Elevator Ride of Awkward
Characters: Hunter, Cassandra and Hayden Setting: Block A Elevator, noon
Being led around blindfolded, in shackles no less, was not what Hayden considered to be a good thing. The past two years had given him plenty of time to know the system, yet this was new and rather discomforting. He could tell there were other people with him, if the sound of their footsteps gave anything away, but he didn’t know exactly who until his blindfold was removed. His eyes widened and the elevator doors shut, giving him no time to ask questions and leaving him with his brother and Cassandra. This was either a gift from God or they were on an elevator ride into hell.
Hunter stared at the other two for probably a generous .2 seconds. Then he just acted, instinct taking over before any type of brain engagement could occur. He pulled back and sent an uppercut in Hayden's way.
Cassandra was not amused. Why exactly was she in shackles? Once they were removed she had half a second to realize she was in an elevator and not alone before a flash of person was swinging at the other and she barely got out of the way, dropping the bag they’d handed her to stay safe. Then she realized who she was with and had to force herself not to roll her eyes at them. Someone hated her. She was sure she was done with them. “Well, good to see no one’s changed,” she said, leaning against the wall, even though it wasn’t remotely close to true if Hunter was hitting Hayden. It amused her that when she’d first met Hayden she hadn’t been able to tell him from Hunter, but now, even after two years, she still could tell them apart instantly.
Any doubts Hayden had that his brother hadn’t found out about him and Cassandra vanished in an instant. Being in prison had increased his reaction time to punches thrown his way, but he’d never been beat up by his brother. His fist made impact and Hayden stumbled against the wall of the elevator before his own fists came up defensively. “Nice to see you, too,” he said, his eyes on his brother before they darted to Cassandra. He had hoped that at least she’d be glad to see him.
"Fuck you." Hunter snapped, not actually going for another punch. And then he looked at Cassandra. "And fuck you, too." he said, tone cold. How the fuck long was this elevator ride? It couldn't be long, right? Because he needed to not be in an enclosed space with these two. Mostly because he was being hit with a harder wash of emotion than he'd felt since everything went to hell. And it was brutal.
Been there, done that, Cassandra thought, but she knew better than to say that aloud. She tugged at the sleeves of the prison outfit she was wearing, ensuring that the scars on her arms were covered. She wound up just smiling at both of them. “Aren’t you two a sight for sore eyes.” It had been too long since she’d been around men who weren’t guards or lawyers and it was a nice reminder of why she’d liked both of them in the first place.
“Hunter,” Hayden said, his jaw tight as he forced himself to hold back the onslaught of emotions that were hitting him. Since being in prison, all he could think about was how to make it up to his brother, yet he’d never been able to come up with a solution. If Cassandra was there, he at least thought she’d help, be sympathetic to the cause, but from the sound of things that wasn’t going to be the case. They could have their hellos later, but right now he needed help with his brother. “We never meant to hurt you.” It sounded lame even to himself.
Hunter slid his gaze to his brother, leaning his shoulder against the far wall even if 'far' wasn't all that far in an elevator. "Sure." he said, clearly disbelieving that. "How about you both save it? And you two can go off on your Bonnie and Clyde little way." he said, making a motion as if to dismiss them both. The sad part was some deep, clearly damaged part of himself he agreed with Cassandra. That it was kinda good to see them. But no. Fuck that noise. He was ignoring that delusional part of himself.
Because Hunter was going to believe that Hayden. She could see Hayden wasn’t as sore with her as Hunter was, which almost cracked her up, but she managed to keep it in check. “Hunter,” she said, letting a slight bit of pleading into her voice as she said his name. She didn’t give him more, not sure what else he needed, but he used to like hearing her say his name.
“Like we had to pull your leg. You brought me the idea, remember?” Hayden said, backing into the other corner as he rubbed his jaw. It sucked that it was happening this way, that he couldn’t give his brother a hug and his lover a kiss and rejoice that they were out. Where they were, he wasn’t sure, but he was sure they were out. He’d spent so long thinking about the both of them, missing them, but this was no happy reunion. Cassandra said his brother’s name and Hayden frowned, not sure that would work on his twin now that he knew about the two of them.
...don't... was the first thing that went through Hunter's head at hearing her say his name, like that, even. It was a lot more pathetic sounding than he wanted. So he opted not to answer it at all, and didn't even dare look at her. He kept his gaze on the doors, going to bolt the second he could. He had a lot of things he could say, but...he didn't. And the doors opened up with a cheerful 'ding!' and he was grabbing his bag and taking fast strides out of the little box of doom.
Cassandra watched Hunter bolt from the elevator, then cut her eyes at Hayden for a fleeting moment, giving him something to hold on to before she followed after Hunter with her own bag. “Hunter please,” she said again, voice pleading as she tried to catch up with him. It didn’t help that she didn’t know where they were, what they’d been doing in an elevator and what she was doing with a bag and key with a number on it like some cheap hotel, but slipping into the game with the twins, that was like pulling on an old jacket that she’d not worn all summer. Comfortable, easy and now with this new twist that Hunter seemed to hate them all. Maybe. There was a lot more than hate built up in that man and she was already itching to get under his skin.
Hayden was sure that if it had been just him, or just Cassandra, maybe Hunter wouldn’t have bolted, but he really didn’t blame him brother for wanting to be rid of them as soon as physically possible. The elevator doors opened and he was off, Hayden following him quickly, giving a passing glance to Cassandra that said later, and realized that he had no idea where they were or where they were supposed to go. “Hunter, please, just wait,” he said, reaching out for his brother’s arm. “Give us a chance to explain.” He thought maybe this should be Cassandra’s department, but if he didn’t stop him, then she wouldn’t get the chance.
"I don't want to hear it! There's nothing you can tell me that's going to make up for anything, so just leave it alone!" Hunter snapped, knowing he should just shut up and keep walking, but whatever. The 'us' in there just stung all the more, a painful reminder that those two had gone around behind his back for god knew how long, and there was apparently still an 'us'. Though he also was under the impression they thought that was all there was to his anger, and it wasn't. He looked at his key, getting the number as he moved his arm away from Hayden's grasp, and kept going through the room straight to the doors, walking out into what looked like a motel setup. Just without cars and ice machines. Looking around, he spotted numbers, and figured he'd start finding his room. Then he could work out exactly how he was going to avoid the both of them like the damn plague.
“Hunter you don’t even know where you are,” Cassandra said, following after him even as he pushed away from Hayden. She’d deal with Hayden later. There was a number on her key as well, which had her looking at door numbers as well, thinking they were in something close to a bad nightmare. There’d been nights in motels like this, when they were on the run.
Maybe now wasn’t the best time to try and talk to Hunter. Maybe he needed some space first, a chance to come to Hayden on his own and probably punch him again. Hayden was willing to take it, convinced he deserved it, at least for the girl stealing part. The part where they’d gotten caught stealing? There was no way that was one hundred percent his fault. It was a bad idea in the first place, one he’d been skeptical about from the start. Rather than go to his own room, Hayden followed Hunter, casting a glance at his own key. “What room are you in?” he asked Cassandra. This whole thing was weird, but keys with numbers were usually easy to figure out the meaning of.
"Didn't know where I was in prison either, but I worked it out." Hunter growled. "Which part of 'leave me the fuck alone' isn't clear?" he asked rhetorically, and thankfully, he spotted his room. He walked up to it, glancing at the key to see which way it went into the lock.
Cassandra was still following him, watching him stop at a door, looking around and trying hard not to laugh. Someone had a wonderful sense of humor. “The part where my room is next to yours.” She looked over at Hayden and held out her key. “Number nine.”
“Yeah, but in prison they didn’t just let us loose with room keys,” Hayden said, following Hunter despite his protests. He looked at his key, then shook his head. “Number eight. This is obviously some new kind of torture.” Now he wasn’t getting punished for robbery; he was getting punished for deceiving his brother. Fabulous.
Hunter looked at the two of them. "You've got to be fucking kidding me." he said, tone dark. "Do me a favor. When you're fucking, at least do it in his room, so I might not hear it." he said, stabbing the lock with his key.
It was too ridiculous, the way they were behaving. Though she did have a guess that what he’d suggested was exactly what Hayden had in mind. She moved the few steps to get between Hunter and the door, one hand going out for his hand, making sure the sleeve of her jumpsuit rose up enough to hint at the scars on her arms. “Stop Hunter. Please.” The pleading was there again, emphasis on his name, hinting at old good memories.
Hayden didn’t know what to say. He wanted Cassandra, missed her so much he would have loved to drag her into his room right this second, but having seen his brother didn’t exactly put him in the mood. He’d never wanted to hurt him, but loving Cassandra did that by default.
Seeing the scars did actually give him a clear twitch, and he even snatched her wrist, pulling her arm closer so he could see them better. That, before he remembered he wasn't meant to give a shit. He let her go just as quickly, eyes sliding to Hayden for just a second before he looked straight at his room number, refusing to look at either one of them. It was clear he was going to shut up and not speak to either of them, not acknowledge anything right now. He couldn't. So she needed to move, and Hayden needed to get into his own room.
Well wasn’t that interesting? Cassandra could see the anger obviously, but that instant reaction to her, that was something else entirely. Hunter wasn’t just mad. He still cared; he was concerned about her. “I can explain them later Hunter. I want to see you. Alone at some point.” Her voice was low, just for him, not wanting it to carry to Hayden. She kept looking up at him, even if he wasn’t looking at her, but eventually she pulled away and headed towards her own room and Hayden.
From where Hayden was standing, he couldn’t see the scars, but he could see Hunter’s reaction. He took a step closer, but that was it, giving them a moment of privacy that he hoped would help his case. Seeing them together, though... that caused a spike of jealousy to crop up that he refused to acknowledge. Cassandra had said things were over between her and Hunter. There was nothing to be jealous of.
The second Cassandra was out of the way, Hunter turned the key in his lock, went inside and shut the door. There was the clear sound of him re-locking it behind himself as well, just in case anyone got any bright ideas. He stood, looking at the room, then leaned back against the wall, sliding down it. He didn't know what the hell he was going to do. But staying in this room forever seemed like a great plan.
Cassandra watched him go, looking the part of the distraught former lover, when in reality she was thrilled. This was going to be beautifully entertaining. She’d have to see what she could do with them. As the door locked behind him, she turned back to Hayden, watching him for a moment before doing what she knew he wanted. She dropped the bag then went right for him, wrapping her arms around his waist and holding him tight. Now she’d make him remember.
Hayden exhaled as Hunter’s door closed and ran one hand through his hair. He was sure that could have gone better, but at least it wasn’t any worse. With his brother out of sight, he was finally able to focus on Cassandra, and then she was there, in his arms, and it all came flying back to him. This was why he’d been willing to hurt his brother, for her, the woman he loved. She’d needed the money, and that had sold him on the heist more than getting his own share of it. Things might not be perfect, but they were better than they’d been an hour ago. At least he had one person back in his life. The other, well... that was a work in progress.
Cassandra let the hug draw out for a moment or two more before she pulled back, looking up at him. “I didn’t think I’d ever see you again.” Which was as honest as statements got.
“Me neither,” he sighed, wishing that this moment of reunion could have been a touch sweeter. He hadn’t had any way to communicate with her since they’d been arrested, leaving him to wonder how her trial had gone and how long she’d be in for. “How are you? What did you say to Hunter?” he couldn’t help but ask.
She'd just been in prison for two years and he was asking how she was. Cassandra was fairly certain the answer was painfully obvious. She was doing shittily, thank you for asking. Not to mention she had no idea where the hell she was and this new form of torture might cut into her last few months before she was up for parole. She was almost out and now this. Instead of giving Hayden any of her thoughts she just put on a sad smile. "I'm surviving. And just that I was sorry it turned out the way it did." It was giving Hayden just enough rope to hang himself with and Cassandra was eager to see if he would.
Hayden brushed her hair of her face with one hand, his eyes looking into hers. How he wished he could read her thoughts. “I think we all feel that way,” he said softly, then shook his head. “How the fuck did he find out? I didn’t think our sex lives would impact a trial.” At least, he’d done the best to keep it out of his own. That didn’t mean it hadn’t come up elsewhere, that someone had spilled their motivations and the right buttons had been pushed. He supposed, in the end, it wasn’t hard to figure out. They’d been separated.
Line. Hung. It was too easy. Cassandra gave him a touch more, leaning into the way he brushed her hair back. “He’s a smart man, and in the end...” It was more obvious than not. “They’d use anything to put us away. You know that.”
“We should have told him.” He was frustrated by the one little fact, that Hunter had heard about it from someone other than the two of them. Hayden didn’t think he’d figured it out on his own, not because he wasn’t smart, but because he was sure he hadn’t known before they were caught. “I know,” he sighed, looking at Hunter’s door. Releasing her, he looked back at the key in his hand, then his own door. “Where do you think we are?”
No, they shouldn’t have. That would have just made things all the worse because then Cassandra really would have been stuck. “It wouldn’t have made it any better,” she said patting his arm gently. “As for where we are, I have no idea. But if there’s a real shower in there, I’m taking advantage of it.” She moved towards her door, smiling at him as she walked. “I’ll be seeing you?”
But he would have heard from her, or him, and that had to be better, at least in Hayden’s mind. He wasn’t going to argue with her, though, since they couldn’t change the past. “Yeah,” he said, hefting his bag higher on his shoulder as she headed towards her own room. He’d really rather she come with him, but maybe they should get the lay of the land first. “You know where to find me.”
“You know where to find me, too,” Cassandra said with a smirk before fitting the key into her door. Once it was open she looked back over at him. “It won’t be long,” she promised, knowing it would be something he might need to hear.
Hayden gave a little nod, then headed to his own room. There they were, all lined up in a row, with Cassandra in the middle. If he’d been given one or the other, he might have been able to handle it, but both at once? It truly felt like some kind of cosmic joke.