[color=gray][h3][center][color=tan]Sean[/color] & [color=#BB253E]Angel[/color] [color=tan]PART 1[/color][/center][/h3] [hr] [color=tan]“Not. Purple,”[/color] Sean said, just in his checkered blue boxers, as he examined the state of his body through the mirror in his bedroom after waking up just recently. [color=tan]“But bruised to shit.”[/color] Sean scowled at every bruise with Vex in mind while he wondered how much the trouble she caused last night would cost. He didn’t foresee anyone close to him dying anytime soon, so some free ink wasn’t really in the cards. He was better off just having her owe him an unspecified favor so he could cash in on it when he needed something. What Sean really needed was a doctor, but that meant going to The Bastion. Going to the Bastion meant he’d run into other Wardens. Running into Wardens meant he’d have to answer questions. And… [color=tan]“Fuck that place. I’ll go pay a visit to Dreda.”[/color] He said as he began testing the functionality of his body and range of motion with a few calisthenic routines. [color=pink]“I’m a Barbie girl! In a Barbie worrrrld!”[/color] The sound of the brief ringtone rang out as he performed a lunge. He let loose a painful chuckle. [color=tan]“Blondie calls.”[/color] Sean didn’t think he’d ever get bored with that little jingle for her text messages. Trudging across the wood floors of his pad, he eventually reached his phone set on top of his humble-sized dining table. Beside his cellphone was a lukewarm half-drunk mug of coffee and the pain meds he snagged off of Elodie. Normally, he might have waited until he was finished warming up, but he was half expecting a reply about Elodie from his third favorite vampire. [color=#BB253E][i]How fast can you put your pants on?[/i][/color] Sean twisted his face at the message and immediately looked down at his lack of pants, then the corners of the room, the windows, across the ceiling, the “Beware of Ogre” sign, the tops of any flat surfaces, unused outlets, and finally back to the message. The caffeine hadn't set in, and he was still a little groggy, so his slight paranoia had little extra oomph to it. [Color=tan][i]Blondie… 🫩 it's early. Wdyw?[/i][/color] Before Sean had even finished sending the text, the sound of tapping rattled from a nearby window. A pale face was mashed up against the glass, visible in a pattern between the slats of the blinds. Her eyes gleamed like a cat caught somewhere it shouldn't be, and absolutely proud of it. Her lips stretched into a wide grin. [color=#BB253E][i]Want to make some cash?[/i][/color] She wiggled her brows and tapped again on the glass with her knuckles, drawing Sean’s attention to the window. Then, a muffled voice barely made it through the glass: [color=#BB253E]“I am the one who knocks!”[/color] [color=tan]“...”[/color] He parted his lips, wanting to say something, but the words hadn’t come out. Instead, he just stared at her with a ‘why are you like this’ expression before raising his coffee mug and nodding at it. Then, with one last text (because he was not ready to talk to her mashed-up face through his window), he sent: [color=tan][i]10 min blondieberg[/i][/color] Angel squinted at her phone, then back through the blinds. She tapped louder. [color=#BB253E]“Ten minutes!”[/color] She exclaimed indignantly, then mashed her face flatter against the glass, her nose smearing a circle. [color=#BB253E][i]Just let me in asshole[/i][/color] Sean eyed the message as he sipped his coffee, steadily waking up and becoming slightly more agreeable with the caffeine intake. Still, he thought twice about letting her in— Thrice, if he was being honest with himself. After another sip and watching her desperately try to fuse her face with his window pane, Sean set his phone down and walked to the door, opening it with no shame about his fresh bruises and lack of attire. And immediately, Angel shouldered past him like she paid rent, snatching his coffee mug right out of his hand. [color=#BB253E]“About time.”[/color] She tipped her head back and took a generous sip, then shoved it back into his hands with a grimace as if it had offended her. It was only mere seconds later that she had already made herself at home. She plopped onto his couch, stretching out like she owned the place, already flicking through her phone screen with her thumb, [color=#BB253E] “Can’t believe you put the fucking Barbie song as my text tone.”[/color] [Color=tan]“Tch, you say that as if you don't give the rest of your contacts hell with your ringtones.”[/color] Sean shut and locked his front door while taking a gander into his mug. Now it was his turn to grimace. [Color=tan]“You love it,”[/color] He accused before chugging down the last bit of coffee as he made his way across the living room. [color=#BB253E] “Oh I do. [i]You should hear yours[/i].” [/color] Angel responded, throwing her head back momentarily with a cackle. [color=#BB253E] “Anyway,” [/color] she wasted no time changing the topic to her true intention. [color=#BB253E] “Griggs has a big, risky job he told me would be right up your alley. Might die, but hey—the pay is gonna be [i]good[/i].”[/color] She then rummaged through her jacket pocket and pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Sliding one between her lips, she sparked the flame with a sharp flick. The brief flare illuminated her features in gold. Smoke curled from her lips as she exhaled, her voice drifting through it as she asked, [color=#BB253E] “You in?”[/color] [Color=tan]“Keep talking.”[/color] He said as he entered the next room to get himself dressed. [Color=tan]“But yeah, I'm in. We can split it 60/40.”[/color] He added with a smirk as he opened up a black toughbox with his equipment within. [color=#BB253E]“Oh yeah, sure, we can do that. Happy to oblige. I get sixty, [i]you[/i] get forty.”[/color] She smirked through her cigarette, flicking ash onto the floor without a care. [color=#BB253E]“Anyway!—”[/color] Her tone shifted as she quickly changed the subject, [color=#BB253E]“Griggs says there’s fae blood secretly moving through some stinky fish shop down in Gutter’s End. Not just a vial here or there, like whole crates…. He said they’re black wood with a red rune stamped right on top. He wants proof. A vial, a ledger slip, whatever ties it back. We bring it in, he brings the money.”[/color] She leaned back on the couch, phone dangling between her fingers. [color=#BB253E]“He doesn’t care how messy it gets… [i]as always[/i]. If it turns out they have as big a stock as rumors say then we will get a fat pay.”[/color] [Color=tan]“He never cares because he doesn't have to get his hands dirty.”[/color] Sean said from the other room. There were a few grunts that followed, which meant the painkillers only worked so much now that his body had been given the time to process the pain. [Color=tan]“If we're busting an operation, we should try not to hit the supply too hard. I say we focus on dropping any opposition, and then we pick up the vials. No witnesses.”[/color] Only a few beats past before he stepped out as his alter ego, Hollow. [Color=tan]“If it's run by the Circle, it should be easy on your moral compass, right? The red on black design for the boxes pretty much screams ‘we’re vampires.’”[/color] He walked toward the couch, and stopped right in front of the ash pile on the floor. [Color=tan]“The broom’s in that closet over there.”[/color] He said plainly beneath the skull visage of his mask. Angel had been staring thoughtfully in his direction ever since the grunts had made her lift her head. Her gaze lingered as he stepped out in the mask, and she tilted her head, cigarette glowing faintly between her fingers. [color=#BB253E]“Doubt anyone trying to sell fae blood is an innocent.”[/color] She mused before drawing in another slow hit. Her eyes dropped to the ash, following the same line his had taken, then climbed their way back up to meet him with a lift of her brow. [color=#BB253E]“So…? You want me to celebrate your decision to finally stock your closet?”[/color] she quipped. Her smirk curled as she leaned forward onto her knees, her voice laden with sarcasm as she delivered her mock congratulations: [color=#BB253E]“Good boy, Sean, finally made your way out of the house!”[/color] There was a short stalemate between them, but only because Sean knew she'd never listen to him. All he could do was sigh. [Color=tan]“Come on.”[/color] He said, taking the opportunity to pat her on the head [Color=tan]“And lose the hoodie if you're gonna flaunt the goods.”[/color] He commented motioning other hand toward her torso. Angel looked down for a moment, as if she might actually ponder his words. Then, with a shrug, she caught the zipper and dragged it down to reveal a fitted dark gray tank top beneath. The hoodie landed on his couch with a thump as she tossed it. [color=#BB253E]“If we get caught, it’s going to be because they hear you drooling.”[/color] She told him over her shoulder as she started toward the door without a glance back.[hr] [/color]