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danetobelieve · 5 years ago

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A Seal, A Mage and A Hunter Walk Into A Bar || Orion, Ricky and Winston

Winston hadn’t expected Rio’s message. They hadn’t expected them to be coming over and honestly they were somewhat concerned about the sudden change in the perspective that their new friend had. But they were glad that they had chosen to turn to Winston and they weren’t going to let them down. The thunder rumbling in the background was somewhat atmospheric, night must just be falling as darkness was enveloping the exterior of their house. Hearing the knock on the door, Winston turned back to Ricky doing their best to hurridly explain. “Rio messaged, I don’t have time to properly explain the very little that I do know, just be your usual gregarious and welcoming self and he’s underage so you can’t try and get him too drunk I don’t think he’ll appreciate the hangover tomorrow.” Winston turned to the door as they heard a second knock and dashed over, adjusting their glasses and smiling at Orion as they pulled the door open.

It was one of Ricky’s favorite kinds of weather; dark and stormy, and as Spring still hadn’t really managed to find their little corner of Maine, he’d lit a fire in the fireplace to really round out the whole atmosphere. He and Winston had just been relaxing, something playing on the tv in the background, most of his attention turned to the 3DS he’d bought himself to keep from dying of boredom as he recovered when several things happened in quick succession and his poor mind tried to keep up. There was a knock on the door and Winston suddenly started talking a thousand miles an hour, “One I resent the implication that I’m some sort of weird “get the kids drunk” guy and two what? What’s going on?” Gregarious and welcoming were Ricky’s standard MO and it wasn’t hard for him and he somewhat stiffly pushed himself off the couch and towards the door that Winston ran towards, smiling broadly as it was opened to reveal a very wet Orion. “Hey man. Welcome.”

Orion hadn’t had much time. He had left his family in the guest house and sprinted to his bedroom, quickly grabbing a duffel bag and trying to stuff clothes and some essentials into it before his parents made their way into the main house. He escaped out of the front door before he could hear his parents. They probably weren’t in any rush. It was clear they hadn’t wanted him there anyways. It wasn't until after he was out onto the street that he realized it had started raining. Usually he would have heard the rain, or smelled the moisture in the air, but his senses must have been off tonight. He shot a message over to Winston, confirming that the invitation they had extended was stil open. Winston and Ricky didn’t live far away, so he walked over slowly, giving Winston time to reply and letting the rain soak him along the way. It wasn’t until he got to the door that he became self conscious of the blonde hair. He hadn’t had blonde hair since his eighteenth birthday, and anyone he had met in the last few years would have never seen it. But he couldn’t exactly hide it right now. At least one good thing about the rain meant that it washed away any evidence that Rio had been crying. So he sighed and knocked on the door, smiling as normally as he could when the two answered. “Uh- hey there. Thanks for letting me stay over.”

Winston shot Ricky a warning look. The truth was that he knew little more then their friend. The second thing Winston did was raise and eyebrow at the Blonde hair. They were sure it was a better look when Rio wasn’t soaked to the bone by the torrential rain. Winston stepped back and let Rio into their home, leading them towards the kitchen. “Don’t worry at all you’re always welcome bro…” they looked them up and down for a moment, “no offence dude but you look very wet, I could��ve come and got you if I had known you needed me man…” they trailed off suddenly aware that it was hardly a useful suggestion now. “Do you want a hot drink or a towel or something?” Winston hoped that their things hadn’t gotten too gross in the rain, but they also wanted an explanation. There was plenty of time for that though and Winston didn’t want to push the matter.

It was one of the many gay-red-flags that Ricky knew when somebody who’d been conspicuously radio silent showed up with freshly dyed blonde hair. But Winston’s quick warning made him think this was anything but being upset over a boy. “Towels and tea.” he kept his smile wide and warm as he turned on his heel and made his way to the kitchen to put the kettle on and then to the closet to grab one of the spare towels down from it, “Do you have dry things? If you don’t between the two of us Winston and I can cobble together something dry and warm for you. We can throw your wet things in the dryer for you.” He offered the towel to Rio, shooting a confused and slightly worried look over to Winston, “Have you had dinner? I can whip you up something real quick. Something warm.”

For some reason, this wasn’t the first time that Orion had been around Ricky completely drenched and being offered a change of clothes. Though it didn’t make him any less nervous about it. At least this house offered more places to change than the workshop had. Orion could tell the glances at his hair. He didn’t blame them. It wasn’t like it had been professionally done. Just a sloppy quick bleach to appease his parents. The first chance he got he would be dying it back or shaving it off. Now that he was away from his parents the last thing he wanted was to continue looking like them. “I should be fine. Well as long as the duffel bag kept the rain out.” He shrugged, glancing down at the bag. Hopefully he could find something in the bag that was semi dry that he could change into. He went into the house but stayed hovering by the front door, accepting Ricky’s towel but not wanting to continue dripping across the house. He set his duffel bag down and began wiping off what he could, though there wasn’t much he could do for his clothes. The hoodie felt like it weighed an extra twenty pounds and clanged to him uncomfortably. He’d have to get into the safety of a bathroom before he could take it off. “Um yeah… just some tea or something would be great thanks. And uh- no food needed. I’m not hungry. Thanks though.” After what he saw, he wasn’t sure he would ever have an appetite again. “Sorry for the short notice. I just need a night or two to figure things out. I hope I didn’t interrupt anything.”

As Ricky made tea, Winston grabbed some clothes which had been neatly folded and were sat waiting to go up to their rooms and directed Rio to the toilet downstairs so that he could get changed. “Can I get a coffee Ricky,” Winston was wondering if perhaps Rio needed some of the whiskey that Ricky loved so much but tea would do for now, or coffee if you weren’t planning to sleep which Winston wasn’t, they had too much left to do. They needed to research the squid lake demon, they needed to try not to obsess over Athena after last night and they needed to keep working on their project. It was getting close to the end now. “You didn’t interrupt anything,” Winston replied dismissively even though they were half way through dry running a sub routine that ran the graphics vectors for their project, but that could wait, Rio was more important, “and like I said you’re welcome here as long as you need or want to be here, we never managed to find a third room mate so there’s still space.”

“This close to bedtime?!” Ricky kept the shock in his voice light and jovial, an attempt to lighten what was becoming an oppressively dim atmosphere, “Fine, but I’m not reading you a bedtime story when you can’t sleep tonight. You’re on your own.” As Winston and Rio both disappeared he quickly ducked back towards the front door; keying in his passcode on the alarm so that it armed the mundane and magical systems Winston had been installing on the house. He didn’t know exactly what was happening, but people didn’t show up soaking wet with a duffle unless something was wrong, and this way they’d know if anyone turned down their drive. “Oh yes, my attempts to catch a Cutiefly for that bitch in the pokecenter were really eating up my evening.” He poured the coffee and the tea and brought them back into the living room, setting Rio’s by the chair closest to the fire, “You’re never interrupting, and like Winston said, “You’re welcome here whenever and however long you need. Our house is yours.”

Orion wasn’t surprised that Ricky and Winston were being this welcoming, but they were certainly emotional about it. But Orion kept his nerves at ease. The last thing either Ricky or Winston needed was for Rio to break down in front of the two of them. They deserved better than that. Plus, it wasn’t like Rio could exactly explain the situation to them. The truth wasn’t going to help anymore. It was too late for that. Instead, Rio silently accepted the clothes and went into the bathroom to get changed. After switching into drier clothes, he stared at himself in the mirror for a long time. His eyes were less noticeably red than they had been before, but that was because the rain had made his entire face red and puffy. Great. His blonde hair hung, wet and ratty in his face and he rifled through his bag until he found the one snapback he owned, some zoo hat that he had bought at a thrift store and put it on to push the hair from his eyes. He already felt better, being here instead of his home. He knew he’d have to go back eventually. He still had things there. Plus his phone. His car. Well… maybe he couldn’t keep the car anymore. It wasn’t his. Despite the relief, everything still weighed on his shoulders. He had so much to do, to worry about now. He was exhausted. But he would try to stress about that another night. He went back into the kitchen area, meeting the two back in there and trying again for that smile. “Yeah, of course. Thanks.” He didn’t want to impose on them. Not without a job or anyway to pay rent. But Winston spent enough time at the Scribe Headquarters now that he couldn’t exactly hide out there without Winston finding out. “Thanks for the tea.” He grabbed onto the cup to warm up his hands, blowing at the liquid to try to cool it off before taking his first sip. The tea stung when it touched his busted lip. He hadn’t even realized that it had been hurt until now. It had probably happened when Athena had punched him in the face earlier. Then again, he would have taken that over what had actually happened anyday. “So uh.. What are you both up to tonight?”

Looking Orion up and down, Winston reached out and topped up their cup of tea, hoping that it would prompt Orion to in turn spill their own tea but apparently that wasn’t to be and both Winston and Ricky were going to have to ask. Winston decided that as they were mostly responsible for this they were going to have to be the person who made the first step. “It was just a normal night, Ricky and I kinda do whatever the fuck we want usually, but obviously you coming over changed our plans a little, which I am not complaining about because it is much cooler to have a friend over then do something on my own…” Winston tried to think of the best and most sensitive way to phrase this, after deciding that their own addled brain apparently couldn’t quite manage that level of emotional sensitivity, Winston decided that ripping off the bandage might be a good idea. “Rio, what’s going on? You show up soaked? Is everything okay at home?”

Ricky made himself a mug of tea as well, stirring in some honey as he made his way gingerly back to his spot on the armchair, “Not shit. I’m still stuck in the house on practically bed rest so… it’s just me and Winston in front of the fire like some alternate universe Norman Rockwell painting.” He took a sip, watching Winston refill Rio’s mug and attempt gingerly to eke some sort of story out of him. “I’ve gotta side with my better domestic half over here. You know we love seeing you, and you’re welcome here anytime day or night, and for as long as you need to be, but this is honestly a little worrying. People don’t generally show up dripping wet at my door, as this is not a scene from The Notebook. I’m hotter than Ryan Gosling for starters.” It wasn’t going to go anywhere if the atmosphere turned intense or if it seemed like they were grilling him for answers. Ricky could at the very least help keep it light and pleasant.

Orion laughed nervously at Ricky’s joke, welcoming the humor dispersed through what was otherwise a pretty serious conversation. He supposed he couldn’t be surprised that the two were curious about Rio’s sudden appearance. He wasn’t exactly very subtle when he frantically messaged Winston and asked to crash for a couple of nights. If it hadn’t been so late Rio probably would have ran to the Scribe Headquarters, but their house was closer and he hadn’t exactly been in the right state of mind to think this far in advance. He didn’t want to lie. He was so sick of lying. But he couldn’t tell the whole truth either. Not without the obvious repercussions. More people would be in danger if they found out. It was better to keep the whole truth a secret. “We had a fight.” He sighed, settling on a vague version of the whole truth. “They want me to be something I’m not. And I can’t-” What was he going for here? He could tell them about him being a hunter. So what was he going for then? The idea came to him in a moment of deluded brilliance. Or maybe stupidity. The other thing that Rio would rather die than have his parent’s find out about. “I came out to them.” Guess he was lying again. “It didn’t go so well. Clearly. I couldn’t just stay there.”

Raising an eyebrow gently, Winston had to admit that they had known that Rio’s parents were that Christian then they might’ve been a little firmer in their offer. But Winston listened carefully at what their friend had to say before frowning gently and running their hand over the handle of their mug of very milky coffee. “Okay, that makes a tonne of sense,” Winston had to admit that this entire situation made them feel a little uneasy really, “you told them that you’re not …. Or that you are whatever and they took it badly?” Winston cast a critical eye over the bruising and cut up lip that Orion was sporting. “Rio, was it something more then just an argument? Did they hurt you? We can call the police if they touched you or you can just stay here….” they swallowed, worried that their friend might be in even deeper then before.

Ricky prided himself on his ability to always keep if not a pleasant face then at the very least a neutral face, but when Rio’s story slowly unspooled he felt his blood run ice cold and his eyebrows furrow into a frown. It reminded him of another fight, a long time ago, about something similar. “Well…” He took a sip of his tea to give himself a moment not to erupt in rage at Rio’s parents. “That is… profoundly upsetting to say the very least. I’m very sorry that happened. It’s not… that’s not a great argument to have. Winston’s right. Next steps are entirely up to you; I’d be more than happy to help you file a police report if you want or you can just stay here. But,” he could feel a shake in his hands and held his mug more tightly, “Let me make something super clear. You staying here has no time limit. As long as you need; no questions asked and nothing required in return. If you need to get stuff from your place one or both of us can go with you if you’d like. Or you can bring Dee. She’d be happy to. Ever seen an elderly woman threaten someone with a shotgun? It’s a fun time. But really. This house is your house too. We mean it.”

It was nice to have such supportive friends. And it would have been even nicer and felt more genuine if Orion had actually come out to his parents earlier that night. But who knows, the night could have gone even worse if everything had come to light. “No! No.” Rio could absolutely not go to the police. That was the worst case scenario. “They didn’t do this to me. I promise.” At least that was the truth. Sure, they were definitely involved. And they were absolutely to blame. But they hadn’t been the one to deck him in the face earlier that night. That had been his sister. Ironically, he blamed her the least for what had happened. He could see it, finally. Something in her that understood him. Maybe not entirely, and maybe she was too afraid to do anything about it as well. But she had even doubted their parents for a minute. That alone was enough to make Rio think there was still something there that was redeemable. “It’s- I think we all knew, y’know? It’s just never been said out loud before. I’ve always been different from them. Never quite fit in like they wanted me to. I think they thought I could still be saved or whatever.” Orion shrugged. He supposed it didn’t matter anymore. He was gone now. Hopefully for good. “Thank you, but I can go get it myself.” The last thing he needed was Ricky going over there. He was already 90% sure that he wasn’t human, and he didn’t need his family figuring that one out too. In fact, Rio didn’t want them to know where he was at all. He knew when they would all be out of the house. He knew all of their schedules by heart. He would just sneak in during the day. “I really appreciate you both. So now we can definitely talk about not me right?”

Swallowing gently, Winston listened once more and did their best not to roll their eyes at the story they were being told. But they weren’t ready to stop talking about their friend just yet. Winston also knew that Orion wasn’t entirely human, Skylar had told them about Orion being a hunter and Winston wasn’t about to judge them for it. Especially because they knew that Ricky was safe. But they didn’t know if they completely believed everything that was happening here. “If they didn’t do this then who did?” Winston wasn’t going to let anyone get away with hurting their friend, even if they had to call the cops themselves. “Listen, I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this, but maybe you should let one of us drive you to get your stuff later just so that you don’t have to haul it across to here on your own again,” and just so that they didn’t hurt Orion anymore, “we can wait in the car or something.” Swallowing once more, Winston glanced at Ricky and wanted to push the matter. “I think, that after that you’ve earned your privacy, so if you’d really rather talk about something else then of course we can, do you want a drink? Something … stronger then tea? I think you’ve earned it here…”

Taking a long sip of his drink Ricky shot a glance over at his housemate over the rim of his mug. As someone whose public identity and private life were a semi-complicated network of various lies and half-truths it was pretty apparent they were being told a version of the truth. “Like usual, Winston’s the smartest one in the house. I absolutely don’t think you should go alone. We’ll wait in the car, or Dee will. I was super serious about that. She’d do it in a heartbeat, with or without the shotgun. But… it’s not a good idea to do it alone.” Ricky didn’t share Winston’s belief that this conversation was over but, he also knew that pushing wouldn’t get them anywhere. This was a story that could only be fully told at Rio’s own pace. Wandering over to the sidebar he pulled out three rocks glasses and poured a decent slug of whiskey into each one, “Well. We’re not terribly exciting over here. I mean. I almost died a couple weeks ago but that’s already old news.”

While Orion appreciated how much Winston and Ricky seemed to care about his well being, their insistence on keeping him safe was really getting in the way of Rio’s ability to keep lying to them about tonight’s events, which he would rather slink away and sleep at the bottom of the lake than drag the two of them into. Lies or not, Rio knew it was best to keep them out of the Quinn affairs. He didn’t need anymore collateral damage. “My sister did it, actually.” he answered honestly, trying to disperse the truth throughout the lies to really weave the whole story together. “But uh- not because of the gay thing.” He didn’t know what made him defend her, but he wanted it to be clear that she hadn’t done it in some homophobic fit of rage. “We train together sometimes. Self defense.” Yeah, that was pretty much the truth. “She’s better than I am.” That was definitely the truth. “Fine, fine.” Rio admitted defeat and gave into Winston and Ricky’s demands. He wouldn’t go back alone, “But not tonight. I have plenty of stuff for a few days. I want to go during the day, when no one’s home.” Look at that, he could be honest about a few things. “Stronger than tea?” Rio questioned, confused. He didn’t drink coffee. Oh. Never mind. “Oh! Thanks. I don’t really drink. But I appreciate the offer.” He had heard about Ricky’s accident, but hadn’t exactly had a chance to visit considering everything. He was glad to see that he was out of the hospital and back to mostly functioning, “How has the recovery been?”

“Your sister?” Winston asked with a deep frown before pausing an sighing. “Well, that’s pretty fucked up, I didn’t know that you had your sister and I guess we can only deal with this in the way that you want, but you know, we’re here for you I guess, sorry, this is really new to me and I get that you guys train together but that seems a bit much…” Orion’s sister was clearly a hunter too and they were training together. “We don’t really know or do self defense,” Winston paused and frowned, “but maybe we should start, so if you …” they awkwardly fell silent and took a long breath. “No definitely not tonight, we can go back tomorrow or we can go back next week and I can take as much time to help you as you need or Ricky can or whatever,” Winston paused and nodded. Honestly at this point in time they were thinking that they might need the drink. “Sure, no problem….” they looked around at the room, waiting for Ricky to respond about the recovery.

Ricky split the contents of the third glass between the other two and offered one to Winston. “You know it’s like Winston’s in my head and saying everything I’m thinking. Because that is fucked up and I’m not the fuck about it. Thank you, though, for allowing us to go with you. I know I’ll feel better if you’re not going back there alone.” He slugged back the whiskey and set the empty glass down on the side table. “I mean. Speak for yourself. I can take care of myself. Self defense not required and if you make a comment about the car accident I’m gonna pull a shard of rib out of my chest and stab you with it.” He shrugged and sat back down in the chair, “Which brings us neatly around to the recovery thing. I”m over it. I’m super over it it’s so boring I might die from the boredom. They say the danger is infection… that’s bullshit. The danger is boredom.” He returned to his mug of tea, “But that’s about it. Moving on. We’ll clear out my random-ass art room and make it a bedroom for you tomorrow, but tonight we’ll have to set you up on the couch.”

“Yeah well, my sister’s a bit intense.” Orion shrugged. She had only done what she was forced to do. Not that he forgave it or understood it even, but he accepted it. He wasn’t ready to try to be friends with his sister or to rebuild bridges, but he didn’t hate her. Not entirely. “It’s not important, really. This bruise will clear up in no time. But no more self defense is fine with me. I’m not really much of a fighter anyways.” He wouldn’t miss the training sessions, not that he ever did much fighting back during them anyways. He listened as Ricky recounted his recovery story, or rather his recovery rant. Clearly he wasn’t a homebody, and he must have hated being trapped inside this place. “Can you at least go to the workshop?” He asked curiously. He wished he had some kind of craft that he could practice with the two of them in the workshop. But Rio wasn’t much of an artist, nor was he a computer genius. He wouldn’t have much expertise to add to the table. “Oh you don’t have to move your stuff out of the room. The couch is fine. Seriously. I just really appreciate you both.”

“A bit intense? Rio you have a split lip, I know you were sparring or training or whatever but that is a bit more then intense.” Winston replied with a tone of disdain to their voice. What kind of sibling did this to their own brother? The thought alone sent shudders down Winston’s spine. “Hey, self defense classes are fine, it’s the injuries that I’m concerned about, but yeah we can take a break and I am sure I can find you a sparring partner who won’t beat the shit out of you.” Winston wasn’t about to forgive whoever had done this to their friend. “Please do not say that, I’ve been begging Ricky to clean his shit out of that room for months, there’s so much goddamn clutter all the time and if you’re the reason that I get to avoid being on a program for hoarders then I won’t be complaining. Besides, the couch is only comfortable for one night.” Winston held their whiskey, not drinking it. They were lying of course. Ricky didn’t have a clutter problem and they hadn’t ever asked them to clear that room out. But Orion needed to feel like not a burden now and this was the only way Winston could think to do it.

Ricky watched silently as Rio and Winston talked about the incredibly transparent lie Rio was using to cover for his split lip. Whatever the actual story was, it was becoming incredibly apparent that he wasn’t going to share it with them… yet. If there was anything Ricky was good at it was being aggressively supportive and caring until people opened up; and a very nice pancake breakfast in the immediate future was going to be his first plan of attack. He tuned back into the conversation just in time for Winston to spin a ridiculous lie about the state of his studio, one he found himself narrowing his eyes over the top of his mug at Winston for, “It isn’t my fault that you don’t understand the complicated and incredibly personal way my art is organized. I think it really speaks volumes to the fact that you haven’t gotten to know me in the deepest parts of my soul that you think it’s messy. But Winston’s right about the couch. We’ll have a room made up for you tomorrow. Maybe take a little ikea road trip. Get some of those swedish meatballs and a bed with a name that has too many vowels.” He levered himself off the couch and started to gather the empty glasses, “Don’t worry about my recovery,” He gave Rio’s shoulder a gentle squeeze as he walked past, “Just worry about yours.”

Okay, so clearly they didn’t believe him. Orion was at least telling like 60% of the truth. 50/50 at the very least. But they seemed to be playing along for now at least. He figured they would come back to it eventually, but he seemed to be safe for now. “Okay. Got it. But no Ikea trip. I don’t have enough money yet. And you aren’t buying me anything. I have a sleeping bag that I can use until I can buy more stuff.” He did not want them paying for any of his stuff. He already had a free ride here as it was. At least until he could find a job and have some kind of income. They had already done way too much for Rio. “The only thing I need is a wifi password. If I have that I’ll be happy.” He sighed when Ricky dismissed Rio’s concern over Ricky’s health. “My recovery is a bit different… I didn’t break anything.” And if he had, it would heal within the week anyways.

Winston was glad that Ricky wasn’t pushing the split lip and that they had gone along with Winston’s incredibly transparent lie. Ricky was a neat freak and the idea that they could be a hoarder was beyond belief. But they knew that it made things somewhat better for Orion and they were happy that it made things a little easier. Laughing, Winston shook his head. “Rio you don’t get a choice about the IKEA trip, Ricky did the exact same thing to me when I moved in, I think he just likes an excuse to eat nothing but a plate of meatballs. But you can say no as much as you like, you’ll just wake up to a room full of flatpacked furniture or a you’ll find yourself on your way to IKEA without knowing about it.” Winston paused for a moment and nodded. “Of course, this is the wifi password and you should be able to connect to extenders throughout the house, there’s also a sound system you can connect your bluetooth too and you’re welcome to use the TV or the PS4 or any of the other stuff until we’ve got your stuff set up…” they shrugged. “Every wound is different Rio, you’ll just complain less about yours then Ricky does about his.”

“Listen to them. They speak the truth. You either get to help pick things out and listen to my amazing roadtrip playlists or you miss out on meatballs and get a surprise as far as furniture goes. Your call. But we’re turning that into a bedroom. After we clean up……. My mess.” from behind Rio’s back Ricky flipped Winston off and moved back to the kitchen, rinsing out the glasses and putting them in the dishwasher as he attempted to listen to the conversation from a slight distance, “Exactly what they said!” he called back, before walking back to the living room wiping his hands on a side towel, “Also all the food in the fridge. It’s not… overflowing right now because we need to make a grocery run but anything that’s in there you’re welcome to. And if there’s anything you want us to pick up at the store just let one of us know.” Flipping Winston off again he gave Rio one of his warmest smiles, “You can complain about it as much as you want. We’ll always listen.”

Orion sighed again. Apparently he couldn’t escape the Ikea trip. No matter how much he argued. He could find a way to pay them back eventually for anything. He just needed to keep a tab on the things that he owed. He wondered if he could casually ask what a reasonable rent was. Considering it was Harris Island, Rio figured that it was not cheap. His mind began racing, trying to decipher how he was going to juggle a job with schoolwork and what he was trying to do with the Scribes. But he was going to avoid stressing about that for the time being. He had some ideas in mind on how he could lighten the load. He would figure something out. Tonight was about trying to destress and relax. As much as possible. “Okay, okay. Just- I do own some things. So we will move my stuff into here and then we will assess.” At least he was here. And not with his family. This was way better. “Thanks, I appreciate it. I will keep that in mind.” They pretty much told him he had free reign of the house. As if he was already their roommate. Good people. “So are there any like ground rules? Like a sock on the door thing or something? Not for me, obviously. I won’t be having anyone over. But like uh- in case one of you does? Should I steer clear?”

Smirking at the surreptitious middle finger that was shot their way, Winston grinned a little and nodded. “I’m glad that you’ve accepted your inevitable fate which includes copious quantities of flat packed furniture,” Winston winked playfully before swallowing a good portion of their whiskey. “Sure, we can go round to your house and grab whatever you need whenever you need it,” Winston gave them a reassuring smile, “and if you need to borrow anything in the meantime we’ll try and sort you out.” Winston frowned before nodding. “I guess the first ground rule is just be honest with us, we’re not unreasonable guys and I’d rather get a shitty text about my dishes not being done then a passive aggressive post it note. Second, we’ve got a security system that isn’t completely … mundane. You’ll be fine because you’re not really what it is aimed at but just keep that in mind. I’ll show you how it all works tomorrow and I’m actually working on a phone app so we can control everything in the house all at once in one place. As for having people over, I’ll give you pre-warning if I’m having guests….” they hadn’t thought about Athena in a bit, they wondered how she was doing.

#p: ricky #para #p: orion #wickedswriting #seal mage hunter bar #they're not even in a bar wow

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