apologizing, he says he can't give him any more time. He watches as he collects his paper. Incomplete. Unfinished. It feels wrong. The answers are wrong. Some aren't even there. If he could he'd go over them again, maybe be able to understand what it all meant and be able to make it right. He couldn't, though. He could only watch. As everything fell apart.

Had he ever actually failed a test before?

Flug got out of his seat, his backpack probably open still. He takes his pencil and just sticks it in his pocket. He walks out, he feels nothing. Nothing but hurt. Not even as articulate as pain. Black Hat is still there. He zips the pack shut. He takes him by the arm, he doesn't fight it. Like he said, no point in being private now. He could start kissing him right now and he wouldn't stop him. He doesn't know if he'd reciprocate but he doesn't think he'd fight it.

People are still watching them. Black Hat's grip tightens. It doesn't hurt, but it probably should. He gets into his car with him. People are still looking. Probably whispering about what the two of them are going to do, driving off together. Are they going home? Whose home? What will they do there? Where are they going? What will they do? He doesn't know either, but can't bring himself to ask. Black Hat has a hand on him again. He doesn't know if he wants it right now or not.

There's music. Sounds a bit familiar. Sounds like english. He might know this song. Or just the band. Black Hat apparently knows it.

"It's funny," he says. All Flug does in response is turn his head a bit. He clarifies. "This song. The first time I heard it, I thought it was saying 'a sense of poisoned rationality', instead of 'poise and rationality'."

Flug says nothing.

"Either way, it still fits the song. Maybe a little better even." They go to Flug's home. Black Hat walks him up. He uses his own key to open the door. But he doesn't let himself in. He holds it open for Flug. Flug slowly walks inside, and turns to see if Black Hat comes in. He doesn't know whether or not he wants him to.

"You have more exams tomorrow, yes?" Flug nods bleakly. "Would you like me to be here in the morning?" After a moment, he nods again. "See you tomorrow then." Black Hat leaves, no lingering touch, no goodbye kiss, nothing else for Rocinante Flugslys to question whether he wants or not. He has no idea what he wants right now. He isn't sure he's capable of wanting at the moment.

He legs shake, but he follows his usual routine. With all the grace of a snake in an oil spill. His backpack falls to the floor off his shoulders with a dull thud. He drags his feet across the floor, slipping out of his shoes and leaving them wherever they happen to land. He pulls his pants off with some difficulty, and they end up in the doorway to his bedroom. Leaving him in short socks with little pink bows and plain white panties. Hey, not every pair of panties is a sexy lace or satin pair. Sometimes a guy gets behind on his laundry and has to wear the boring stuff. Thank God this place has a washer and dryer inside the apartment.

He collapses onto his bed, face first. He lays there for a minute. He's shaking. Is he laughing? Is he crying? Is he just lying there trying like hell not to completely lose control? Burying his face in his pillow and trying to convince himself that it really isn't as bad as he thinks and there are worse things that could happen and other lies to try and avoid the inevitable but it doesn't work. He curls into the fetal position and screams into his pillow. Harsh, feral, sobbing screams that are only muffled by his desperation to do what he's always done and hide from reality. Keep it on the low, keep it secret, keep it so absolutely no one knows. If it doesn't exist to anyone else then it might as well not exist at all and it's just his and only for him to know and only for him to revel or suffer in.

He spends the night in silence, after that. After he's screamed his throat raw. Numb, cold silence. It's dark, he neglected to turn on any lights. It feels familiar. This has happened, once before. It lasted a long time. He had come home, he took to locking himself in his room. Never speaking, not a word. Hardly a feeling. Just the emptiness of memories and occasional hunger pains. He doesn't even feel those now. He feels absolutely nothing. He might as well be a gaseous being, with no form to touch this world and no ability to feel it. At least not in any way a human could comprehend. He remembers this numbness, though. He remembers it first settled on him three, maybe four years ago. And it stuck with him. Following him out of the wreckage, through the infirmary, through the halls and rooms, being with him in his childhood home.

It takes hours, it takes until he notices the faint traces of daylight coming in through the windows, for him to remember what he felt before absolutely nothing.

He remembers that he felt violent.

He remembers that another time someone found out about him and his boyfriend. He remembers what happened after that, how he'd put up with the abuse and mistreatment just thinking that if he could put up with it for long enough it would pass. Like in high school, just get through it and he'd never have to deal with it again. But he did. He did have to deal with it again because it was still happening. Different people for different reasons but he was still being bullied and teased and harassed and now it wasn't just him. It wasn't just happening to him this time. This time it someone else was suffering right along with him. Because of him.

And he remembers that he had to make a decision.

And it takes Black Hat knocking on the door (some part of Flug wondering why he even bothered) for Flug to make a decision again. It doesn't come from feeling, exactly. If there's any feeling at all, it's the feeling that this is more of a need than a want. Or a want that Flug has finally chosen to indulge in. However one wishes to look at it, Flug made his mind up and had one thought.

He needed to do it himself.


Translations:

Navidad = Christmas (Spanish)

Notes:

Follow me on tumblr fallinforaguyfelldownfromthesky, where I post weekly sneak peeks and snippets of upcoming chapters. Ask box is open and I'm always happy to talk. I'm going to try, TRY mind you, to get the next chapter finished and posted by the end of the month. It, like this one, will probably be long as FUCK and really damn intense. I've also decided that if I can't manage to get it up by then, I'm not going to be mad or disappointed in myself. All it means is that I aimed high and that's something to be proud of.

See ya'll soon for one last hurrah before I need to take a break from the madness that is my writing process.