Maybe he should text him instead. That seemed a safer option. No risk of saying anything dumb, or stuttering his words when he had the chance to strategize. Well, a lower risk. Basically the less actual talking Flug had to do the better. Calling him seemed so...serious. Texting was casual. This was a casual matter, so he could just text him. Yeah.
Flug tapped away from the call screen over to text messaging.
Well, now he was going to obsess over what to say. Why was Flug contacting Black Hat again? His hoodie, he remembered, his black NASA hoodie. Right, that. Why couldn't he just call him for that? It wasn't weird to call him. Why would that be weird? And why did Flug feel so sweaty? Was he sweating? Goddamn stuffy hermit apartment! Goddamn wall of newspaper Flug needed to feel safe!
One thing at a time. He went back to the call screen. C'mon, you're just calling the guy. He thought. No big deal.
It really wasn't any sort of big deal, and rationally, he knew that. But rationality was not really factoring in at the moment so he still found himself hesitating. Something he was determined to change. He would not let fear hold him back anymore. New Year, New Me and all that. Flug had decided that after last nights'...experiments...that he would push himself to be the greatest mad scientist in the world. Who else would the greatest villain in the world have at his side but the best of the best? Undoubtedly he had a lot to improve on, and he would not stop at his technological pursuits. No one was going to take him seriously if he couldn't so much as make a phone call without panicking. It was time to toughen up. Flug tapped the call button before he could chicken out.
It went straight to voicemail. Oh God he only had a few seconds before the beep-
There it was. Why had he called again?
"Uh, h-hey, Black Hat." Flug nervously paced across his bedroom floor. "I uhhhhh, I think I left my hoodie in your car last night. If you find it just, ahhh, you can just stop by and drop it off, if you want. You know when I'll be here, heh." Why does it sound like he's trying to subtly invite him over? Oh God this sounds like an excuse to see him again. Quick, say something else! "Or ju-just give it to me next time you see me around school, you know, whatever works best. No rush." Saved it. "I, um, I also kind of wanted to talk to you..." No no, don't do this now. Not over voicemail! "...ah, well, you must be busy. I'll talk to you...later...bye."
Flug hung up, immediately covered his face in his hands and groaned loudly. That had been so awkward! At least he did it, that was certainly...something.
Why was he like this? It was Black Hat. There was no reason to get so worked up. Over a phone call. Black Hat called him all the time, why was it so anxiety-inducing for Flug to do the same? Why was he psyching himself out over stupid things like phone calls? It was Black Hat. Shouldn't he be over this by now? Especially after last night's "festivities"? What, Flug could suck his dick with no problems but asking for his hoodie back was too much?!
Oh yeah. He did that. He actually fucking did that! And said something about still owing him a show! And admittedly had spent the better part of the early morning trying (and failing) to think about anything else other than how had it felt and how Black Hat must've felt given how he'd reacted. Julio had always told Flug he was good, but it felt different when Black Hat said he did good. Maybe it was because Black Hat had more experience. Flug was definitely not the first person to blow him. If Black Hat thought he was good, then he must actually be good, right? That made sense.
When Flug finally faced the world again, his gaze fell on the model plane Black Hat gave him for Christmas. He kept it in his room, on his desk by his laptop. He flopped into his chair and spun the propeller around lazily. It really was a very nice model, and had provided him with a few hours of peace as he meticulously constructed it piece by piece. The ones he'd made with his dad as a kid were in his bedroom back home. He'd helped his dad mount shelves to the wall to display them all while his mother watched from the doorway, joking about how great it was to have two handymen right at home. By his high school years she said she'd never need a repairman or an electrician, because she had her boys.
It had been so long since he'd been home. He wondered if his mom dusted at all in his old room, or if they just kept it shut without him there. They'd probably love to have him over, just for an afternoon or so. Maybe he should take this model over and find a place for it with the others. He liked having all his things in one place. And if his parents asked where he got it, he could say it was a Christmas present from his "girlfriend". Maybe say he saw her Christmas morning, and she surprised him with this, and they got breakfast together. Wouldn't they just love to hear that? They'd be so happy for him.
He really didn't enjoy lying to his parents. They loved him, or at least they loved the "him" they knew. He loved them too. He wanted to preserve that image they had of him, their perfectly normal (if not a bit reclusive) son who was going to do so much good with his life. He may be a murderer and a borderline psychopath, but he didn't want to hurt his family by letting them know that. Now that Flug thought about it, he may rather they find out he was gay than that he could kill people so easily. Maybe it'd make things easier if he, as far as they knew, ran off with his boyfriend never to be seen again. They'd probably disown him once they knew, so no worries of them trying to contact him. As depressing as that sounded, it may make this fake-dating thing worth keeping up long-term. Would offer some explanation as to what they got up to after graduation.
Whatever happened to Flug and Black Hat? Oh, I heard they moved in together. Very far away. They really wanted a fresh start, you know?
Why are two adult men living and working together? The history books will mysteriously never know, but people in the present will probably assume they're sleeping together. No evil or villainy here good sir, just a nerdy twink and his eccentric sugar daddy. And if the two of them did have a sort of casual, mutual, physical relationship...well, so what? It helped sell the story and it wasn't hurting anybody. People would say what they wanted regardless, and if they could use it to their advantage then why shouldn't they? They were two adults who respected each others boundaries and so long as they kept doing that there shouldn't be anything wrong with them having a personal relationship along as well as a professional one. If it didn't work out, then they'd just stop. Flug trusted that Black Hat would accept that, if not agree. Probably.
Speaking of things Black Hat would probably agree with...Flug wanted it to be clear that Aurelio was his. He could live with Black Hat roughing him up a bit, but Flug wanted to be the one who handled the majority if not all of it. Flug didn't think it was too much to ask. Black Hat did say that Flug would have his revenge, and that the only thing that mattered was that he was smart about his kills. Flug may not have the know-how or experience to pull something like last night off on his own, but he could learn. Black Hat said he would teach him. How to inflict pain and suffering, and how to abduct people without breaking a sweat.
He was committed to improving himself. He didn't want to be the shy, socially awkward loser he'd always been. He wanted to be confident, capable, and villainous. It was time to make a change. He could do this. He was capable. Black Hat believed in him, so he could believe in himself too.
Today, he made a phone call. Tomorrow...he'd see what he could do.
It surprisingly took about a day and a half for Black Hat to call back.
"Hello Flug. I'm sorry to get back to you so late. I had to take care of a few things yesterday."
"Oh no worries, I understand. So, um, did you find my hoodie?"
"Yeah, it was in the backseat. You're home already, right?"
"Yes I am."
"Good, I'll be over shortly to return it to you."
"Great," Flug said, wondering if Black Hat meant he was going to come up and come in or just hang out downstairs and hand it off. Oh man his place was filthy. When was the last time he swept? "Thank you."
"I'll see you soon Flug."
"See you soon."
Black Hat hung up, leaving Flug in a tizzy over whether or not he should bother cleaning up. Black Hat had been here, he already knew what a slob Flug was, and he was only coming by to give him his hoodie back! Not like this was a "social" visit. And he'd never said anything before so, maybe he didn't care. He probably didn't. Why would he care? It didn't matter.
But you know, occasionally people get tired of living in a pigsty, so Flug made an effort to make his living space a bit more presentable. He was doing this for himself. Black Hat coming over was just his...motivation. Or maybe it would be better to say it was his reminder to get off his ass and be a responsible adult. He had the TV on as well, he figured he might as well finish The Devil is a Part-Timer while he was home with nothing better to do. It was only a 13 episode show, and was good white noise. Not to mention useful for keeping track of time. Did he hear the telltale sounds of the ending credits? Yay, it's been a little over twenty minutes! It was a far more reliable way of telling time than estimating it on his own now. If he wasn't mindful, hours could go by without his noticing. Not that he had hours. It shouldn't take Black Hat more than maybe forty minutes to get here. So that was two episodes, tops. Plenty of time to sweep, spray some air freshener, shove a bunch of mechanical bobbles and wires into various drawers so the place looked cleaner than it actually was. He'd go through them properly later, he was on a time crunch.
It was amazing, over a month of going without sleep and not once did it ever occur to him to spend a single night cleaning. You'd think one man living alone could only leave so much of a mess. When did everything get so dirty?
Oh wow, an entire family of dust bunnies under the couch. Spanning generations no doubt. Did he have enough time to clear them out?
There was a knock at the door. Could that be Black Hat? He was early. Much earlier than Flug was expecting. He rushed to put his broom and dustpan back in the hall closet and gave his living room one last spray of air freshener. He looked through the peephole to confirm and yep, that was Black Hat.
Flug was about to open the door for him until he realized he had forgotten to put pants on and was in nothing but a dark blue t-shirt, dark blue panties, and black knee socks with lace trim. When did he start dressing so drab?
AND WAS HE GOING TO NEED STICKY NOTES TO REMIND HIM TO PUT SOME GODDAMN PANTS ON!? HONESTLY!
Flug ran back to his room and threw some jeans on, whatever pair happened to be closest to him. Then ran back and swung the door open, trying to be casual.
"Hey, wasn't expecting you so soon."
"I was in the neighborhood when I remembered your phone call." Black Hat handed Flug his hoodie, and Flug stepped back to allow him in. "You also said you wanted to talk to me, yes?"
"Oh, yeah." Now was a good time. Behind locked doors and such. "I wanted to talk to you about, um, about...Aurelio."
Black Hat scowled. "What about him? Has he tried contacting you?"
"No, nothing like that, thankfully. I just, I just wanted to be clear about something."
"Bem, diga me. What is it?"
"You remember how you said I would get my revenge?"
"I remember."
"Well I-I-" No, no he wasn't going to stutter his way through this. He tried to force himself to speak calmly and evenly. He played with the fabric of his hoodie, it felt softer than he remembered. Did Black Hat wash it for him? "I want to do it on my own. I want to be the one who kidnaps him, and tortures him, and ultimately kills him. I want to drag it out for as long as I can, and I want him to suffer every single moment. I don't mind if you want a t-turn with him or anything, but I really want him to be, well...mine. I-If that's alright."
"Oh Flug," Black Hat put a hand on his shoulder. "Of course it's alright. I wouldn't have it any other way."
"Really?"
"Yes, really. I will teach you everything you need to know to have your vengeance like a proper villain. We will continue practicing until you are ready to do exactly as you said; handle it on your own. You did so well with our test subject the other night, I can't wait to see what you can do when you're trying to hurt someone. And for the record..." Black Hat grinned maliciously at him, coming closer to cup his cheek gently. "I wouldn't so much as dream of taking that from you. Believe me my Pet, I don't need anything more than to watch you work on that figlio di puttana."
"Heh, I thought you might want to."
Black Hat laughed, deep and evil in his throat. "What can I say? It's a pleasure to watch you."
Flug's cheesy blushing was then interrupted by the sound of people screaming in Japanese. They both turned to see the source of the noise, and Flug realized he'd been in such a hurry he'd never turned his show off.
"Hmmm? What's this?" Black Hat let Flug go and went off curiously towards the TV.
"Oh that's just, ah, it's just this show I like. It's good background noise when I'm...working."
"Is it a cartoon?"
Must. Resist. Urge. To be. A Weeb. "Technically, it's an anime. Which is...like a cartoon, but it comes from Japan. They're allowed to have a lot more adult humor, I guess, in them. Things like drinking and sex and stuff. Cultural differences about what is and isn't appropriate in kids shows, you know? Though sometimes they get censored in other countries. A lot more for the English releases."
Black Hat rubbed his chin critically, while onscreen the angel Sariel tortured Emilia and made very inappropriate comments towards her, um, chest. Black Hat huffed, "Nothing wrong with b-cups, you blue-haired pig. So, this young woman is some sort of hero?"
"Um, yes. She's half angel and is a Hero sworn to defeat King Satan and his demon generals from taking over the land."
"Hmmm, an angel hero. Sounds familiar for some reason. And this...who is this?" Black Hat pointed at Maou, who'd just destroyed the magical barrier keeping him from rescuing the girls (the Hero and his young coworker).
"That's Satan, or Maou as he's called."
"Satan is...rescuing the hero?" Black Hat's head cocked to the side, and if he didn't look so disgusted Flug would almost think it was cute.
"Yeah, it's...it's complicated. This show is kind of a waste of a premise to be honest."
"What is this show about? And- How the hell did that child's hairpin turn into that gigantic mallet!?"
Flug went and paused the TV, if he was going to explain this he may as well start from the beginning. "Ok so it all starts in this other world, called Ente Isla, and in that world Satan and his demon generals want to conquer Ente Isla. The Hero Emilia, who you just saw, was actually powerful enough to nearly defeat him and his army, but before she could he and one of his generals fled through a magical gate to earth."
"Ugh, that is the most pathetic devil I have ever heard of. And I've heard of devils who attack kindergarteners!" Black Hat crossed his arms testily. "Running away in defeat..."
"I believe they called it a 'strategic retreat'."
"Oh I'm sure they did. Let me guess, the hero managed to follow them."
"Yeah."
"Of course she did. And now they're...what are they doing? Shouldn't they be fighting still? Why would Satan rescue his enemy? Why does she even need rescuing?"
"Well, they're all pretty weak on earth, as their type of magic is only really a concept here. It took them awhile to find ways to replenish their respective powers. And since Maou really isn't doing anything evil, Emi, that's the name she goes by in Japan, is just kind of keeping tabs on him. To make sure he doesn't start trying to take over the earth like he did Ente Isla."
"Is he trying to take over the world?"
"Well, he was at first. Remember how I said this show was kind of a waste of a premise?" Flug sat down on the couch. Black Hat followed suit after a moment. "It started out with Satan and his right-hand man struggling to adjust to life as humans, having to get ID's and jobs and being forced to live out of a crappy one-room apartment because that's all they can really afford. They refer to it as the new 'Devils' Castle' and Maou basically became the sole breadwinner with his part-time job at a McDonalds rip-off because his general couldn't hold down a job."
"He sounds like an extremely incompetent right-hand man." Black Hat scowled.
"Yeah, kind of. It is a little funny how he keeps up with the whole 'Sire', 'Your Majesty', 'My Liege', bit though."
"Well then, at least he knows how to properly show respect to his master."
"Heh, yeah, even one of the other generals brought up how he just mindlessly goes along with whatever Maou decides. He didn't even deny it. Though, he really doesn't do much throughout the show. Even when they manage to get their magic back, he typically misses the fight because he runs home to get his demon general's cape."
Black Hat growled. "What kind of demon general is that!? What does he contribute!?"
"Uh, m-mainly he spends his time researching ways to replenish their magic, but that was before Lucifer, another general, showed up and they found out they could gain power by feeding off the negative emotions of humans. Fear, panic, things like that."
"Please tell me Satan actually uses that to get his powers back."
"Yes..." Flug trailed off, because Black Hat seemed to take it personally offensive that the devil may not be evil, and Flug wasn't particularly happy to be telling him that was exactly the case. "But-"
"Oh no, he used it to help the hero didn't he?"
"And other humans."
Black Hat groaned angrily and glared at the TV screen. His right eye might've started twitching slightly. "I don't like this show. Why would you watch something like this?"
"It's...funny?" Flug rubbed one of his arms nervously. He hadn't been expecting Black Hat to take any sort of interest in Flug's choice in entertainment, much less ask about it. Or get so worked up that it wasn't up to his standards or whatever. "Watching these powerful demons have to work part-time jobs to barely support themselves and the hero following them around like an ex-girlfriend who can't let go is f-funny. But I do also think it would be much better if Satan did want to rule both the earth and Ente Isla. Because he did in the beginning, and his plan was essentially to work himself up the corporate ladder at MgRonalds to gain status and respect and move up in the world. His coworkers and boss all trust him completely and he's legitimately a good, hard worker. I think it'd be a lot better if it was all an act like Emi and Suzuno originally think it is. This show would be a lot better if the Devil actually acted like, well, the Devil. It would make sense that he doesn't want to draw too much attention, so he doesn't use his magic, and it could be that when he uses his magic to save humans he's really doing it to fool the hero into thinking he's changed and wants to just live a normal life on earth. Even his relationship with Chiho, his coworker, could stay the same since he doesn't return her feelings at all. It's actually really funny, there's this one part where he's called over to help out at this MgRonalds in an amusement park, and the girls go to keep tabs on him. Chiho is very, um, curvy, and wears this real small bikini, and she goes up to him all 'Sooo, what do you think?' doing this," Flug tried his best to mimic the way she squirmed and pressed her arms together to emphasize her breasts. "And he didn't even react. He just kept talking about work. Even right now, when he's going to save her and Emi, it's not because there's anything romantic there. It's because he got promoted to shift leader, and is therefore responsible for her. I don't see why he couldn't act like that and still be out for world domination." Kind of like you, now that I think about it. "It could be better but, for what it is, I like it."
Black Hat's eyebrow was quipped critically. "MgRonalds?"
"Well, uh, they couldn't use the 'McDonalds' name because of copyright, you know? So...MgRonalds. Do you want to know what they came up with for their Kentucky Fried Chicken knock-off?"
"No." Black Hat rolled his eye and stood up, straightening the lapels of his coat. "I agree with you Flug. This show is a waste of a premise. I'd be far more interested if it was like what you described just now."
"Uh, thanks?" Flug got up to see him out.
"You're welcome. Since I'm already here, do you need anything for the Hat-Botler? I'd like not to waste any more time."
"Right, of course. I, um, I could use more aluminum alloy, and more screws. The same size as before will work. Oh, and wires! More copper wires please. You also said we were going to keep practicing, right?"
"Correct. Seeing as you're so eager to learn, I will find us a new target and begin instructing you in the ways of torture soon. We'll use the Stun Gun again to secure our victims until you're ready to learn other methods of abduction."
"Cool," Flug said, immediately feeling like "cool" was a pretty lame thing to say in response to that. "Am I going with you to abduct them or do you want me to wait in the kill-room?"
"You're coming with me. And after you've assembled a decent array of weapons, I'll take you with me to stalk our targets. You won't learn anything if you're sitting around waiting for me now, will you?" Black Hat smiled at him, and put a hand back on his shoulder. Flug found he couldn't help but lean into it. "Leave everything to me, my Pet. When the time comes, I'll be waiting for you to bring that bastard back to our kill-room. If you really want to do it on your own."
"Yes," Flug was feeling similar to how he had back when he'd killed their test subject, and Black Hat told him how they'd be doing this again. "I won't let you down, sir."
"I know you won't."
There wasn't any sort of parting kiss, just a squeeze of Flug's arm as Black Hat left. Not the Flug really wanted a kiss but, he wouldn't exactly object if Black Hat had made a move to kiss him. He guessed he was just...open to kissing again. If Black Hat was.
He flopped back onto the couch and rubbed the fabric of his hoodie between his hands. He swore it felt softer than he remembered. Curiously, he brought it up to his nose and sniffed. It smelled clean and fresh, much fresher than his clothes usually did from whatever generic brand of laundry detergent he bought. There wasn't any specific scent, but it was different enough to be noticeable.
Flug buried his face in it to hide his grin. Black Hat definitely washed it. So he'd probably noticed it before Flug had called. Hadn't he said he was just "in the neighborhood", and that's why he got there earlier than usual? Did he wash it and put it back in his car? What, for convenience? Maybe so he'd have it on hand next time he saw Flug? It made him want to burst out laughing. It was almost...sweet. He took the time to wash Flug's hoodie. That was so nice.
Everything had been nice. Why had Flug worried about bringing up Aurelio? Of course Black Hat wouldn't mind, why would he? He wanted Flug to be a better murderer. He was going to help him become a better murderer. All he wanted was to sit back and watch what Flug could do with the right tools. It had been so easy to talk about, too. Flug guessed he was still getting used to being evil so candidly. He had never been able to act or talk this way with anyone before, and now all of a sudden he could. He could with Black Hat. He kind of understood where he was coming from, and whenever Flug had doubts he reassured him. He could just be himself around Black Hat, and it was ok. It was easy. Talking to him had actually been pretty easy. As soon as he decided to just man up and say what was on his mind, it was a piece of cake.
Flug decided he should do that more often. He should speak up about things. One of his classes in particular this semester would surely help him.
Flug sat in his seat, mindlessly tapping away at his phone to kill time before class started. He was in his hoodie again, because it was pretty cold out today, and it was just so soft. Were all Black Hat's clothes this soft? Thinking about that was more enjoyable than thinking about the next two hours. He wasn't particularly looking forward to this class, but it was one of those "required" general education courses and without it he wouldn't be able to graduate. He'd honestly been putting it off for a while now, but seeing as he wasn't allowed to take any courses where he'd have access to machinery (until the counselor cleared him), might as well get it out of the way.
He tried thinking positively. While Public Speaking may not be an enjoyable experience, it really was something he should work on. His most recent presentation had gone well, but if he was going to be demonstrating his creations for professional villains, he would need to carry himself with a bit more confidence. He couldn't go and make himself sick with anxiety every time he was about to kill someone. Black Hat was always so confident and sure of himself. So driven. So put together. If Flug was going to be his head scientist, he should be too, right?
Granted, Black Hat's confidence probably came from his years of experience. Doing these kinds of things on his own and learning from established criminal overlords like The Rat and Dr. Morte and probably even a few others he hadn't gotten around to mentioning. He'd said he'd kept to smuggling and stuff in Portugal, so some of the big names didn't get their hands dirty, but he'd never given any of those names. Flug wondered if he was acquainted with any of the more well-known Mexican villains like Quetzelcoalt or Chimera or Poker Face. He wasn't sure if Bonnivet counted since everyone who'd encountered her claimed she was from space or something (and MAY have a base orbiting earth), but lately she'd been reported in a few nearby states so maybe it wasn't too unthinkable that Black Hat might've met her. Flug also had to wonder if he'd gone up against any heroes. If Flug remembered right, his previous henchmen Alberto had died in a fight with a hero. Unfortunately Flug couldn't remember many specifics, and was pretty sure that had been years ago. On a whole other continent. He wondered if he'd ever come across anyone from the Los Diez Mejores like Heavy Punch or Diamante or-
"Hey everybody, welcome to Public Speaking!" The professor announced. "My name is Abel Fuentes, Abel is fine. I'm going to start by taking role of everyone in the class, ok? As you can see the class is pretty packed already, but I'll do what I can to add as many people as possible. Ok, listen for your name. Amanda Acuña?"
Well, one upside to having a name like Rocinante Flugslys, he'd hear his name immediately. He doubted anyone else's mother chose to name them after the donkey from Don Quixote, and highly doubted anyone else had the name "Flugslys". If nothing else, he'd hear when the professor stumbled across it and asked the correct pronunciation.
"Maria Delgado?"
What had he been thinking about? Oh yes, heroes and villains. He lived in a pretty safe area, or at least he thought he did until Black Hat came along. Though with all Aurelio got up to, and considering that he probably wasn't the only Gifted person who let their abilities go to their head, he may have to rethink his notion of "safe". He wasn't much of a fighter. He might be, after he built himself a small arsenal of prototypes. Until then, Black Hat could keep him safe. Right?
"Anthony Fernandez?"
Was he going to be introducing him to people as "Flug"? Was that just going to be his permanent nickname? Speaking of, were he and Black Hat going to have villain alter-egos? Would they have costumes? Black Hat already kind of looked the part. And could probably just use "Black Hat" as his alias since that wasn't his actual name. Now that he thought about it he felt kind of weird about calling out "Black Hat" when he-
"Rocinante Flug...Flugsl..." The professor's face contorted a bit as he tried to sound out the name.
"Flugslys," Flug raised his hand. "It's Flugslys."
"Ah, thank you Rocinante Flugslys. Very unique." He smiled at him. He seemed like an easy-going type of person. Very upbeat and positive. Maybe this class wouldn't be so bad after all. His name was Abel, right? "Amelia Gomez?"
After everything, Flug still didn't know Black Hat's name. If they were going to have a physical (and kind of romantic) relationship, he should probably be able to call him by his actual name and not just his nickname/supervillain identity. He seemed to have a bit of trouble with Flug's full name as well, but admittedly he'd made more of an effort to try and pronounce it. Flug should try too.
He should also get around to asking him how old he was. Probably should've done that before sucking his dick, but hey, not like he could un-suck his dick. Flug wasn't exactly sure how much of an age gap he would be comfortable with, but...he just hoped Black Hat wasn't old enough to be his dad or something. Or like, twice his age. Because even with how Black Hat went above and beyond making sure Flug was consenting to everything, that was kind of questionable. Especially from someone in the morally dark-gray in the best case scenario.
Ok new goal, before things went any further with Black Hat, Flug would ask him how old he was. Even if it spoiled the mood.
"Steven de Mayo?"
Random thought, what if in the future someone actually recognizes them? Like, some random person sees them advertising their products (probably on a live audience or something), and is just hit with, Holy shit I went to college with those guys. That would be so crazy! Or Demetra, seeing them on the news and thinking What the fuck, I know them! They were my favorite couple!
"Ok, anybody whose name I didn't call? Yes, you? You're on the waitlist? What's your name?"
"Stephanie Perez."
"Ok, and you?"
"Lorena Oliveros."
"And you there?"
"Luis Vasquez."
"Ok, you?"
"Estrella Diaz."
Oh, hey, was that Luis? Like, Luis from his club Luis? Flug hadn't noticed him. Well, the class was pretty packed. And he did have a tendency to blend into the background. He was kind of like Flug in that way; on his own, keeping to himself, friendly with everyone but not exactly "friends" with everyone. Or maybe he was, he had been with Tesoro and Miguel and Hector to invite him out for New Years. What did Flug know?
The professor clapped his hands together, drawing everyone's attention. "Ok! I'm going to pass out the syllabus, we'll go over that real quick, and then we'll get into groups." Groups?! "Ok now pass this down the row please, uh, Maria? Great."
Oh God, were they going to start off with those "ice-breakers"? With those intrusive "personal questions"? Well, Flug had already been expecting this class to push him out of his comfort zone. Might as well get started right away. But man, was he not looking forward to it.
It didn't take too long to get through the syllabus. And then Abel went over the "groups" situation.
"These'll be your groups for the rest of the semester," Oh no. "They'll help you practice and organize your speeches, I do a lot of presentational activities in this class and you'll work together in those, and they'll be your go-to study-buddies. Now I want everyone to get together in groups of...hmmm, there's a lot of you. Let's do groups of ten," Oh no. "Find nine people you don't know and group up!"
That was far too many people at once. Flug, very uncomfortable but trying to get over it, got up and grouped up with a bunch of people he was fairly certain he'd never met before. Within minutes, the entire class was in groups in their own respective corner of the classroom. Sitting in circles that were probably closer to ovals.
"Ok, you have ten? You have ten? You guys in the back?"
"We only have eight."
"Ok we have one group of eight, that's fine. I want you guys to introduce yourselves and come up with a team name. This isn't really going to be competitive or for points or anything, we're going to have fun this semester. I promise."
Flug doubted that, but he tried to be optimistic. It was only the first day after all. This could end up being...fun. It wouldn't kill him to make some more acquaintances than his boss/fake boyfriend and the waitress who shipped them. Everyone went around introducing themselves haphazardly and in no particular order.
"Hi, I'm Destiny."
"Hey, I'm Rocinante."
"Steven."
"Hi, Steven."
"I'm Gabe, nice to meet you."
Oh that name did not have fond memories. At least this guy looked nothing like the Gabriel he killed. "Rocinante, same to you."
"Nice to meet you, Rocinante." Said a familiar voice to his right. It was Luis, giving him a calm smile and holding his hand out.
"Uhh, hi?" He shook his hand, but was very confused. Weren't they supposed to specifically find people they didn't know? Should one of them switch groups? Should Flug tell people he actually knew Luis already? He didn't know him well but-
"I won't tell if you won't." Luis braced himself on the desk with his fingers up against his lips, almost as if he was trying to give him a signal. Was it that obvious what Flug had been thinking? He was smiling playfully, like they were sharing a secret. "It's not like we really know each other anyways."
Flug guessed he had a point there. They knew each other, but they didn't know each other. No one seemed to notice the two of them, too caught up in introducing themselves to the rest of the group. And hey, it might be a little easier to do these nerve-wracking speeches if he had a...friend to help him. So he didn't bother Black Hat with all of his problems.
Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. "It's nice to meet you too, Luis."
"It's so great to see you guys!" Demetra placed their orders down, nearly bouncing on her heels she was so energetic. It was a miracle she didn't spill anything. "Feels like it's been forever since all three of us were here!"
"Mmm hmm," Black Hat took a small sip from his coffee, not looking up from the newspaper he was reading.
"Sooooo how are my two favorite lovebirds?" She beamed at them.
"A little chilly but otherwise fine."
"Yeah, what he said." Flug looked away and buried his face in the extra whipped cream he ordered on his coffee.
"Awwww, give it a rest Flug. We know you're not all 'innocent' like you act."
"She's right you know," Black Hat smiled coyly. "Though you are cute when you're flustered."
Flug immediately got flustered and nearly choked on his coffee. The hot, sweet beverage burned the side of his mouth and he shoved a few napkins in his face. Black Hat and Demetra chuckled in response, but Flug knew they weren't laughing maliciously so he wasn't too bothered. He actually found himself laughing along, genuinely. Did Black Hat really just say he thought Flug was cute?
Julio had thought it was cute when he got flustered, he remembered. Sometimes when they were alone he'd tease him about how red Flug got just from something Julio said. Don't even get him started on what a mess Flug had been after they kissed for the first time. Flug had barely been able to form words for like, five minutes. Just spewing a pack of barely coherent word-fragments and nodding intently when Julio asked "You wanna do it again?" He'd wanted it for so long. There, with him, he felt like he'd finally washed ashore after days out as sea. Finally somewhere he could be safe. He finally had someone he could be himself around.
He was starting to feel it again, even stronger now.
The little bell that signalled someone walking through the door rang out, and Demetra's face fell completely. She looked down at the two of them almost protectively, like, I won't let anything happen to you guys on my watch. Black Hat ripped his newspaper in two. He hardly seemed to notice this as his eye was fixed on the door, looking like he wanted to get up out of his seat and give a live demonstration on how to rip out someone's spine. Flug turned in his seat to see who could possibly stir these kinds of emotions in his friends. And once he did, he felt kind of like he had back in highschool seeing his old bullies year after year. That familiar flash of Ah shit, here we go again.
Aurelio and a few of his buddies milled around, looking for seats and checking out the line. They very obviously noticed the three of them, but acted like they hadn't as they scoped the place out. Some short guy with a really dumb haircut found a spot across the room with enough chairs for the five of them, Aurelio and some girl followed him. The two others went about getting their coffee.
"Dem? You good?" One of the other waitresses, with black hair dyed electric green at the tips of her short pigtails, came up and put a hand on her shoulder.
"Yeah, yeah Esme, I'm good." She brushed her off. "Just remind me that I can't go beating the shit out of customers."
"Oh he is just asking to die." Black Hat growled. He looked down at the two wads of the newspaper in his hands. "Goddamnit."
"How 'bout you Flug?" Demetra asked. "You ok?"
"Y-Yeah, yeah. I'm fine."
"You're sure?" Black Hat put the torn paper down and held his hand across the table. "We can leave if you want to."
"No, no I d-don't want to leave." He didn't. He really didn't. This was their spot. He liked coming here. He liked sitting here and having coffee and talking to Black Hat and Demetra. He didn't want Aurelio to take this place from them. "Let's ju-ju-just...let's just ignore them."
"Right. He doesn't matter." Black Hat continued talking after Demetra left to go on with her shift. "We will not run from our enemies like your Japanese cartoon Devil. We are better than that."
"I m-mean, I am still a part-timer at Radioshack."
"That's different. You are my subordinate. You told me his couldn't find employment at all. Therefore you are still better. You can take care of yourself, even if only barely."
Flug laughed shakily, squeezing Black Hat's hand for support. "You know, you give the weirdest pep talks sometimes."
"I give the weirdest what?"
Oh was the phrase "pep talk" out of his vocabulary? "Like, the things you say to cheer me up? Make me feel better?"
Black Hat huffed, pulling his hand back. "I am a villain, Flug. I'm not good at making people feel better."
"Yeah, I c-could kinda tell. But, you try. And I appreciate that."
"Well, good." Black Hat sipped his coffee, very obviously trying not to look over where Aurelio and company had seated themselves. "I put a lot of effort into this relationship."
Yes, I noticed that too. "So, uh..." Flug played with what was left of his whipped cream, swirling it around with his finger. "Do you really think I'm c-cute?"
"Flug, it is not fair to ask that when you're looking at me with puppy-dog eyes." OH JESÚS AM I ACTUALLY DOING THAT!? "But yes."
Oh Lord. Flug must be downright adorable now. Black Hat was right. Aurelio didn't matter. Huh, that had been what Julio had always told him after Gabriel and his buddies had their fun and left them to lick their wounds. They don't matter. What they do doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is that we're ok. And then he'd kiss whatever bruise or scrape Rocinante had gained that day, and helped him come up with some explanation to tell people. It hurt, but honestly watching Julio suffer along with him had hurt worse. He felt so useless, he had no idea how to comfort him. All he could do was copy what Julio did for him. Not being able to really help made it hard to believe it didn't matter.
But Aurelio really didn't matter. His days were numbered. Every day that passed was one day closer to his death. Flug would kill him, when he was good and ready. He wanted it to be perfect, so he wouldn't do anything until he had a beautiful plan and the skills to pull it off. And he'd have Black Hat to help him.
Although Black Hat might've been the one who needed Flug's help right now. Aurelio and his bunch were actually in Black Hat's line of sight. Flug at least had his back turned towards them, so all he had to do was ignore the suffocating feeling of eyes boring holes into the back of his head. Flug could see Black Hat's eye continually flit over to them, getting angrier and angrier at whatever he saw. Flug didn't even want to mention it for fear of making it worse. He just did his best to keep the conversation going and get Black Hat to focus. He was trying to ignore them, Flug could tell he was trying, but with every passing minute he looked closer and closer to getting up and disemboweling them all with plastic spoons. It didn't help Flug to see him losing his cool so easily. Had his car meant that much to him?
Eventually, it seemed he just couldn't take it anymore. "That's it." He announced. "I'm going over there."
"What? No. No, please don't."
"I am going over there and I am giving this shit stain a piece of my mind."
"I thought you said we had to wait. What about arousing suspicion?" Flug harshly whispered.
"I'll get him to throw the first punch. Then I'll claim self-defense." Black Hat started to get up. "I'm sorry, but I won't just sit here and-
Flug launched out of his seat and lunged across the table, pulling on the lapels of Black Hat's coat as he suddenly kissed him. He noticed Black Hat's eye go wide, and glance over to where Aurelio and co. had seated themselves before closing as he returned the kiss. He reached slowly up to hold Flug and pet the scars on his cheek.
As they parted, Flug pulled him down so he could whisper in his ear. Or at least in the general area his ear should be. "He doesn't matter. He doesn't matter because I'm going to kill him, and then he'll never bother us ever again. Ok?"
"Yes," Black Hat replied softly. "Thank you Pet. I needed to hear that." They shared another kiss before sitting back down, already feeling like that little incident was over and done. "So, does this mean you've changed your mind about public displays of affection?"
Flug thought it over. "Maybe. I think I can be ok with kissing. And I wouldn't mind it if you went back to h-holding me like you used to. I don't think I want it going around that I'm your 'Pet' though."
"Understood. I'll keep it between the two of us."
"Thank you."
"But of course, my darling." Oh sweet Jesus, the "Pet" was totally implied there! Flug looked off, trying to downplay how happy he was. Just his luck, he managed to catch Dem's eye as she walked off from another table and she gave him two big thumbs up. God, he couldn't believe he'd just done that. Only a month earlier and it would've been unthinkable!
They continued on until they were both satisfied, and flagged down Demetra to pick up her tip. Out of the corner of Flug's eye, he noticed Aurelio had gotten up as well. He hadn't meant to so much as glance at him, but he was very glad he did. He nudged Black Hat and he was quick to catch on. He put his arm around him, holding him by the waist. He kissed his temple and whispered "Anything happens, he came after us and we defended ourselves." Flug nodded, and huddled as close as he could without tripping either of them up. It was the truth, and any life-threatening injuries could be chalked up to rage (in Black Hat's case) or hysterics (in Flug's). But Flug didn't feel at all prepared for this, so he hoped it wouldn't come to any actual physical altercation.
They walked down the street to Black Hat's car normally, as if they didn't even notice they were being followed. Aurelio's lackies trailed behind him, acting casual. Flug's heart was pounding. Should they make a run for it? No, no they wouldn't run from them. But fighting Aurelio head on seemed like a poor decision. They didn't have a plan. Flug didn't know what to do when he didn't have a plan! They were almost there. Oh Dios qué iban a-
"Ay, mi Aurelito, there you are!" A sudden voice drew their attention briefly. "And Paola! Oh it's been so long since I've seen you!"
I could say the same, Flug thought. The resemblance was uncanny; the same inky dark hair, the same tanned skin, the same colored eyes, the same regal features, the same statuesque posture even. She was a fair bit shorter, and much leaner, and had a slight lisp in her Spanish as she doted on her son and his friends. Cupping their faces and talking about how great it was to meet them, how rarely he brought people over and introduced them properly. A few of them looked confused, maybe even slightly worried, this had clearly been unexpected. They all looked to Aurelio for guidance. Pathetic.
Black Hat took advantage of their distraction and they reached the car within seconds. He started the engine immediately and pulled out of the parking lot before their luck ran out. Flug finally felt like he could breathe again. That had been tense.
"That woman." Black Hat said. "Who was she?"
"Aurelio's mom. Couldn't you tell? He takes after her a lot."
"I don't like to assume things when it comes to this. Did you go back to stalking him?"
"I tried, but there wasn't anything from any of his accounts. At all. Maybe she took his phone away?"
"Maybe."
Flug walked through the doors of the mental health office. He rang the little bell and caught the attention of the older woman working the desk. "Uh, h-hi. I have an appointment for two o'clock?"
"Your name?"
"Rocinante Flugslys."
The lady gave him a weird look but didn't say anything. She tapped away at her computer. "Ok, you're seeing Dr. León?"
"Um, yes."
"Alrighty then," She got up and opened the door by her desk, which Flug assumed led to the little session rooms people had with the counselors. "Room 105, on your right."
"Thank you." He speed-walked his way down the hall, not wanting to make this take a second longer than it needed to. He didn't like being made to talk. About his feelings. His feelings were complicated, and he barely understood them. How could he talk about them with some stranger? He only just managed to talk about them with his "boyfriend".
He opened the door immediately, only worrying after that he may be intruding on someone else's session. He was greeted by a cozy looking room with two plush brown armchairs separated by a black coffee table. A light skinned woman with blonde streaks in her straight brunette hair was sat in one, only a little startled by his sudden entry.
"Oh, um, I'm sorry. Should I have knocked?"
"Oh no, you're fine. I like a man that gets right to the point." Flug chuckled a bit, feeling like that wasn't quite appropriate behavior for school faculty. She adjusted her glasses and checked her little notepad. "You're Rocinante, right?"
"Yes."
"My name is Dr. León. Have a seat."
Translations:
Bem, diga me. = Well, tell me (Portuguese)
figlio di puttana = son of a bitch (Italian)
Weeb = Weeaboo, a Western person obsessed with Japanese culture especially anime
Los Diez Mejores = The Top Ten (Spanish)
Oh Dios qué iban a- = Oh God what would they- (Spanish)