FellPoth Short Stories and One-Shots

Conflict of Interest: Chapter 8

Chapter Warnings: Drug use, swearing

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"Well shit," Rurik glanced over at the black case sitting on the table; who knew those tiny pink pills had such a dubious history, not to mention the anger Lotus radiated as their origin was explained. There was also the matter of their supposed toxicity, "Is taking those things dangerous long term? Should I toss 'em?"

Lotus shook their skull, "They should be fine so long as you're not being reckless with them." They then gravely noted, "It's a good thing you followed the twenty-four-hour rule your supplier gave you; if you broke it even once, those pills probably would have melted you down like a popsicle instead of mending your injuries... it's a pretty nasty way to go, all things considered."

Melting like a popsicle... despite how much the mental image his mind supplied unsettled him, Rurik donned his best nonchalant smile, "N-Noted; don't exceed the recommended dosage."

Lotus nodded in satisfaction that the warning had been received, returning their gaze to the hand holding the small tablet. "That said...," they popped the pill into their mouth and swallowed in one motion.

Rurik choked on air, grabbing their arm in a panic, "What are you doing?! You just said-!"

"I know what I said," Lotus cut in; Rurik listened intently as they provided reassurance, "My mom and I are special cases; he was resistant to the effects of DT, so as his biological son, I'm also resistant by proxy. As such, I need a double dose to get any real effect."

Lifting the washcloth and eyeing the smaller skeleton's wounds, it seemed Lotus was telling the truth. Tentatively dabbing the cloth against one of the cuts to see it was now healing over and nothing was melting, the harried pulse of his soul began to relax and he let out a huff... so much for maintaining a composed appearance. 

Still, their wording made Rurik uneasy, "So... resistant, but not immune?"

Lotus's expression fell, "No one's fully immune; even my mom had days when it interfered with his daily life. Hell, for all I know it ended up killing him." The skeleton sighed, "But I'm still here, so I have to use what I have to keep going even if it's only delaying the inevitable."

Mild curiosity sprung up at Lotus's ominous tone, "What do you mean by that?"

"Considering your Family already managed to track me down once, it's only a matter of time before reinforcements come looking for you and your friend," Lotus glanced toward the entryway as if the aforementioned party would magically appear in the doorway, "I figure I have maybe a week at most before someone else is banging down my door. I used up the majority of my savings to build this place; it was always meant to be my final destination, so I can't just pack up and go somewhere else. Assuming the guy I fought earlier is the average skill level I can expect, I'll be easy pickings if I don't recover quickly; that's assuming only one person shows up. If they come as a group, then I'd say I'm pretty thoroughly screwed no matter what I do." 

Lotus's expression wilted a bit, "Honestly, you would be better off making yourself scarce as quickly as possible instead of sticking around for the eventual shitstorm."

"First of all, they're not my Family and Diz wasn't my friend," Rurik corrected irritably. He wasn't sure why the misunderstanding bothered him, but it did. "I'm a freelance hitman; the Silvergarde Family hired me to track you down and catch you since they couldn't figure out where you were." Recalling the months upon months worth of searching, he added, "It took me a long while to get a bead on you, too, which says a hell of a lot about your ability to disappear."

Lotus didn't seem to react to the compliment, instead merely asking, "And the guy?"

"Diz was just a liaison for Silvergarde; a pretty shitty one, too."

"You did mention something like that earlier...," Lotus mumbled, processing the information but still looking troubled, "but they could still use your info-"

"I'm getting to that," Rurik interrupted, making sure they were listening before he continued, "Now, if there's one thing I've learned over the years, it's to not overshare information with clients. I didn't tell them jack about where I was going, and it sounded like Diz got greedy with his information, too; that means chances are pretty good the Silvergarde Family has no way of finding either of us unless they wise up and figure out a way to reproduce the greenhorn's little phone trick."

Standing and reaching into his pocket, he pulled out his phone; it was a shame what he was about to do since it was one of the nicer models, but he hadn't gotten as far as he did by leaving loose ends. With his mind made up, he let the phone slip from his hand; it made a cracking noise as it hit the tile floor, and his companion jolted as he stomped on the device repeatedly, crushing it to pieces as he announced, "And now they can't even do that. As for you..." He regained his seat and leaned closer to his companion, donning a smile, "You sound like someone in need of my services."

Rather than be put at ease, Lotus recoiled from him with a sour look, "What do you mean by 'services'?"

He leaned back to give them space, chuckling, "I'm saying you could use some protection, especially in your current condition. It wouldn't be the first time I was tasked with guarding someone... for the right price, of course."

Lotus had shown himself to be pretty strong and incredibly stubborn during Rurik's stay, but he also proved himself smart enough to realize that continuing to one-man army the situation was a fool's venture, "... And what are you expecting in payment? I'm not exactly rolling in money if you haven't noticed."

Rurik had indeed noticed, but that was beside the point. He crossed his arms and hummed to himself, making a show of thinking over his options even though he already knew what he wanted. It seemed Lotus was wise to his act, sadly, but he wouldn't expect anything less from the monster who held his attention for so long. Finally, he said, "How about... three meals a day and a dedicated sleeping arrangement that isn't the couch?"

"What?" Lotus's face flashed from worried to dumbfounded, "That's it? You were already getting most of those things. You can't tell me that's all you're expecting."

Rurik reclined back into the cushions a bit, his grin growing wider, "Well, there is one other thing I'd like..."

Lotus tensed; Rurik could already see the worst-case scenario forming in their mind... time to burst that bubble.

"I'd also like your company."

"M-My company?" Lotus croaked, "... As in my business?"

Rurik shook his skull with a chuckle as he leaned into their shoulder, "Your company as in your presence. If there's one thing I was genuine about during our weeks together, it's how much I enjoyed my time here." Taking advantage of the moment, he closed the remaining gap for a kiss; it was a fairly chaste exchange by his standards, but Lotus jolted at the contact all the same. Cutting it short and pulling back, the taller skeleton grinned at their shocked expression as he murmured in a silky voice, "You look disappointed that I stopped."

That snapped Lotus back into cognizance, taking on a look of indignation while covering the lower half of their face with their hand in lieu of their absent scarf and grumbling, "You wish."

The reaction was so adorable, almost as if...

"Was that your first kiss?" Rurik inquired in curiosity. The resulting flush to their cheeks and averted gaze was all he needed to bark out a laugh, "Oh, this is going to make for a fun retirement."

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Word Count: 1,325