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Realistic or Modern Fairweather Communications - Urban Fantasy

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Going inside sounded nice. Lev scratched at the back of his head, giving Azrael a soft smile.

"That's cool. To be fair, I'm not super great at planning dates myself. I always go with the classic dinner and a movie. I know, it's bad," he teased. "But I don't mind getting coffee, either. Or we could go to that little bookstore down the road? They have a little cafe, and a lot of neat knicknacks."

He nodded as she took out her phone, not wanting to get in the way of her work.

"Is this that mysterious emergency patient?" He asked, curious but not wanting to pry. "You don't have to answer that, by the way, if you don't want to."



Percival kept his smile up, glad that at least he hadn't offended her yet. It wasn't often he dealt with vampires who weren't somehow related to him, so he was a bit out of practice.

"I'm quite glad. I wouldn't want to leave a poor impression on Azrael's parents," he admitted, not entirely untruthfully.

He was quite grateful that she had turned away from the work subject. A lot of people assumed that, because he was the son of a communications giant, Percival must have a deep knowledge of computers and the internet. In truth, Percival knew how to send an email and google things, and that was about it. His job was only to figure out what the people wanted, and then get Wade and his team to make it happen. Actually understanding the service wasn't part of the job.

His smile grew a little more genuine when Sariel mentioned that Azrael was a workaholic. Yes, he had certainly noticed that.

"She certainly works harder than most people I know," he admitted. She helped take care of him on top of her regular duties, and even let him stay at her apartment. She was a good doctor and an even better friend, and he was lucky to have her in his life.

But then the conversation turned to tourist things, and Percival blanked a bit. He hadn't ever really done the tourist thing, since he was a local. His parents both thought that it was a little beneath them. He had just assumed that all locals thought that way, but judging by the way Lev spoke to Wade's 'newbie', he suspected that wasn't quite the case.

The last thing he wanted to do was send Azrael's mother to some cheap tourist attraction that she didn't like. Or make himself look pedestrian by suggesting something banal. He was just on the edge of stressing about it when his phone dinged, and he quickly snapped it up.

"Pardon me, I just need to respond to this," he apologised, holding up one hand as he slipped out of his blanket nest on the couch.

It was far warmer in the apartment than it had been at the office, but he still felt the chill once he was in the open air.

Being a cross between a mammal and a reptile was a pain at times. He did generate a small amount of body heat, but it wasn't enough to really combat the cold at all. Just enough to make a nest of blankets perfectly comfortable.

He stepped into the bathroom and read Azrael's text, his fake smile sliding away as he massaged his temples.

'your mother is here' he sent, then frowned when he realized that might make her panic.

'she came to visit you, she's sitting on the couch and asking me about tourist destinations and i don't know what to say.'

Ok, maybe that was a bit too honest, but he really didn't know what to say. This weekend was far too eventful. Percival almost wanted it to stop now.

'i feel like i'm being tested, and i don't want to get a bad grade in being your friend.'
 
Azrael blinked at Lev. She smiled, shifting her eyes away from his. "No, that sounds nice. I've never been to dinner and a movie."

It was maybe a little embarrassing to admit maybe? She wasn't sure. When she was younger, she hadn't thought of dating as something she should do. She hadn't really gotten close to many people--even when she had run off to college. The majority of her classmates had been human, and the ones that weren't had thought she was. Her colleagues were fine, but they were just that. She was friendly with a lot of people, but that was only a surface-level acquaintance. Still, Lev had thus far not been the judgey type.

She nodded. "That sounds lovely. Little bookshops are my favorite."

Azrael chuckled and shook her head at his question. She wasn't really sure how to answer it since she had already explained that she gave her number out to very few people but now here she was texting a "patient". And he was a patient, but Percival was also a friend. But she knew Lev didn't have the best of opinion of Percival on Wade's behalf--which she did not blame him for in the slightest. Percival very much deserved that. But beyond wanting to bang their heads together, she was doing her best not to take sides. She wasn't trying to hide the fact that she cared for Percival, but she also didn't want Lev to think she was favoring Percival and--oh, this friendship thing was becoming very complicated very fast.

"You are all very curious about the 'mysterious emergency patient', aren't you?" she said with a smile. It was a non-answer and she knew it. But she wasn't sure what to say. 'Yes, he gets kidnapped a lot so I'm worried'? Or 'He is a large snake so what if he's too cold'? She couldn't explain either of those things, and saying 'Well my boss is currently hanging out in my apartment and I wanted to make sure he was okay' was just as weird. Azrael made a mental note to frown at Percival for making explaining things tricky.

Her pocket vibrated, and she sighed. Well, he wasn't unconscious in the back of a van, at least.

"I'm sorry, I've just been a bit on edge since everything. I promise I'm not a workaholic." She winced. That was a lie. Many of the things she had launched at Detective Dekker could be turned back on her--minus his terrible eating habits. But now she had reasons to not only focus on work. She had friends and Lev.

Azrael tried to find the confident person who frowned at people over the top of her glasses when they said they absolutely had been faithfully every day taking the medicine she prescribed. But that person just shrugged her shoulders. This dating thing was not her area.

Her pocket vibrated again, and she suddenly had images of Percival not unconscious but still frantically texting her from the trunk of a car. No, he would call 911 first. He wouldn't text his doctor. Right. Right?

As her phone vibrated again, Azrael groaned and pulled it out. "I'm so sorry. I need to do some yoga or something because I am just very anxious."

She flipped it open and opened the message.

And nearly dropped her phone.

your mother is here

Frozen on the sidewalk, she stared at the message, rereading it to make sure she wasn't misunderstanding. Her mother was in her apartment and was questioning Percival. Percival Fairweather, son of the most prominent vampire in the city. The son of the most prominent vampire in the city was at the mercy of her mother. Her friend was being questioned by the head of the Blood Mafia.

Azrael briefly considered turning and all-out sprinting for her apartment. But that was stupid, that was the adrenaline talking. She was smarter than that. She needed to take a breath and think.

She didn't have to do this alone, but she also didn't want to drag Lev into this. But she wasn't just going to bail on him. She had told Wade she wasn't ditching Lev for Percival Fairweather, and she meant it.

She looked up at Lev, sure the blood had gone from her face and he hadn't failed to miss the panic. She was so bad at this dating thing. Gently grabbing his sleeve, she tugged him into the nearest alley. It stank of trash and worse, and it was probably assaulting Lev's superior senses, but she didn't have time to worry about that.

"I don't know how to say this so I just will. My mother is here. She's in my apartment, and she could potentially hurt the son of a prominent business man. I am going to do something weird, please don't freak out."

Pausing, she texted, Are you safe?

Azrael pocketed her phone and pulled out her scalpel. "This is going to require blood magic so um, maybe don't watch if it makes you uncomfortable or you don't like blood?"

Azrael kicked an old newspaper out of her way, glancing out of the corner of her eye. The dark part of her mind suggested he would probably leave, but she reminded herself of what Wade had said. She couldn't just expect everyone to go running. It wasn't fair to them. Once she had cleared an small area of debris, she warned, "Going to be blood."

Azrael drew the scalpel on the inside of her arm, trying her best to hide the motion from Lev. She didn't want to worry him like the earlier wound had. Then she crouched, placing her now bloody hand on the ground. Blood magic was really hard to work from a distance, but she lived in her home. It was tied to her. Through the pulse of New York City--the clatter of the subway and the rattle of construction--she felt her home. Azrael found familiar heartbeat of Percival, and the memory of her mother's. Her mother had dismantled her alarm spell on her door. Rude. Azrael quickly wove magic around Percival. She had touched him just earlier today, so her magic wove easily enough. It would have been easier to burrow some of his blood, but that was not something she did without asking. It was the distance that was giving her trouble, anyway. She frowned, wincing as the spell drew more blood than she had initially bargained for. She hadn't meant to make it that strong. Her mother could break through it, but it would take more energy than she guessed her mother wanted to expend for the advantage Percival was.

Around her, the bloody geometric pattern brightened and then disappeared. Azrael flopped back on her butt, panting, her arms resting on her knees. If she wasn't in the middle of a dirty alley, she might have laid down.

She lifted her eyes to Lev. Her irises were probably shot through with red, but she didn't really care at the moment. He probably would not find that frightening. "I am so sorry I--" She let out a heavy sigh. "Oh, sorry. I have not worked a spell that large in a while."

Azrael rubbed her forehead, feeling an ache settle in her stomach. Dammit, not now. To distract herself, she pulled a fresh bandage and an antiseptic from her pocket. After applying the antiseptic, she began wrapping the bandage around the new wound.

"That should dissuade my mother from doing anything dramatic." After a pause, she admitted, "I don't know what to do. My mother could wipe the floor with me even if I had been practicing larger stuff and was not tired and hungry. But she's in New York, probably looking for me--maybe Chicago isn't going well, I don't know." Azrael wanted to scream a little bit. "But she could hurt a friend and she definitely just ruined this. I'm so sorry."

She almost said she wouldn't blame him if he changed his mind, but that sounded pathetic. Lev wasn't some limp noodle. He was kind and intelligent and had the resolve of a steel cable.

"I don't know what to do, Lev. But I guess I probably owe you dinner after the past twenty-four hours." She brushed the hair that had escaped her braid behind her ears. "But before that, any suggestions? I'm not thinking clearly at the moment."





Sariel couldn't help but laugh. Percival was adorable. She could see why her daughter liked him. "Well, I am only one half of the parents, but you are doing fine in my book."

Her daughter liking him did complicate things. She doubted Azrael would get in her way, but she really wasn't sure her daughter intended to help, either. She would most certainly take offense if her mother tried to use her friend as a bargaining chip. There was also that concerning issue with that detective. None of them had expected that.

If Percival's smile was anything to go off of, he was fond of her as well. Did make her hesitate to do anything.

She waved graciously as Percival extricated himself from his blanket wrap. "Oh course, dear."

As soon as the door was closed, she rose and padded quietly around the apartment. She peeked in Azrael's bedroom. The bed was a mess and it smelled like--human. It smelled like human.

Sariel's lips twisted into a disgusted snarl. Her daughter was not sleeping with a human of all things. Oh no. She was putting a stop to that. Absolutely not. Honestly, she didn't care if Azrael wanted to date a werewolf or a selkie or whatever. Just not a human.

As she was already in the bedroom, she peeked in the closet. Hm. Her clothing taste hadn't changed.

Magic hissed through the room and shot towards the bathroom. Sariel chuckled at the familiar feel of it. Her presence had been noticed. She frowned slightly, reaching out to touch the spell with her own magic. She shook her head. Not that she had intended to drain the poor Fairweather boy of his blood or anything dramatic like that, but now she wouldn't even be able to touch his blood without expending a lot of energy to smash through her own daughter's magic. Goodness, what did Azrael think she was up to? It certainly was going to make things more difficult if she was determined to interfere. She had hoped Azrael would be tired of playing doctor and would join her again, but this seemed like a very firm no.

Still. Her eyes slid towards the bathroom. There was more than one way to bleed a cat.
 
On the one hand, Lev was a little happy that Azrael was so easy to please date-wise. On the other hand, it kind of saddened him that she didn't have the chance to get out more. He got the impression she lived for her work, and while that was fine, there had to be other things in life too.

"Well, we can do the dinner and a movie thing until you get bored of it," he teased. An idea was already brewing in his head for future dates, though. He hoped Azrael would be up for it and wouldn't think he was being patronizing, or something.

At least the phone going off was enough of a distraction that it gave him more time to think it over before bringing it up.

"A little curious, but I know work stuff is confidential," he admitted. "So I won't ask too many questions. Wade's a workaholic too, so I'm definitely used to it."

He would have gone on, but then Azrael was very, very panicked, and Lev immediately shifted into caretaker mode. It was a habit to try and take control of the situation when people around him were upset, because that was what his mom always did. He was going to ask Azrael if she was ok, but then he was being dragged into the nearby alleyway. It did stink (quite badly) but he kept his reaction off his face as best as he could.

Calm and in control. It was important to be a pillar that could be relied on. He prided himself on it with Wade, and he would do it for Azrael whenever she needed it.

"Hey, it's ok," he said, keeping his voice level. The news that her mother was in town was a little shocking, and Lev wouldn't lie and say that he wasn't a little worried. The 'prominent businessman' could only be one person that he could think of, and he had no idea why Percival would be targeted by the blood mafia.

Well, ok, he was rich, and his family was very powerful. Those were probably good enough to interest organized crime, but there were a lot of rich and influential people out there. Percival Fairweather seemed like the kind of guy who ironed his socks, and Lev could not think of anything he could offer a powerful vampire family other than a ransom and some dry cleaning tips.

"I'm ok, do whatever you need to do," he assured her, though the amount of blood that came out was definitely worrying. He swallowed thickly as Azrael worked whatever magic she needed to, and then immediately jumped towards her when she fell backwards. Deciding that her safety was more important than propriety, he put his hands on her shoulders to steady her as he crouched at her side.

"Hey, no, its fine. Are you ok? That was a lot of blood, and you look a little woozy," he fussed. The alleyway was dirty and stunk, and he was pretty sure there were rats skittering around somewhere. The stink of rotting garbage usually didn't help lightheadedness much.

He hesitated for a split second before pulling off his coat and setting it against the wall, gently directing Azrael to lean back so she would be more comfortable.

"I'll be right back," he told her, squeezing her shoulder for reassurance before he rushed back out to the main road. He knew this area, but he didn't know it super well. He squinted down the street, trying to catalogue the businesses, then breathed out a sigh of relief when he noticed a grungy looking mcdonalds less than a block away.

Returning to the alleyway, he ran his hands up and down his arms to stave off the chill. He had a pretty high body temperature, so the cold didn't bother him too much, but it would still be nice to get somewhere warm.

The lost look in Azrael's eyes as she told him about her worries made his heart ache, and he couldn't help but reach out to squeeze her shoulder once more.

"Ok. First off, you don't owe me anything, unless you want to buy me dinner, in which case we can totally do that. Maybe another day. But right now, you just almost fainted and scared the crap out of me, and I really don't think this is the best place to be dressing fresh wounds. There's a fast food place a few buildings down on the corner. I think we should go there, where it's warm and not as stinky, and you can get some coffee into you. Will coffee help? I mean I know blood is usually what vampires eat, but you seem to like coffee..."

He was getting distracted, he closed his eyes for a second and shook himself.

"Anyways, are you feeling lightheaded? That looked like a lot of blood. It's not a far walk. I don't want to patronize you or anything, but did you want to lean on me a little? Or not. Uh, I'm not really a doctor, so I think this is more your area of expertise than mine..."

He trailed off, licking his lips.

The fact that she was so ready to say that her mother had ruined them hurt him. Mostly because she looked so resigned and downtrodden. Azrael was a great person, and if Lev had to go to the head of the Blood Mafia herself and yell at her for it, well... He would be scared shitless, but he would do it.

"Percival'll be fine, ok? If he's texting you, then he's ok. And, uh, I'm not an expert or anything, and you know your mom better than I do, but I don't think a crime boss would just go into a foreign city where they have no connections and attack a very important person. It just seems kinda silly and pointless, you know? So I'm sure he'll be safe until you're feeling well enough to catch a cab back to your place with me. Uh, if you're comfortable with that? I don't really want to leave you alone right now."

Was he overstepping? This was Azrael's mom, after all. Maybe she wanted to do this privately? But she also seemed to be really strung out over the family thing, and Lev was pretty sure he had to do his best to convince her that he was on her side if she wanted him there.

For now, though, the important thing was getting inside, so he held out a hand in an offer to help her up.



'Are you safe' was a little worrying. Percival had been questioning whether Sariel's presence put him in actual danger, and that text all but confirmed it.

He had kind of expected such. His own mother was very sweet and polite on the outside, but he had also seen her debone a man like a fish when she was angry, and he expected Azrael's family was the same way.

'i'm safe. told her i needed to take this message and stepped into the washroom. any tips?'

When he was young, Tristan had told him to lock himself in the washroom whenever there was any sign of danger in the house, but he had a feeling that wouldn't be quite as useful here. He didn't want to clue Sariel into how much he knew.

Closing his eyes, he tried to focus on the sound of footsteps. She was light on her feet, as a vampire, so he instead focused on the heat signature of her body. It was a skill that the lower-ranking lamia didn't possess, and Percival wasn't entirely sure how it worked, but he wasn't going to pass up any advantage. The lower body temperature of vampires and the high ambient temperature of the room made things a little wonky, but judging from the floor plan, Sariel seemed to be in Azrael's bedroom.

He was a little shocked that she would so blatantly snoop on her own daughter. His mother... actually his mother would probably do the same thing, she would just hire somebody else to do it when the house was empty.

'she's in your room. i don't want to make her too suspicious. are you coming back soon? i can text normandy to come get me'

He froze, hitting send on the unfinished text when he heard a knock at the door. Even from the bathroom, the high body temperature and familiar scent made him want to bang his head against the wall.

How had Wade managed to survive for thirty years? The man attracted trouble like a magnet and, apparently, had the worst timing in the universe. If Percival wasn't seriously afraid he'd get himself killed, he'd strangle him.

'wad at door txt ltr'



Wade had debated coming by. Really, he had. Garth was back at his place, and he and Azrael had had a nice talk earlier, and things between them were good. After the disastrous incident with Percival earlier, he should count his blessings and not push his luck.

But, well. Percival had looked pretty pathetic earlier, and as much as Wade tried to tell himself that he wasn't worried...

He was totally worried.

He would have texted Percival to see if he was ok, but his was the one number Wade didn't have. He had crossed the street to the super fancy condo where Percival lived and considered asking security if he was ok, but one look at the inside of that building and he immediately changed his mind. He felt like a used dishrag even stepping in the door, and with the way the concierge was looking at him with suspicion, he'd uttered something about a wrong address and snuck away.

Texting Azrael, of course, would have been the next most reasonable thing to do, but he knew he'd only get 'doctor patient confidentiality'. He didn't want to make Azrael give him the dirty details about Percival's life and whatever illness he had, but... He could count on one hand the number of times Percival had been truly ill during their time living together. The one time he'd had a fever, he had had absolutely no idea what to do about it and passed out in the bathtub.

So, when he found a super tacky gift shop while wandering the streets wondering what to do with himself, he'd decided that maybe a little bribe would at least get him an answer to 'is he ok and taking care of himself'.

If Azrael didn't take the bribe, then the little set of pens shaped like bones were cool enough that Wade would keep them anyways.

That was his thought process, anyways, when he knocked on Azrael's door, pen set in one hand. His glasses were fogged up, and he groaned as he tried to wipe them on his scarf.

"Az, I know we talked earlier and all, and I don't wanna bug you if you're with Lev or anything, but I just wanted to make sure everything is... ok?" He said, his voice a bit unsure. He felt a bit silly talking to the door, and a part of him kind of hoped that she would open it up, call him and idiot and send him home.
 
Azrael blinked. She had not expected to be fussed over. The last time she had been fussed over was when she had dared to show up to work with a vampire cold and Thea had nearly lost their mind. It was kind of nice. She felt terrible about it, of course. Making him worry.

She did attempt to protest when he pulled off his coat and had her use it to lean against, but he was off, leaving Azrael to think about her life decisions.

Here she was, just telling him about it, and her mother had just had to show up. But Lev didn't seem freaked out, just worried about her. And his coat did smell nice--which was a very silly thing to be thinking right now.

And then he was returning, his eyes earnest as he told her she absolutely could buy him dinner another day. Azrael felt a lump in her throat at that. She opened her mouth and closed it a few times. She felt a little stupid admitting that she was lightheaded and probably should go sit somewhere warm and not foul-smelling. She had looked after herself for so long that it was hard to accept his help. But he would not think less of her for admitting she needed his help. He wouldn't, or he wouldn't have asked.

"Yeah, I'm lightheaded," she admitted. "I panicked and overdid it."

She was kicking herself for growing lax in keeping up her haemomancy practice.

She nodded, not missing he had figured out who the secret emergency patient was. Of course he had. He was clever. And he was speaking sense. "Right, you're right."

Azrael took her glasses off and rubbed her hand over her face. Lev was making sense. She was all worked up when Percival was probably perfectly fine. And she shouldn't go darting off to the rescue right now. Her mother could blow her over with a strong breath. Not that she wanted to ever cross her mother. Because she would lose and also she didn't want to fight her mom. Head of the Blood Mafia or no, Sariel Dreix was still her mom.

Nodding, she placed her glasses back on and took Lev's hand. She wobbled a little, grateful that she could sort of sag against Lev.

"Sorry," she muttered, feeling like a terrible person for needing help. She kept dragging him into things. First the stalker detective, then she told him she was a vampire, and then her family, and now she had just bled a whole lot and needed him to help her to a fast food restaurant.

McDonald's was not a place she frequented considering her eating habits, but it was a relief to go in and smell all the humans and frying oil and not the alley. As Lev helped her into a chair, she groaned, tugging her glasses off and rubbing her eyes.

"Yes, coffee would be nice. I'm going to go ahead and apologize if I start acting grumpy, it is really just because I'm hangry. But we're not like--I mean you don't have to... um." Azrael peeked up at him. "I'm not going to fly into a rage or anything. That only happens when we are starving. Survival instinct kicks in. Also... be honest. How red are my irises right now? I don't want to freak anyone out. It's just the magic. I'm not sick or anything."

She glanced down at her phone, frowning at the messages from Percival. Tips? Uh... don't be stupid? She really didn't know what to tell him. Shaking her head, she texted, You're safe I used magic.

She tapped her phone on the table as she thought. Of course her mother was being nosy. Sighing, she texted, Should be fine. Be home after I catch my breath.

She was about to text him to hang tight, but another text popped up. She frowned at it. It looked like the sort of stuff Thea texted her. After a second, she read it out loud to Lev. "'Wad at door, T-X-T'--oh, text. 'Wad at door, text L-T-R'. Later? Later. Wahd? W-A-D? What on earth does that mean?"





Sariel poked her head out of the bedroom when there was a knock on the door. She raised her eyebrows. Another visitor? She crept to the door to listen, and the person on the other side started talking. A man. Who called her "Az." Like a nickname. And who was Lev? The way the other man said it made her think Lev was the owner of the odor in the bedroom.

Sariel pulled the door open, putting on her best smile. "Azrael is not--"

She paused as she smelled the man--the human man. No, she was not going to let her smile slip. She could be polite to this human. She would not hurt him, but she absolutely would talk to Azrael about this later. Who knows, maybe her daughter had a logical reason for letting this man in her bed. He wasn't unattractive. Kind of nerdy. And lanky.

"Here," she finished, smiling with her lips over her teeth. "She is out, but I think she'll be back soon. Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Sariel, Azrael's mother."

Sariel held out her hand to shake. Because, why not? Her daughter didn't have enough blood to try that long-distance trick again if she intended to remain conscious.

"You must be a... friend?" She raised her eyebrows, inviting him to expound. "Come in, come in. Can I get you some tea?"
 
Lev wrapped an arm tightly around her as he helped her into the restaurant.

"Hey, you don't have to apologize," he said with a small smile. "I'll get you a coffee. Just relax for a minute."

He headed to the counter, taking a deep breath to steel his nerves. The short break gave him time to organize his thoughts, and he returned with a large black coffee, setting it down on the table in front of him. When Azrael mentioned being hangry, he couldn't help but grin at her.

"It's ok, I'm not worried you're gonna vamp out buffy-style. I wouldn't have brought you to a restaurant if I did," he pointed out, then felt his cheeks flush a little. "I, uh, honestly wouldn't even mind going out to get you some, you know, 'food', but I don't actually know where one goes for that sort of thing? I mean, are there specialty shops or something? Or can you get it at the grocery store if you ask the butcher?"

He didn't think you could buy human blood at a grocery store, but then, he had also been surprised when his werewolf neighbour had asked the butcher for an 'after moon special' and got some kind of disgusting smoothie made of kale, milk coffee and raw blended lamb. At this point, nothing surprised him.

He sat down and squinted to get a good look at her eyes, scrunching up his nose in thought.

"They're pretty red, but it's not super obvious. They're not, like, glowing in technicolour or anything. Just a little ring around the pupils. If you have your glasses on, people probably won't notice."

At least she seemed to have calmed down a bit as she texted with Percival. He was considering whether it would be plausible to get blood now, or if he should just wait until they got back to Azrael's place. Surely she had some in the freezer or something. Lev wouldn't even mind heating it up for her, once they settled this issue with her mother.

He scooched over to take a glance at her phone screen, assuming she wouldn't mind since she was reading it out loud to him.

"Wad? I don't know, Wade uses all that fancy text talk but--"

He cut off mid sentence into a long, drawn out groan. Wade. Of course it meant Wade. He almost didn't want to say anything, because Azrael would undoubtedly panic.

"I think. I think he meant Wade. I'm going to text him," he assured her, pulling out his own phone.

'Are you at Azrael's place???'



Wade's eyes widened when Azrael's door opened to show an old woman he'd never seen before. He blinked owlishly, at first thinking he'd gotten the wrong apartment, and he stepped back to double check the number on the door. Nope, right number.

The woman was smiling at him the way that politicians always used to smile at his father, and when she introduced herself as Azrael's mother, Wade's expression went blank.

He didn't know a whole lot about Azrael's family, only that she wasn't on good terms with them, and that they weren't very good people. She certainly hadn't mentioned that they were coming to visit, and the fact that this woman was in Azrael's house when she wasn't home had alarm bells ringing in his head.

He stared down at her hand, his own remaining firmly at his sides before his eyes travelled back up to her face with suspicion.

"Funny. She didn't mention you were coming when we had lunch," he said, his voice perhaps a little colder than it needed to be. Maybe Wade was projecting a bit, but he had no patience for parental figures who thought they could just waltz into their kids lives whenever, disregarding whatever harm they'd done. His father had done it, Percival's parents did it... Wade had no desire to alienate Azrael by being rude to her family, but the fact that this woman was inviting him in as if she owned the place put a bad taste in his mouth.

He stayed in the doorway, his mouth opening once more just as the door to the bathroom opened.

Whatever smart thing that he had been about to say died on his tongue, because Percival Fairweather had just stepped out of Azrael's bathroom.

That wouldn't have really been that surprising. Wade saw Percival all the time, and he had a very unpleasant habit of showing up in weird places he wasn't really wanted. What threw him off was the fact that he was so pale, and also--

"Jesus, what the hell happened to your hair?" he asked, his focus immediately leaving Sariel.


Percival had debated whether he should try and fix his colouring back to what he normally wore around his colleagues when he stepped back out to see Wade. On the one hand, Wade had never seen him without his human illusion in place. Even with his knowledge of the vampire thing, the number of people who had seen Percival's real colours outside of his immediate family were limited to the lamia in his mother's gang... and Azrael. When Azrael's mother showed up out of the blue, leaving him unprepared, she was added to the list.

But disguising himself would be revealing more about his abilities than he cared to show to Sariel Dreix. He had to hope that Wade could... maybe... be subtle about the differences. That hope was dashed as soon as Wade made eye contact.

He didn't wince outright, because his mother had taught him better than that. His smile remained polite and pleasant, even as Wade's face scrunched up into a very confused frown. He held his phone awkwardly in his hand, since he didn't have any pockets to slip it into. Had he actually had the clothes necessary to leave the apartment, he would have made an excuse to grab Wade and get him out of there.

If he did that, he would be putting himself and Wade on Sariel's radar in a big way. The last thing you did with an unknown enemy was show what you cared about, and Percival didn't know enough about the blood mafia to guess what he could afford to show.

"Mr. Harper, what a surprise," he said genially. "Ms. Dreix, this is Wade Harper, he also works at our company."

Wade squinted at Percival like he had eaten something funny.

Percival and Azrael's mother sitting in their apartment drinking tea when she wasn't there was... weird. Wade didn't like it. He didn't think that Percival would be scummy enough to collude with Azrael's shitty parents when she wasn't there. Of course, he also hadn't thought that Percival was spying on him as a teenager, so maybe his frame of reference wasn't the greatest. The white-knuckled grip Percival had on his phone spoke to his nerves, and Wade was trying to figure out if it was from being caught in the act or begging for a way out.

Whatever was happening, he wasn't going to leave these two alone together.

"I'm a friend, yeah" he said bluntly, giving Sariel a distrustful look. "And you don't need to serve me. Az said her family lived out of town. You didn't tell her you were visiting?"
 
Azrael took the coffee, letting out a breath as Lev assured her he hadn't been worried she was going to start trying to bite people. Ok. At least he didn't believe everything in movies and TV.

She sipped the coffee. It was a bit burned, but it was a hot liquid. She didn't have have any reason to complain. She nearly choked when Lev offered to go get her some blood. Azrael flushed. "Actually, the best place is blood banks. Blood goes bad after six weeks, so they have to throw it out. There's usually someone in blood banks around town that passes it out." She smiled a bit sheepishly. "I am one of those people, but I can just eat when I get home, I guess. I won't have time to digest it, anyway."

Her head was starting to feel clearer and less panicked now. She would go home, see what her mom wanted, politely ask her to go back to Chicago and leave her alone. Hopefully she wouldn't have to move.

Not looking away while Lev scrutinized her eyes was one of the hardest things she had ever done. She knew it wouldn't freak him out, but she was used to keeping her eyes off of people when she knew they were red. She returned her glasses to her face. "That's part of the reason my family wears glasses, to make our eyes not look so red--that and humans like everything very bright."

She tilted her phone so Lev could see it better and sipped her coffee while he tried to figure out what it meant. Good, she wasn't stupid, "Wad" wasn't a normal thing. She nearly aspirated her coffee when Lev figured it out.

Azrael stood, gripping the coffee tightly. "We have to go. I may have mentioned my background to Wade. He seems like the kind of person who doesn't hide his scorn well, and she isn't an angry person but she does hate humans."




Sariel was not sure what she had expected from this human, but outright suspicion was not it. She allowed her hand to drop back to her side. Rats. She kept the smile on her face. "Oh? Lunch? That sounds fun."

When Percival Fairweather reappeared from hiding in the bathroom, she turned so she could look at both men. So pink was not a normal color? That was interesting. But what was even more interesting was his knowledge of her true family name. She was pretty sure she had intentionally introduced herself with her daughter's chosen surname. So. Azrael had been telling her friends things. Well, that would complicate things.

Sariel smiled at Wade as if he weren't eyeing her like she might eat children. Typical human. "Oh, we do. No, I didn't say anything because I wasn't sure I'd have time. I'm on a business trip, you see."

Still smiling, she reclaimed her now-cold tea. She wasn't about to explain that if she had called beforehand she probably would have found an empty apartment and Tristan Fairweather would have found a resignation letter on his desk. Azrael had a nasty habit of just up and bolting.

"And she's so busy, I never know when to call." She seated herself so she could see both of them and crossed her legs. If Wade was just going to stand awkwardly in the doorway, that was fine. "Who is Lev? Another friend of Azrael's?"
 
Lev looked at Azrael, horror dawning on his features.

"Oh no. Wade will NOT be polite if he thinks he's protecting you," he groaned, slamming one hand against his forehead. "And he's not answering his texts."

He shot off another one, just a quick warning 'Azrael and I are coming, please don't be rude to her mom', but if Wade was in angry mode then he probably wouldn't read it. He jumped up to wave down a cab as soon as they were out of the McDonalds, and was shocked when that actually worked. Thank god for small mercies.

"I told him not to be an ass, but he probably won't read that until later. Should I call him? Or just wait until we get there?" he asked as he slid into the back seat so Azrael could give the driver her address.



"Yeah, lunch was fun," Wade said, not bothering to hide his sneer as he headed into the kitchen. His eyes never left Sariel, his gaze coloured by suspicion.

She hadn't called ahead because she was worried Azrael was working too much? If she was really here because of a business trip, then that meant that visiting her daughter had been an afterthought, and that didn't sit right with Wade.

"If you didn't call ahead, how did you know she'd be here?" He asked, one eyebrow rising. "Did she leave you guys a key in case of emergencies?"

He did not want to suspect that Azrael's mother would break into her own house, but from the way she spoke about her family, it was clear that she didn't think they understood boundaries. If this woman thought it was ok to break into someone's home just because that someone was her daughter, oh, she and Wade would have words.

"Ah, Azrael was here until just recently," Percival said, in the hopes that he could calm Wade down before he pissed off a very powerful vampire, but that just made Wade turn his glare onto him instead.

"Huh. So you let somebody you didn't know into her apartment? DId she say you could do that?" He asked, his voice dripping with acid, and Percival winced. This was not going well.

"I'm sorry--"

"Do not apologize for me being rude, you stuck up asshole, or I swear I'll rip your goddamned balls off. If Azrael didn't let her in, then you didn't have a right to let her in either. What are you even doing here? I thought you had those stupid family dinners every weekend where you and your dad and your siblings, I don't know, got together to laugh at poor people or whatever."

Percival flinched at Wade's tone, stepping back and trying to hide the hurt on his face. Ok, he had maybe deserved that. Wade did not appreciate the breaking of trust. If he thought that Percival had let Azrael's mother into her apartment without permission, then he would be livid. Percival opened his mouth, considering whether he should correct his misconception, then closed in a moment later.

If he said that he hadn't let her in, that was all but saying that Sariel broke into her daughter's home, and then Wade would flip his lid. More than he already was.

"Lev, er--"

"Don't talk about Lev when he's not here, that's nobody's business," Wade cut in, jamming one finger in Percival's face, and Percival grimaced as he laid one hand on his wrist to lower it.

"Wade, you're getting a bit too worked up," Percival said, trying to keep his voice calm as he subtly shifted in between Wade and Azrael's mother.

He didn't know the full extent of the Dreix family's hemomancy, but he knew that it was powerful. Percival wasn't sure if he could protect Wade if Sariel took real offence to his reaction, but the least he could do was try.
 
Azrael slipped the taxi driver a twenty to make sure he took the fastest route. She was having visions of Wade standing up to her mother like he had to Charles Fairweather and her mother pulling all his blood out just to get him to stop talking.

She thought about trying another spell, but that would probably result in her passing out, and then Lev would have to worry about her instead of just Wade. If she did much more magic as it was, she was going to have to remember where her erythropoietin pills were.

She rubbed her temples. It wasn't far, but it only took a few minutes to bleed out. "Call him."




Sariel's easy smile stayed, but her eyes shifted to a little more dangerous. She debated whether to continue with the cheery socialite act or assert her dominance. She decided to go half way.

Sariel smiled, but it didn't reach her eyes. "You know, Mr. Harper, it is really not necessary for me to explain my visit to my daughter."

She watched as the Fairweather boy tried to insert himself. A natural peacekeeper. Interesting. Either that or he knew she was dangerous and didn't want blood all over his... outfit. Really, all these men in her daughter's apartment was odd. And Azrael must not have noticed the additional man or she had worn herself out with that long-distance spell. Honestly, had she forgotten everything her mother had taught her?

"I don't really think castration is a punishment that fits the crime," Sariel said, amusement tinging her words as she sipped her cold tea. This Mr. Harper was really quite amusing. Humans always were when they got riled up and started showing off their blunt human teeth.

And there was something about him. It was bugging her. "Harper is not a familiar name," she mused. "But there is something very familiar about you. You've never been to Ohio, have you?"
 
Wade scowled at Sariel. He had never been good with that upper class nose-in-the-air attitude.

"Just because she's your kid doesn't mean you have the right to enter her home when she's not here. Especially if she doesn't know you're coming," he snapped. He was gripping the pen set tightly in his hand, his knuckles turning white from the strain.

Percival frowned and squeezed his forearm gently, and when Wade didn't immediately pull away and snap at him, he ran his hand up and down in a soothing motion.

Part of Wade wanted to shake him off. He wanted to push Percival away and tell him that this was all his fault, because everything bad that happened in Wade's like recently was his fault. But he was so pale compared to normal, and he was giving Wade those pleading puppy dog eyes that he'd always found hard to resist. Reluctantly, with a weary sigh, he decided to let himself be soothed.

"I'm still mad at you," he grumbled. "You don't let a stranger into someone's house when they're not there. That's not right."

Percival breathed out a soft sigh of relief now that Wade was somewhat less likely to start yelling, although Sariel's commentary wasn't really helping.

"I don't travel much," Wade growled, because the woman's attitude was bothering him. She acted like he was beneath her, and it was getting his hackles up. Percival decided to take a risk and quickly put a hand on his shoulder, rubbing it until he seemed to relax again. The fact that he wasn't shoved into the wall made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Wade, on the other hand, told himself that he was only allowing this because Percival looked sick and miserable.

He even let the comment about punishment suiting the crime go, even though he wanted to snap that nobody told him what to do. It did cement in his mind that this woman was far too self-assured of her own welcome, though.

"You should leave. Azrael isn't home, and she didn't invite you in. You should call her like a normal person and get permission to be in her apartment. Her being your child isn't a no-holds-barred invitation to getting in her space."

His upper lip curled, and Percival winced as he quickly steered Wade back towards the living room.

"You're right, Wade, I should have gotten Azrael's permission before letting anyone in," he agreed, Sariel be damned, because Wade was finally starting to calm down a bit, and Percival wasn't going to get him all riled up again. "I can call her and let her know you and her mother are both here."

Wade pursed his lips, clearly considering the idea, but his musings broke off when the intro to 'Toxic' by Britney Spears started blasting through the room. He frowned, shouldering past Percival to fish his phone out of his pocket. He squinted at the number, then glared back at Sariel before turning away to take the call.

"Lev? I thought you were at my place," Wade said, his tone concerned.


Lev heaved out a sigh of relief as Wade picked up the phone, covering the mouthpiece of the phone as he gave Azrael a small smile.

"He doesn't sound dead, at least," he said, then uncovered the mouthpiece.

"Uh, hey, Wade. Yeah, I dropped your guest off and then ran into Azrael, and we're just heading back--"

"Oh, great," Wade interrupted, and Lev cringed. This was definitely Wade's righteous tirade voice. "Look, before she gets here, can you let her know that Percival let her mom into her apartment?"



Wade cast a glance over his shoulder, then covered his mouth with his hand as he headed across the room for privacy.

"I mean, I don't know what the story is there, but she seemed kind of freaked out every time we talked about family and I really don't want her to be blindsided when she gets here, you know? Uh, is she there with you?"
 
Sariel arched an eyebrow. Oh, so she was getting lectured on how to be a mother by this little human? She eyed him over the rims of her glasses, much like Azrael did.

But Percival stepped in and started soothing him. So this Wade Harper must be the sort to get righteously angry often. He didn't seem to care much for Percival, but Percival seemed to care for him. Interesting.

The eyebrow arched higher when Wade told her to leave. She thought about pointing out that he didn't seem to have permission either, but that sounded childish. She was not about to lower herself to this human's level.

In fact, he was getting on her nerves. If Percival Fairweather wasn't there to witness it, she probably would have dropped his blood pressure just so he could pass out instead of irritating her. But she really didn't want to be showing the Fairweather boy what she was capable of.

And then very loud music started playing. He pulled out a phone with a very rude glare at her.

But then he answered by saying another person's name, and she listened curiously. Her hearing was sharp enough to pick up most of the conversation.



Azrael let out a breath as Wade's blusterous voice came through the speakers. She nodded, agreeing that he very much did not sound dead.

She almost said not to blame Percival as her mother broke through her wards, but now was not the time. Instead, Azrael said, "Tell him not to annoy her. I don't need any defense--oh! And don't mention his guest by name--Turn here," she cut herself off, waving her hand at the driver.

If Dekker came up, her mother would demand she remove her magic so the family could end him. And when Azrael refused she'd hunt him down and murder him in a more "normal" way.

Her building loomed, and Azrael might have burst from the car and sprinted if she wasn't already worn out. The bit of blood she'd had while she fussed at Percival felt like ages ago.

"Keep him talking--stop here!"

As soon as the taxi was nearly stopped, Azrael chucked money at him and ran for the doors. She flung them open and made a beeline for the elevators. She smacked the button repeatedly, knowing it had no bearing on the speed of the elevator whatsoever. Sometimes she took the stairs when she thought she hadn't gotten enough steps in, but that was not happening on this day.

"You don't have to come with me," Azrael said, nearly dancing in agitation. Of all the people in her apartment, Lev would most likely be in the least amount of danger as long as he didn't read her mother riot act like he had done to Dekker. But, still. The less her family knew about him, the better.

"I sort of just told you about all this and suddenly here's my mom!" she said it a lot more cheerily than the sardonic expression implied she felt about it.




Sariel chuckled lightly as she felt the magic in the apartment ripple. It's master was home, and it was agitated. "Do tell my darling girl hello from me," she called to where Wade was having his "private" conversation.
 
(HMMM my keyboard broke and is not letting me use quotation marks)

'She, uh, she says shes fine. We're just coming up now, anyways,' Lev assured Wade. He had figured Dekker's name was a danger zone, so he had tried to avoid using it. He hoped Wade would go along with that.

Once they were out of the cab, he wrapped one arm around Azrael's waist to help her stay upright, The elevator seemed to be having one of those days where it did not want to co-operate.

And Azrael was trying to give him an out again. Lev rolled his eyes fondly and gently pinched her side before covering the phone to his chest.

'I'm coming up with you. I told you that I was ok with all of this. I won't lie and say that I'm totally prepared to meet your mom, but I'm not leaving you to deal with this alone. Besides, that's my - our - idiot up there. Of course I'm gonna come with you.'

He shifted the phone away again, shoulders sagging with relief as the elevator doors finally opened.



'Oh,' Wade said, his nose scrunching a little with his frown. He hasn't expected them to be so nearby, and he had known Lev long enough to recognize the undercurrent of worry in his voice. Wade squinted back at Sariel in suspicion, wondering if Wade was worried about Azrael or worried about him offending her mother.

Which, fair, he was pretty sure he had, but he wasn't going to apologize for it.

Especially when she clearly admited the eavesdropping.

'Tell Az I'm sorry, but I really do not like her family,' he grumbled., then hung up since they would be here soon anyways. He considered flipping the bird, and judging from the panic on Percival's face his thoughts were clear enough to those who knew him. But he thought of Lev and Azrael, and didn't want to make things worse for them, so he restrained himself. With great difficulty.

Percival was very happy that he didn't have to save Wade from an angry vampire due to his own recklessness, and he began to steer him towards the living room, rubbing his shoulders reassuringly.

'Azrael is coming back, then?' he asked, pretending that he hadn't heard the whole conversation or Sariel's snide remarks. Wade gave him a wary look, like he didn't trust him, but allowed himself to be sat down in the large armchair facing away from the kitchen.

'Yes,' he grumbled, then squirmed away from Percival's hands. 'You don't have to keep touching me, I'm not going to attack anyone.'

Percival blinked, then retreated, his hands falling back to his sides with a little regret. He had kind of liked feeling Wade's body heat, but after his conversation with Azrael earlier, he figured it was best not to push his luck.

At least with Sariel out of Wade's line of vision and with Percival distracting him, Percival believed him when he said he wasn't going to attack her.

'Why did you come by, anyways? Mr. Choi mentioned that you have a guest at home,' he said, hoping he wasn't being too obvious. Wade scowled at him, clearly aware of his intentions, but he decided to go along with it anyways.

'No real reason,' he mumbled, because the last thing he was going to admit was that he was worried about Percival, his mortal enemy.
 
Azrael was not expecting Lev to pinch her. He had already flicked her forehead, true, but it was surprising and a little funny. She gave him a wry smile before shuffling into the elevator. She did lean on him as the elevator took its sweet time to rise to the tenth floor.

Once this was all over, Azrael decided she was going to make her apartment very cold and take a very long nap in her very dark room.

But Lev was right. That was their idiot up there. And her other idiot. Really, if she wanted the idiot trifecta, Dekker should just join.



Sariel watched Percival and Wade with amusement. Percival seemed to want to mother him and Wade most certainly did not much care for him. At least, he wanted everyone to think he didn't care much for Percival. She really wasn't sure if Wade liked him or not.

Sariel chuckled when Wade said he wasn't going to attack anyone. It would be embarrassing for them both if he did that right before Azrael got here.

Sariel smoothed down her dress and fixed her hair just before the door flew open on its hinges. And in stalked her daughter, looking for all the world like an exhausted avenging angel.

Very much not wanting her reunion with her estranged daughter to begin with accusations, Sariel caught Azrael up in an embrace.

"Mother!" Azrael squawked in surprise, the sound muffled against her mother's shoulder. "What--"

Sariel held Azrael out. "Let me look at you." Cupping her daughter's face in her hands, she tsked. "Have you been overworking? Darling, you look famished! You and your father, I swear."

Azrael stared at her mother for a few wordless seconds. She had not seen her mother in over five years. Of course she hadn't expected her mom to look any different, but she also wasn't sure what she had expected. Certainly not her mother fussing over her like she was a little kid who had stayed up too late reading. She would have been lying if she had claimed it wasn't nice to have her mother holding her again.

"Mother, what are you doing here?" Azrael said, finally finding words.

Sariel smiled. "Currently? Getting to know the lovely men you have surrounded yourself with."

Azrael pinked a little at that. She glanced at Percival and Wade, glad at least they didn't look injured, even if Percival looked anxious and Wade looked peevish.

Sariel finally flicked her eyes behind Azrael to the man who had followed her daughter in, doubtlessly worried she was going to keel over. "And you must be Lev."

Sariel shifted around Azrael, holding her hand out to Lev. "I'm Sariel, Azrael's mom."

Azrael quickly stepped between them, giving Sariel a look. "Mother."

Sariel rolled her eyes as if her daughter had just wined that she was embarrassing her in front of her friends but dropped her hand back to her side.

Suddenly nervous, Azrael stepped back and took Lev's arm. Yes, Sariel Dreix was a very dangerous head of a mafia who she had been worried was going to drain her friends for being annoying, but. She was Azrael's mother, and Azrael still wanted her mother to like and approve of Lev. She was pretty sure her mother wouldn't be upset that he wasn't a vampire, but she was less sure about his wouldn't-even-jay-walk record.

"Mother, this is Lev." She took a deep breath. "Lev, this is my mother."

Sariel's eyebrows shot up. Oh. Oh. She clapped her hands over her mouth, mostly to hide her teeth when she gasped. "Oh! It is such a pleasure, Lev!" She glanced at Azrael. "You're not going to let me hung him."

Azrael shook her head, sagging slightly against Lev.

"The first man you introduce to me and I can't even hug him," Sariel complained with a sigh. But she quickly got over it. "How did you two meet? Azrael, love, please sit down. You look like you're about to pass out. What have I told you about long distance, hm?"
 
Logically, Lev knew that he was going to be meeting Azrael's mother when they went up to rescue Wade from whatever trouble that he had gotten himself into. He had come up with Azrael precisely for the purpose of standing beside her in case she needed emotional support, so meeting the woman was inevitable.

Somehow, knowing that he was going to meet Azrael's mother did not entirely prepare him for the fact that he was meeting his girlfriend's mother. He had never really gotten to this point in a relationship before. Usually he assumed it came after many more dates, but Azrael and her family were proving to be anything but usual. Lev liked that about her, even if it threw him a little off his game.

As soon as Az rushed into the apartment, Lev followed after him, looking from Wade to Percival with raised eyebrows. Wade immediately pushed out of his chair and put some distance between the two of them, his cheeks flushed like Lev had just caught them doing something indecent. At least he was in one piece.

He only had a second to be distracted by that before he was faced with Azrael. Introducing him to her mother.

Her mother who seemed to be very worried and was fussing over her daughter. It wasn't what he expected at all, but it was nice, in a way. It also didn't help the sudden onset of butterflies in his stomach.

'Uh,' Lev said intelligently, then straightened out his posture so he looked more 'proper'. 'It's nice to meet you, ma'am.'

He didn't reach out to shake her hand, offering a polite nod of the head instead. He was a little shocked that the woman seemed pleased to meet him. He had kind of expected to have to pass a shovel talk before any of that.

Unless that was for later. Regardless of shovel talks or threats of murder, he still wanted to make a good impression, although he had absolutely no idea how to do so.

'Oh, uhm. Insurance fraud?; he said when she asked how they met, then cringed. Percival and Wade both gave him wide-eyed owlish looks. 'No, I mean. We work in the same office. My boss is already here. Both my bosses. Er, although Mr. Fairweather works in another department, but he's technically also my boss.'

Oh great. He had talked a good game when it came to coming up here, and if Sariel had turned out to be a big scary mob boss like he was expecting, he probably would have been fine. But no, she was his girlfriend's mom and he was so flustered that he was making a terrible impression.

Wade rolled his eyes, hastily shoving the pen set into his coat pocket. It felt kind of silly to give it to Azrael now, and he was getting the impression that maybe he might have overstepped. Again.

It made him feel a little foolish, but at least he'd confirmed that Percival was more or less ok, even if he still didn't seem to have found the pants that went with his fancy suit.

'I wouldn't say we surround,' he said drily. 'I'm pretty sure Lev is the only one here who's actually in Az's league.'

He managed to keep his mouth shut on the crude comment that had been about to follow, now completely unsure if his acerbic protectiveness would be welcomed or not. He did not want to alienate one of his few real, good friends by being an ass to her mom - more than he already had.

Percival frowned, looking from Wade to Lev with a pensive expression.

'That's not true,' he said, because Wade always had terrible self esteem, and then regretted it when Wade gave him a narrow-eyed look.

'Are you trying to say that you're in her league? Because no offense, Percy, but Lev is way more boyfriend material than you, and Azrael is lovely, but I prefer someone who can rail me to within an inch of my life, you know?'

Percival's eyes widened in horror, and Wade realized that the crude comment had come out anyways. Damnit.

He at least felt heat rise to his cheeks, and Lev was almost shocked that this situation, as bizarre as it was, had actually managed to embarrass him. Wade of all people, embarrassed. He turned to Azrael, clearly surprised.

'I think your mom being here broke him,' he whispered to her, though judging from the flustered look on Wade's face, he had heard him. He scowled, then shoved his hands into his pockets.

'I mean, shut up. I, er, if you guys are doing the whole meet the parents thing, then I'll just, uh, go. I didn''t mean to, you know, intrude.'

He shrugged one shoulder, edging his way towards the door to get out of there as quickly as possible.
 
Sariel returned the nod Lev gave her. It was closer to a vampire greeting, anyway. He wasn't human was he? He didn't move like he was human. He wasn't a vampire which was a little irregular, but that was all right. At least he wasn't one of them.

"Oh, don't call me 'ma'am'," Sariel said. "It makes me feel old. Just Sariel, please."

Azrael rolled her eyes. Her mother was well over one hundred. But then Lev was telling her mother they had committed insurance fraud.

In front of Percival and Wade and her mother. Of those three, the only one who might take issue was Percival, and he knew full well she would break the heater in his office if he mentioned it to the medical board. But her mother--

"Ah, yes, I met my husband under very similar circumstances," Sariel said, with an easy smile. However, her daughter's chagrined expression made it clear that Lev was not actually bragging but had just sort of blurted it. What sort of criminal was he, anyway? "Well, that was tax fraud, though, not insurance fraud."

"That's not how we met," Azrael felt the need to clarify. "Wade dragged him down to my clinic because he was sick. But yes... that... sort of kicked things off."

Sariel smiled. "Bonding over crime, mm?"

"No, Mother," Azrael groaned. Even though it was kind of true.

Sariel nodded as the human said the first intelligent thing he'd said in the entirety of their acquaintance. They were not in Azrael's league. "That is true."

Azrael had a strong urge to joke that she, Percival, and Wade were in totally different ballgames, but she was not about to do that to them in front of each other and her mother. After all, Percival had just moaned in her office that Wade was straight. And considering all Wade's chatter about deep-throating people, she was pretty dang sure Percival was a bit oblivious. And while her mother wouldn't judge, it also was none of her business.

But then Wade had to prove he did not think before he spoke. Her mother's eyebrows shot up with a mix of shock and ammusement. Azrael straightened, arching an eyebrow at Wade. There was something about Wade that brought out her assertive side.

She smirked at Lev. She was fairly certain it was a combination of things, but she wasn't about to rat Wade out on any of those accounts.

As Wade tried to squeeze past, Azrael grabbed his sleeve. "Excuse you," she said. "You're not leaving. I fully intend to rail you within an inch of your life and not in the way you're hoping."

She looked up at Wade, silently asking him not to leave. She wasn't sure what is was about him that straightened her spine. It was probably that he was all bluster and fire and she had to match him to get him to listen. She had Lev's steady quiet strength, and Percival's polite power, but she needed Wade's bold bluster. If the three of them would stay with her, she was sure she could do this. She could face her mother. Because this was all pleasantries. Her mother would find a way to tell her why she was here without alerting them to the fact she was a mafia boss, and with the strength these three friends, Azrael could stand up to her. She almost wished Thea was here to lend her the sort of strength that came from being vibrant in a world that wanted to smack them down.

Azrael released his sleeve. If Wade felt uncomfortable around Percival or thought her mother was dangerous, she wasn't going to make him stay. It would have been easier to pretend like she could handle this herself. To push the rest of them out and deal with her mother on her own. Asking them to stay, felt a little more vulnerable than she wanted to be. She didn't like admitting she couldn't handle it on her own.

But she didn't have to handle it on her own. She had friends now. As disastrous as they were. They were hers, and she was theirs.
 
'Ok, Sariel,' Lev said, then cringed. It felt so weird and disrespectful to call his girlfriend's mother by her given name. 'Er, actually would you mind if I called you aunty? I'm not used to calling my friends' parents by their first names.'

He called Wade's mom aunty when he saw her, and he had a slew of aunties and uncles that he wasn't actually related to back in his parents' neighbourhood. It definitely made him feel less like he was about to get scolded by a teacher for using the wrong address.

Although from the way Sariel spoke, he got a feeling that wasn't going to happen.

'Oh, uh. I see,' he said, his brow pinching. 'Tax fraud, that's, uh. I mean I've never done that. Taxes are important, you know, they keep a lot of our important social services running...'

Ok, that wasn't what he wanted to say either. He was supposed to be here for moral support, not to lecture Azrael's mom about the importance of proper tax law.

'Er, I mean, yes! Az is right. Wade stopped me from working through a fever,' he backtracked, while Percival was giving him a pinched expression.

'I thought the company provided an extensive insurance plan...?' he mused, which got Wade to give him a thoroughly unimpressed look.

'Uh, maybe if you're human or rich,' he shot. 'Normal workers need to have been at the company full time for two years before they can even put dependants on their insurance--'

'I mean, it isn't really that big of a deal,' Lev interrupted, because he did not want Wade to go into full-on rant mode while Azrael's mother was standing there. Judging from Percival's shocked expression, and the way that Wade looked only a little bit chagrined, he could have gone on for quite a while.

'We could discuss it later,' Percival said quietly. Wade's gaze was still judgemental and a little bit disbelieving, but he decided to let it go. He didn't want Sariel to make anymore rude comments, and even though he had been the one to say Azrael was out of his league first, her agreement brought his shoulders up around his ears. If Azrael hadn't asked him to stay, he probably would have fled right then.

As it was, he met her eyes, and saw the kind of pleading look that he had given to his nanny far too many times as a child waiting outside his father's office. It had never really worked out for him, but he definitely wasn't going to leave Azrael alone when he needed support.

'I mean, I'm always up for getting pounded by a beautiful woman,' he said, deciding that if he had already made an ass out of himself, he might as well go all in. Percival made a strange choking sound behind him, and Wade rolled his eyes dramatically. 'oh, relax, Percy. There's nothing wrong with a good ol' strap every now and then. You should try it, maybe you'd chill out a bit.'

That made him actually choke, his cheeks flushing as he reached up to adjust his shirt collar.

'That hardly-- I mean-- I don't think this is appropriate,' he sputtered, and Lev sighed. This conversation was going all over the place.

'Az, are you hungry?' he asked, raising an eyebrow at her. 'Did you want me to warm up drinks for everyone?'
 
Sariel smiled. Aunty? She had quite a few nephews and nieces, and not all of them were the kids of her siblings. It wasn't an uncommon practice amongst vampires, so she shrugged and nodded. "Certainly, if you're more comfortable with it."

But then the first man her daughter had ever introduced to her proved he was, in fact, not a criminal. Sariel scoffed. "Tax fraud is so easy every millionaire with an accountant does it. And does the government really put most of taxes to those important social services?"

"Mother," Azrael sighed, because she did not want her mother and Lev to get into a discussion about whether or not taxes were necessary.

But then Percival questioned the company's insurance policy like she hadn't sent a letter to HR about how much it sucked and they should be ashamed of themselves. Azrael took a breath, decided she had way too many options, and held up her hands. "No, no, we are not starting this conversation because I will rant about it. Percival, if you would like my opinions on the company's insurance policy, I would be happy to supply it. The only blessing is that everyone can come to me for free but only for the most standard illnesses."

Azrael frowned, as that was continuing the conversation she had said they were not starting. And she was not about to tell him she often treated people for things she wasn't technically supposed to be seeing them for based on their insurance. She had never brought it up because Fairweather Communications had quite a few undocumented non-humans.

"Is that why you're always emailing Cassie about insurance loopholes?" Sariel asked in a dry tone, eyeing her nails.

Azrael flushed. She had been entirely aware her mother's youngest sister, Cassiel, had told her mother they had emailed. But Aunt Cass knew insurance fine print like nobody's business. And she didn't pester Azrael to come back to the family.

Fortunately, Wade distracted her mother by being himself. Sariel looked up from her snide eyeing of her nails in shock. But he was staying, and Azrael took comfort from that.

Without thinking, Azrael said, "Happy to do that, but once again not in the way you're hoping."

The look on her mother's face was so wonderful Azrael figured she would lie in bed at night giggling about it when she couldn't sleep. Sariel, who was fairly certain her daughter had very little interest in that sort of thing, was wondering if she had wildly misjudged Azrael. Except that he was suggesting the Fairweather boy engage in such activity as well, and poor Percival looked like he was about to just explode.

Azrael rolled her eyes at Wade and Percival. This, at least, was normal. "Wade, please don't give him an aneurysm. It is the weekend, and I have been a doctor for long enough today."

Azrael blinked at Lev. She assumed he meant heat up something a little more substatial for her, but Wade was here, and it was definitely rude to drink human blood in front of a human. The few times Thea had forced her to drink her smoothie while they made sure she finished it had been mortifying. Wade didn't have to know it was human blood, but she would, and that would make her feel like she was doing something she shouldn't. But also, she was famished. Were her mother not here, she might just ask him if he would mind. Was that weird? Was it weird to ask a human if he minded her drinking human blood in front of him?

Deciding Lev was better at this than her, she turned so her mother wouldn't be able to read her lips and dropped her voice so low only he would be able to hear. "I need blood, but would it be rude? Would Wade mind?" She flushed a little, because she knew he had offered before, but being one of the species that had to drink human blood to survive was a little awkward. "And I can fix my own, if that--I mean, I know you said but--" Azrael sighed. She really, really just needed to sit down. "As long as you don't mind."
 
Wade's ranting about insurance was expected - Wade kind of ranted about everything - but the frustration on Azrael's face gave Percival pause.

'You're right, we can talk about it another time. Maybe I can talk to Tristain about it. HR is his field more than mine,' he admitted. He had never been in the position where he had to actually use his insurance - all his medical needs before he met Azrael were taken care of by the clan's doctor, and no lamia would ever risk charging his mother for services.

'I'll take whatever you give me, you know that,' Wade said with a wiggle of his eyebrows, mostly because it was making Percival blush and stutter. Percival turned wide and shocked eyes to Lev, shocked that Wade was /flirting/ with his girlfriend right in front of him, but Lev was already headed into the kitchen.

'He's not serious about that,' Lev said, just because Azrael was right and he didn't want to send poor Percival into heart failure.

When they got into the kitchen, he pulled a chair away from the small dining table for Azrael, hurrying her over to it before he opened her freezer.

'Wade won't care,' he said, keeping his voice low. 'He'd probably be angrier if you held back on his account. And you look exhausted, so let me warm it up. Uh, 98 something, right?' He frowned as he looked at the bag, then fetched a mug out of the cupboard. He hadn't seen how Azrael prepared her blood before, but he figured it was easy enough. 'Do you do this in the microwave or a double boiler? Do I need a candy thermometer? I've never really done this before.'

Wade, meanwhile, was loathe to spend anymore time around Sariel than he absolutely had to, so he had dragged Percival into the kitchen as well. He eyed Lev and the mug for a moment, then shrugged and glanced over his shoulder at Percival.

'You can use the microwave,' he answered, and Lev raised his eyebrows but decided not to question it.

He emptied the blood bag into the mug and popped it in the microwave, then glanced at Azrael for permission before he opened up her kitchen drawers in search of a thermometer to test the temperature. Was that weird? Should he just, like, eyeball it? He generally had a higher body temperature, so he wasn't sure if that would be effective. Best to use the thermometer to be safe.
 
Azrael grunted because she had met Tristan. It wasn't that she thought he was a terrible person or even a terrible boss--though, that opinion might change if he did issue a memo about appropriate hair color and lab coat color--but she didn't think that employee health was something he thought much about. Her "you should be very ashamed of yourselves I thought this was a progressive company" letters had clearly accomplished nothing.

"He had better not be," Sariel muttered in response to Lev's clarification. Because, yes, Azrael was a grown woman but also Wade was human.

"Mother," Azrael called over her shoulder as Lev pushed her into a chair. She sagged forward, giving up on pretending she was perfectly alright. "I happen to like Wade very much, even though he is a bit of an idiot. But he's my idiot and I would appreciate it if you were kind to my friends."

She said it levelly, but no doubt her mother had noticed the increase in her heart rate. It was easier saying things like that when she wasn't looking at her mother. But she had just been telling Percival to not stare at his feet while his father ripped into Wade, so she was not about to let her mother get away with snide comments. She needed to model good behavior for Percival. Like an older sister would to show younger siblings the bigotry of parents was not the way to go.

Sariel was taken aback. She eyed Wade for a few seconds. All three of them were oddly protective of this "idiot" human. She didn't verbally acquiesce to Azrael's request, but she did hum to herself.

Azrael was distracted by Lev taking heating blood very seriously. She was about to tell him it really didn't matter when Wade chimed in. She glanced at Percival, eyebrow arched. Had he really consumed blood in front of his human friend? Wasn't that rude? Azrael was aware she had constructed some of these rules herself as there really were no good outlines for vampire/human interactions. But still. That seemed like Vampire/Human Relations 101.

But then she remembered that everyone present knew she was a vampire, but Percival was not aware Lev and Wade knew. She supposed since they were working together to get her blood, Percival was about to find out. Wade knew Percival was a half-vampire, but he didn't know she knew. Lev didn't know Percival was anything other than human. She knew Percival had a crush on Wade, but Wade didn't know. Lev maybe suspected? Oh, this was confusing. She was going to need to write all this down if it got any more convoluted.

But then Lev was desperately trying to find a thermometer--she probably had one or two in one of the drawers. She never bothered to get the exact temperature right, but he was too sweet. Azrael couldn't help smiling fondly. "A minute and fifteen seconds should do the trick," she told him, the smile softening her face.

Once the three men had managed to get her daughter something to drink, Sariel glanced over at Azrael. "How is the clinic, love?"

Azrael braced herself. "Well. We see about twenty patients a day, various demographics. All part of the Fairweather company, of course."

Sariel hummed. "Mostly human patients?"

"You know I can't tell you that, Mother." Azrael technically could share heavily generalized demographics, but she knew where this was going. "But I can tell you I do spend a lot of time studying physiology of under-served species."

"Mostly humans in a corporation clinic?" Sariel asked, her mock-pitying tone suggesting she was about to continue that thought.

"How is Chicago?" Azrael said quickly.

Sariel shrugged. "Haven't been in several years."

Azrael's next redirection froze on her lips. "What?"

"Darling, you did your residency at the Cleveland Clinic," Sariel said. Her husband had informed her that was actually very prestigious and she was very proud. "Don't you think that treating humans for colds in a corporation clinic--"

"Mother!" Azrael exclaimed. "I'm not--"

"You're just wasting your potential, that's all I'm saying."

"'Wasting'--I will have you know I found a new method for restoring vampire gut microbes after a round of antibiotics that is used by every other physician who treats vampires in this state," Azrael said, her nose lifted. There were several other triumphs, but she knew her mother would be most impressed by the vampire-related ones.

"And when will you publish?" Sariel asked casually.

Azrael bristled, annoyed that her mother apparently now knew how science publishing worked. "You know why I can't, Mother."

"So all your hard work goes unremarked upon? Or do you plan on letting some human publish your work under their name?"

Azrael gripped the mug very tightly. "I'm helping people!"

Sariel laughed mirthlessly. "Helping the very people who have hunted us for centuries."

"Yes!" Azrael said, rising to her feet. "Because I'm a doctor. We don't treat people based on whether or not we agree with them! Or whether or not they would go running for the stakes! We treat them because they're people, and people deserve help."

Sariel shook her head. "Is that what they teach in colleges these days? This human agenda?"

Azrael found she couldn't stand anymore and slumped back in the chair. "It's not a human agenda, Mother. It's just called being kind."

"You've been spending too much time with your assistant."

Azrael lifted her eyes to fix her mother with a glare over her glasses. "They are none of your business, Mother."

Sariel chuckled. So protective. "Just an observation, darling." Sariel hadn't really meant it as a threat, anyway. She glanced at the three men clustered in her daughter's apartment. "And I suppose they haven't been good influences, either."
 
Lev frowned slightly, a little bothered by the way his girlfriend's mother was treating his best friend. Wade could be abrasive, sure, but he usually had his heart in the right place.

Wade himself curled his lip, clearly not pleased with Sariel or her judgements, but not wanting to give her the satisfaction of arguing with her.

But then Azrael defended him. He blinked, a little surprised. Usually people didn't really defend him, aside from Lev. He got the occasional 'oh yeah, that's just what he's like, don't take him too seriously' comments, but actual defense was rare. His surprise must have shown on his face, because almost instantly Percival was behind him, one hand laid firmly on his shoulders.

He smiled at Sariel, his pure business smile that he used for particularly difficult clients.

"Mister Harper is also a good friend of mine, Mrs. Drake," he said. Wade looked like a deer in the headlights before his shock turned to a scowl. He opened his mouth to tell Percival to shove his friendship where the sun didn't shine, but Percival squeezed his shoulder tightly in warning. He was not particularly used to dealing with other vampires, nor was he well-versed in organized crime, but he knew from watching his mother that laying boundaries were important. This was not Percival's house, but it was his city, and he would not take insults or threats to those under his protection lightly.

Lev, who had finally found the thermometer and was carefully testing the temperature of the blood in the microwave, glanced back and gave Percival an odd look. Wade looked angry, and about five seconds away from tearing Percival's hand off of him, but then the fight seemed to leave him in a whoosh. He closed his eyes and sighed, not bothering to fight the proprietary hold. That was interesting. Lev rarely saw Wade give in like that to people he truly hated. He would fight and spit and claw against an enemy ten times stronger than he was, and he certainly had no fear of pissing people off. For him to actually give in and let someone fuss over him was... unusual.

Perhaps there was more to that relationship than he had first thought.

When Sariel was distracted by her conversation with her daughter, Percival's hold on Wade's shoulder relaxed. He should probably let go, but Wade was nice and warm, and Percival didn't actually want to let go yet. He didn't get many chances to touch Wade casually these days. He would take advantage of whatever he got.

Lev was quiet for a moment while Sariel just ripped into Azrael. He stared down at the cup of blood in front of him, then finally set it down in front of her on the table.

He wasn't entirely sure if his butting in would be appreciated. Luckily (or unluckily) Wade took the decision out of his hands.

"Ok, that's enough," he snarled, pulling away from Percival so he could face Sariel properly. "I don't care if you're her mother, you don't get to speak to her like that. She's an adult who can make her own decisions, and if she's happy doing what she's doing right now, what right do you have to come in here without warning and try to make her feel like shit? Az is a good doctor. She takes care of everyone on my team, regardless of species. She goes above and beyond what anyone would ever expect, and I've never felt more comfortable than I have knowing she's the one taking care of my subordinates."

He was actually snarling now, baring his teeth in anger as he shoved one finger in front of Sariel's face.

"What is even the point of this, huh? You come in here and talk down to your daughter, who is an amazing person, because you don't think the decisions she makes for herself are good enough? Az can do whatever the hell she wants, and she'd be amazing at it. What right do you have to criticize her?"

There was an angry growl in his voice, and he would have continued had Percival not yanked him back.

His chest was having with anger as Percival, wrapped an arm around his shoulders, keeping him from getting more aggressive. Wade struggled at first, but then he settled, even though his glare was still focused squarely on Sariel.

"Calm down, Wade," Percival said quietly, and Wade glared at him, but didn't fight. He knew that he was getting worked up. This conversation was hitting a little too close to home. He remembered every time his father had belittled him for not sharing his views or getting into politics, every time he'd been told he was wasting his life on his interest in music and computers. He'd never been able to stand up for himself, but he refused to let Sariel treat Azrael the same way.

"Fairweather communications compensates Azrael very well for her services," he said, his voice calm and controlled. "We are also lucky to have her in our employ. Honestly, Mrs. Drake, I am slightly offended that you find our company to be so below your standards."

"I think that we should let Azrael speak for herself," Lev said quietly, squeezing her shoulder. He had tried not to get involved, but he hoped he could diffuse the situation before someone (probably Wade) ended up dead. He sat down in the chair next to Azrael, his hand leaving her shoulder to intertwine with hers.

"It's been a really long day, anyways. Wade, why don't you go grab the phone book, find a nearby restaurant so we can order in," he suggested. Percival's hand around Wade's shoulder tightened momentarily, and Wade still looked ready to fight, but he took the out for what it was. He shrugged Percival off and retreated into the other room, while Percival discreetly positioned himself in the doorway.

Lev's shoulders sagged slightly with relief. Ok, no blood yet. That was good.

"Is it ok with you if we order in? I know we had a big lunch and everything, but it is getting kinda late, and you know Wade gets hangry."
 
Sariel looked Wade up and down before arching an eyebrow at his bared teeth. She slid her eyes to her daughter and looked at Azrael over the top of her glasses as if asking if she was going to let some human speak to her mother like that. Though, there was something not-quite-human about him.

Azrael suddenly felt like her defense of Wade had been inadequate. He was also going to get all his blood drained out of his body. She fixed her eyes on her mother, warning her not to do anything. Azrael reached for the wards in her home.

"What right?" Sariel asked quietly. "She is my daughter and she has a duty to her family."

Azrael winced. But she also knew Wade would not take that sentiment well, so she spoke quickly. "Mother, I will never stop loving you and Dad, but your destiny is your own."

Sariel glanced at her daughter, exhausted from protecting Percival Fairweather, her fingers intertwined with those of a young therianthrope of some kind. While she didn't appreciate being told "no", she had to admit she saw herself in the stubborn tilt of Azrael's chin. "That's your answer, then?"

Azrael nodded slowly.

Sighing, Sariel stood. "While I had hoped for better, I can't say I'm surprised."

Azrael let out a breath in a long sigh. This turned to sucking air through her teeth when Sariel turned to face her, dropping the polite facade. Sariel Dreix, head of the Blood Mafia, smiled dangerously. "Darling, do stay out of my way."

Azrael rose, matching her mother's threatening stance. She gathered every scrap of blood left to her. "These three are mine, Mother."

Sariel slid her eyes to each of the men in her daughter's apartment.

"And Thea," Azrael added, wondering if she should try to claim anyone else.

Sariel's eyes landed on Percival and his guard of the doorway. "I'd grant you four, but you already have Dekker."

Azrael narrowed her eyes. She thought about sealing off Percival's blood right then and there, but it would probably kill her. "If anyone comes to me for medical assistance, including the law, I will help them."

"He's here, by the way. Dekker. If you think he won't expose you, you're naive."

"I'm a doctor, Mother," Azrael said by way of explanation.

Sariel sighed, the polite mask falling back into place. "Your father sends his love." She turned and reached for the door, then stopped. Without turning, she said, "Seriously, Azrael. Do not involve yourself."

"I'm a doctor," Azrael repeated.

Sighing again, Sariel pulled open the door to her daughter's apartment and swept out.

Azrael sank back into the chair and took several deep breaths. "Yes, let's order in."

She had thought for sure there for a second her mother was going to try to attack Percival. He was in danger, that was for sure. She pulled her glasses off and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I'm so sorry."
 
Oh, Wade did not appreciate that sentiment at all. Being her mother did not give her the right to control her life or criticise her choices. He would have gone on a very angry tirade had Azrael not cut him off. Instead he steamed, hands clenched into fists at his sides until Sariel finally left.

Lev let out a sigh of relief, while Percival stepped out of the woman's way. He lingered in the doorway, watching her leave, before he finally deflated as soon as she was gone. This was bad. Very bad. Had Azrael been alone, he would have pulled her aside to tell her just how bad this was, but Wade and Lev technically didn't know about his family's involvement in organized crime. If it was up to him, he would like to keep it that way.

'Az, I'm sorry but your mom is a bi--' Wade began, stomping over and slamming the phone book onto the counter. Lev cleared his throat loudly and gave him a warning look, which managed to calm Wade's anger just a little bit. Right. Azrael wasn't like him, she didn't hate her parents. 'Bit of a pain.'

Lev snorted, but at least he'd tried.

'Well, I won't lie, that was definitely not how I expected today to go,' he said wistfully. He wasn't really sure how he had expected it to go, but at least the worst case scenario had been avoided. He relaxed in his chair, eyeing Percival with a small frown. 'Also, not that I don't think pink suits you, what's up with your hair?'

Percival flushed, the colour standing out against his paler cheeks, and Wade immediately swung his angry attention back his way.

'Yeah, you never answered me about that,' he snapped, and Percival actually bowed his head under the weight of his gaze. 'I also wasn't expecting you to be here. I thought you had some kind of medical emergency. Are you ok?'

Lev raised his eyebrows but decided not to comment on Wade's aggressive mother-henning. He had always known his hatred for Percival was more of a very complicated self defense mechanism, but there seemed to be more going on here than he actually knew.

'It- I'm fine,' Percival stuttered, avoiding Wade's intent gaze. His eyes fell on the open phonebook, taking the chance to open up the yellow pages and scan distractedly through them. 'I, er. I don't know how to explain-'

'It's easy, you just tell me the truth and what happened. It's not hard, Percival. Why was Az so worried about you today? What did you do, besides commiscerating with her mother in her living room while she wasn't there?'

Wade's tone was downright acerbic, and Percival couldn't help but shrink back a bit.

'It's a medical condition,' he said finally, and Wade threw his hands up in the air.

'Oh, wow, ok, sure. You have a medical condition that gives you pink hair and makes you go behind peoples' backs. Cool. Awesome. Can you be upfront with us for five minutes? I know your family is fucked up and all, but if you get Lev and Az wrapped up in that bullshit, you need to come clean. Please.'

Percival hesitated, because Wade did not use the word please often. The way the fight had drained out of him on that final plea, and the slump of his shoulders did something very funny to Percival's heart.

Wade had found out about the vampire thing by accident, but he had always kept Percival's secrets. Even now, he wasn't letting on that he knew, even while begging for honesty, because he was worried that Azrael and Lev would get caught up in his father's scheming.

It made him feel like a pathetic wet noodle, and his own shoulders slumped in resignation.

'Alright. We'll discuss everything, but can we order dinner first?'

Lev watched Percival, then turned his eyes to Azrael.

'I'm all for having dinner first, but... should we call Thea? I don't want them blindsided by anything, and it seems like this would be an easier conversation to have once,' he suggested. He considered whether it would be worth it to bring Garth in on it too, but figured Azrael might object to that suggestion.
 
Azrael rubbed her forehead, squeezing her eyes shut. "Yes, she is," she agreed with Wade.

"This is bad," she said, because she felt like someone had to say it. Her mother had told her to stay out of her way. She had known she was going to get herself into trouble by sealing Dekker's blood off, but she had just wanted one less person her family could kill. But now her mother knew she could and would interfere.

Fortunately, everyone got very distracted by Percival's unusual hair color. Wade quickly got frustrated by it. While she didn't want Wade to think she was taking sides, he was starting to veer into being rude.

"Wade," she said, her tone as gentle as possible. "He wasn't going behind my back. My mother let herself in. She snapped my wards."

Azrael stared into the blood Lev had taken so much care to heat for her. It was just warm now, but she drank it quickly. She would need the strength.

She glanced between Percival, Wade, and Lev. This was a mess. But Lev was right. More than anything, she just wanted Thea there so she could make sure they were safe.

Azrael pulled out her phone and called one of the few numbers in her contacts.

Thea picked up on the second ring. "You never call me, are you ok?"

Azrael sighed. "Can you get to my apartment? I can pay for a taxi."

"Why? What's going on? Are you ok?"

"I'm ok," Azrael said, though she supposed she wasn't, really. "I'll explain more when you--"

"You're freaking me out, Doc," Thea cut her off, their voice rising slightly.

"My family is in town, and they know about you," Azrael said, not knowing what else to say.

"Oh shit," Thea said. Azrael could hear movement, hopefully Thea shoving stuff in a bag so they could come over. "Is my family safe?"

"Yes, honestly, you are too, but... I don't think the clinic can stay out of this. I'll call you a taxi."

There was a sound of a door closing, then feet on stairs. "I can grab one. Wouldn't mind being reimbursed, though, to be honest."

"Of course." Azrael hesitated. "Can you... text me every five minutes or so?"

She could hear the fond smile in Thea's voice. "You thought about getting that anxiety looked at?" There was the slamming of a car door, then Thea said, "I hope you have more than pancake mix and protein powder in your cupboards because I am hungry. See you soon."

Azrael hung up and ran a hand through her hair. She wanted to scream or cry or run around. Her family was here. In The City.

And something else nagged at the back of her mind. Pinching the bridge of her nose again, she asked, "What should I do about Dekker? They can't touch him with magic, but bullets and knives still do the trick. I don't... I don't know if I can deal with his condescending judgemental attitude right now, but I also don't know if we should just leave him at Wade's. And this isn't his jurisdiction, but he's still a cop. But also I don't want him blindsided, either. I don't know, what should I do?"

Azrael thought she knew the right thing to do, but she didn't want to do it. She was sort of hoping Lev would gently tell her it was the right thing to do so she would have more resolve to do it.

Her phone vibrated with an update text from Thea. Good. She pushed herself to her feet and wobbled over to the fridge.

"I need more blood, I'm sorry." She glanced back at Wade. "I'm so sorry to be drinking it in front of you, but I burned myself out protecting Percival from my mother. And I'm not going to fly into a rage and start attacking people if I don't get more blood, so please don't think that, either."
 
Wade frowned slightly, a little surprised when Azrael defended Percival. Of course Percival hadn't gone behind her back. He had just been caught up in the middle of things, and Wade had made assumptions. Deep down he hadn't really wanted to believe that Percival was really that kind of person.

But he couldn't shake the memory of his mother hesitating every time she left the house, terrified of the swarm of reporters outside asking her for her statement. The way people had stared at the both of them, the judging looks and the whispers of 'how could you be married to someone like that and not know?'.

Or the memory of going back to his dorm room the day the news broke to find every trace of Percival gone, as if he'd never been there. He had stopped him after classes, of course, tried to apologise, but the fact that he had left as soon as Wade was of no further use to him had hurt the most.

'I-- Ok,' he said, forcing himself back to the present. Percival was looking at him with a bit of shame but no judgement, and he was very clearly on Azrael's side. It should have made Wade feel better, but it only made his stomach twist sourly. Being angry that Percival was innocent and standing up for Azrael when he had left him high and dry probably made him a bad friend.

He became very interested in the numbers for nearby pizza places, scanning the ads diligently. Percival shifted from one foot to the other, and he looked like he wanted to reach out again, put a hand on his shoulder, but Lev quickly shot him a look and shook his head.

'Ask Thea what they want on their pizza,' Wade said, pulling out his phone. 'Or I'll just get pepperoni.'

Percival opened his mouth to say that he couldn't eat pizza because of the diet Normandy had asked him to go on with her, but quickly decided better of it. He was tired, it had been a horribly long day, and a good pepperoni pizza sounded too good to pass up.

'It is bad,' Percival agreed. 'I think that... I should perhaps come clean about a few things myself, once everyone is here.'

Lev hesitated for a second, then nudged Azrael gently with his elbow.

'Hey, we don't have to bring Dekker here. Wade's got a landline, I can call him and put him on speakerphone. That might be better anyways, if your mom is still around the neighbourhood,' he suggested, then reached out and squeezed Azrael's hand.

Wade was ordering pizza from the living room, his voice low, and the normalcy of it was grounding for Lev. He had not dealt with organized crime directly before. As much as he wanted to be the solid voice of reason here, he felt sorely out of his depth and a little scared. At least Sariel had seemed like she wouldn't go after Lev or his family, but Wade... Wade was another issue entirely.

Percival seemed to know it, too. He chewed on his lower lip, glancing at Azrael cautiously.

'I worry about Wo-Wade,' he admitted, his voice quiet so Wade wouldn't hear. 'His family has a history of... unpleasant politics. Would that make him a target to yours, if they found out?'

He didn't want to give too much away, and judging by the look that Lev was giving him, he might have pushed it a bit. But it was important to ask.

'Honestly, right now I feel like each of us only has one perspective of a much bigger picture. Normally I'm all for people keeping their secrets if they're personal, but... This situation is looking to be pretty big and pretty dangerous. We should probably be upfront about everything that might be relevant.'

Wade, who had hung up on the pizza place and come back into the room, frowned slightly as he shouldered past Percival. Lev was looking at him with his special brand of encouragement, and it was making his insides do little flips.

'No secrets between friends, I guess,' he grumbled. 'Although... I don't know Garth that well. Do you think he would...'

He trailed off, and Percival cleared his throat.

'Yes, about that. You mentioned Dekker is a detective. I would like to explain everything, but doing so means talking about my mother's... business dealings. That can't get out to police. It would make the situation even more complex than it already is.'

Lev decided that was a whole can of worms that he was not touching until Thea got there and he had eaten at least two slices of pizza. He hopped to his feet, grabbing Azrael another bag of blood from the freezer.

'I know that much, Az,' Wade said with a fond roll of his eyes. 'I'm not a vampire expert or anything, but I'm certainly not scared of you of all people losing self control.'
 
"They will like pepperoni," Azael said with confidence. She also knew Thea's favorite pizza combination was pineapple and bacon, but that was apparently a source of some contention amongst humans. Azrael didn't see why. She had tried some and it had been a fun explosion of flavors.

Azrael glanced at Percival. In everything, she had been focused on Wade's mouth being the cause of his doom and not his family. She had completely forgotten who his father was. She paled, pushing her fingers through her hair. "Silver."

Would her parents go after him? His father was dead, they couldn't use Wade to get to him. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "Not without reason. Hurting him would result in no gain."

Azrael let out a breath when Lev gave her permission to leave Dekker out of this for now. She knew she should probably involve him eventually, but the part of her that had grown up in the criminal underworld broke out into hives at the idea of narking on her family.

"We leave him out for now, then. Maybe he'll actually sleep for once."

Azrael winced. She felt a little silly letting Lev get her blood, but she also knew that it was important to let people help her.

And Wade was calling her "Az" and she kind of liked it. She smiled wryly. "Well, good. There's just a lot of scary myths about vampires and I don't want you thinking they're true or anything."

She did get hangry, though, and Thea would certainly have brought that up if they had been there. She glanced at her phone, frowning at the lack of texts.

The door opened, and Azrael spun. But it was just Thea, letting themself in. Thea's grin fell the second they saw Azrael. They rushed in, gripping her forearms.

"What the hell, Doc?" They frowned at the three men in Azrael's apartment. "Can't you see she's hypotensive? And you idiots are just letting her walk around?"

"Hypotension is not as dangerous in vampires," Azrael said as Thea forced her back into a chair.

Thea dumped their bag with its many key chains on the ground and crouched in front of her. "Lies." They pressed their thumb into pad of her thumb. "Look, arterial filling is slow--don't tell me it's not, I remember that vampire stab victim we treated. Where is all your blood? Do you need erythropoietin? We can't give you a transfusion."

Azrael opened her mouth, but Thea was already up and headed for her bathroom. They soon returned with a bottle of pills and handed it to her. They sat in the other chair and set out the disinfectants and the bandages they had pulled from her bathroom cabinet.

"I can't leave you alone for five minutes," Thea complained, removing the bandage Azrael had hastily applied and preparing to reclean the cut Azrael had given herself.

"Thea! Careful of the blood!" Azrael said, suddenly realizing Thea didn't have gloves on and jerking her arm away. Normally it wouldn't be a big deal, but the wound was fresh and had bled profusely.

"It's dried."

"Always treat blood like it's infected, you know this!"

Thea eyed her. "I thought vampires didn't really get viral infections."

"That's because our blood can act like a virus in your blood." Azrael bent over and pulled a pair of gloves from her satchel. "And anyway you don't want non-viral infections, either."

Thea's hands were a bit larger than hers, but they dutifully pulled the gloves on. They held them up and wiggled their fingers. "I thought that was a myth."

Azrael shook her head. "It isn't, and no reliable vaccine has been developed."

Thea glanced at her, a sly look in their eyes. "It probably wouldn't be enough to do anything, though, would it? You're just being cautious." They smiled in triumph at the Doc's chagrin. "Well, ignoring the fact you're having a party and I am the last to find out, what the hell is going on?"

They glanced over at Lev, who was apparently making the Doc some blood--good--and then to Wade and Percival Fairweather, of all people. "Fang gang's all here? Are we getting something to eat? I might try some blood if I have to wait much longer."

"Thea."

"What? I'm hungry enough to try cannibalism."
 
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Well, at least Sariel was less likely to go after Wade because of his father. The last thing Percival wanted was for a second vampire family to upend Wade and his mother's lives.

"I mean, I'm not scared of you if that's what you're worried about," Wade said with a little grin. He had no doubt that Azrael was capable of killing him a hundred different ways if she wanted to, but he didn't have even the slightest fear she'd do it.

When Thea arrived, Lev found his face falling.

"Wait, is it really that bad?" He asked, giving Azrael a worried look. "I know you were feeling kind of tired but if I'd known it was really bad I would have carried you."

He hoped that his dragging her around hadn't made things worse. Percival and Wade both took that cue to turn Looks on Azrael, Percival's more worried and Wade's more exasperated.

"Ok, what actually happened?" Wade asked, a hint of frustration in his voice. "All I know is that your mom was here and then you showed up looking like hell. Did you get attacked or something? Is that why you're-- uh, hypotension is low blood pressure, right?"

He wasn't sure how being attacked could lead to that. He shot an accusing look at Percival, but the other man just shrugged his shoulders.

"From the ward magic, most likely?" he guessed. "I don't use that kind of magic, so I'm not entirely sure how it affects the body."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure-- Why would you use magic?" Lev asked, his brain taking a second to catch onto the latter part of that sentence. Percival had the decency to look a little embarrassed, but he said he was going to be coming clean.

"Wade ordered pizza, it should be here in around fifteen minutes," he said in lieu of answering. Lev continued to give him the stink-eye, but he seemed to be more concerned with making sure Azrael was safe and sound rather than questioning him. He squeezed her free hand while Thea took care of her arm. They should probably move to the living room so everyone could sit comfortably, but now that Lev knew Azrael's tiredness was worse than it seemed, he really didn't want her to move unnecessarily.

"I wouldn't recommend cannibalism, humans don't really like it," he said dryly. Wade let out a sharp laugh, though Percival just pinched his brow.

"Well, we, er, realized that Azrael's family coming to town presents certain dangers, and in order for everyone here to be fully prepared, it's important that I - we - come clean about the entire situation."

Now that the adrenaline rush of the situation was over, Percival was feeling like collapsing into a chair himself. Wade was giving him a funny look, and eventually he grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and tugged him over to the last kitchen chair, shoving him down into it. Percival didn't think it was truly necessary, but when he made to get up Wade only shot him a glare that kept him seated.

"Basically everyone in this room has a lot of secrets, and we're getting those out in the open before they come up to bite one of us in the ass. Right? So far we've got that Az's mom is in town, and she's a bit--"

Lev cleared his throat, and Wade groaned.

"Bit... dangerous. And also presumably a vampire. Now you, asshat," he finished, gesturing towards Percival with a flourish. The vampire sighed, but at least Wade seemed less genuinely angry than he had earlier.

"Alright. I want to apologize first and say that I was not keeping this from any, er, friends intentionally. So I hope nobody is offended, but I am, er, also a vampire. Sort of."

He adjusted his collar, refusing to meet anyone's eyes, while Wade squinted at him.

"Wait, what do you mean sort of," he needled, and Percival shrugged his shoulders.

"My father is a vampire and my mother's a naga, it's complicated."

Wade's eyes widened, because he hadn't known that.

"Wait. What the hell's a naga?" he asked, because he had assumed that Percival would be explaining things to everyone else, not him. To find out that there were still things he didn't know about Percival Fairweather bothered him more than he expected it to.

"Snake person," Lev said, though his voice was a little weaker than normal. "Also uh, generally considered to be not real? And from southeast asia, which, I don't mean to be rude, but Percival, you are the whitest guy I've ever met."

Percival rolled his eyes. He considered bringing up the fact that he ~sort of~ had albinism, but he could see the way Wade was looking at him, and he didn't want to give him any more reasons to blow his lid.

"My great grandmother emigrated to America back in the 1700s," he said with a shrug. "And there is a smaller subspecies that originates from Greece, and a few other pockets of Europe and the Mediterranean."

His grandfather was a lamia who was born in Denmark, but Percival knew that a lot of his genetics did come from his father.

Wade was gaping at this point, opening his mouth and closing it like he had no idea what was going on. After a second he quickly turned around.

"You know what? I'm going to go down to the ground floor and see if the pizza's here," he said abruptly. Percival frowned, about to stop him, but Lev beat him to it.

"Wade, you almost got your ass kicked by a very angry vampire, who might still be around the building. Go sit in the living room," he instructed. Wade looked like he was going to fight, but finally grumbled and shoved his way over to the couch to flop down.

Percival waited until he had quieted down to an angry sulk, then leaned his head back and closed his eyes.

"None of that is important, anyways. And also don't tell anyone about any of this - I'm only talking about it because everyone here is already more or less involved. What's important is that my mother is a very powerful creature who has a stranglehold on the drug and sex trades in Manhattan, and if she even thinks anyone is trying to encroach on her turf, it will be very, very ugly. Which is why I need to know what your family does exactly, and how they operate, because it would be very bad for everyone involved if this ended in a supernatural gang war."
 
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