![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small}
![[info]](https://www.insanejournal.com/img/community.gif){kind=small}
Sep. 24th, 2020 at 12:51 AM
LIAM ROE + ARCHER WYATT
comfort zones
comfort zones
early August, before the exorcism of a Templar co-worker | Archer's home | PG13
After a long day of investigating a new case, while trying (and failing) not to concern himself with Castor, Liam had found himself mindlessly driving to Archer’s home rather than his own. It wasn’t that he felt compromised, which was usually the case with him showing up on the hunter’s doorstep unannounced -- the Templar just felt tired.
He fished out the extra key from his trench coat pocket and let himself inside the house quietly, locking everything back up behind him. Shoes off next to the door, he attempted to hang up his coat but it missed the hook and crumbled lifelessly to the floor. A haphazard wiggle and tug at the knot of his tie was all he managed before he collapsed onto the couch in the living room.
The exorcist closed his eyes and just.. completely let his guard down for a few minutes.
“I think my co-worker is possessed,” Liam finally said loudly enough for Archer to hear, wherever he was, even with the side of his face smushed against the throw pillow. “How was your day?” he asked, genuinely curious and hoping for a distraction.
Given the nature of what he was, Archer’s door opening and the shuffling about should have been alarming, but only one other soul owned a key to his house. So, instead of reaching for one of the many weapons that were stashed in various places about the small home, he continued to finish the dishes he may have neglected all week.
It wasn’t until Liam’s voice reached his ears over the running water that he turned the spout off. “Long,” he called out from the kitchen and went about preparing a sandwich for the Templar he was sure was collapsed on his couch. It wouldn’t be the first time and it certainly wouldn’t be the last.
At least he didn’t seem like he was compromised? That was a pleasant change of pace, even if the idea of his co-worker being possessed did cause Archer’s eyebrows to furrow as he walked into the living room. “Ya look like hell. Have ya even ate today?” Placing the sandwich and a glass of water on the table, he moved to hang Liam’s trench coat up properly before slouching in the armchair near the couch. “Tell me ‘bout the co-worker.”
Liam didn’t move a muscle the entire time, only offering Archer a groan in agreement when he answered his question. To close his eyes even for the few short minutes felt like an eternity and quelled the dry itchy feeling from staring at computer screens on and off all day between books.
An eye opened when he heard the plate touch down on the table in front of him. “I could eat,” he admitted in a murmur, pushing himself up to sit on the edge of the couch and finally looking over at his good friend. The exorcist took a rather large bite of the sandwich and chewed before answering. “His expedition went wrong before he even really started and.. coincidentally the site was compromised in the process.”
He took another quick bite and washed it down with a drink of water. “I think he caused the crash.. Somehow. Haven’t figured it out yet, but there are things that don’t add up with it. Can’t exactly go poking around because if he is possessed and the demon catches on…” he trailed off, knowing Archer knew the train of thought he was currently on. Liam didn’t want to be partly responsible for the death of his co-worker and leaking of Templar secrets.
“What happened that made yours long?” Liam questioned before taking another drink, finally realizing just how famished he was feeling.
Archer watched quietly as Liam- much to his relief- ate the sandwich and spun his tale of crashes and potential demon possession. No matter how many times he heard it, or witnessed it, he never grew numb to the dreadful feeling that went hand in hand with being knee deep in the supernatural world. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t still wish he was living in blissful ignorance to the truth, but there was nothing to be done about that.
“Shit,” rubbing his hand over his face, he shook his head. “What’s ya plan, then? Do ya have a plan? Can ya even tell me the plan?” Archer didn’t envy Liam’s burden. The consequences of any missteps when it came to the life of a Templar- or at least what he knew of it- seemed incredibly daunting. He constantly worried for his friend, and was sure that he had a few grey hairs because of it. “Just be careful, yeah?”
Sighing, he leaned back against the chair’s cushions, not too keen on talking about his day. “Melanie’s mother called today. It’s been seven years and she’s still askin’ questions I can’t give her the answers to.”
“Winging it,” he admitted with a mouthful. Though for him, that was nothing new. Possessions were, at best, wholly unpredictable. Usually he only had plans when Nerida was involved - because tactfully she far surpassed him. The Templar offered the other man a small smile and nod when he requested his caution. “Always,” he said, though they both knew otherwise. There was a high chance that, in a few days time, Archer would be getting a call from the hospital to pick him up from the Emergency Room.
With his friend’s sigh, Liam didn’t take another bite of the sandwich that was already half-gone. Instead he looked over at Archer in silence for a moment. Part of him wondered if he would suffer a similar fate of the Hunter should he ever attempt to start a family. He maybe wouldn’t have the same issue of vampires but, demons for sure... It was certainly enough to make the exorcist think twice. Not that he had any prospects.
For now, clearly, he struggled to keep his friends safe.
“I’m not saying this because of my position,” he started out explaining - wanting to make it clear that being a Templar and guarding the supernatural world from the general public being one of his duties had no bias to what he was about to say. “But she wouldn’t benefit from the answers even if you could give them. She’d either… think you’ve gone mad or, say she did believe it all… she’d possibly go mad with grief and try to uncover secrets she’s not prepared to deal with mentally or physically.”
Archer’s eyebrow arched at that ‘always’, but he didn’t comment on it further. The eyebrow was enough to remind his friend that he knew how these things ended more often than not. Instead, he made a mental note to keep his phone within earshot until this whole ordeal was over. Not that he minded being Liam’s emergency contact. Quite the opposite actually. It gave him peace of mind.
What didn’t give him peace of mind, however, was lingering too long on thoughts of Melanie and their children. Although he’d come to grips with the indescribable loss and quenched his vengeance, he supposed the pain wouldn’t ever subside. It had dulled over the years, and he was living a life outside of his family tragedy, but phone calls from his mother in law always brought it all to the forefront again.
Maybe that was because he couldn’t ever tell her the truth. “I know, Liam. I know.” Hell, if Archer didn’t witness the whole thing he probably would have thought his parents were crazy. It wouldn’t have been that far of a jump given their paranoia and doomsday prepper tendencies. “I had a right mind to ignore her calls, but that wouldn’t work either. Can’t have her showin’ up here.” Rubbing his hand over his scruff that was definitely inching toward full beard territory, he sighed again. “I just don’t see how hashin’ out every detail in the police report over and over helps at all.”
The benefit of having Archer as his emergency contact was, usually, the hunter wasn’t directly involved in the fray and actually available to come and retrieve him from the kind medical staff. Because Liam’s mental stability had been questioned multiple times that the staff felt more comfortable releasing him to someone who would ‘watch him.’ Otherwise he was typically spending a weekend on the psych ward. But like all things, the Templar always tried to make the best of it.
Nodding, he couldn’t help but try to put himself into Archer’s shoes. “It’s not, for either of you,” he said with a slightly concerned look for his friend. It was odd, to see both sides of it: the frustration of now knowing the truth or that the truth was part of a much bigger, scarier world than you were used to, or knowing about that world and not being able to necessarily share it. At least when it came to demons and possessions for the general public, it was far more believable (and more acceptable) for the Devil to exist than vampires.
“Don’t.. hate me for suggesting this, but.. have you tried convincing her to go to therapy?” Because Archer was right, the woman didn’t need to come to Seven Devils and get mixed up in all of it.
“I don’t guess it is,” Archer replied with a shrug of his shoulders. There wasn’t much to be done about it, though. Lettie Green wouldn’t ever be satisfied with what little information he could give her, and maybe he still blamed himself? He was a simple man, but he wasn’t an idiot. Archer knew very well that the blame wasn’t meant for his shoulders, but it was his parents who angered the vampire that ultimately took everything from him. So, maybe going through the motions every so often with Lettie was his penance.
His eyebrows shot up into the air at Liam’s suggestion and he let go of a laugh. “The first time I suggested it she threatened to shove her shotgun up my ass.” All of the attempts to get the woman help that he couldn’t provide always fell on deaf ears. “But next time she calls I’ll let ya try and convince her. That woman is as stubborn as Melanie was.”
“Want another sandwich?” Attempting to brush it all off, he moved to change the subject beyond his initial question. “What have ya been up to, besides demon shit?” Yeah, it was a thinly veiled attempt but he wanted to talk about anything other than the supernatural for a while.
“So graphic,” he whispered distractedly, as if disturbed by the imagery when in reality he saw worse on a weekly basis. Liam almost made the comment that he could offer to exorcize her, but he bit the inside of his cheek to keep from blurting it out. A self-control he rarely had but somehow managed to muster when around Archer. The other man was a good influence on the exorcist.
“You’re going to make me fat,” he insisted at the offer of another sandwich, which he politely declined by patting his stomach in the universal language of I’m full. Could he easily demolish another sandwich? Absolutely. Should he? Definitely not. Being a Templar had physical requirements that Liam barely passed on a good day. “And how could I outrun the supernatural then, hm?”
“Oh, you know, trying to keep up with my Tinder messages and meet ups,” Liam said casually and waited for the look of suspicion. The Templar’s dating history was sporadic and arguably dangerous - most dates ended up being demons, and then things just went downhill from there. Occasionally he found someone worth his free time, but he usually found a way to sabotage it in effort to keep the other person safe. “Although I have gone to Temptation a few times.. Not a terrible place, actually.” At least, with the experiences he had.
Archer chuckled a little at his friend’s whisper, beginning to relax again. “That woman doesn’t know any other way to be, Liam. Ya should hear some of the things that come out of her mouth.” He’d gone so far as to refer to her as a demon before he was aware of their existence, but ever since he learned the truth? The man wasn’t too comfortable with referring to her as such anymore.
“Eatin’ two sandwiches ain’t gonna make ya fat,” he insisted with a teasing scoff. He knew he projected the image of the ‘mom friend’- as the kids these days said- but he just couldn’t help himself most of the time. “But I can’t have ya not be able to outrun the boogeymen.”
He was about to grab the empty plate and take it to the kitchen, but Liam’s next words had him arching his eyebrows again. “Tinder meet ups?” Archer wouldn’t judge him much. God knew his dating life was non-existent. He just couldn’t bring himself to become entangled with anyone especially given the fact that he literally hunted monsters for a living.
Then he was tossing around positive comments about Temptation and Archer’s eyebrow lifted even more. “Not a terrible place!? Ain’t it a cesspool!?”
Truth be told, he lightly heard a lot worse spouted from the unholy mouths of demons he was attempting to exorcise - but it didn’t mean they couldn’t joke about it. The air wasn’t as heavy anymore, and he noticed Archer able to relax somewhat. It had been a little while since they caught up, and Liam assumed he was going to have a rough week ahead - the quiet and comfort of an old friend was needed for multiple reasons. “Mind if I crash here?”
The exorcist knew he was welcome, but he still asked.
Liam winced lightly at the reaction and honestly, did his best to try and keep the humor from his expression. “Okay, fair assumption, but I actually did meet a pretty nice demon of some sort there,” he recalled the blonde woman he’d danced with. “I say nice only because she probably had no idea who I really was.” That always seemed to sour the mood.
“Ya know this couch belongs to ya more than it belongs to me,” he replied with a slight grin. The Templar never needed to ask, his door was always open where Liam was concerned, but he appreciated being asked all the same. Honestly? He probably wouldn’t have even purchased a couch if it weren’t for Liam’s occasional crashing. Archer preferred his eyesore of an armchair.
Thankful that all of the doom and gloom had lifted from room, he leaned back against the worn fabric of the chair again. This time there wasn’t any tension in his shoulders and he tried, without much success, to stifle a laugh.
“So, let me get this straight. Ya were at the club chattin’ up a demon girl? Jesus Christ, I’m almost sad I missed out on seein’ it.” Almost. Archer was pretty damn sure he would stick out like a sore thumb at a place like that. It would be like a dad crashing a kid’s party. No one wanted some dude fussing over whether or not they could get home safely or if they were drinking too much dampening the mood.
“She wasn’t one of those meet ups was she,” he asked as if he had any idea how Tinder worked.
The hunter's answer made Liam duck his head somewhat and smile gratefully. He just needed a good recharge, and more importantly, somewhere he knew was safe and where it wouldn't be easy to find him for a night. And with Archer on standby, since he assumed the other man would be up and keep watch even though Liam would never ask, he could rest easy. For once. "I'm going to carve my name into it at some point," he joked tiredly of the couch.
Which reminded him that, at some point, he needed to get his tattoo touched up. It was a painful process, and required a good amount of magic to be used, but it was long past it was a necessary, annual ritual.
Liam's lips curled into somewhat of a bashful grin at Archer's teasing questions. Leaning back against the couch, the exorcist reached up and completely undid the knot of his tie before pulling it from the collar of his shirt. His night at Temptation had been a relatively positive one - even if there were slightly blurry parts here and there. "Well, it all came to fruition after a bottle of wine..."
Tags: archer wyatt, liam roe
