Vices and Maces

Chapter 32: Ooh Roman is Angy

CW: mentions of murder and nasty drugs

Remus fluttered down onto the steps of the house. Oh the hell that Roman's about to raise... It's going to be worse than usual. Of course he knew the risks, he was completely stupid. But he was already coming up with an argument in his head.

He opened the door, quietly sneaking in. The halfling took off his shoes and quietly closed the door. He turned around, about to sneak to his room, but of course his brother was now standing behind him. Arms crossed and a face that told Remus he was in for a long one.

"Remus," he said. "Glad to see you're alive."

The orc fae shrugged. "Yup, and it's been a long day, so I ought to head to my room and catch some sleep." He tried to walk past him.

"Oh no you don't-" Roman grabbed his brother's wing "-not without some kind of explanation."

"Explanation for what? My date?"

"Kayden told me everything. You took someone from Wolfsbane out on a date?"

"Yeah?" Remus turned around, pulling his wing from Roman's grip. He gave his brother a stony stare. "And you know what, it was delightful."

Roman's eyes widened. "What did you do?!"

"That's none of your business! Whether they fucked me or not is for me to know and worry about, and for you to butt out of! However, for your information, we just walked around for a bit before getting dinner. Then after we sat on a rooftop to watch the sunset before you interrupted!"

"Well when your nephew tells you that your brother is on a date with someone from Wolfsbane, and it's been hours without contact, you start to worry! I had no idea where you were, or who you were with! Do you know how worrying that is? Anything could have happened to you!"

"But it didn't because I am my own person. I'm old enough to make my own decisions, Roman! I can think for myself, I can protect myself! I don't need my twin brother worrying about my every step! I'm not going to get hurt."

"How do you know? We all have slip ups, Remus! We all mess up! Who's going to help you when this person tries to hurt you? Tries to attack you? How can you be sure they won't? You're going to be vulnerable when you're with this person!"

"Oh please, they didn't try to hurt me this time! And it was the fourth time we saw each other without attacking! Sure at first, we fought and tried to hurt each other. But we're over that now!"

Roman stared at his brother with stunned silence. "I'm sorry, what?!"

"Oh, uh, ignore that last bit," Remus backtracked. "It's not important and it was a while ago. Oh and also, you're not my mother. Leave me and my love life alone. It's not your business!"

"It's my business because I don't want your body to be fished out of the river! Or to be found covered in a bunch of wolfsbane petals! You have a son you need to think about! Who clearly doesn't like this person! What about him?"

"This relationship isn't serious! I doubt it'll be serious! I just want to try some things out, have some fun! You know how many people I've dated, that they don't last long! I haven't had a partner in a while, let me have this."

Roman sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Fine, if you want to die, go be my guest. Just don't say we didn't warn you when this new person betrays and attacks you."

~~~

"Patton?" Logan called, walking into their bedroom.

"Yeah? What's up?" Patton asked as he folded clothes, a pile thrown onto the bed.

"I was just wondering where you were. I had gotten so caught up in my work that I didn't notice the time. Did you get something to eat?"

"Oh, no, I've just been cleaning all day." Patton grabbed a shirt and started folding it. "Well, since I got home at least."

Logan frowned, walking over and putting his hand over Patton's. "Are you okay? Did something happen at work?"

"I-it was nothing really. My boss was just stressing out because his brother apparently went on a date with someone my boss doesn't like. I think it was just his stress and anxiety that got to me. I don't really want to think about it, so why don't you tell me what happened to you today? Did anything interesting happen at work?"

The elf grimaced as he reached over to the clothes pile. "I did indeed have a busy day. But I wouldn't call any of it good, and I don't want to stress you out more." He grabbed out some socks, matching them up and folding them together.

"Oh that's okay, sometimes it's nice to vent."

"Patton, if you've had a rough day I don't want to make it worse."

The nymph shrugged. "I'll be fine. It's you I'm worried about." He reached up and booped his fiance's nose. "It's not healthy to hold it all in. One day, the dam has to crack."

"There will be no dam cracking. A stressful day isn't going to be the end of me."

Patton folded the last piece of clothing and set it down. "Well, I am all calmed down. So why don't we get something to eat, and you can tell me about your day. You're the one that actually has an interesting job, I have a boring one."

Logan started to put the clothes away in their respective drawers. "Are you sure? It... was a bit disturbing today."

"Oh I know what that means, you went to a murder scene, didn't you?"

"Yeah..." he sighed. "And it was done by Wolfsbane. They left purple Wolfsbane flowers at the scene, their trademark."

"So another unsolvable case, huh?"

"Unfortunately. I bet the flowers were reported and the chief decided to give it to me, even though I have a bunch of other cases to complete already."

"Were you able to find anything at the scene?"

"A few weapons, and of course a stash of Wolfsbane's famous drug, "Devil's Tongue." We think he either worked for Wolfsbane, was a client that forgot to pay, or both. Either way, I'm going to have a lot of trouble finding any leads, if it's even possible at all."

"I never understood the appeal of Devil's Tongue." Patton's nose wrinkled in disgust. "I guess it's a strong drug, but it's just not worth it. The things it does to your body, how fast it can kill you... Not only that, but it's extremely expensive since Wolfsbane is the only supplier."

"Well, it is highly addictive. Even people who have never struggled with addiction, or have had family who's never struggled, can become addicted after trying it just once. Not to mention how many versions there are. Liquid, smoking, chewing... Even some police officers were caught with some. But you're right, it's not a pretty addiction, and has caused plenty of deaths and ruined lives."

"I hope the leader gets caught soon. I hope the whole gang falls apart. The damage they've done to this city..."

Logan took Patton's hand when they finished putting the clothes away and started to lead him out of the room. "I agree. But sometimes... they feel untouchable."