fangednconfused (fangednconfused) wrote in birthrightrpg, @ 2020-09-14 12:20:00 |
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Entry tags: | derek mitchell, ronnie milam, ~mikey marks |
Visitors
Who: Ronnie, Mikey, Derek
What: Checking In
Where: Las Vegas, Penny and Derek's apartment
When: Present
Ratings/Warnings: Low, references to violence
It was nice being back home.
Safe, familiar. The floor creaked the same way, the stray cats underneath the porch skittered around, the wind pushed against the siding. It was as if nothing at all had been disturbed and that was the way he liked it.
That particular evening he was off from work which was good considering he’d been growing increasingly worried about Derek and Penny. Since the sixth he’d called and texted only to get silence, which was odd. It wasn’t like either of them to not send some word back in reply, anything to respond and quell the embers of stress.
Leaning against the countertop by the sink in the kitchen, Ronnie stared at his mobile phone as if it might buzz any moment with a message. Instead it sat quiet and empty in his fingers.
On the counter to his right was the treat he’d made for Mikey, another of those special apple pies though this time there was a paw print carved into the crust instead of a smiling face. The door had been left open with only the screen to keep out the bugs as he waited for his boyfriend to get there to hang out.
This wasn’t looking good.
He sighed hard with frustration and set the mobile device down on the edge of the sink.
Mikey pulled up in his truck, and swung out of the cab, padding up the familiar steps to the trailer, and knocking on the side of the screen door before entering.
“Hey,” he called out as he made his way in.
He looked at the expression on Ronnie’s face. “Still nothin’, huh?” he asked, reaching over to give Ronnie a hug.
He’d been… well, grateful, for lack of a better word, when Ronnie’d told him his worries about Derek and Penny. He knew trust took time, but it made him feel more connected to Ronnie, knowing he’d confide about something like that.
Grateful for those arms he sank into them, shaking his head. “Nothing. Maybe it’s nothing, you know? But usually I get something back. Like a hey can’t talk or...you know what I mean?” And Penny wasn’t even texting back. He wasn’t surprised about that, he’d only met her once and only had her number because she had a question about her fish.
“I guess I should stop worrying so much, huh?” He looked up at Mikey. Opening up felt good. Having someone to share problems with made him feel like they weren’t too big, it was nice.
His friend did have a life outside of him, after all. Maybe it was selfish to think that every single message would get a reply back or that Derek’s time needed to be split.
Mikey nodded, a frown crossing his face. “D’ you wanna head up there?” He asked. “If you do, I’m there. If it’s not quite to that point…” he shrugged a shoulder, leaning down to kiss Ronnie lightly. “You just let me know when it does? Sometimes you gotta trust your gut, you know?”
That kiss was welcomed. He felt more centered for it. “I want to, but I also don’t want to feel like that stalker ex girlfriend either. You know what I mean? Maybe they’re swimming or something or on vacation. They go places. And to be fair Penny texted me a few days ago asking about her fish. And I did get a call from Derek but I was working and he didn’t answer when I called him back. So maybe I’m just over-reacting. Unless you just wanna go on a field trip to Vegas,” he laughed. “Cause I’m not leaving you out this time. It’s ride or die.”
“Good,” Mikey replied, a small smile flashing across his face. “I mean, your call, dude,” he added. “You’ve been through some stuff lately, so I get having a hair trigger, and worrying about overreacting. But seriously, baby, you wanna go, we can go. Tonight, if you want to.”
He kissed Ronnie again. “And if it’s nothing, it’ll give you peace of mind, you know? Which is worthwhile.”
Ronnie nodded. “Yeah. Yeah, okay. I’ve been wanting you guys to meet anyway, you know? Both of you are important to me. I say we go and at least make sure he’s cool. If not we freak out and if so, it’s all good.” The drive wasn’t too bad. And for a bit of peace of mind it was more than worth it.
“Is that okay?”
Mikey nodded. “K,” he said, “I drive, you deejay.” The kiss he planted on Ronnie this time lingered a bit. “C’mon, gorgeous.”
The drive to Vegas was an easy one -- there wasn’t a lot of traffic, and Mikey kept one hand on the steering wheel and the other holding Ronnie’s in his, his thumb running over Ronnie’s knuckles. They kept the drive light, Ronnie chiming in with an occasional favorite song, interspersed with a smattering of stories about his friendship with Derek.
The glittering lights of Vegas soon filled the windshield, and it took a while to find a place to park in Derek’s neighborhood, but after circling for a while, they were able to find street parking in a place that looked legal enough.
“K,” Mikey said, giving Ronnie’s hand an extra squeeze, “let’s see if he’s home, yeah?”
“Yeah, let’s see. I hope so.”
The ride had been great. Getting to just cruise toward their destination together, talk and sing together, it was refreshing. He told Mikey where to go and the man had gotten them there safely. His hand kept hold of Mikey’s when it could.
It was exciting to know that the two most important people in his life would be meeting each other finally. He hoped it was good timing, but something was telling him they would be walking into something that may not be favorable.
And as the engine died, he let go of Mikey long enough to get out of the truck. A few steps would take him into the apartment building and an elevator ride would bring them to Derek’s door. Ronnie sighed and knocked, offering Mikey a look of uncertainty before his gaze went back to the door.
Derek heard the knock immediately from where he was, lying on the bed fully clothed and on top of the sheets. He hadn’t been sleeping, just staring blankly up at the ceiling. Still, he waited a moment to heave himself up and cross the apartment in a near ambling shuffle. The vampire checked the peephole, brows shooting up when he spied a distorted Ronnie and a blond man standing next to him.
He swung open the door and glanced between the two men. “Hey.” Derek attempted a smile. He knew what he looked like. Dark circles around his eyes, a few days’ worth of stubble, and he was even dressed a lot less colorful than normal. He had donned a long sleeve sweatshirt to hide the veins in his arms, but that dark hue had begun creeping up to his neck. “What’s up?”
Mikey’d been sniffing around the door a little -- vamps had a sort of scent that had a little blood in it, and was otherwise oddly devoid of anything else -- and while he could tell there was one living there, he couldn’t pick up any more clues. When the door opened, he raised an eyebrow at the state of the man who answered it, and looked to Ronnie.
It was clear his boyfriend’s friend had been through some ordeal or another.
Ronnie shared the same thought as Mikey, Derek had been through something. His eyebrows lifted. “Godbro?” It wasn’t said with as much zeal as usual. “You okay? You haven’t been texting me back or calling, dude.” Something was up but he had no idea where to even start trying to guess. “Are you okay?” That darkness on Derek’s neck, just visible beneath the collar of his shirt, was odd. The guy had tattoos, but this felt different.
“Uh,” he started, cheeks reddening as he realized he’d forgotten his manners. “This is Mikey, you know, I’ve been telling you about...boyfriend...um, yeah. And babe,” he turned to Mikey, “this is Derek. My best friend and God brother.”
Derek perked up a little at the introduction of Mikey. He had been curious to meet the guy ever since Ronnie had started talking about him. “Hey, man. Nice to meet you.” He pulled back from the door and swept his arm, gesturing them inside. “Come on in.” The vampire turned and led them past the little hallway and into the living area. Most of the furniture and the entire carpeting had been replaced. Not even a supernatural could tell that slaughter had happened there.
“Hey, likewise,” Mikey replied, feeling a little like he was intruding as they made their way into the apartment -- Derek looked rough -- but he knew how worried Ronnie’d been, how much Derek meant to him, so he figured it was worth a little awkwardness.
“We figured, you know, after last week, peace of mind, yeah? I hope we’re not… you know. That this isn’t a bad time?” He trailed off a little awkwardly, uncertain what to say, and in lieu of stepping further in it, reached for Ronnie’s hand as they got to the living room.
“Everything okay?” Ronnie inquired. He took Mikey’s hand and stepped into the apartment. Since he had learned about Derek getting married, he hadn’t yet been to this apartment only been told where it was. “Nice place.” It really was a nice apartment, nicer than his own trailer in fact.
“Derek,” Ronnie started, “why haven’t you been answering your phone?”
The vampire took a seat on the plush sofa, letting his body sink into the piece of furniture. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand, as if clearing his vision would provide some kind of sensical answer to Ronnie’s question. “I don’t know,” he answered simply. “I saw you calling and your messages, but...it’s been really hard. To do anything.”
Derek hadn’t eaten in days. Hadn’t thought much about anything except finding Veronica. “I’m sorry.” His gaze turned to Mikey. “I’m not usually like this, by the way. In case you’re wondering what Ronnie sees in me, as a friend.”
Mikey shook his head as he and Ronnie took a seat on the couch opposite. “Nah, man,” he said, “I mean, I figure, that’s why Ronnie was worried, you know? Because it wasn’t your usual MO?” He frowned a little, unsure about what was going on. “You need any help?” He asked. “Your girl, Penny, she okay?”
He hadn’t even thought about Penny - not until Mikey said something and he felt bad about it. “Yeah, man. You aren’t yourself, it’s fine. I just want to know what happened so we can fix it. Get you back to your old self.” His friend looked bad. “And yeah, where’s Penny?”
The girl was usually hovering over Derek and she was nowhere to be seen.
“She had to go away for a few days,” Derek answered vaguely. He wanted to tell his friend everything, but he wasn’t sure if he should, with Mikey there. Still, he knew Ronnie must have trusted him.
“Veronica tricked Penny and me into thinking someone had kidnapped you,” he told Ronnie. “We rushed to an address to save you. It was a trick and she was waiting.” Derek let his fingers squeeze the arm of the sofa. “She hurt Penny. And she stabbed me.”
Ronnie winced.
He felt like swearing. Of course Veronica was behind this. “Stabbed you?” He looked shocked, eyes wide. Hands moved around as if to try to pinpoint the area without knowing. “Do you need a Doctor?” The idea that Veronica had used him as bait didn’t register yet. “What can I do? I’m not gonna leave you like this. You need to eat or something?” He looked worried. Trying to lure humans for a vampire wasn’t something he’d ever done before and he didn’t think volunteering himself was even an option to consider.
He hated feeling so helpless.
Turning, he looked at Mikey to see what his thoughts were.
Mikey immediately felt in way over his head. He had no idea how Derek got his… whatever he got to live, and had a feeling he really, really didn’t want to know. He cleared his throat. “That sucks, man,” he added. “Who’s… who’s Veronica?” He asked Ronnie. “You know her?” He frowned. “I mean, I’m… shit, man, I’m glad that wasn’t actually what was going down.”
He could feel a low growl in the back of his throat at the thought of this Veronica knowing Ronnie well enough to use him like that -- and, given she was so inclined to violence, the thought it could put Ronnie in some sort of danger again didn’t sit well with him at all.
“...I know a doctor,” he said, “who works on, you know, people like us? He could help, maybe?”
“That’s why I rushed into it,” he told them quickly, mustering the energy to lean forward for emphasis. “I would never let anything happen to Ronnie.” He lifted the bottom of his shirt to show the sutures, forgetting about the strangely colored bruise that covered his abdomen. “I saw a doctor right away. I know a guy, too. Asks a lot of questions, but not in a bad way.”
“Veronica is..she’s — his vampire creator person lady,” Ronnie explained, waving a hand. “They don’t get along.” He could remember clearly the first time he’d met Derek, the way he looked after being abandoned. “I don’t know her. I know of her, but I do know enough to remember she’s dangerous. She doesn’t care about anyone except herself.” His voice had dropped a bit.
Ronnie turned back to Derek in time for the reveal and his face scrunched up. “Holy lobsters, Derek.” Fuck is really what he meant to say. His head felt a bit light. All of the sudden, after looking at the sutures and with all of the weight he fell over.
“Woah, babe,” Mikey called out as he stood in a hurry to catch and hold Ronnie around the waist, keeping him from tipping all the way to the floor. “Hey,” he said, “hey, c’mon, let’s sit down, okay?”
He frowned as he shepherded Ronnie back to the couch. He had no idea whether Derek’d created Veronica, or Veronica’d created Derek, but either way, it sounded like a mess. “She sounds like a piece of work,” he replied. “I really don’t like her threatening to do something to you, even if it was just made up to get to Derek,” he added to Ronnie.
He paused, chewing on his lip. “Is it, I mean… anything we can do to help?” He asked.
“Shit.” Derek moved toward Ronnie when he fell, but Mikey got there first. He felt like he was moving through Jell-o. He couldn’t remember the last time he had ever felt like that. If ever. Being a vampire meant speed, reflexes, strength. At that moment, though, he wasn’t sure if he could even gather the energy to leave the apartment.
“I have no idea where she is, she ran off afterward,” he answered. “And I wouldn’t want you involved even if I did. It’s bad enough that Penny was there.” Derek hesitated, wondering how to word what was on his mind. “I think the dagger did something to me. Is still doing something. I feel like I’m dying, really slowly.” It sounded dramatic to his own ears, but it was the truth.
Those arms that caught him were grounding. He caught his breath and fumbled a bit, scrambling to figure out what to do in a sea of trouble. And Ronnie was so glad Mikey was there to help work through all of this stuff.
“I didn’t know she knew me like that.” Another silent fuck as he realized she might know where he lived. Why did everyone know where he lived?
And the revelation by Derek had him sigh. Ronnie leaned forward where he sat, set his elbows on his knees and put his head into his hands. “A dagger. You’re not dying, man. We’re going to get help.”
“I gotta admit,” Mikey added, with an unhelpful twist to his mouth, “I know next to nothing about what hurts you guys. Maybe it was cursed?” He shrugged a shoulder. “Radek is the doctor guy I know, maybe, I don’t know, a second opinion would help? Or someone who knows curses?”
He bit his lip. “At least it’s slow, whatever it is, so we got time to get it figured out.”
Derek nodded slowly. “I know Radek. That’s the guy I saw.” He closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the couch. He had been trying not to let himself do that, because it led to a weird, fitful sleep filled with strange dreams. The vampire had been sleeping a lot the past few days, even at night. Being alone in the apartment meant no one to keep him awake, but even with Ronnie and Mikey there, unconsciousness threatened.
“I don’t think regular medical care is going to do the trick,” he admitted, dragging his head back up. “I think this is about Elfleda.” Derek looked at Ronnie pointedly.
Cursed.
Ronnie nearly choked. He didn’t know this Radek person - if he saw the dude he might recognize him - or Elfleda, but this situation sounded outside of his realm of expertise. All of their realms, anyway. “I got an idea,” Ronnie murmured.
His phone slipped out of his pocket and he debated with himself before working up the courage to text Celeste. A few quick taps of explanation, what he knew, and he sent it to her. “Got a friend who knows magic, maybe she can help. If not, then maybe she knows someone who can.” Whatever it took to get Derek back to himself would be done.
Mikey frowned, still feeling out of his depth. “Who’s Elfada?” He asked, before flushing a little. “I mean, I… not like I could do much if I did know,” he muttered, “I get if it’s personal,” he added. “Sounds… sounds like the whole freaking thing is personal. I don’t…” his frown deepened. “I know we just met, dude,” he added, “and… like, it’s your guys’ call, but I don’t think you should be on your own when you’re out of it? At least not til we get it sorted? And while Veronica’s, you know, out there, I don’t think Ronnie should be here alone. So what should we do? You come back with us to Ronnie’s place and let Penny know? Or we stay here for the night?”
He raised his eyebrow towards Ronnie. “If, I mean, is that okay?”
“I want to be here when Penny gets back,” Derek told them. “But you’re welcome to stay here. I’m just really tired.” The vampire looked in the direction of the kitchen, but the idea of getting up and crossing the space sounded like a marathon. “There are drinks and food if you want. Don’t mind the animal blood.”
Derek smiled weakly, pulling a throw pillow towards him. “I can take the couch.”
“We will stay then,” Ronnie nodded. He looked at Mikey, grateful, and then over at Derek. “You need anything before we all crash?” He didn’t know what they would really do if anyone showed up to try anything but at least Derek didn’t have to be alone. He took Mikey’s hand and squeezed gently.
“You have extra blankets and stuff? I can bring you some.” Taking all of the ones in the bedroom didn’t seem fair but if that’s what Derek wanted then he wouldn’t argue.
Mikey nodded. “Yeah, dude, you need us to get you anything, just let us know. And seriously,” he added, “I got good hearing, you need anything during the night, just, like, call out and I’ll hear it?”
“I’ll be okay,” Derek answered, though he wasn’t confident of that. “And thanks, I appreciate it. It’ll be good to not be alone, at least until Penny gets home.” He shot Ronnie a grateful look that he knew his friend would recognize. He probably wouldn’t have asked them to stay if they hadn’t offered.
“Hey. No worries. We are here to help,” Ronnie replied. He’d come here and help as long as Derek needed, work be damned. For everything Derek had done for his mother over the years, he owed this to his friend.
“I’ll get the blanket off of your bed and your PJs. Mikey can get the blood from the fridge. You need your strength, man. If we need to microwave it, I’ll figure it out. Okay?”
A press of his mouth to Mikey’s fingers and he let go to get up.
Mikey gave Ronnie a cautious glance, but he got up from the sofa as well. “Um.” He said to the vampire. “You, uh… how long you want me to nuke it?” He shrugged a little to cover for his discomfort. “I mean, whatever you need, seriously.”
Derek shook his head. “I don’t need to eat right now. Seriously, don’t worry about it.” The idea of drinking right then made him feel ill. It had been that way for a few days. The vampire would survive, he just needed to sleep. Even if sleep did bring weird nightmares. “Just make yourselves comfortable. I’m good right here.”
As if to emphasize the point, Derek held up the throw pillow. “Trust me, I’ve been through worse.”
Ronnie sighed. He didn’t know what the limitations were for vampires but he trusted Derek all the same. “These couches pull out or what?” He preferred to be close to the door instead of in the bedroom but if they didn’t pull out that was fine. If Veronica showed up it would give them a few extra seconds to block Derek before she could throw them aside and give his friend a fighting chance.
“They don’t pull out. And I don’t mind sleeping here.” Derek didn’t know it, but he was thinking along the same lines as Ronnie. He wanted to be closer to the door. Besides, they were already doing him a favor. He didn’t want to put them out any further. Especially since he had only just met Mikey. “I insist,” the vampire added.
“We can grab the blankets and pillows from the bed then,” he nodded, insisting on being there between his friend and the door. “We can put them there on the floor.” His hands would make motion to the space he felt appropriate. “I can’t let you sleep in here by yourself.”
He stood up and tried to assess the space. Pillows and blankets could fit easily there in the walkway.
Mikey frowned in thought. He would offer to take the other couch and let Mikey sleep in the bed, but if the bedroom had any windows, it was a potential entry point, and he felt weird about leaving Mikey in there alone.
He took a deep breath and let it out. “I think it’s safer to all be in the same room,” he admitted, “I’ll just… It’s a lot easier for me to sleep rough. You take the other couch, babe, I’ll do my…” he waved his hands. “Make a nest on the floor.”
He paused and exhaled again. “I’m a… a werewolf, but like a cougar,” he said a little shortly to Derek. “I can handle myself in a fight, and I got good reflexes. I don’t know what she smells like, but there’s not gonna be anyone coming in without my knowing it in advance. He knows already,” he added, with a tilt of his head towards Ronnie. “I can just big cat it up and curl up on the floor. I sleep like that a lot, it’s no big, and I can already be in a position to cause some damage if I need to be.”
He raised an eyebrow towards Ronnie. “And if it comes to that, I want you hiding, yeah?”
“Oh, cool,” Derek replied to Mikey. “I know a few weres. They’re good people. Or...you know what I mean.” He laid down on the couch, his feet dangling off the end. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he realized how very tired he was.
“We’re not supposed to have cats in the apartment,” the vampire joked weakly, “but I think it’s fine for one night.” His eyes drifted closed.
Ronnie nearly giggled at the joke but kept his face as straight as he could. He nodded at Mikey, “Okay. If you think that’s best, I’m down.” He’d been couch sleeping for most of his life, that wouldn’t change now. His eyes went to his boyfriend. God he was grateful, even though he knew it was awkward. “Thanks.” A bit of a smile and Ronnie went to the bedroom to grab some blankets and pillows, bringing them back and passing them out.
Mikey nabbed a blanket. This was fairly far from the evening he’d had in mind when he’d come by Ronnie’s trailer earlier that night, but Derek was clearly in need, and he knew how much he meant to Ronnie.
“Promise I won’t scratch up the furniture,” he replied in a drawl. “I’ll try not to shed, but no guarantees.”
He took the proffered blanket from Ronnie and kissed him lightly on the cheek. “Thanks,” he said, before arranging it on the floor into a bit of a nest.
“Hey,” he said to Derek, “you know, I wish it could be under better circumstances, but still, nice to meet you dude. I hope you sleep a bit easier tonight. And seriously, you need something, you let us know, okay?”
Derek lifted his head up from the pillow to speak. “Thanks, both of you. And it was nice meeting you, too. When this is over, we can hang out properly.” He leaned back, his eyes slipping closed. At least maybe with other people there, he could sleep soundly.
Ronnie debated on whether or not he should get out of his shoes and decided that if something happened he would want them, and not have to decide to put them on later. But the couches looked new. Finally he relented and sat down, kicking out of his shoes. He set them down within quick reach and then pulled up the blankets. “You’re family. We protect our family.”
And then Ronnie stretched out on the couch and did his best to relax.
Mikey shifted in the entryway, his body elongating and morphing into his cat form. He padded over to Ronnie and rubbed his cheek against Ronnie’s, butting heads, before padding back to the entryway and curling up in the blankets to sleep.