Realistic or Modern Fairweather Communications - Urban Fantasy

[Reynarda]

"Yes," Thea said, drawing the word out into a hiss. "I appreciate a man who knows what I like. Ima get that. Strawberry Daiquiri. As colorful and sweet as yours truly."

Azrael chuckled, but that turned into a soft smile when Lev said her first name. No one called her by her first name anymore. It was nice to hear.

"This one has coffee in it," Thea said, pointing. "Oh! Oh! And chocolate."

"I think I might go for an amaretto sour, actually," Azrael said, scanning the menu in Thea's hand.

"You know what that is?" Thea asked, their tone joking surprise.

"Just because I didn't get drunk doesn't mean I didn't occasionally have alcohol," Azrael huffed.

Thea looked between Lev and Azrael, their eyes wide when Lev mentioned the iron rash incedent. "Wait. He doesn't know?!"

Azrael sighed rubbed her forehead. She remembered Rowan Shepard mentioning his allergy to multivitamins and then innocently showing her what was clearly a reaction to iron. "No, he does not."

"But you gotta tell him!" Thea said.

"Thea," Azrael groaned. "There is a reason he doesn't know, and I think at least one of his parents is intentionally hiding it."

"Uh, Doc, do you know how much iron is in Manhattan? What if he got hurt?"

Azrael gestured helplessly. "He put down his mother's number. I've considered contacting her and suggesting she talk to him about it."

Thea's eyebrows shot up. "You think his mom did some hanky panky with a fae guy?"

Why there were so many euphemisms, Azrael had no idea, but hanky panky was one of Thea's favorites. These were the sorts of conversations she often had with her medical assistant--ok, maybe not about who had slept with what non-human and now had a half non-human son they were hiding from their husband, but similar--but this was not something she wanted to drag Lev into.

"Can we not talk about work?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at Thea.

Thea feigned slapping their own cheek. "Right! Sorry! Bad Thea! We are relaxing." They turned and winked at Lev. "Never a dull moment at the office. But most of the time we complain about some random insurance agent with no actual medical experience deciding if what the doc prescribes is necessary."

"It's absolute excrement," Azrael agreed.

Thea brightened at the mention of Lev's past. "Yeah, I've always been here, too! My folks live in Brooklyn. My dad has a grocery store and my mom has a home business tailoring." Thea paused, glancing at Azrael. "What about you, Doc? You're from Ohio, right?"

Azrael hesitated. How the hell Thea had figured that much out, she didn't know. "Columbus," she said after a while.

"Not Cleveland?" Thea asked, then got a super innocent look on their face when Azrael turned to eye them.

"No, but I did my residency there while I worked on a master's in clinical research at the university."

Thea blinked. There were degrees from Ohio State, SC Columbia, and board certifications on the doc's office wall, but nothing about a master's from Cleveland. They almost asked but then decided not to. That was the sort of thing Dr. Drake would have displayed if it had gone well. They almost asked about her folks, but they were fairly sure Azrael Drake had appeared fully-formed in college one day.

Instead, they turned to Lev. "So what's the craziest rumor about kumiho that's true?"

"Thea!" Azrael scolded.

"What?"

"You wouldn't like it if he asked what's the craziest rumor about humans that's true."

"Sure I would. The craziest rumor about humans that's true is that we can bite our own finger off but our brains stop us from doing that." Thea nodded wisely. "I learned that in A&P. Doc, what's the craziest thing about doctors that's true?"

Azrael twisted her lip. "Doctor is not a separate species, it's a profession."

"Yes it is. Isn't it, Lev? It is, Lev agrees with me," they declared before Lev could disagree.

Well, she might as well. She couldn't throw her actual species in the ring, after all. Azrael considered. "We all do get really excited when someone with an unusual disease comes in, but we have to hide it."

"You're terrible at hiding it."

"Thanks, Thea."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev smiled, pleased that Thea was happy with his drink selection. He was glad that everything was going well so far. It was just the relaxing evening he needed.

"I gotta admit, I didn't get drunk that much in college either," he said with a laugh. "I think that one's specifically a Wade thing."

Wade had a lot of experiences that he insisted were universal, but clearly weren't.

"A grocery store, that's cool," he said, and he said it as if he actually meant it. "My dad's a cook and my mom's a social worker, although mom's been thinking about retiring. I have no idea how she's managed to work for so long to begin with."

His mother was pushing sixty five and he was certain that if it weren't for her health getting worse, she would continue to work for another ten years. His father, at fifty nine, considered himself still in his prime. Besides, he loved cooking too much to ever actually give it up.

Lev startled a bit when Thea asked him point blank, and he was a bit wary, but it seemed it was all in good fun. The tension in his shoulders immediately relaxed, and he laughed.

"Well, I'll start by telling you a secret. I'm actually only half kumiho. Dad's a kitsune. He will go on an hour long tirade about how they are not in fact the same thing," he said with a grin. "Anyways, the truth is we do eat livers, just not human ones. We generally need more nutrients and vitamins per day than a human, and liver's got a lot of those, so we eat a lot of it. And chicken hearts. I guess that maybe, like, a few thousand years ago some of my ancestors ate human hearts and livers, but nobody actually does that anymore. Cows work just fine."

It was always good to clear that up first.

"I've never been to Cleveland or Columbus," he admitted sheepishly. "I've only been out of new york state twice, and that was when I went to Korea with my mom for my great uncle's funeral, and to California for my cousin's wedding."

They had both been wonderful trips, but travel was expensive, and he would much rather hang out at home.

 

[Reynarda]

"Wow, you two are making college sound so not fun," Thea said.

Azrael arched an eyebrow. She felt like she knew Thea well enough to know that drunken parties were not their scene. "Have you ever been drunk?"

"Once, when I was in high school. It was awful." Thea grinned. They thought their dad was pretty awesome, personally. "Yeah, it's a Caribbean grocery." Their eyes widened. "A social worker? Wow, your mom is awesome! And a cook! I bet your dad's so good at it."

Azrael sighed at Lev's reaction to Thea's rather rude question. She wished she could pull him aside and explain that they meant no offense, they were just incredibly curious.

Thea, for their part, was listening in fascination. "A kitsune! So cool--wait. How many tails do you have?"

"Thea!" Azrael snapped, horrified.

"What?"

"You can't just ask someone how many tails they have!" Azrael spluttered.

"I can go first." They turned back to Lev, their expression very serious. "I have no tails. I am very disappointed about this. One of my best friends is a coyote person, and when we were kids, his tail would appear when he wasn't paying attention, and I thought for sure I would also have a tail one day. I cried for like an hour when my mom told me humans didn't have tails." Thea turned to Azrael, eyebrows raised expectantly. "How tails do you have, Doc?"

Azrael rubbed the bridge of her nose. "None, last I checked."

Thea nodded wisely at the liver explaination. "I mean, we humans are probably pretty nutritious. Right, Doc? She knows."

Azrael tried not to laugh. She really did. But she couldn't help it. Of the three people at the table, she was the only one who would actually know anything about that. She hid her mouth behind her hand as an honest-to-goodness laugh escaped.

"HA!" Thea declared triumphantly.

"Not you, though," Azrael said, still grinning behind her hand. "You'd probably give someone cavities."

"You'd give them indigestion," Thea shot back, though a grin had lit up their eyes. They turned the grin on Lev. "Yeah, I'm half Jamaican, half Ecuadorian and who-knows-what. My dad makes the best jerk chicken. Do you like spicy food? I could bring you some. Even the doc liked it."

"Your father's jerk chicken was delightful," Azrael agreed. She waved away Lev's sheepish grin. "Don't. There's not much to see there."

And he'd be a lot safer if he stayed away from that state altogether.

"You've been to Korea?!" Thea leaned towards him and let loose several rapid-fire questions. "What's it like? Did you eat the food? Was it amazing?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev grinned, already more at ease after the sudden question.

"My dad's a great cook," he said proudly. "He makes really good inarizushi."

He didn't make it often, though, because it was a stereotype. Lev thought it was a little ridiculous, because everyone in his family loved it.

He took Thea's next question in stride, laughing a little.

"Just one," he assured them. "My grandpa on my dad's side has two, though. You get one more every hundred years. I know I'm old compared to most of the other guys at the office, but I'm not that old. And I don't really mind if you're curious. It's kinda nice to have someone ask questions and not worry that I'm gonna eat them."

He had only ever met one kitsune who had 5 tails. Most modern day therianthropes forewent immortality for the chance to stay with their human friends, and allowed themselves to age and die like normal humans. It wasn't always a choice, but oftentimes it was as easy as choosing not to cultivate power. Ryosuke was almost five hundred, but he looked like he was in his mid-twenties when Lev had met him ten years back. He had been on vacation in New York when they met by chance at the grocery store, and Lev had given him a tour of the sights. They were still penpals, though Lev hadn't seen him in person since.

He was probably coming up on that sixth tail soon. Hm. He'd have to congratulate him on that.

"Spicy food is great," he agreed. "And I'd love to try some. I could bring you back some of my dad's cooking next time I go home to visit. I'm sure you'd love it."

He thought back to his time in Korea, and his smile became more subdued but no less happy.

"Yeah, the food was great. It was cool seeing where grandma lived growing up. It was like... seeing a place that's familiar, even if you've never been there before. I'd like to go back one day, but travelling, you know? It's expensive and time consuming."

He folded the menu up and stood, stretching his arms behind his head.

"I'll go get those drinks," he announced, and headed over to the bar to put in the order.

Percival, who was nursing his own drink, looked up as he approached. His eyes narrowed ever so slightly, but he smiled politely before ignoring him completely. Geez, Lev wondered what on earth he had ever done to the guy to piss him off so much. He wasn't about to ask him when he was having a good evening, though, so he just smiled back.

A moment later, a woman walked out of the back room, heading over to Percival and placing one hand on his arm.

She was older, probably in her late sixties or so, but she still looked beautiful as she pulled him into a hug. Her hair, long and brown, was done up in an elaborate, curly updo. Her skin was a light brown, and she moved with a grace that Lev had seen in very few creatures before.

"Darling!" She announced, in the way that said she was used to commanding the attention of the room. "I'm so sorry for making you wait. Your father tried to say that he had a business meeting. A business meeting! At half past eight! Absolutely ridiculous."

Percival's mouth twitched into a tiny smile as he stood to return her hug.

"It's no problem, mother," he said, personable as ever. Lev was pretty sure the only time he'd ever actually seen Percival angry was at him.

"Mathilda finally got the private room ready, too. Is Normandy with you? She had better be coming soon..."

She pulled Percival into the back, and Lev blinked slowly before the bartender brought him his drinks.

He took them back to the table, balancing the three glasses carefully.

"Huh. I guess even someone like Percival Fairweather has a mom," he said with a laugh. He had heard of Lydia Fairweather of course, but he had never actually seen her in person before. She didn't quite match up to the image he was expecting.

 

[Reynarda]

"Oh! Oh! Idea!" Thea said, practically vibrating. "Our dads should totally have a cook-off. My dad can make some Caribbean dishes and your dad can make some Asian dishes. Doc, you're invited."

Azrael tilted her head. She had actually been invited to cook-outs with Thea's family several times but had always turned them down. She claimed it wasn't particularly appropriate, but deep down she knew she was too afraid to meet Thea's family. But she had more important things on her mind. "What is inarizushi?"

"Wait." Thea leaned closer. "Are you saying in 75 years my tail might come in?"

"Thea."

"You think I'm joking! I was heart broken." Thea paused, frowning at Lev. "What. People think you're going to eat them? You? You're like... an absolute sweetheart. I mean, you won over the Doc, and of the three of us, I'd say she's the one most likely to eat someone."

"Accurate," Azrael agreed.

"That's so cool! I went to Jamaica once to meet my grandparents and my dad showed me all the places he used to play--it was so cool." Thea glanced at Azrael. "Ever been out of the country, Doc?"

"A few times," Azrael said.

Thea waited, but she didn't say anything after that. They sighed. Getting her to talk was like pulling teeth sometimes.

They turned and scowled at Azrael when Lev left. "You're terrible at this. I'd give you a 4/10."

"Harsh," Azrael said, though she personally agreed.

Thea pressed their lips together for a second before blurting, "Would it kill you to share a little bit about yourself?"

Azrael scowled. No, but it might get them killed. "Thea, there's nothing interesting to tell. I'm not from somewhere interesting and I don't have a tail."

"So? You never talk about yourself. I just now found out you have a master's in clinical research. I thought you were only joking about being better suited for a lab."

"I don't," Azrael corrected, staring at the table.

"But you said--"

"I didn't defend my thesis."

Thea stared at her. That didn't seem like a Dr. Drake thing to do. "Why?"

There were a thousand answers she could give, but for once she picked the truth. "Because I'm a coward."

Thea sat in silence for a minute. Dr. Drake had that look on her face. The one that said there was some deep sadness and frustration that she didn't know how to express. But Thea didn't know what to say. They hadn't realized they had picked at a wound.

"Thea, I cannot stand your silence."

Thea hesitated. Then went with their gut. "Yeah, well, I'm glad you didn't."

Azrael's eyes slid to them.

"If you had, you'd be researching in some lab and we never would have met."

Azrael let out a small breathy laugh, and for a brief second, Thea thought they saw sharp teeth. "Well when you put it that way."

Without thinking, Thea reached over and hugged Azrael for just a few seconds. Azrael froze but relaxed with a small smile as Thea pulled back.

"Y'know, you have two people who care about you. It wouldn't hurt to let us get to know you a little. We're not going to judge you for things like that."

Azrael nodded slowly. Yeah. She could maybe do that.

"Whoa, look at that goddess," Thea suddenly said. "And she knows Percival Fairweather."

Azrael craned her neck and strained her ears. "Mother"? Well, that was not how she pictured Percival Fairweather's mother. She frowned, trying to figure out what sort of inhuman she was. She would need to actually touch her to figure details, but maybe--

"Oop, she's turning!" Thea hissed, pulling Azrael down in the booth with them.

"This looks even more suspicious," Azrael hissed back.

"Which of us knows everything about everyone at work and which of us refuses to go to company parties?" Thea countered. "I'm the sleuth here, not you. If she gets a weird disease, then we'll call you."

"You'd better."

They were still slouched in the booth when Lev returned. Thea immediately popped up, a delighted cry at the sight of their drink.

"It's such a gorgeous color. Doc, can we paint one of the exam rooms this color?"

"Absolutely not. Thank you, Lev." Azrael took her drink at smiled at him. "That's his mother, really? I was not expecting that."

"Wait until I tell the girls--oh, and the security guard. We added him to the chat room this morning. I always just kinda assumed they bought Percival Fairweather at a designer baby store or something. I can't picture him as a kid. I'm pretty sure he's always looked like that."

Azrael chuckled. Personally, she still wanted to know if he had been hatched.

Thea studied their drink. "Like, what did he want to be when he grew up? A marketing person? I wanted to be an astronaut, but there was too much math."

"Would you believe I always wanted to be a scientist?" Azrael asked.

"Uh, with a first name like 'Doctor', you kinda have no choice. Anyway, I'm pretty sure you were never a little kid."

"I was," Azrael assured them with a smile. "I got a chemistry set when I was ten and nearly burned the house down."

"No!" Thea breathed. They did notice she had carefully mentioned no parents, but this was an improvement.

"Ok, I didn't nearly burn it down, but I did start a fire."

"Proof Azrael Drake, MD is not perfect, finally," Thea said, wiggling their eyebrows at Lev. "What about you? Did you always dream of working with computers?"

 

[Mikotsuhime]

“My dad would probably love that,” Lev said with a smile. “He always gets super serious about cooking, though. If he likes your dad’s food, he’d end up pestering him about techniques and recipes.”

His mom would hate it, of course. She was basically her husband’s wrangler half the time, though Lev had a feeling she didn’t mind.

“Inarizushi is... Well, it’s deep fried tofu stuffed with rice, basically. People used to offer it to fox spirits back in the olden days, so it’s a bit of a cliche, but it really DOES taste good,” he laughed. He knew his description sometimes put people off, but it was delicious, and if they didn’t see that that was a them problem.

“I think that’s just a fox thing, sorry,” he said with a smile as Thea lamented their lack of tails. He shrugged when they expressed their surprise over people being scared of him. ”People think I’m scary. You get old legends from hundreds and thousands of years ago, and people think they still hold stock today. But there’s nothing I can do about it, so I don’t worry about it too much.“

It was a lesson he’d learned over the years. Caring excessively was always a mistake.

When he returned, he raised his eyebrows at Thea and Azrael hiding in their booth. He got it, though. It was hard to imagine Percival as, well, a child.

“Wade said they met when he was twelve,” he said with a shrug, “So he had to have been a kid at some point. I’m with you, though, it’s hard to imagine. The guy seems to hate me for some reason, though I don’t think I’ve ever actually talked to him.”

Maybe he was also scared Lev would eat him. Although, somehow he got the feeling that Percival Fairweather did not scare easy.

“Man, a chemistry set? That’s kind of cute. The only crazy thing I did as a kid was try to emulate my dad’s cooking. There was rice everywhere, it was not a pretty sight,” he said with a chuckle.

He trailed off when Thea asked him if he had always wanted to work with computers.

“Well... Not really. I love what I do now, and I wouldn’t change it for the world. But, well...” He wasn’t sure he was ready to admit this. The only one who actually knew besides his dad was Wade, and that was an accident. But, well, Azrael had opened up when she clearly found it hard, so he could open up too. “Back in high school I wanted to be a poet. I entered all kinds of contests and stuff. But, well, it’s really hard to pay the bills that way, so I went into programming instead.”

His ears were pink, and he took a sip from his drink to distract from how embarrassed he was.

 

[Reynarda]

Rowan shifted from foot to foot as his waited for Akari. He didn't know a whole lot about the city's bars, but this one had been recommended to him as being quieter than some of the others. He was excited, but mostly nervous. Akari and he were the newbies, so he thought it would be good for them to stick together. Anyway, it might be nice to chat about the company a bit and get her feel for it. He wasn't really sure at the moment, but he had just recently be doused with air freshener by the son of the founder, so there was that.

He checked his watch and then fidgeted with his clothes. He had gone business casual, unsure of the dress code of this place.

But, thanks to the medicine Dr. Drake had prescribed, his rash was gone except for some discoloration. He made a mental note to stop in and thank her on Monday.

He bounced on his toes, glancing through the crowd of people walking down the street to see if one of them was Akari.







Thea arched their eyebrows. They were having trouble picturing Wade Harper as anything less than 25. Was he like the dorky type or the jock type? They couldn't decide.

"Hate you?" Thea blinked rapidly. "Did you get mud on his suit without knowing or something? You're like... the least offensive person I know."

They glanced at Azrael, who clearly knew something as she was studying her drink as if it might have hidden depths. "Doooooooc?"

Azrael sighed at the drawn out nickname.

"What do you know? Tell us."

"Know about what?" Azrael asked, sounding too annoyed to be innocent.

"Playing stupid doesn't become you," Thea said. "Why does Percival Fairweather hate the cutest half-kumiho, half-kitsune in the whole of the company?"

"That's a HIPPA violation," Azrael muttered.

"It can't be a HIPPA violation." Thea paused. "Or wait. It's because of his allergy?"

Azrael was figuring the web of lies she had woven would rival the webs of Arachne herself. She gave Lev an apologetic smile. "It's not you, if it makes you feel any better."

"Well, he's wrong, you're precious," Thea declared, though Azrael figured there were few people in this world Thea did not like.

Azrael felt her cheeks growing warm when Lev said her childhood chemistry set had been cute. It wasn't cute, it was serious science. Well, maybe not, but she had felt like a real scientist at the time.

Her eyebrows shot up before lowering into a soft smile when Lev explained his childhood dreams.

Thea let out a small squeak of delight. "You're a poet?! What kind of peotry do you write? Is it love poems? Or like nature poems? Or like dark and broody--oh! Oh! You have to read us some poetry!"

"Thea," Azrael said. "Don't pressure him."

"Please, please, please?" Thea made their eyes as big as possible and stuck their lower lip out in a pout. "Pleeeeeaaaasssse?"

"Lev, you can ignore them," Azrael assured him. "They will survive."

"I might not." Thea got a small sneaky smirk on their face. "What, are you saying you don't want to hear Lev's poetry?"

"No, I didn't say that."

"So you do want to hear Lev's poetry."

"Well, I..." Azrael sighed. The truth was that she would very much like to hear Lev's poetry, but they had already tormented the poor man enough for a lifetime. "Yes, but that's private, Thea. You can't demand he share it."

"I wasn't demanding, I was begging."

"I read a lot of poetry when I was younger," Azrael said, smiling at Lev. "I stopped when I got too busy in med school. I really should read more, though. I miss it."

"Lemme guess your favorite poet," Thea said. "Edgar Allen Poe."

"Bite me," Azrael said as Thea burst into laughter.

"I knew it! You were an emo kid, weren't you!"

"I may have a new favorite poet now, so shut-up," Azrael said, lifting her nose in mock snobbishness.

"Wait, who's your new favorite?" Thea asked, and Azrael arched an eyebrow at them.

"Lev Choi, obviously. Keep up, Thea."

This set off another round of delighted giggles from Thea, and Azrael felt herself finally start to relax. She was smiling--actually smiling--and Thea was laughing and Lev looked a little embarrassed, and they were all having a good times just being friends. She couldn't remember the last time she had felt this happy. This. She could get used to this.

"Excuse me, Miss?"

Azrael looked up at the server. With a flourish, he set a bright red drink with celery sticking out of it in front of her.

"One Bloody Mary complements of the gentleman--Oh! He's gone."

Azrael stared at the drink in horror, her blood running cold. The feeling earlier. How? It could only be from one person. But how had he found her? Every nerve in her body screamed at her to run. To pick up her things, make some excuse--or, hell, no excuse--and run. Get back to her apartment, grab the bag packed with essentials she kept in the closet by the door, and run.

But what about Thea and Lev? He clearly had seen them. They were guilty by association. What if he went after them, thinking they would know? They didn't know--they couldn't know--she had made sure they didn't know.

And her patients? Hell, even Percival Fairweather. She couldn't just leave all of them.

But what was she supposed to do? Running was her knee-jerk reaction. She didn't know how to do anything else. Like she had told Thea, she was a coward.

"Azrael!" Thea practically yelled in her ear, in the tone of someone who had been saying "mom" repeatedly before giving up and yelling their mother's given name. "You have not breathed in about ten seconds so I need you to breathe right now or I'm going to freak out."

Their panic snapped Azrael out of hers. She sucked air into her lungs in a sharp gasp.

"What is going on, there is like no blood in your face." Thea held up Azrael's hand so she could see it and pressed their thumb into the pad of her thumb and released. "It is not filling with blood, are you going into shock?"

"No, I'm not going into shock, sh, let me think." She removed her glasses and rubbed her eyes.

"Is this about earlier? Are you being stalked? Should we call the police?"

"No." That was the opposite of what she needed. "Shush, Thea."

He was still here. He wouldn't have just left after pulling something like that. She couldn't see him, but if she closed her eyes--there. She had once been elbow-deep in his blood. He glowed like a beacon. She could reach out, cause a blood clot in his coronary artery. It would be odd in a man of his age, but not unheard of. The medical examiner would declare it a heart attack. It would be so easy. There would be absolutely no evidence unless they brought in some type of mage examiner, which they might, considering his job. She reached out, feeling his blood. Just one thought. One twitch of her fingers. But she couldn't bring herself to do it.

She should. It would solve all her problems. It was the logical thing. But. He wasn't directly attacking her or Thea or Lev. She couldn't justify it to herself.

She needed to be smart. Think. Wait. What was he doing following her? He could have just turned up at her apartment. Unless--oh. Oh! He wasn't here on official business. In fact, she would bet her next paycheck he wasn't supposed to be here. That's the reason for the drink. He was trying to get her to bolt so she would go back to her apartment and he could corner her there. But she wouldn't give him the satisfaction. She could call Columbus and ask about him and he'd get called back and put on probation. Yes. That's what she'd do. He would have no way of knowing who Thea or Lev were without looking them up, and he couldn't do that without going to the NYPD.

He would probably be able to tell the others he had found her and they'd probably put a warrant out. He could still ruin her life, but she decided to cross that bridge when she came to it. Who knew, maybe he wouldn't. After all, he hadn't turned her in three years ago. Maybe he wouldn't this time. He did still owe her.

Only about twenty seconds had passed, but Thea let out the breath they had apparently been holding the entire time. "Ok, I can't shush anymore. I have pepper spray, do you need pepper spray?"

"No, Thea." Azrael let out a breath, putting her glasses back on and eyeing the drink with scorn. Now that she had decided to hold her ground, she wanted to do something with it. What she really, really wanted to do was throw it in his face, but that would draw too much attention. She thought about pushing it off the table to smash on the floor, but then some poor server would have to clean it up. Part of her considered chugging it like a guy at a frat party but ultimately decided not to do that.

She flagged down a passing server and handed it to him. "Can you return this to the man who sent it? I'm clearly out with friends and uninterested."

The young man smiled sympathetically. "Yes, ma'am."

"Thanks."

"Azrael Drake, you tell me what's going on this instant!" Thea demanded as soon as drink and server were gone.

Azrael let out a long breath. "Yes, I do have a stalker," she said, because that was true.

"Not that I think the NYPD can solve things, but like maybe they can get his description and stuff--"

"No," Azrael said slowly. "That wouldn't work because he is a police officer."

She paused, hoping Thea and Lev would assume he was stalking her because he was creepy and not because she had done something to get the law after her.

"Shit," Thea said.

"Ugh, I'm so sorry," Azrael groaned pushing her glasses on top of her head and rubbing her eyes. "I didn't mean to drag you two into this. I just--I'm sorry. I got too comfortable and I shouldn't have--I'm sorry." She paused, lowering her hands from her face to look at them. "But if a tall white guy with auburn hair and grey eyes approaches you, please just get away from him. I don't think he'd hurt you, but I don't know. I don't know."

But if he so much as touched them, she'd kill him.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev raised his eyebrows as he looked at Azrael. Clearly she knew something. He felt bad pestering, but Thea clearly didn't, and well, he was curious. He'd never even spoken to the man outside of a professional capacity.

"Allergy? It's not, like, a non-human allergy or any fancy way to say he's racist, is it? Because I won't deck him or anything, but I'll probably want to. Explains why Wade hates his guts so much," he grumbled. He didn't THINK it would be something like that. He had a feeling that Percival Fairweather was more than he appeared to be, but. He couldn't think of anything else.

He immediately turned bright red and groaned when Thea turned all their pestering energy on him.

"Oh gosh, it's really not that good," he whined. Everybody acted like that when he brought up his poetry. The thing was, it really wasn't good. He had never won any contest he'd entered, and generally people called his work 'difficult to understand'.

Back in his first year of college, he had entered a small local contest with the idea that if he won, he'd continue to write, and if he lost, he'd give it up.

He hadn't won. His piece was one of five featured entries, but he was certain there hadn't been that many entries to the contest anyways. It had been published in the magazine on the same page as the other runner ups, though the thing wasn't really distributed outside of his neighbourhood. It was the only acclaim his poetry had ever achieved, and he had given it up since then. He occasionally wrote in his journal, but he never showed anyone.

Not even Wade.

"I wrote a super cheesy love poem for my first girlfriend in middle school," he admitted, because it was easier to deflect to his really bad poetry rather than the stuff he'd put a lot of effort into. Not that he hadn't put effort into the poem at the time, but well, he was thirteen. "But the rest of it is just... It was angsty teenager stuff. I haven't written anything serious in a really long time."

Azrael's praise, even if it was joking, made his face heat up even more.

"If you're gonna say I'm your favourite poet, I'll have to lend you some of my poetry collections. There's a lot of underground magazines and whatnot in the city that have some really good work. Monica Marlin, for example, is this really awesome poet from Brooklyn. You should check out her work, it's great."

He could feel himself smiling as he spoke, even though he was still flustered and he wasn't really trying to. He hadn't spoken about poetry with anyone but Wade in a really long time.

But then it all came crashing down, and he immediately felt concern fill him.

This wasn't normal. Normal people didn't act like this, sending drinks to women at bars and making them freak out like this.

He was silent as Thea panicked, and then after a moment he got out of his side of the booth and scooted in next to Azrael and Thea. He put one hand over Azrael's and squeezed gently.

"Hey. It's ok. Right now, I'm here, and Thea's here, so you're safe," he said softly. "There are a ton of people in here, and I doubt this guy would do anything with everyone else around. Even if he does, you've got me here, and I'm pretty good at scaring off human stalkers."

He tried to smile reassuringly, but he didn't want to push it too far. He was already being a bit forward by touching her without permission, but it seemed like she could really use something grounding.

When she brought up his description, Lev felt his smile fading slightly. She was clearly terrified of this guy, and terrified for him and Thea as well. He hated that somebody had made her feel this way. He found himself frowning down at the table without meaning to, and he squeezed her hand again.

"Ok. So, there's a few ways we can handle this. Tell me if I'm being too bossy, but I have a few options for you. I or Thea can go home with you to your place tonight, so you're not alone. Thea, are you cool with that? Even if this guy doesn't try anything, you're clearly shaken up, and I don't really feel comfortable leaving you by yourself. We don't have to tell anyone, but since Thea and I know, we're going to try and help, ok? If you don't want us there, then if you have a family member or another friend, I would really like you to call them."

He did not look around the bar, though he really wanted to. If this stalker was trying to unnerve Azrael, then him giving a reaction would only make things worse.

"The other option is you can come home with me, so that this guy doesn't find out where you live if he doesn't already know. I live by myself, so my family isn't there. Thea, do you live with anyone?"

Sometimes a stalking victim would feel safer with a lot of people around, but sometimes it would only bring on guilt and worry.

Regardless, his mother had drilled him as a kid and a teenager that if one of his friends was in trouble, he should do his best to help. This wasn't an abusive relationship where helping could only make things worse, so he was going to help any way he could.

"Hey, you didn't do anything here. Whatever happened between you and this guy, I don't care. It's in the past. I am not going to judge you by things that happened in the past. But you just being here with us, you didn't do anything wrong. You were just living, which you have a right to do. Try not to beat yourself up over it. Now, did you want to alert security? We don't have to. If you want, we can stay here for a bit and continue our evening like nothing happened, or we can leave right now. It's up to you and how you feel safest. Whatever you decide, I'm on your side, ok?"

He managed a much more reassuring smile then, and even if he was a little nervous, he radiated confidence and stability. Azrael was a good person. She helped people, and even more importantly, she cared about her patients. She had helped him out on more than one occassion, and if he could help her in any way to return the favour, he would.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael wasn't sure what she had expected, but it wasn't this. It wasn't... support. It wasn't them sandwiching her protectively between them, because she was supposed to be protecting them.

Thea leaned against her, their arm looped through hers as Lev rested his hand on hers.

She laughed a little, the sound harsh to her own ears, when Lev said he could frighten human guys. Were this any other human guy, she would agree. But this particular human guy had tangled with the most dangerous vampires of the underworld and had lived to come after her. She doubted she could take him in a fair fight, and Lev was way too nice to fight dirty. Or, who knew. Maybe he could take him.

And then Lev said they would stay with her. Azrael hadn't even considered that. She should say no. She should really be pushing them both away and leaving and dealing with this problem on her own. Dragging them into this was only going to get them hurt. And if it didn't, they were going to find out. They were going to find out that she wasn't who she said she was. There was no way this would end well, and it might be better to spare them finding out they had allied with the wrong person.

"Yes, of course I'm cool with that," Thea said immediately, breaking Azrael's thoughts.

"No," Azrael said. "I can't ask you to do that."

"You're not asking, and I'm not sure I'll take no for an answer. I don't mind being bossy. Lev is the nice one, not me." Thea nodded at Lev's question. "Yeah, I have two roomies, but they'd be down to host us."

Azrael chuckled darkly. Of course Lev could say he wouldn't hold her past against her when he didn't know her past. He probably thought she and the creep had dated and she had dumped him but he was a creep and now he was stalking her. She almost wanted to tell them the much weirder truth because the thought of having dated him made her teeth itch.

She hadn't done anything wrong? Of course she had. She--A frown crossed Azrael's face. What had she done? She hadn't done anything. Well, there was the whole changing her name thing, but really she had just scrubbed her old name from the records and changed her birthdate, so it wasn't like she had run off with someone else's identity. She was the only Azrael Drake. She was hiding her species and that was illegal, but that was relatively minor, all things considered. She hadn't hurt anyone, and she had earned all her degrees with academic integrity under the name Azrael Drake. And to prove she wasn't Azrael Drake, he would have to get her parents to testify, and she had a hunch they would just shrug and said they'd never seen her in their life just to be contrary--if he could get them anywhere near a courthouse.

Of course, he didn't see it that way. But then the guy was obsessed. It really wasn't healthy. She knew a brilliant therapist. If she thought he might go, she'd refer him.

And she still didn't know why he was here. She was pretty sure he could have hunted her down at anytime. Her first year in New York had been an anxious one. But when he failed to show, she thought maybe he had decided to call a truce. But he was here now, and that was bad news either way.

She knew she should turn them down. Part of her wanted to get whatever this was over with. But the thought of returning to her empty apartment alone made her want to curl up in a ball. It might be better if she just didn't go home at all.

"No, I don't want him knowing where you live--either of you," she said finally. After a second she admitted, "But... I also don't really feel like being alone. And he already knows where I work, so it's only a matter of time before he follows me home. Thea, you don't have anything with your last name at the office, do you?"

Thea shook their head. "Just my lunchbox, but he's not going to break in, is he?"

Azrael shook her head, her thoughts distracted as she flicked through things he could possibly pin on either Lev or Thea. Aiding and abetting a known criminal, perhaps, but he wouldn't be able to pin it on them long enough to hold them for more than 24 hours. And she could always make a deal to plead guilty if he let them go--that would be what he was after, anyway.

After a second, she nodded to herself. He would try to avoid including them in this, initially. It might buy her some breathing room. And anyway, this wasn't fair.

"I don't want him to ruin this," she said. "This is the first night I've had in a long time that has been just... good. I would like to stay for a bit longer. I don't know if we can reclaim the earlier mood, but--and I also understand if you feel uncomfortable staying here because he is still here."

Thea shifted so that their chin was resting on Azrael's shoulder. Azrael tensed for a second, but forced herself to relax when she remembered that this was just Thea, and they didn't know not to get close to her neck.

"And then we'll come home with you?" Thea asked, though it sounded more like they were making sure she understood what was going to happen than asking permission.

"Yes," Azrael said, suddenly realizing she only had a couch to offer both of them. No, that was poor hospitality. She would take the floor. One could have the bed, the other could have the couch--it was a very comfortable couch, she fell asleep on it all the time. Yes, that would work.

"Great, so what I'm hearing is that we need some Lev poems to cheer us up. Get it? Lev poems." Thea grinned, and Azrael was proud of herself for not flinching away from their teeth.

Azrael eyed them. "You're fired."

"No, it sounds kinda like 'love', get it? I thought you liked puns."

"Not your puns. Your puns are terrible. And anyway, don't use this to guilt Lev into reading us his poems." Azrael hesitated. "I can't thank you enough. I really don't deserve this kindness."

Thea snorted. "I hate to be the one to tell you this, Doc, but you're a really shitty mean person. I know you think you're this super grumpy dark mean person, but Lev and I see right through you. You visited Mr. X in the hospital after his surgery to check on him and you hate that guy."

Azrael did not hate Mr. Xavier, but he was an ass. He was crotchety and rude and had refused to follow her advice which had landed him in the ER which had resulted in emergency surgery. She had gone to give him an I-told-you-so frown, but she had also pulled a few strings to make sure he had been well-cared for.

"I'm a doctor," Azrael muttered.

"Exactly. You deserve the same treatment you give everyone, so shut-up and let us love you."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev stiffened when Azrael said that it was only a matter of time before the guy followed her home.

Nobody should have to live in fear in their own home. Homes were sacred safe spaces, and the idea that somebody would hang out around Azrael's place to make her uncomfortable made him angrier than anything else. He ground his teeth, but he tried not to let his frustration show on his face.

He was pretty sure that if he ever met this guy, he'd beat him to death.

"We won't let him ruin the night," he said, smiling softly. "But considering the mood of things, I think it's good if we don't drink too much. However, this place has some pretty decent appetizers. It's not even bar food, it's like, all classy. I'll buy if you guys want anything."

He remembered the first time Wade had taken him here, and the way that his eyes had boggled at the food prices. But it was at least worth the money, and he didn't mind treating the two of them to make things feel lighter.

Thea, however, brought up his poetry again, and he groaned. He should never have mentioned it.

"It's really not that good," he said. "I haven't written anything in years. I don't want you guys getting your hopes up here."

The idea of showing his work to someone, even someone he trusted, made his stomach flip in loops. Showing people got his hopes up that they would like it. It had taken years for the disappointment of not being anything special to dull down to an ache that was ignorable rather than a sharp pain. Having people read his work again was risking having that pain act up again, even if he didn't think Azrael of Thea would judge him.

It was weird, having a passion that hurt you.

But he didn't want to make this about him, so he kept his tone light, at least until Azrael said she didn't deserve this. He frowned, then let go of her hand to gently flick her forehead.

"Hey. Don't say stuff like that. Everybody deserves to have somebody care about them. It doesn't matter how you see yourself, or whatever story you have hidden away. You do deserve this. You're probably the only doctor in this city I'm not afraid to go to for anything, because I know you won't judge me. So don't be too hard on yourself, ok?"

He smiled reassuringly, then looked up as the door opened and he spotted a very familiar face.

Wade did not look good. Lev froze when he took in the sight of him, his cheeks flushed from the cold outside. His jacket was nowhere near heavy enough, and the thin cotton scarf around his neck did nothing for the January chill. His hair was a bit messier than usual, and he wasn't wearing his glasses, so the dark circles and the red rim under his eyes was more obvious.

At first Lev thought he was looking for him, and he was caught between being there for one friend and being there for another. But he didn't even seem to notice their booth as he headed to the bar and struck up a conversation with the bartender.

At first Lev was afraid that he was going to get drunk, and he would have to leave Azrael with Thea to take care of him, but rather than ordering anything he was invited into a back room. A moment later he returned, his coat gone. He was wearing a dark red cable-knit sweater that Lev knew he had gotten from his mom for his twenty-fifth birthday. He had confided that it made him feel better when he was down, something about how it smelled like home no matter how many times he washed it.

Lev felt himself stiffen up, because Wade had texted him earlier and he knew that something was up. But he had wanted to have a night off, and he had shut him down.

The band finished their song, and Wade and the bartender headed over to them. There was a short conversation, and then the piano player relinquished his seat. Wade sat down in his place, looking far more serious and morose than he usually did, and stretched out his hands.

The band did not seem surprised by his interruption, and neither did the singer. In fact, she leaned over to whisper something in his ear, and winked as she squeezed his shoulder. He gave her a far smaller smile than usual, and the band began to play again.

Wade led them into a soft arrangement of 'Fly me to the moon'. Despite the previous pianist clearly being the band's regular, Wade played with them as well or better.

A few heads had turned from the bar, and Lev swallowed as he glanced at Thea.

"Hey," he said quietly, as though speaking too loudly would be inappropriate. "Can I ask you not to tell the folks at work about this?"

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael nodded, agreeing. Alcohol was the last thing they all needed. She had already started redirecting as much blood towards her liver as possible to clean the alcohol from it. She almost protested when Lev offered to buy them all food. She was pretty sure she made more than him, and she had recently paid off all her loans. But she stopped herself, thinking that maybe she should let him do something kind for her.

Thea had already grabbed the menu and was perusing the options. The doc didn't eat many carbs, so they looked for something more protein-based.

Azrael nudged Thea, who was still curled up against her, despite their attention being on the menu. "Leave Lev alone. If he doesn't want to share, he doesn't have to."

Thea grunted. "I think beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Mr. Choi. We will be the judges of whether they're good or not."

"No, we won't," Azrael said. "Art in and of itself has value. If it's meaningful to Lev, it's good and that's all that matters."

Though, Azrael would very much like to hear Lev's poetry, she figured she would have to build up some trust before he would let her read or listen to his poetry.

Thea quickly became distracted by the desserts on the menu. They had a lava cake. A lava cake.

Azrael was not expecting to be flicked and so blinked at Lev in surprise and confusion. She felt her cheeks warming when he said everyone deserved some caring about them. She disagreed. Of course family cared about you. They sort of had to, even if you disagreed with them. She knew if she dropped everything and returned to her parents, they would welcome her back with open arms. But friends were different. You had to earn friends. And she really didn't think she had earned Lev's or Thea's friendship.

And of course she didn't judge people--well, she did judge them, but that never affected her care of them. Her job was to heal people, not to judge them for what was going on. She would fuss at them, certainly, but she wouldn't turn them away because they had done something stupid to get themselves in that situation. Anyone who thought otherwise needed to go into clinical research and not interact with people at all.

But when Lev's attention shifted, she followed his gaze, sensing the sudden change in his focus. Oh. Oh, no. Wade Harper didn't look good at all. Out of habit, she checked his heart rate and general blood flow.

As he made his way to the bar, some small part of her hoped he would get drunk. Then Lev would want to help him, and she would have an excuse to help him. She could focus on caring for someone instead of wallowing in her own problems. Wade could even join the sleepover she was apparently hosting and she could make sure he kept water down and fuss at him for his alcohol intake.

But he didn't do that. Instead, he sat down at the piano. Azrael had no idea he played. Granted, she only knew what Thea and the receptionists knew about Wade Harper--which was not much. But not only did he play, he was good. Azrael found herself focusing on the music, letting it prickle across her skin.

Thea looked up from the menu, sensing the sudden quiet in their companions. They followed their gaze to the piano and blinked. "Is that Wade Harper? Dang, does everyone have secret artist sides?"

They turned to Lev as he addressed them. They almost protested. This was prime material, right here. But they hadn't mentioned the air freshener incident--what happened in the clinic was HIPPA protected, Azrael had reminded them. Apparently that included what happened in the waiting room, not just in the exam rooms. But Thea also refused to gossip about Dr. Drake. Anytime she came up, Thea deflected questions. They were the main reason there were not many rumors about Azrael being anything other than human. But it looked like Lev was getting added to the do-not-gossip list, so they supposed they might as well add Wade Harper. At least his piano playing. If he picked a fight and then threw up into another plant at the next company party, they were not keeping that quiet.

Matching his volume, they nodded. "Right, rule number one of fang gang, don't talk about fang gang."

Azrael frowned at them. "'Fang gang'? Thea, not all of us have fangs."

"Everyone's a critic," Thea huffed. "Look, I've been trying to come up with a friend group name all night. That's as far as I've got." They craned their neck. "Think Wade Harper wants to join fang gang?"

Azrael made a mental note to convince Thea that was not a good friend group name. But right now, there were more important problems. She had only spoken to Wade Harper once, when she was trying to break up a fight in her office. But Lev cared about him, so that was all she needed to know. The creepy detective nearly entirely forgotten, she glanced at Lev and quietly asked, "Is he alright? We can have him join us."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

"I think I'm the only one here who has fangs," Lev pointed out, one eyebrow rising as he glanced between Thea and Azrael, his lips quirking into a smirk. "But I could be wrong."

He was glad the conversation had shifted from his poetry, though Azrael saying that it was meaningful as long as it had meaning to him made him flush. His mom said that sort of thing all the time. Wade said that it was good, and other people were just idiots. But Wade was Wade, and Lev couldn't exactly disagree with him.

Speaking of, Lev wondered on Thea's question. It wasn't as though Wade didn't have friends. He had quite a few of them at the office, but it was rare for him to actually open up to someone. He cared for his employees, and he was personable and over the top enough that most people didn't realize he kept most people at arms' reach. Sure, he'd spend time together, and talk about surface level things, but it was rare that he actually relied on people.

It would probably do him some good to rely on people more.

Lev was somebody he relied on. He was feeling terrible that he had ignored him earlier, and he was feeling torn when Azrael suggested that Wade join them.

It was an easy solution. Lev wasn't entirely sure that Wade would be comfortable with two strangers, but Lev didn't really want to end his night with Azrael and Thea yet.

"He might," he said, to both Thea and Azrael. "He'll probably play a few more songs first, though."

Wade had told Lev once that performing was how he managed when depression caught up to him. It took his mind off of things, and he was able to just exist in the moment. Knowing that people were enjoying his music gave him the strength to keep going, and kept the darkness at bay.

He'd played for Lev a few times. He was an excellent pianist, but the melancholy of his music was a stark contrast to his usual personality.

Fly me to the moon finished, and the band led into another song. Lev eyed the menu, and then took their order to the bar. By the time he returned with their food, the band had finished another two songs, and some of the tension from Wade's shoulders had relaxed a bit. He opened his eyes and a few of the patrons at the bar clapped. He smiled, far more subdued than normal, though he froze when he saw Lev at the bar.

His face turned bright red, like he had been caught doing something bad, but Lev waved him over to the table anyways.

The colour of his face went even redder when he saw that Lev wasn't alone. It was only a few days ago he'd gotten into a fight with Percival in Dr. Drake's office, so he recognized her. The assistant he recognized as well, though he had no idea what their name was.

"Lev," he said, then cleared his throat so he didn't sound quite so gravelly. "I, uh, didn't know this was where you were having drinks."

Lev ushered him into the booth opposite Thea, and then sat down beside him so he couldn't escape.

"Yeah, Azrael and Thea and I decided to come by. It's a nice place," he said, and Wade nodded, drumming his fingers on the table nervously.

It was a bit embarrassing to be caught by folks from the office when he was so off like this. He didn't have the energy to pull up his usual boisterousness, and he was sure that he was leaving a bad impression.

Wade Harper was a person he had crafted lovingly over years and years. He had decided who he wanted to be and made himself into that person, and he was happy that way. Having people see that he couldn't be like that all the time was embarrassing.

 

[Reynarda]

Thea split their lips into a grin to show off their fangless teeth when Lev pointed out he was probably the only one with fangs. Azrael supposed she was supposed to do the same thing, but that obviously would not have the same result, so she just rolled her eyes dramatically.

"See, Thea, it doesn't work."

Thea humphed and pointed to the menu. "You like calamari, right? Let's get some of that."

Once Thea had carefully instructed Lev in what they wanted and he left, Azrael closed her eyes and searched for the detective. He was still there, and she could practically feel his annoyance that his scare tactic hadn't worked. She didn't think he'd given up--he had once threatened her from a hospital bed, so he wasn't lacking in tenacity--but at least he was having to figure something else out.

"Whatcha doin' Doc?" Thea whispered.

"Thinking," Azrael said.

"'Kay," Thea said. "Oh! Food!"

Azrael opened her eyes and smiled politely at Wade. "Mr. Harper, your playing was lovely."

Thea snatched a spoon and handed another to Azrael. "Um, it was amazing!" Wade had that exhausted look on his face and a look in his eyes that they recognized, so they launched into a barrage of questions. "Did you take lessons? How long have you been playing? Do you have magic fingers because that was like... I know angels play harps or whatever, but like, if they played pianos, that's what it'd sound like. Here, try this lava cake, it's so good. Doc, try some."

Azrael glanced at the spoon in her hand. "Honestly, I'm enjoying watching you chase that one piece around the plate."

"Wow, stop being a jerk and help me then."

Azrael put her spoon down to trap the bit of cake Thea had been struggling with. But instead of scooping it up, they pushed it onto her spoon. "Hey, no, it's probably too rich."

"Eat it," Thea commanded. "Or else you're fired. You like chocolate, don't lie to me. You guzzled that mocha I brought you."

Dutifully, Azrael put it in her mouth. It was good. It was incredibly rich and she was wishing she had some coffee, but it was good.

"See," Thea said triumphantly.

"I can feel my teeth rotting out of my head."

"Oh, shut-up, you've never had a cavity in your life." Thea smirked as Azrael took another bite. "See, the lady likes the cake, gents. Try the calamari."

Azrael did as instructed, searching for a topic that would put Wade at ease. "What is your favorite sort of music to play, Mr. Harper?"

"We're not being formal, Doc," Thea said through a mouthful of cake.

"And yet you still call me 'Doc'."

"Uh, 'cause that's your name. Duh." Thea stole a bite of calamari. "Oh, and you don't have to worry, Wade, we won't tell anyone you're secretly a music person. We all have secrets here. I'm secretly a merperson, Lev is secretly a poetry person, and the Doc is secretly a nice person."

"Only one of those things is true," Azrael told Wade.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade's face flushed even further as Thea continued to compliment him, and he cleared his throat in an attempt to make up for some of his lost bravado.

"Oh, uh. Yeah. Lessons. Started when I was around... five, I think?" he said, leaning back in the booth and trying to relax. By the tenseness in his legs, he was having a bit of a hard time. "It's not-- I mean, I don't play professionally or nothin'. Just, I know the owner here, and she lets me come by and play sometimes when it's not too busy."

Clara had been begging him to come by more often, but the piano was therapeutic. It was something he loved, but it was tied up in so many bad memories that he couldn't imagine performing every weekend. She, at least, understood. They had gone to middle and high school together (apparently, though he hadn't actually talked to her until college) and she was one of few people still in his life who knew most of his whole story. When she opened up the club a few years ago, she had invited him to always come and play whenever he felt like he needed it. It was an offer he appreciated a lot.

"The food here's great," he said once the spotlight was off of him, and Lev had discreetly snuck a hand down to reassuringly squeeze his knee. "The chef is this really cool guy from, like, Pakistan, I think? The menu here's mostly western food, but some nights Clara lets him go wild. If you want to try good food, you should come down then. It's kinda random when it happens, though, so I guess you can't really plan for it."

Lev could feel some of the tension in his shoulders relax a bit as Wade seemed to slowly brighten up. He was still about half as energetic as he usually was, but at least it was better than before. He was talking to people he didn't know well, and he wasn't offending anyone yet. That was a good thing.

He even smiled when Azrael asked him about music, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck.

"Jazz mostly. I used to do a lot of classical, but the atmosphere for that isn't as good. It's too stuffy, yanno?" Classical was harder to divorce from memories. His mother had always played it when she was stressed or angry. He supposed that was where he had gotten the habit. Lev noticed he was on the verge of going down again, so he lifted his hand to steal some of the calamari from the serving plate in front of them.

"By the way, because I know you won't remember, this is Azrael and Thea," he said, pointing to each in turn. Wade huffed, but he actually hadn't remembered, so it was good to have the reminder.

"Yeah, yeah. I know who you are. Faces are more important than names," he argued, then finally snuck a small piece of food for himself. "I hope I'm not crashing some kind of fancy date night or nothing."

Lev glared at him, but Wade just shrugged his shoulders innocently. He wanted to point out that there were three of them there, but that might break Wade's streak of 'not offending anybody'.

Thea's bold claims of merpersonhood and Azrael's being a good person were immediately brushed aside for the main tidbit that Wade got from that statement, and his eyes went wide as he turned to Lev.

"You told them about the poetry?" He asked, the corners of his mouth twitching up. Lev groaned, because of COURSE Thea would mention that. At least it seemed to brighten Wade's mood. "Lev's great at poetry. Back when I was in high school, my mom was trying to get me to read all these fancy literary magazines, you know? Because it's cultured and all that stuff. And most of it was kind of pretentious crap, but there was this one piece that was really good. 'Outside of the Window by Lev Choi'. I loved it so much, I cut it out of the magazine. I'm pretty sure I still have it in a box at home. Well, my mom's house."

He was clearly proud and excited as he spoke, and Lev's face reddened as he groaned.

"It didn't even win," he pointed out, and Wade swatted him on the shoulder.

"Yeah, 'cause people are stupid. It was good. That's kind of how we met, actually. When I saw his name on the company roster I got really excited."

Lev couldn't help but smile at that memory. He had been working his job for five years without any sign of advancement, when the new hire for his department had aggressively slammed his hands on his desk during lunch and demanded to know his name. It had honestly scared him more than anything, but Wade had gone on about how he loved his work, and Lev felt like he had stepped into another dimension.

It was weird, having someone truly appreciate his poetry. To know his writing had a positive impact on somebody's life.

He and Wade hadn't become best friends right that minute, but it had been a nice first step.

 

[Reynarda]

"Five!" Thea gasped, then started choking as they inhaled cake.

Azrael patted them on the back until they coughed it up.

They took a drink of water then leaned forwards. "Ok, but have you considered that maybe programing isn't your true calling?"

"Thea," Azrael sighed. If Wade couldn't remember Thea's name at the end of the night, it would not be because she hadn't said it enough times, she thought wryly. "Have you considered a BSN is your true calling?"

"No, ugh."

"I'd help you."

Thea gestured at Azrael. "See what I have to put up with? Always pushing me to better myself." They raised their eyebrows. "You sure you want in on this, Lev? She's going to start nagging you to publish your poetry or something."

"That is not true," Azrael protested. "I just--You realize I could double your pay if you got a bachelor's?"

"Boo," Thea said. "Studying sucks." But at the mention of food, they were leaning towards Wade again. "Pakistani food? People, we have to go. Is there like an alert or something? Do they send up a bat signal? How would we know?"

"Oh, no, not at all," Azrael said when Wade seemed concerned he was crashing a date.

"I'm the wingperson," Thea informed him with a wink.

Azrael sighed when Wade easily figured out which of those things was the true statement.

"Of course he told us! We are the fang gang. Want to join? Fangs are not actually required." Thea paused, then a sly smirk spread across their face. "But, you know, Lev won't read us his poetry. A little rude that you've read some but we haven't."

"Thea!" Azrael scolded.

"Wait, it didn't win? Why, are people stupid?" Thea demanded, sounding personally offended.

"I don't really see why it not winning matters," Azrael said with a small shrug. "Just because a few judges liked a different one better, that doesn't mean it isn't amazing. Heck, the Metropolitan Museum of Art has a whole room of abstract art, which I personally think looks like an inebriated primate made. But it's in a museum, so someone thought it was meaningful. Art is subjective. Whether or not it won a contest is inconsequential."

"Yeah, and didn't it like... still get put in a magazine? That's like, huge. I mean, you're published and everything." Thea stole more calamari. "Wait, if it's in a magazine, then we can read it and Lev can't say no. Which magazine, Wade? C'mon, spill."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

“My mom used to play,” Wade said by way of explanation. He sounded kind of nostalgic, though, and a second later he realized how that sounded. “Uh, she’s not dead or anything. She just has carpal tunnel and says playing the piano is annoying now. But we played together a lot growing up.”

The piano had been one of his few refuges back in that house, and he figured the same was true for her. His father always had opinions on how she was raising him, and how no matter what she did, she wasn’t doing it right.

“Studying doesn’t suck, school sucks,” he argued, and Lev laughed.

“Wade pretty much taught himself most of what he knows, and spent his time at school arguing with the lecturers, from what I hear,” he said in a stage whisper, and Wade gently thwacked him again.

“Anyways, Clara usually calls or texts me when they have special kitchen days. I’ll pop down into the clinic and let you know, if you want,” he suggested.

As soon as Thea mentioned being a wing person, though, he grinned wolfishly.

“Ah, I see. Well, if you need someone to hype Lev up for ya, I’m here now,” he said, and Lev groaned.

“Don’t be a pain,” he grumbled, but he was glad that Wade seemed to be relaxing. He might even actually be enjoying himself. It was nice, after how he’d looked earlier.

He wrinkled his nose at the mention of the group name.

“Fang gang?” He asked, clearly not a fan. Fangs made him think of Percival, and that only made him scowl. “Nobody here is even a vampire.”

Lev raised his eyebrows, then opened his mouth and tapped his canine tooth.

“You don’t need to be a vampire to have fangs,” he pointed out, and Wade rolled his eyes.

“You’ve got tiny baby fangs, those don’t even count,” he teased and Lev flicked him in the shoulder.

He hesitated for a second when Thea once again asked to read his poetry, and then both they and Azrael went on to talk about how his art was meaningful regardless of winning or not.

“I mean… I know that, I guess,” he said, scratching the back of his neck. “But still. It was just a small magazine, you know? There were like five runners up.”

Wade gave him that look like he was being stupid again, and he leaned over to ruffle Lev’s hair.

“My lips are sealed for the moment. If Lev doesn’t want people to read his stuff, I wouldn’t be a good friend if I showed you guys anyways. But maybe one day he’ll cave and realize he really is talented,” he said with a grin, and once again Lev’s face went red.

Wade was always a physically affectionate guy. He liked to hug, and when they were hanging out together it wasn’t rare for Wade to lean on Lev, or throw an arm around his shoulders.

It had led to a few little misunderstandings, like when Lev’s aunt was visiting and immediately pegged Wade as a secret boyfriend. It had taken several awkward conversations about acceptance before Lev was able to convince her that no, he really was straight, Wade was just Wade.

Lev wondered for a brief moment if there would be misunderstandings now, but he didn’t have the heart to push Wade away.

“Maybe one day,” he said finally. “But, it’s just. It’s kind of… personal, you know? Or, I guess, it’s more embarrassing than anything.”

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael had opened her mouth to offer words of condolence when Wade explained the woman was not, in fact, dead. She closed her mouth. That was good. "You two must have been close."

"Yes, school sucks!" Thea agreed eagerly. "Wait, if Wade is self-taught, can I be self-taught?"

"Absolutely not. The medical world does not work that way."

Thea eyed her. "You told me you taught yourself most of the treatments you use for non-humans."

Azrael arched an eyebrow. "Tell you what, you go through eleven years of advanced schooling and I'll let you spend hours and hours teaching yourself how to treat people that weren't discussed in your classes. How does that sound?"

"That's not fair," Thea grumbled.

"No, it isn't," Azrael agreed.

Thea let out a small squeal when Wade offered to let them know when there would be Pakistani food. "Yes! Come tell us! We will be there!"

They returned Wade's grin. "I think Lev's doing a pretty good job of that, himself. Honestly, Doc might need more help than Lev."

That grin disappeared when Wade insulted their name choice. Thea scowled. "How do you know I'm not a vampire, pretty boy?"

Azrael had almost choked on her water when Wade said there were no vampires here, but now she really did choke on her water. "I'm pretty sure you would make any vampire's eyes bleed, Thea."

"Yeah, well, you wear enough black to be a vampire." Thea leaned towards Azrael and squinted at her thoughtfully.

Azrael leaned back, suddenly worried.

"Nope!" Thea declared, making Azrael jump. "Not a vampire, just emo. No widow's peak."

"That's a stereotype!" Azrael protested, her voice offended. "And I am not emo."

"And anyway, her eyes aren't bleeding." They were currently thinking more along the lines of dark elf or something, anyway. Thea scowled at Wade. "Well you come up with a better name, piano man. And don't insult Lev's baby fangs. Doc thinks they're cute."

Azrael opened her mouth to protest that she did not think that but paused. Was that insulting so say she didn't think his fangs were cute? Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Thea taking a deep breath to tease her. "Wade is being unkind, Lev's baby fangs are very charming."

"See?" Thea said with a huge grin.

Fortunately they were distracted by Lev being hard on himself. "But clearly they thought you were better than other people, so." Their face soured when Wade refused to spill. "What? No! Traitor! We're voting you off the island."

"Thea," Azrael said. "We will just eagerly wait for they day that Lev realizes his talent."

Thea looked between Wade and Lev and wondered if maybe Wade had a crush on Lev. Nah. Then he'd be glaring daggers at Azrael. Probably like how Percival Fairweather glared at Lev. They chuckled to themself at that comparison.

"We understand it's personal," Azrael said. "Don't we, Thea."

"Ugh, fine," Thea said. They grinned at Lev. "Don't let the Doc fool you. She wants to read your poetry just as much as I do. And she has ways of getting what she wants."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

The edges of Wade's mouth softened a little bit when Azrael said he and his mother must have been close. They really were; in a lot of ways, when he was growing up they only had each other. Sure, there was the fancy house and the expensive clothes and the wealth of social events. Wade had no illusions that he wasn't privileged, now or as a kid. But privilege could only make up for so much.

His father hated Wade's interest in music. It wasn't sufficiently masculine, and it gave a frivolous impression. He hated Wade's interest in poetry and literature for the same reason. He had balked when his son asked for art lessons as a child, and punished him severely for seeking physical affection. A man had to be strong and self-sufficient. Relying on others was weakness. Friendships were never actually true, he had said while ripping up an invitation to his classmate's birthday party when he was in fifth grade. It was all give and take, and there was no point on wasting time with somebody who had nothing to give.

If his mother hadn't been there, he had no idea how he would have turned out. Thinking about it made his stomach sick.

"Yeah, we were close," he said softly. "But, well, I wanted to move and she didn't, so we don't see each other as often now."

His mother had stayed behind in Washington while he had abandoned his old name and life for something new. She was left to deal with the fallout from her husband's laundry list of faults, while Wade got away all but scot free. He felt guilty about it most days, and he made sure to send her a generous portion of his paycheck every two weeks as an apology for not being there.

At least Thea had a way of making the mood cheerful again.

"I think you have to be more rich and pretentious to be a vampire, and I'm not pretty," he said dryly, and Lev rolled his eyes.

"Now that is a stereotype. How would every single vampire be rich?" he teased, and Wade shrugged.

"I don't know, it's just the feel of it all. Big old castles and old money and stuff," he grumbled.

Like Percival, but he couldn't actually say that out loud.

"Anyways, you don't have the vibe. It's very specific." He waved one hand, and Lev rolled his eyes once more.

"Don't mind him, he almost failed the sensitivity training HR put him through. Three times," he said, and Wade elbowed him.

It was a good thing, because it gave him a reason he choked on his calamari when Azrael said his fangs were cute. Oh no, she was being really nice. She was also clearly in a really vulnerable place right now, so he shouldn't take advantage of that. But he had a feeling he was going to end up liking her.

More than the normal amount.

"See? Everyone thinks you're good," Wade said, slinging his arm around Lev's shoulder and laughing. Lev, who was used to this, just snorted through his nose.

"Well, you're the only one who's actually read it," he countered, then leaned forward to rest his chin on his arms on the table. "Maybe, if you still want to read it by the next quarterly party, I'll bring some."

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael nodded. She understood having to move away from family to pursue what one wanted to do.

"Well, that rules me out," Azrael said, more than enjoying using typical vampire stereotypes to prove she was not, in fact, a vampire.

"Eh, one outa two," Thea said.

Azrael arched an eyebrow. "Are you saying I'm pretentious?"

Thea considered. Pretentious wasn't the right word, and neither was arrogant. "Nah. You are aloof, though."

"That's different. And I live in an apartment, not a castle." She did wince a little inwardly when she thought of her childhood home. It had been based on a Eastern European castle.

"How do you know I don't have the vibe?" Thea demanded. "How many vampires do you know?"

"How many vampires do you know?" Azrael countered.

Thea paused. They treated several vampires at the clinic, and they were pretty sure one of the "delivery" guys was actually a blood distributor as the Doc always went through and cleaned out the expired donor blood before he showed up. But they didn't think any of them were openly vampires. They had only guessed because they had gotten used to the sorts of diagnosis codes the Doc chose to use.

"Not a lot," they decided after a moment.

"Most of them are not rich," Azrael agreed with Lev. "Those that are are from old families, and a lot of those were killed off in the vampire hunts centuries ago."

"I'm pretty sure the Doc's a vampire fangirl," Thea confided in a stage whisper. "She knows a whole lot about vampires, like whether or not they go to the bathroom."

Azrael rubbed her forehead. That particular conversation had been extremely weird. "Because--do you know how hard vampires are to treat? They don't get a lot of illnesses, but treating an infection in a vampire is a nightmare. They rely heavily on their gut microbiome to process a lot of the nutrients they just don't have enzymes for and make vitamins as well as keeping them safe from most blood-borne illnesses, but just about every antibiotic on the market decimates their microbiome. Then you get a vampire who can't process nutrients and many of those bacteria are rare or almost only found in the vampire gut and that can destroy their entire life."

Azrael actually kept some of the bacteria cultured on plates in her lab. They were difficult to maintain, but it could save her patient's sanity. The real difficulty was getting enough in them that would survive the journey to the large intestine. But it had saved one of her patients after a nasty bout of Staphylococcus vampirii had gone septic and she'd had no choice but to use a harsh antibiotic to save his life. She then had given him a mixture of encysted bacteria to hopefully populate his microbiome, and it had worked. She had since used the treatment with varying levels of success. It definitely was not FDA approved and she could get in big trouble if they ever caught her, but she had sent her findings to several other doctors who treated vampires and they were also using the treatment. They had been a little horrified of where she had obtained the original colonies of the rare bacteria, but Azrael was not ashamed of what she had done.

"Ugh, not poop germs again," Thea groaned. They had been given an entire lecture about the vampire gut microbiome and they regretted asking if vampires ate yogurt So. Much. "Nobody here cares about poop germs, Doc."

"Thea, medical professionals do not use the word 'germs' when referring to non-pathogenic bacteria."

"This one does." Thea smirked at Azrael's exasperation. They only used the word "germs" because they knew it drove her batty.

Azrael hummed. "I get the sense that if Wade likes your poetry, it is probably pretty good," she said. "He does not seem the type to like poetry purely for it's literary merit. It must have really resonated with him."

"Fine," Thea groaned, punctuating this by sliding dramatically down in the booth. "But spoiler warning, foxy boy, we will still want to read it."

"And Thea does not forget things," Azrael added.

"Thea does NOT forget things," Thea agreed.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Wade opened his mouth, then closed it again. He could give the proper answer, which was one full-blooded vampire and one half-blood. But that was kind of a secret, so he couldn't exactly say that.

"I know... some," he muttered noncomittally. "It doesn't matter. There's a vibe, and you don't have it. Trust me."

Lev elbowed him, but he stuck to his guns on that one. Although he scrunched up his nose when Azrael said that vampires rarely got sick. Percival had gotten ill a lot in school. He was anemic or something, the nurse had said.

"I thought vampires got sick easy," he said, a frown on his face. "Like, with colds and stuff. Isn't that an infection? Wait, no, don't explain it to me. I probably won't get it."

He sighed and stretched, cracking his knuckles.

"I always thought the sunlight myth thing was weird, because, like, don't vampires get cold easily, or something? I read that somewhere," he added quickly to make himself look less suspicious. "I don't know why they wouldn't just all want to live in the south."

He almost snickered at poop germs, and Lev huffed.

"You're like twelve years old," he chastised, but at least Wade had cheered up.

Until a small group exited the hallway leading into the back private rooms, at least.

The Fairweather family was not small by any means, but Wade had learned from Percival that family gatherings usually only included Percival, his sister, his brother, and their parents. Four out of the five were there in the hallway now. Percival trailed behind Normandy and his mother, with his father in front of them. It was clear where he had gotten his looks from; while Normandy was the spitting image of their mother, Percival took after his father more.

Charles Fairweather looked good for his age; he looked to be in his mid fifties, his blond hair whitening around his temples. There were lines around his mouth and brow from age and the constant stern expression he wore, though he managed to look handsome in spite of them. He matched his wife and children, all attractive and beautiful and rich.

Wade immediately stopped talking, his gaze locked on the hallway, and Lev trailed off in his half-hearted defense of his poetry to focus on his friend.

Wade was not a particularly calm person. He got angry a lot, and Lev had seen his anger a lot in the office. Sometimes it was insignificant, and sometimes it was furious. But he had never seen Wade Harper look as angry and hateful as he did when his eyes set on the Fairweather patriarch and company founder.

Wade was shaking. Lev frowned, and he tried to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly, but Wade shoved him off. He never did that, and Lev was a bit worried. When Charles' eyes glanced over their table for a moment with no real interest, Lev felt Wade's entire body tense before he leapt to his feet.

Lev's half-finished drink spilled over into the Calamari, and Lev quickly grabbed Wade's wrist before he could storm across the bar and start a fight.

"You fucking--" Wade started, but he couldn't even get the words out through his fury. Percival took notice of him then, and the blood drained from his face as he stepped forward to cut him off.

"Mr Harper," he began, but broke off when he saw the look on Wade's face. Normandy and his mother looked bored and curious respectively, but Charles was looking at Wade like he was a particularly ugly insect.

"Do not-- Do not 'Mr Harper' me," Wade snapped, his voice cracking slightly. Lev looked to Thea and Azrael, because he had absolutely no idea what to do right now. "How dare you, how DARE you leak her location to that magazine, you sick bastard--"

"Wade," Percival said, stepping closer and putting a hand on his shoulder. Wade violently shrugged him off.

Charles sighed, like this was all very annoying, and finally turned his full attention on Wade.

"Mr 'Harper'," he said dryly, like he was speaking to a small and annoying child. "If you cannot avoid making a scene wherever you go, perhaps being in such a high class establishment is above you."

Wade ground his teeth so hard Percival and Lev could both hear it, and Percival took note of the vein popping out in the side of his neck.

"Father," Percival said, hoping he could defuse this situation, but Charles huffed.

"Percival, I agreed to hire that man as a favour to you," he said with a drawn out sigh. Wade looked like he had been slapped, and Percival immediately looked away from his face. "But I will not be accosted on my private time with my family. If you have an issue, Mr 'Harper', I suggest you bring it up with the police. If you continue to harass me and my family, I have no issue calling them myself."

He adjusted the sleeves of his coat, and didn't even spare Wade another glance before leaving the club. Lev was pretty sure that if he hadn't been holding onto him with all his strength, Wade would have run after the man and decked him.

Percival stood awkwardly in front of him, as if he wasn't quite sure what to do. Wade was breathing heavily and trembling, and Percival worried he was going to hyperventilate.

"Wade," he said softly, reaching out for him, but Wade shoved him back violently.

"Don't touch me," he snapped, wrenching his arm away from Lev and holding it close to his chest.

There were too many people in here. Everybody was staring at him. He didn't mind, usually, but right now he just wanted everyone around him to disappear. He drew in a shaking, rattling breath and shoved past Percival towards the back bar entrance.

Lev jumped to his feet, but hesitated. Azrael's stalker was still here. This night had kind of turned into a disaster and he didn't know how to fix it, but he didn't want to leave Azrael alone.

Lydia and Normandy were still by the door, and neither of them looked particularly sympathetic to Wade's plight.

"Percival, dear," his mother said, waving for him to follow her, but he hesitated.

"I'll be out in a minute," he said, and Normandy rolled her eyes with a dramatic huff as she pushed her fussing mother out the door.

It was then that Percival seemed to realize that Azrael, Thea and Lev were actually there. He opened his mouth to say something, but he wasn't actually sure what to say.

 

[Reynarda]

Azrael really, really wanted to ask Wade if she had this vampire "vibe", but she was quickly distracted by Wade's question. No, vampires did not get sick easily, hadn't she just said so? She opened her mouth to explain that, yes, a cold was a viral infection but then stopped. Vampires didn't get colds. Nor did they get cold easily. She nodded, agreeing with his confusion over the sunlight myth. Vampires really didn't handle UV light very well. She opened her mouth to say that the South was too bloody hot when she suddenly got it. A vampire who got cold easily. Oh silver. Azrael closed her mouth. Perhaps if they knew she was a vampire, she'd protest a little more, but as this was Percival's secret, she didn't feel the need.

Thea shot her a smirk when Wade appreciated their description of the gut microbiome, and Azrael rolled her eyes. But she got the feeling Wade didn't really care to hear that explained either.

Thea was fully prepared to launch into a diatribe to inform Lev just how much they would not forget when Wade went still. They turned to follow his gaze and their mouth dropped open.

Azrael had followed his gaze instantly but had quickly adverted her eyes and studied her drink so that her hair fell in her face. She didn't think her parents and Percival's father had crossed paths, but she wasn't taking any chances. Hopefully they would just walk past.

But then Wade's heartrate skyrocketed, and she could practically smell the epinephrine in his blood. She looked up, a concerned frown creasing her forehead, just in time for Wade to leap to his feet and start swearing at the Fairweather patriarch.

Not that Azrael blamed him, Charles Fairweather was exactly the sort of old money vampire she didn't care for.

She looked between Charles and Wade as Wade snarled at him. She had no idea who "she" was or what exactly Fairweather had done, but she was inclined to side with Wade. She didn't know him well, but Lev did, so that was enough. And anyway, Charles Fairweather was being a rich prick.

But all thoughts of sitting quietly in the booth and going unnoticed was shot to smithereens when Charles Fairweather insulted Wade. Her lip twisted away from her teeth, but she stopped herself from outright snarling at the other vampire just in time. If there were going to be a fight, she would make sure this human didn't get hurt. Her hand slid towards the pocket of her black duster where she kept a very sharp silver surgical scalpel--one of many she had stashed in various jackets and coats.

Azrael watched as Charles Fairweather left, her eyes never leaving the other vampire for a second. She didn't think he'd hurt Wade now, but she had no doubt Wade would be punished later for this somehow.

But then Wade was leaving, far too upset for her liking after apparently already being upset. When Lev hesitated, glancing back at her and Thea, she rose to her feet. Making a shooing motion, she said, "Go! We're right behind you. I think he needs his best friend right now. Don't worry about that idiot." She gestured vaguely in the direction of her stalker.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw he had already risen to his feet, and she wondered when he had stood. Oh, that idiot, had he thought she was about to murder the poor rich guy? If she had cut anyone with the scalpel it would have been herself. Honestly, the detective needed more hobbies.

"Come on, then, Percival," Azrael said with a sigh. She handed over her credit card and tapped her foot impatiently while the server ran it. "We'll follow after them in case Lev needs back up, but I think it's best if we let him try with Wade first."

"And then we're still going home with you, right?" Thea said. They had not missed the tall guy moving to follow them.

"Sure, I might need to stop and get an air mattress or three," Azrael said, snatching her card back and hurrying out once she judged they had given Lev enough of a head start.

"Ok, but what about the guy following us?" Thea asked, their tone a little more unsettled than Azrael liked.

"If he knows what's good for him," Azrael said, raising her voice so he could just barely hear her, "he'll leave us the silver alone or I'll undo all my hard work."

Behind her, the steps paused. Azrael smiled, gripping her scalpel tightly in her pocket.

"What?" Thea asked, glancing behind them.

Azrael gave them an angelic smile, but her eyes flashed red. "Hmm?"

The Doc only ever smiled like that when she was threatening someone, but Thea was having a hard time figuring out the threat.

 

[Mikotsuhime]

Lev hesitated for only a second more before he took off after Wade. This was going to be a right mess, and he was ticked at Percival for just standing there and letting his dad say things, but now wasn't the time to argue about it.

Percival, on the other hand, was stuck between whether he should follow Azrael or go to his mother like she expected. He looked between the doctor and the door a few times, before deciding that his mother could be angry with him just this once.

He didn't know exactly what his father had done, but he didn't doubt that Wade had a reason to be upset. Really, he just wished that his family would leave Wade alone. Sure, he was argumentative and crass, but they had hurt him enough already.

The fact that Lev was referred to as Wade's best friend felt like a knife in his chest already, and his mouth twisted.

"Is it alright if I..." he trailed off, unsure if he would actually be welcomed. But at least it looked like he wasn't not being welcomed. His parents had gone out the main exit, so at least by following Wade they were avoiding them.

He'd text his mother or Normandy later, and he was sure that everybody would be angry, but that was a problem for the future.

"You're being followed?" he asked, a frown coming to his face. He was curious, but he didn't have the same senses that Azrael had. The scents in the club were far too thick and layered for him to make anything out when he tasted the air, but he didn't notice anything especially dangerous. He imagined that for Azrael to be threatened, it would at least need to be by a werewolf or a minotaur, or some other fearsome beast of legend. Sensing nothing in the vicinity allowed him to relax a bit.



Finding Wade in the city when he did not want to be found was not an easy task. Lev tried catching his scent, but his humanoid form was limiting. He growled low in his chest, frustrated and angry with both Charles Fairweather and himself before he allowed his form to shift.

It wasn't a big change, at least. Not like a werewolf, or any of the other therianthropes who ripped their clothes to shreds when changing forms. Instead it was just like pulling his head out of the sand after it had been buried for too long. His vision sharpened, his eyesight enhancing as his ears shifted to the top of his head and grew far fluffier. The tail was annoying; he hadn't prepared for it, and it was squished awkwardly down his pants, but he barely paid attention to it.

He could catch Wade's scent now, and it gave him a heading to run after.

He found him a little over a block away, tucked into an alcove between buildings. He was shivering, having forgotten his coat back in the bar, and his face was red and blotchy. He wasn't crying, but Lev figured it was a very close thing.

He quickly shrugged off his own coat, making his footsteps loud and heavy as he approached.

"Wade," he said, his voice soft, but Wade still startled. He looked up at Lev in horror, but Lev wasn't judging him. Lev never judged him. Even when he'd only told him bits and pieces of the truth, Lev knew enough that he was certain that he could trust him.

But he had trusted people before, and they had still turned their backs on him.

"Wade," Lev said again, approaching slowly. "You're going to catch a cold."

When Wade didn't step back, he pulled his coat around his shoulders. Wade shivered, but the desperate urgency from before had gone. Instead he just felt hollow. He wished he had the energy to be angry again.

Lev was shorter than him, but he still felt himself lean against him, burying his face in his neck as he pulled him into a hug.

"He went after my mom," he choked, out, and Lev gently rubbed his back as he led him towards the brighter street. He appreciated Wade's desire for privacy, but he did not want to get mugged in a dark alleyway. "I think he was trying to hurt me. If he wants to punish me, he should come after me. My mom's a good person, she doesn't--"

He bit back something suspiciously close to a sob, and Lev made a soft, soothing noise as he softly stroked the back of his neck down to his shoulderblades. His mom used to do that for him when he was a kid. Luckily it seemed to help, as the tension slowly drained from Wade's body. He made soft hiccuping sounds, but Lev pretended not to notice.

"You're a good person, Wade," he said, and Wade laughed hollowly. If he was a good person he would have stayed with his mom to help her weather the storm created by his asshole of a father. But he didn't. His mom didn't blame him for it, but some days he blamed himself.

Lev let out a soft breath, looking up to take stock of where they were. It wasn't too far from the bar. Hopefully Azrael and Thea would be able to find them here.

 

[Reynarda]

Thea wasn't really sure if bringing the guy they were pretty sure Wade hated most in the world was the best idea, but they weren't really sure what to do with him. He seemed pretty upset and worried for Wade and the Doc had gestured him along with them, so they supposed it was fine.

"Yes, don't worry about it," Azrael said in answer to Percival's question. She doubted the stupid detective would approach now that there were five of them, but he was an idiot, so who knew?

When they stepped out of the back entrance, Azrael paused. Blast. She had hoped to catch sight of Lev, but he must have run faster than she had thought.

"Uh, which way did they go?" Thea asked. "Anyone here part bloodhound?"

Hand in her pocket, Azrael slid the small plastic sheath from her surgical scalpel and pressed the blade carefully into her wrist. It wasn't a complex spell and Lev had touched her, so this shouldn't take too much. As blood warmed her hand, she closed her eyes, waiting for the beacon to light up.

Everyone's cardiovascular system was unique. The blood moved differently inside blood vessels that followed an individual's personal map. She remembered being extremely confused by her anatomy and physiology textbook. It had laid out veins and arteries precisely as if everyone's blood vessels were in the same place.

There! She found Lev's unique vascular signature.

Clotting her own blood to stop the bleeding, Azrael turned and started off in what seemed like a random direction. Her hand was coated in blood now, but once she had used it, she wasn't able to pull it back into her body. So she kept her hand in her pocket. She walked quickly, following the signature.

Thea had no idea how the Doc knew which way to go, but they weren't questioning it. To their surprise, they came upon Lev and Wade in a few minutes.

Azrael heard the squeal bubbling up in Thea's mouth at the sight of Lev's ears and so elbowed them sharply in the side to cut it off. She motioned for the others to stay back and approached on light feet.

After a slight pause, she cleared her throat. "I don't know what's going on and I don't need to. But I'm a doctor and under no circumstances can I leave you out here to get sick. My place is about a subway stop away. We can take a cab. Let me get you warmed up and get some warm fluids into you."

Thea shook their head and leaned towards Percival. "Don't you just love how she uses her occupation as an excuse to be kind? I'm pretty sure if the jerk stalking her got hit by a car, she'd stay with him, keeping him stable until the paramedics arrived. Not because she's a good person, 'because she's a doctor'."

 

[Mikotsuhime]

(tw: mention of self harm)

Percival was very worried about it. If somebody was targetting his employee, that was obviously bad. But he was more concerned about Wade.

His chest tightened when they found him. His first instinct was to rush in and immediately take Wade home, but he had a feeling that would not be appreciated at the moment. Luckily Azrael gave him an out to stand there awkwardly next to Thea. he had very rarely spoken to them, so he wasn't quite sure of their personality. To say he found it a little jarring would be an understatement.

"She's being stalked?" he asked, surprise colouring his voice. It took balls to stalk a vampire. Whoever it was would be in for a rude awakening.


Wade did not startle when Azrael came close. Lev gave her a sort of helplessly apologetic look, and Wade cleared his throat as he reluctantly let go.

"Sorry about that, doc," he said, his voice scratchy and raw. "Didn't mean to ruin the evening like that."

Lev lightly thumped his shoulder.

"You didn't," he said firmly. "Getting to hear you play made the evening better."

Percival froze then, his eyes widening.

"You still play?" he asked, and Wade jumped as he finally registered his presence. His lip curled back into a snarl, but he didn't have the energy to be as aggressive as he usually was.

"Why are you here?" The suspicion was clear in his voice, and Percival fought the urge to take a step back.

"I was worried--"

"Bullshit. You don't worry about anyone but yourself," Wade snapped, his hands clenching tight to Lev's sleeve. He closed his eyes, breathing in deeply through his nose.

He didn't want to fight tonight. Azrael's offer of a warm house and a warm drink was tempting. Being by himself in his apartment was not an option. He had already been upset earlier, and now he was even MORE upset. Being alone right now would be stupid. He hadn't self harmed since college, and he did not want to start that horrible habit back up again.

Lev patted his upper arm, nodding to Azrael.

"We'll go," he said, giving Percival a curious and suspicious look. "The night's pretty much over anyways."

Percival, for his part, was not entirely sure if he was invited to this or not. But he found he didn't even much care.

"Were you drinking tonight?" he asked, and Wade laughed bitterly.

"Fuck off. Stop pretending to be nice, and go back to licking your daddy's boots," he snapped. Percival's back straightened and his eyes narrowed, the slightest hint of frustration showing on his face.

But he wasn't going to argue. Not in the middle of the street.

"I think a pot of tea would be good for all of us," he said to Azrael, ignoring the way Wade was bristling at him. "I'll get the cab."

 

[Reynarda]

Thea nodded wisely. "No idea why. Probably an old boy friend she dumped or something,"

Azrael rolled her eyes at Wade. "This isn't your fault, so I don't want to hear another word about it. And yes, Lev is correct. Your playing was delightful." She glanced between Percival and Wade as they began to argue. "None of that at my apartment or I will sedate the both of you."

Wade seemed like the kind of person who needed to be bullied a little, and she bullied Percival all the time.

"Over?" Thea echoed Lev with a grin. "Um, we just all got invited to Azrael Drake, MD's apartment. That's huge."

"About that," Azrael said, frowning as she tried to remember what state she had left her apartment in.

"Yeah, but when was the last time you invited someone over?" Thea asked.

The answer was "never", but Azrael thought admitting that might be more questions than it was worth. Even now she wasn't really sure why she had done it. But Wade should not be alone, Lev wanted to be with him, Thea wanted to be with all of them, she wanted to be around people, and Percival--Well. She felt bad for him. She wasn't really sure what she thought dragging him along would achieve, but she didn't want to leave him either.

Once Percival had gotten them a large cab, Azrael gave the driver the address of her apartment building. It was a modest building, firmly middle class. Azrael scanned her key fob and lead them inside. As the elevator climbed to the tenth floor, she hoped she hadn't left anything stupid out. After fumbling a little with the lock--she was suddenly picturing mugs of blood sitting everywhere--she pushed the door open.

"Welcome," she said, intoning the traditional vampire welcome before she could stop herself. "Come freely, go safely, and leave something of the happiness you bring."

Thea rushed in behind her as soon as she flipped on the lights. They were soft, filtering violet and indigo out of their spectrum so they almost seemed orange. Azrael looked around. It was a single bedroom apartment with a combined living and kitchen area. Most of the decor was black--no surprise there--and Azrael had a small honest-to-goodness tapestry over her black couch. It looked like a knight fighting a dragon. There was very little in the form of wall decor otherwise, but the doctor had apparently bought out the ivy section of a plant nursery. Thea counted six of the plants on various surfaces. There were no dining table and chairs, and Thea assumed the Doc ate on her couch.

"Bathroom's the door on the right," Azrael said, her eyes sweeping the apartment for incriminating evidence. "You can put your coats on the bar stools over couch or chair. Shoes off at the door, if you don't mind."

"Somehow, this is exactly what I was expecting and not at all what I was expecting," Thea said. "Glad to see you are as neat here as your desk."

Azrael was in the process of scooping up a dirty mug--it had only had coffee in it, thank goodness--and she shot Thea a scowl. Waving at the stacks of papers on her coffee table, she said, "These are scientific research articles."

Thea nodded at the books stacked on the bar ledge. "And these?"

"Medical textbooks."

Hearing a squeaking sound, Thea went to investigate. They found a small habitat in the corner by the curtained window. Awoken by the noise and light, a small albino mouse twitched her whiskers at them. "Who is this?!"

Azrael winced at Thea's shout. "Sh, the neighbors next door have a newborn. The parents haven't slept well in weeks. That's Scooter."

"Did you seriously name a mouse 'Scooter'?" Thea asked, cooing over the little rodent.

"Yes," Azrael lied. Scooter had been named by her lab partner in her grad program. The jerk had been doing inhumane experiments on her until he nearly killed her and Azrael healed her. Scooter was effectively a vampire mouse thanks to the experiments, and Azrael hadn't known what to do and so had brought her home. Scooter was one of the few things besides her text books she had brought from Cleveland. "Keep your fingers back, she bites. She has a ball if you want to play with her."

"Yes!"

Azrael stopped her nervous straightening and pulled the mouse from her home. Scooter did not bite her, the mouse knew better. She hopped happily into the ball and began energetically rolling around the apartment. Thea followed on their hands and knees, cooing over the "clever mousey".

Azrael stepped into the kitchen area and pulled her kettle out. "Did you eat? I also have chicken broth, bone broth, or beef broth if you would like some of that," she told Wade as she filled the kettle.

"What type of tea are we feeling?" She opened her tea cabinet, revealing about twenty or so different types of teas, many of them loose leaf. "I would recommend something with lavender or licorice root. Or I can do decaf coffee."

"Where's your mugs?" Thea asked, scooping up Scooter's ball so the mouse wouldn't get stuck somewhere while they weren't watching. But instead of waiting, they began opening cabinets. Dr. Drake had like two plates but a bunch of bowls. One cabinet had a lone box of pancake mix. They found the mug cabinet and cheered.

"You did take it home," they said, holding a mug aloft that said "Dr. Acula" and had a vampire with a stethoscope on it. "I'm using this one. Look, it's a doctor vampire. I gave her this for Halloween last year."

Azrael gestured at the other dozen or so mugs. "Pick a mug, any mug."

She suddenly paused, realizing her thermostat was set at 65 degrees Fahrenheit. She hurried over and turned it up to 72. She started to roll her sleeves up but thought better of it.

"Doc! You're bleeding." Before Azrael could do anything, Thea grabbed her left hand and flipped it over to get a look at the cut on her wrist. Azrael had scrubbed most of the dried blood off her hand in her coat pocket, but the line of clotted blood over the cut had remained. Cuts made to use blood magic didn't heal as quickly as they should.

"Oh, how did that happen?" Azrael said halfheartedly.

"Don't let Scooter get stuck," Thea instructed the three guys, dragging her into to the bathroom. As they disinfected the cut while Azrael protested, they asked, "You okay? Saw you looking around when we came inside."

"I think we gave him the slip for now. Oh, careful, don't disrupt the scab."

Thea snorted. "Doc, I'm a professional." They produced a princess Bandaid. "There, all better. But you're ok?"

Azrael looked into the concerned eyes of her medical assistant, her expression softening. "Yes, thank you, Thea. Focusing on Wade is helping."

Thea eyed her. "Ok, but you let me know if you need to slip away for a bit."

"I will--"

Thea pulled her into a quick hug. "We haven't forgotten about the nightmare you dealt with earlier, ok? Don't use this to ignore your own feelings."

"I won't," Azrael said, pretty sure she was lying through her teeth.

"All better!" Thea announced as they pulled Azrael back out of the bathroom. "Where'd my new friend get to? Oh, there she is."

The kettle whistled, and Azrael went to pull it off the stove. "Did we pick our mugs and teas?"