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 Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 1:04 pm
lucas reishalf-hearted hero journalsolo's & drabbles for Lucas will go here. if you'd like to DRP, that can go here too. if you'd like to text or call him, you can do so here.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2016 1:49 pm
let down your guard
early May '16; post turnabout
The Skype symbol twisted and turned on his laptop, within seconds being accepted. His mother's face came up on the screen, too close to the camera as usual, his father's curious gaze just barely visible in the corner.
"Happy Mother's Day!" Lucas grinned at the screen, falling to his native tongue when speaking with family, his expression bright and amused. As if he wasn't freaking out inside. As if he wasn't scared of himself. "Before dad chews me out, I know I'm a day early, I also know my family and that you guys wont be home for me to call at a decent time tomorrow."
He was met with a chorus of 'hi!' and 'oh doesn't he look happy?' and 'he got that one right' before his mother piped up. "Thank you sweetheart! Do you know something I don't?"
"Maybe," he replied, non-committal.
She clucked her tongue at him, wagging a finger so close to the camera it was momentarily cut out by the motion. "You don't keep secrets from your mother. It's my day, I insist. Especially because I have secrets too!"
Lucas arched a brow, glancing to his dad in the picture, who was talking to someone off screen. "You're a mother, it's your job to hold everything over our heads. We just get to celebrate it for a day." He hoped his father wasn't getting the siblings in to talk - he really didn't feel up to this call, let alone extending it. It was taking every ounce of control and love for his family to keep himself from bursting at the seams. Help me, ma, I'm a monster.
"Yes but -- " and she leaned away from the computer too much, talking animatedly with whoever had his father's focus. Lucas turned his eyes to the hang up option. It would be easy to just say he lost power or his laptop died or anything that would keep him from having to talk about himself. Now wasn't the time to discuss his dating situation, his life, or how ******** scared he was --
"Don't hurt yourself thinking too hard," a familiar voice drawled, snapping his eyes back to the screen with brief alarm, staring into the face of his best friend -- also one of the few people who could read through his bullshit. The grin that formed was near panicked, and he could tell by the subtle way the blue eyes narrowed on screen that Avery could see the false expression very ******** ******** ********> "Hey buddy," he said in English, his voice feeling disconnected from himself. His parents could be fooled to an extent, but Avery - not so much. Not at all, really. "Choosing sides for Mother's Day?" A thinly veiled attempt to turn the conversation to Avery and his strained relationship with his parents was made, and judging by the way the man curled his lip, he wasn't having any of it.
"As usual. You okay out there in...?" Prying. The ******** was trying to see where he was and that could never be good.
Lucas waved a dismissive hand and laughed, but it sounded empty in his own ears. "I'm fine." I'm not okay I'm not fine. "Busy. The offices still aren't set up so I'm still not in the city yet." Deflect. Keep grinning. Hide the screaming plea for help in your eyes.
"Uh huh." Mistrust returned the words, and as his mother came back on the screen, Avery did the same thing Lucas did -- the easy smile, the 'everything is okay' look. It was the way he knew he was in trouble, he just didn't know the extent of it.
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 2:26 pm
so far away
early May '16; morning after hold the wheel and drive
He'd been home for maybe ten minutes by the time the knock sounded. Understandably, he'd thought it was Thorne, donning a smile and padding across the room in bare feet and pajama bottoms. If there was one person Lucas would open the door for, it was --
"Open the door fedelho, we know you're in there."
He went cold, eyes opening too wide and his jaw going slack with shock at the sound of his brother's voice. Nico? Holy s**t, how did that weasel find him -- ? Lucas took the last few steps at a greater gait, unbolting and throwing open the door, abruptly having to look up into the amused blue eyes of someone that was not his brother.
"Avery?" Lucas all but croaked, stepping back. "What the ******** voice he'd heard before made itself accounted for, the familiar face peeking out from around the larger man's frame. "Surprise!" Nico cheerfully called, sliding around the blond and under Lucas' arm holding the door, letting himself in with a whistle. "Nice digs, Luca, but kinda impersonal isn't it?"
Visibly flinching, Lucas whirled around to say something - but what? - and turned back to the door, watching Avery's brows lift in a method that said he knew it was going to happen. The way his best friend stared at him was a damning herald to the Skype call, and with a faint sound of annoyance, he stood back and ushered him in. "Don't you dare judge me," he growled as Avery passed. The blond uttered a faint sound that Lucas knew to be a laugh, making him purse his lips and shut the door once he was in.
It was only then that he realized they were both holding overnight bags. "Avery," he said the name like his teeth were glued together, "Nicolau. I repeat. What the ********, unfettered by the older brother's aggravation, continued to snoop around, putting his bag on the dining table and peeking into the computer room. "You gave yourself away, you only have yourself to blame. Nice work space." Lucas turned to the younger man, crossing his arms with a scowl.
"'I'm fine,'" Avery finally spoke out loud, blue eyes heavy on Lucas, effectively making him snap his mouth shut. "You said 'I'm fine.' That's why we're here."
"The last time you said that, you were down an arm and a leg," Nico piped up helpfully.
Lucas dragged his hands through his hair in frustration, his grey gaze washed out between panic, frustration and some vague sort of gratitude. He was, though he wouldn't admit it, relieved to see a friendly face. "You ******** are lucky I'm here at all. I'll have you know, I am fine, I was just out on a date -- "
The taller man lifted his hand, cutting Lucas off in word and gesture. "You don't use that phrase unless something is bad. And if you dare try to insult us again, I will list off every time you've used it to make our point."
Avery had a photographic memory. Lucas was not about to ******** with that.
Nico disappeared down the hallway, his voice still carrying. "And since you still haven't forwarded your new digs to ma, I had to help."
Running a hand over his face, pausing at his mouth, he glanced at Avery judgmentally. "You had him hack me?"
"I don't know what he does or how he does it," the blond drawled back lazily, putting his bag next to Nico's. Unlike the energetic youth, the sniper was all careful movement and hawk-like eyes. Lucas never really enjoyed being under that amount of scrutiny, but often found himself there through some fault of his own. "I expressed concern, and he said he'd handle it."
"Have you ******** ever heard of a phone call?"
"I told you he was gonna cuss us out," Nico re-emerged, "that's another sign of guilt."
Pinching his nose, Lucas closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. He didn't need this, he didn't want this right now. He'd already gone against his better judgment with Thorne and had agreed to date the man, but he could only handle one crisis at a time and his entire existence had become a blaring siren of s**t is gonna hit the fan. "What do you want?" he finally asked, dropping his hand to his hip and looking between the two.
Avery and Nico shared a look, the latter speaking up quietly, "To make sure you're actually okay, Luca." There was worry there, a stubborn attempt to hide concern that made the man's chest tight with guilt. "To see you and make sure."
Looking between the two, his heart hurt. It wasn't like he could tell them he'd been called an upright wolf. It wasn't like he could tell them about his aches and pains, the flashes of hell he'd been through with his neighbor (and oh, by the way, they're dating), the psychic cat and the existence of some Silent Hill - Otherworld. There was no way he could unload that and not be carted off - and more than that, he wouldn't drag them into it. He refused to feed that place anymore than it was gnawing on him. Lucas was a horrible liar to begin with, and he was already dealing with keeping information from Thorne. Now, he had to manage it with two people who knew him far too well, enough so that he could use the wrong word and land in hot water.
He worried his bottom lip between his teeth as the two watched him, and finally, he sighed and threw his hands up. "Look. There is s**t going down, and I'm trying to deal with it on my own time." Lucas looked between them, his gaze tired but firm. "When I can manage it, I'll let you know, and not a minute before. There's a -- " one hand waved in the air, cutting through the space from top to bottom, " -- a hierarchy on this and I have to do this right or ******** up something really important to me. I'm not willing to do that."
Lucas was tense, and it showed, but he wasn't trying to hide it. He was trying for some semblance of honesty, giving them enough to back off. It seemed to work; Avery lifted his chin in subtle acknowledgment and Nico sighed deeply. "This have to do with the date?" the blond ventured, watching him carefully.
"Yes and no," Lucas spread his hands in a helpless gesture. "They're good guys. They -- "
"They?" Nico interjected, eyes large.
A faint smile curved the older man's lips, nodding slightly and ushering his guests towards the living room. "Sit down, let me get you both a beer, and I'll tell you about my guys."
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2016 3:12 pm
a monster, a monster
May '16, last day of the full moon
"No. No no no, you need to tell me, now." Nico's green eyes were wide and wild in the morning light, unable to tear away from Lucas. For his part, the older sibling wasn't surprised, though he was dismayed it had to happen like this. "Juro por Deus, Luca, this is -- this is -- "
The werewolf was tired, and it showed in every aspect of his body: his red eyes were heavily lidded, his spine slightly bowed, his breath deep and slow. Lucas let his little brother see him, not just that he wasn't entirely human, but the aftermath of Blackfriar's - his chest riddled with tears that were in various stages of healing, his back mottled with deep bruises. "I told you," he replied in a voice that was just as tired as his posture, worn and raw. "In Zac's room. I said what was going on."
"Lobisomem," the younger male repeated through barely parted lips, and Lucas nodded. "How -- how the ******** -- are you a werewolf?" Nico's voice lilted and cracked, clearly not dealing with what was on display.
A sigh escaped his lips, so deep it felt like it came from the claws on his toes. Returning to staring at himself in the mirror, he continued his generous application of disinfectants to his wounds. "Zac said he told you some already, bad s**t, something about a pinch?" Red eyes flicked to the reflection of his brother in the mirror, the younger man a little too pale for normal, even as he nodded slowly. "This place is magic, ervilhas. Everything here is dangerous." He hated to use the analogy, remembering how vehement Aleksy had been against using substitutions, but this was his family. Lucas had to try and help Nico understand so he didn't do something stupid, like delving into it himself. "Remember that game I played for you a while ago, the one with the chick you hated and the rabbit and all that?" Lucas kept turning his eyes between tending his gashes and Nico's face, watching his expressions and reactions. A faint nod and a tick of green eyes was enough to indicate the other did recall. "Silent Hill. This place? It's like that."
A shuddering breath escaped the young man. "There aren't werewolves in Silent Hill," the argument given was weak and barely threaded with an attempt at humor.
The werewolf in question smiled crookedly. "No, but, there's a division, here. A line between this place and the other, some...blurred figments of fantasy bleeding through. Like weres. Like wargs."
Nico's eyes lit dimly with familiarity. "From Game of Thrones?"
"Yeah. I suspect one of my boyfriends is one." The chuckle he offered was thick with discomfort. "But there's more than I know, like...faeries that steal your body if you say their name, women who can rip the fabric of time, ******** that grow flowers on their heads." Another glance to Nico told him that his brother was really not doing so hot in hearing all this. "I'm having a hard time coming to terms with it too, but, I'm standing here in front of you. Deny it all you want but I didn't grow these for fun." Lucas lightly clicked his teeth together, displaying his fangs.
"It could be...prosthetic," Nico replied. He sounded faint.
"You know as well as I do that even with my best efforts, I can't grow a damn beard this thick in a handful of days." Lucas turned from the mirror then, putting his clawed prosthetic on the other's shoulder. "If I could, I'd show you my wolf form here and -- "
"You're a wolf." The younger man's voice was bare and weak as he leaned against the wall. "You're a wolf? A form? A wolf. Oh my god."
The werewolf grabbed Nico before he fell entirely, lifting his good hand and gently smacking the younger man's cheeks. "Hey. Hey hey, you don't get to pass out on me. Snap out of it." When Nico's eyes fluttered and focused, Lucas started to try and get his brother somewhere he could sit.
"Stop. For five seconds, please, Luca." Nico pushed against his shoulder and Lucas stopped his efforts, suspended in holding his brother's arm, the other's hand gripping his prosthetic forearm. They stood like that unmoving for several minutes, only the soft hum of the bathroom fan running and Nico's deep breaths stretching between them. Finally, the younger man got more comfortably to his feet, still pale but more resolute. "Okay."
"You should sit down," Lucas ventured carefully.
Nico clenched his jaw a few times, and exhaling slowly, he pushed himself up onto the sink. He moved slowly, enough so that Lucas was concerned, but he let the other move, watching as he plucked up some gauze where it had been laid out. "I'm sitting," he said stiffly, holding the gauze bandage up to measure the length of the wounds on his brother's chest and starting to cut it up appropriately.
He watched his little brother with his ears lowered, not interrupting.
Five minutes later, the second bandage beginning to be rolled out, Nico said, "I got the keys. They're in my bag."
Lucas nodded. "Thanks." He felt too quiet, even with the bubbling excitement of what his brother meant pooling in his stomach.
"They're for your guys?" Nico asked, glancing up to red eyes and hastily away. "I mean. I don't know why else you'd get two made."
Clenching his jaw, Lucas looked away and nodded. "I meant to get them the keys before the full moon, just in case. But with Thorne hurt and Ry's shifts to fix the damage done, I was hoping for something more like home than constant invitations."
A faint sound returned the statement. "You really can't just -- wait? Go after you're -- less furry?"
Lucas snorted softly at that, a faint sound of amusement. "Ry's already seen me wolfed out. That, and it gets me out of the hospital so Thorne's doctors can actually look at him without me having to worry about being caught and causing him trouble."
"You are trouble," Nico grumbled, and Lucas laughed.
"They know. So do I. So do you, and you're still here."
"I'm stuck with you." Nico glanced up again, but he managed a smile that made Lucas feel considerably less like a monster. "I may not...'wolf out,' but we're blood. That and I know all your embarrassing secrets and someone has to keep you in check."
"Says the guy putting off his schooling to flirt," Lucas returned wryly. "I can take care of myself. I'm a werewolf, not a wild animal."
Nico snorted and offered another weak smile, more himself. "That has yet to be seen."
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