[color=silver][center][img]https://i.imgur.com/yKCQjXE.png[/img]

[img]https://i.imgur.com/bBuD7ux.png[/img]

[h3][sub][b]Late Friday Night[/b][/sub][/h3]
[sub]A [@metanoia] & [@BrutalBx] Collaboration || [i]Featuring[/i] [color=635687]Honey Badger[/color] & [color=63773B]The Devil[/color][/sub]
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[indent][indent][color=63773B]”Hey, little brother.”[/color]

In the moments after the fact, a cold stillness passed through the Honey Badger of the Southside. It was like a ghost had passed through his body and sent chills down from his spine to his Achilles tendon. It paralyzed him for what seemed like a few minutes — hours even. That kind of paralysis that one felt when the worst-case scenario that one had played out in their head had been made into a reality.

Words were exchanged and Honey Badger acted as if things were normal. He turned when The Devil had walked further into his somewhat tiny apartment, setting the duffle bags that were hoisted over his shoulder on the beat-up, old couch along the way. It was the worst kind of surreal reality moment that seemed to play out in real-time.

And then, as if it was a normal thing to do, The Devil occupied the only bathroom/shower in the apartment and that paralysis faded, forcing the Honey Badger to adjust. It was like a bad fever dream and his worst fears truly were here.

But why? 

That’s the question he heard himself ask over and over again, playing out all of the potential what-if responses he might get from that man. 

But he shouldn’t be here.

Yes, that’s right: he shouldn’t be here. Honey Badger was certain he wasn’t due out for a few more years. Hell, sometimes he’d frequently check online to make sure that his brother’s sentence wasn’t going to end prematurely. So what happened? Good behavior? Overcrowded? [i]What?[/i]

In the midst of his questioning of the only person in the room who could respond: himself, like a switch, the ambiance of the creaky showerhead clicked off, as it always had done. The silence took residence in the apartment, but HB’s mind made a mental note to get that fixed...eventually.

And as his brother came out walking, a towel wrapped around his waist, they stood facing each other. He wasn’t frozen like last time, but HB didn’t say anything.

Or, at least he had intended to remain quiet. Before he could stop himself, his mouth had made the decision for him, [color=635687]“what are you doing here?”[/color] Honey Badger asked almost as if he had forgotten the dread he was experiencing no more than ten minutes ago.

[color=63773B]”Well, I couldn’t exactly go to Aleyda’s could I?”[/color]It was so A-typical of Hyde to respond with such…smarm. 

The man didn’t care about anything. It was the nonchalantness, the effortless cool, that was how he survived so long. He was James Dean; a rebel without a cause. It was almost endearing. Almost. Behind the handsome face and crooked smile, there was a monster: one whose name had not been spoken by the lips of anyone for a very long time. He was his namesake. He was what dwelled within every man, manifested in corporeal form; Jekyll and Hyde, Cameron and Hyde; the truth of which Robert Louis Stevenson wrote oh so many years ago.

Walking towards his brother's old fridge, the blue-eyed battler opened it up and scanned it for some form of sustenance. He settled on a bottle of Edenridge’s local beer and popped open the cap before he even took it out of the unit. He took a swig before closing the door of the fridge and returning his attention to his little brother.

[color=63773B]”I’m assuming you’re asking how I’m out of jail?  It’s really not that difficult. I was a good boy and there were too many bad boys; ergo your big brother is here. You spoke to our darling sister lately?”[/color]

There was another bout of silence as HB watched his brother make himself home, rolling his eyes at his explanation. The Boston Department of Corrections didn’t even know what kind of monster they had locked. As he did his best to not visibly cringe, he shrugged at Hyde’s comment. [color=635687]“Well, I didn’t wish her a happy Sunday, if that’s what you’re asking.”[/color] His brother wasn’t the only one that could be sassy. [color=635687]“Besides, I’ve been a tad busy. But next time she makes herself available, I’ll be sure to give her a big hug for you!”[/color] HB followed his comment with a small thumbs-up gesture.

[color=63773B]“Busy stalking the Belmonte girl?”[/color] Hyde put his beer down onto a table and looked back towards his brother [color=63773B]“I’ve got to admit, she’s a bit of a babe”[/color] He took a step forward and clapped his hands together [color=63773B]“Don’t let her trap you though, Mika. That’s what they do. They get in your head and they twist you around their fingers until you can’t see straight and you do shit you don’t wanna do”[/color] He took a step back and began to breathe just a little harder; letting it become rhythmic in a way. Hyde could feel his blood getting hotter and his muscles tensing so he felt the best thing was to remember his breathing, remember all the work he had done on the inside to learn to temper the monster beneath his skin.

Well, he wasn’t stalking [i]her[/i], but ever the observant one, his big brother had deduced there was indeed someone he was watching more than he should have. There was no way in hell HB was gonna allow Hyde to know about Cece, though. But as he watched Hyde, he felt that old familiar sensation crawl up his back like a goddamn snake. It was the same feeling he thought was six feet under, but looking into his brother’s eyes, he saw it. It was only for a second, but the Devil was there and HB froze, but then he wasn’t. 

[color=635687]“Relax. I know not to get shacked down. But maybe you should? Obviously not with some bimbo, but maybe taking a breather would do you some good.”[/color] Against his better judgement, Mika approached Hyde. All cursed memories aside, the history between Honey Badger and The Devil wasn’t all bad. Mika’s fucked up sense of self couldn’t turn off the part that this brother of his was at least an improvement on the other one he had. 


A breather? A BREATHER?

[color=63773B]“I’ve just spent the past few years locked up in a damn eight by four cell with nothing but time. I ain’t taking no more breathers, Mika”[/color]. Hyde turned away from his approaching brother and moved over to the clothing bag he had dumped on the couch. It was fairly empty considering he didn’t really have the time to prep for his trip away and no one cared enough to drop him any clothes off. He could feel the all too familiar feeling bubbling in his head; that distinct sound that rattled in his ear like titanis. He pulled on some clothes, with every new item, a pause for a calming breath. 

Without provocation, Hyde spun on his heel, grabbed the dinner table and flipped it as hard as he could onto the floor. He raised his hands up, almost in regret and placed them against his head. [color=63773B]“Listen, all I want is to move on with my life. Tomorrow you and me and our darling sister are going to have breakfast together, like an actual fucking family”[/color] He dropped down onto the couch and looked upon Mika with the cold blue eyes that were synonymous with the devil himself [color=63773B]“And that’s not a request, M. You send what we code you guys have and you get her here first thing tomorrow. Am I clear?”[/color]

He froze. Not when the table was flipped or even when it seemed like Hyde was losing his mind. No, it was the calm that came after. The way that his brother glared at him, that cold stare was enough to remind HB just how much things haven’t changed. Prison didn’t change Hyde. He said he had nothing but time and something in those words painted a clear picture for HB. His brother was worse now than he ever been, but he didn’t know exactly [i]how[/i]. There was a gut feeling and, almost always, he was right on the money about these.

As he glanced at the table that had wedged itself in a right to left diagonal angle, he shook his head at it. [color=635687]“Fine whatever. I’ll make it happen.”[/color] God really loves to test him. First Cece and Niles and now this. 

[color=63773B]“Good”[/color] Hyde got up to his feet and patted his younger brother across the face. [color=63773B]“This town has taken enough from me, it’s not taking my family”[/color] He walked towards the front door and cracked it open a touch. [color=63773B]“Now, grab your wallet. We’re going for a drink and you can tell me all about this spooky letter business. Big brother is here to save the day”[/color][/indent][/indent][/color]