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[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[khanlailakhan]

"Fuck you.” Laila said with a smile. Sometimes it killed people to be nice. Especially boys.

She felt a flash of anger at his remark. It might as well have come from Anu’s mouth herself. But as she forced herself to slow down, to breathe, to actually look at Finn, she realized… he didn’t actually know either. It was comforting somehow. Comforting and sad.

She blinked at him, letting the story wash over her. “Charlie? What happened to Charlie? Or… not Charlie, I mean.” She was having trouble parsing it, but she’d already noticed the freshman’s absence. She’d intuited it wasn’t great to mention. “That’s so scary, Finn. I’m sorry.”

Laila Khan wasn’t normal. She’d never been normal. Well, not for West Ham anyway. She’d never had to worry about picking sides before. She was good at looking like she hadn’t. And not being able to leave meant she didn’t have to think about Fahad, waiting like the hangman on the platform. But she could see the ache in Finn. The pain. He had things to get back to. Things he wasn’t dreading. He wasn’t expected to get married to someone he barely knew. He didn’t have to figure out how to explain it to his friends. He wasn’t hiding. Except from himself.

“I wouldn’t say it’s everything I’ve dreamed of. We could at least be trapped with a few nail technicians and baristas.” Still, she sobered to match his earnestness. His strange earnestness she’d never really seen before. “But I know what you mean. The sides thing especially is absurd. And Charlie’s smart. She’ll learn that. And we’ll keep her safe while she does. We are keeping her safe while she does. She wouldn’t have done this if she didn’t know you’d still love and protect her.”

[beaumontf]

"Uh...she...not Charlie, that is... ran into the house." He rubbed his eyes. "I don't think my sister is that stupid but from the back and with the space buns, I figured..." He didn't want to have this conversation again. Having it with Tony had been hard enough.

"The girl is at the hospital. I assume Charlie is safe, but what do I know?" They hadn't talked much since she'd made her decision to leave. He didn't know what to say to her or even what was allowed. Tony had a lot of rules. He didn't want to fuck up and say the wrong thing. Not when Charlie was buddying up with people like Dante.

If he was more on top of his shit, he'd have his back up with Laila. It was the smart call. But he was too fucking wrung out from the night from Hell. "Thanks. It's been a nightmare, but it's over. I don't have to worry about her around other burning buildings."

He tried to smile at her quip, but he couldn't get the muscles in his face to commit. She made several good points. Things he already knew, but he was running out of bitch juice at this point. "You're right. She's out there wandering around like it's a picnic and not a serious situation. We're still keeping her in a bubble, the way my parents would want. But being fucking mature about it sucks ass."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

After informally retaining Vivianne Carlisle as the Alessi family New Ham attorney, Tony solidifies their arrangement just in time for attorney-client privilege to make things dicey when it comes to the death of Noah Nixon. Are the Schuyler-Carlisles in over their heads?

Keep reading

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[khanlailakhan]

Laila rolled her eyes. "I can tick off being noticed in the first five minutes of a party in this outfit. I feel like you of all masc people would understand that.” Really the pattern on her dress was more to Finn’s taste than hers (as best she could guess). Asymmetrical neon with white stripes. Garish, yes, but she’d taken her job (and Jacks’ blacklight mandate) seriously.

“Cover to do exactly what, Finn?” Laila adjusted her posture, reminding herself to take a different tack. She’d walked into a confrontation, and Finn was still coming down from one. She needed to be the bigger person. And not just because sometimes was if she wore the right heels. She kind of wished she wasn’t still wearing them now.

Finn could be a dick, but he was a dick the way Tony was a dick. Usually she knew how to make either of them laugh if she needed to, but he wasn’t in a place to take that right now. I could have just been the departure of his sister and the disappearance of the girl he’d apparently tried to bring to the dinner, but just in case it wasn’t… “Look. I’m just catching up here. I know what Anu knows, which was vague stuff about handling the problem, getting rid of things, you know. And when I get back home there are literally things on fire and Tee’s having… whatever that was. You want me to go take a drive and take a look at your great big super intimidating conflagration, I’ll do that. But I know Tiny can be bad at asking sometimes, so… are you okay? What happened?”

[beaumontf]

Finn rubbed his eyes before taking a step back. He examined Laila's outfit from top to bottom and gave a small shrug. "Yeah, it's not bad." Maybe some people would be super impressed by it, he dug the colors, but he was surrounded by chicks dressing up here. All of the looks started to blend together. A short dress was a short dress at the end of the day.

"If you were supposed to know, you would." There were too many people in this damn house. Everyone felt they had a right to everything. He thought Laila had been included in the discussion. If she wasn't, he wasn't going to give her intel. She could get it herself from Anu if Anu felt like sharing.

He was ready to fight but then she asked him how he was feeling. He deflated. This night had absolutely sucked. Tony was pissed at him. The plan had sorta gone to shit. This could be a trick, but fuck it. "The Tee thing came out of fucking nowhere. I don't know why they think I killed someone, but I didn't. And having to defend myself is already annoying when I know their bitch ass is going to go to the council." He sank down in a nearby train. "The fire was a little too good and I thought I almost saw my sister die. Wasn't my sister, but... uh... fucking sucked. This whole thing has sucked. I miss being able to leave. I miss not having to pick sides. I miss having..." His sister, his ex-girlfriend, his dm not accusing him of shit, "A normal life. What about you? This everything you dreamed of?"

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[khanlailakhan]

"Well that was… special.” Laila said as the house finally went quiet again for one blissful moment in Tee’s absence. Then Finn ruined it.

“Aren’t you supposed to be ‘taking care of’ something? Rather than, I don’t know, blowing up the electrical grid and ruining everyone’s fun?” This was why she wanted Anu to be more careful with delegation. Tony needed small tasks that felt big, not whatever this was.

“I know you’re mourning… something but before we get into that do me the courtesy of telling me the master plan so I can keep his sister from throttling him. And do not attempt machismo omerta bullshit with me. You don’t have enough practice and I’m tired.” She also had more machismo in her little finger than all of Tiny’s little friends combined but she was being polite about it.

[beaumontf]

Finn ran his hands through his hair. First, Trip and Heli then Tee and now this. Couldn't she just wander off to some unused portion of the compound? Surely, she had better things to do than talk to him.

"I'm honored that you think I know enough about electrical engineering to pull that off, but you'll have to take your complaints to someone who can actually help you." It was a beautiful coincidence that the power went out, but they'd planned for nearly every contingency they didn't need that. "Sure was nice of whoever the fuck did that to give us a little cover we didn't need."

He found it hard to believe that their work would be overshadowed by the blackout, but it would take awhile for people to catch on. He needed to lay some groundwork with the pipsqueak that wasn't Charlie to make sure that all their problems were squared away. But that was a problem for tomorrow.

"Why are you here? I'm pretty sure that Anu was clear on the girls role of being noticed at the party. You couldn't do that without the lights on? I guess your powers were exaggerated." Yeah, he was kinda being a dick for dick's sake but he didn't care right now. She was crashing his time to rest.

"You're tired? Wow. I feel so bad for you." He blinked at her. "I don't think our actions need much explanation. How about you go for a drive and using those pretty brown eyes of yours maybe see what we did. Should be extra noticeable with the lack of power."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

Phase: Day Twelve

The lights are on, but no one’s home. Noah’s house is still smoking, and the mysteries are piling up. Oh, and there’s that government thing to worry about.  Might need a criminal justice system like now. 

So press play, and go.

[lolasprout]

Poppy had to run an errand, so Sprout was left her thoughts and no phone. It was a tragedy of epic proportions. What was she supposed to do? She stared at the wall, watching the shadows of the trees sway back and forth until it lulled her into a weird sense of calm.

Keep reading

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[teeoakes]

Man, he was grumpy. It was not a side of Finn Tee was ever used to seeing. They had always had contact in extremely low stakes setting (either imaginary or at parties when they both had things they would have wanted to do much more.)

"Plenty of minions murder people. Haven’t you seen Star Wars?” Or the entirety of human history. They finished grumpily in their head. “And those guys can’t even aim.”

Tee took some small satisfaction in the way Laila took Finn’s pulling away from her. A slightly flutter of her eyelashes that was there and then gone, but things were not calm in the Alessi paradise. “That must be awkward. You’re basically in-laws.” That dreaded word had kept Tee and Leo apart for so long. It was petty to throw in their direction but everyone was at least a little petty in the dark, weren’t they?

They were usually pretty good at doing their own internal insight checks, and Finn certainly seemed like he felt his hands were clean. That didn’t mean they were, exactly. Finn’s family had too much money to ever be that. But it felt like there was more here. More than Tee could get away with pushing here.

“Sure. I’ll take your offer.” They’d even let the Leo remark slide, even if the gun so heavy they worried they’d fall over. Thinking of him helped. Remembering he was in the car helped. It slowed their rabbiting heart just long enough to say what needed to be said. “But I’m sick of lying for you people, if I haven’t made that clear.” They’d become someone they hated, bit by bit, like a frog being boiled in that metaphor that would never actually happen. “So stop making stupid decisions. If you’re capable of it.” They tossed the warning over their shoulder like a hand grenade and left out the front door, commending themselves for not slamming it.

@beaumontf

[beaumontf]

He wasn't going to answer that. He was too tired. So, he sipped his beer instead. He was still, unfortunately, not drunk enough for this conversation. They could think he was a minion or not, he didn't give a shit what they thought of him right now. It was literally the smallest of his problems.

Finn grimaced. "I know you love homoeroticism, but I am not married to anyone." Honestly, thanks to the dinner, he wasn't even sure he was the kind of guy that could handle a girlfriend. That had been a lot tougher than he thought and he only had a few days of being with someone in public. "And since when do people get alone with their in-laws?" He was being nice so he wasn't going to add you don't but it was tempting. Damn him for being decent today.

Finally, they were listening to reason. And yet they were still talking nonsense. They know wanted to say they were coming to make sure that they didn't lie for them anymore? No one had fucking asked them to. Unless Leo had, but that wasn't his problem. He didn't feel like responding to that either, so he turned towards Laila. "Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[khanlailakhan]

“Oh Finn.” Laila said with an arguably apologetic purr. “I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity soon enough. Perhaps at my expense.” With her luck tonight, it would be. “Sorry to disappoint.” As if Laila could ever be a disappointment. She was Laila fucking Khan.

It wasn’t that Finn wasn’t doing a good job. He was. Considering. But Laila also knew that Tony and the boys he surrounded himself with came in two varieties: coward (Reg, Trip) and hothead (Tony, Adam). Finn had never burned as hot or as fast as the latter, but she knew enough about people (and had observed enough of Mr. Beaumont’s banter) to know that he was no coward. So process of elimination suggested she was entering into a volatile situation. She’d never trusted Tee. It was always the quiet ones, and their rapid ascension to power in New Ham only proved the point. Moral superiority could be an opiate for people like them. Nevermind that the moral superiority was entirely unearned. Everyone in this room was about one degree of separation from a murder, but pointing it out was just gauche.

Laila wasn’t exactly a touchy-feely person with the infrequent exception of her trio of chosen people, but some part of her wished she could wrap her arm around Finn’s shoulders just to get him to relax a little. Especially considering what she was about to say next.

“Anu will indeed be… displeased.” She started delicately. She generally didn’t like using her best friend’s anger as a threat and she certainly didn’t like when her baby brother’s friends used it either. “But more importantly, I imagine Leo may be unhappy, Tee. From what I understand, the two of you are a united front now. Situation notwithstanding, that does make me very happy. I love a second chance romance, and you deserve nice things.”

She slid a beer toward Finn as a subtle peace offering as she kept her eyes on the intruder. “Finn is being very direct…” She gave a little nod of her head to Tee, as if to say people raised as boys, amirite? “But he makes several good points. This is not the kind of accusation that should be undertaken lightly, and it’s not the sort of the thing that should be communicated secondhand. Why don’t we table this conversation until you can speak to the people who actually know what’s going on rather than their devastatingly attractive underlings? You go back to wherever you’re holing up with your rekindled love, and we’ll pretend this didn’t happen.” She didn’t add a ’right, Finn?’ Because she was almost certain she knew the answer. And she didn’t like it. But she’d called him attractive. That should count for something.

[leograviano]

Did you do that because he’s dead? Leo almost dropped the fucking phone. “Jesus… Mary and Joseph,” Leo whispered into the dark. Nobody could hear him but he still felt like he had to be quiet. He glanced in the direction of the house as if he could see them from here.

Finn was talking to someone else. His blood ran cold imagining Tony walking up to them. Leo gripped the phone in one hand, his other on the door handle. If he heard a single syllable out of Tony’s mouth he was going in. But it wasn’t Tony. It was Laila. And Leo wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that.

But more importantly, I imagine Leo may be unhappy, Tee. “I’m right fucking here assholes,” he said to the phone. “Don’t use me against them.” Devastatingly attractive? Leo gagged. “That’s nasty.”

“C'mon Tee. You got this.”

[beaumontf]

“Naw, you’re no fun to poke.” He deflated like a balloon. If she was here, they weren’t going to get anywhere fun. Laila had stolen his thunder and his only chance to get a real reaction out of Tee. Gloves off. The whole thing was a fucking waste now.

Anu wasn’t always diplomatic but she wasn’t here. She was at the party. Where Laila was supposed to be. There’d been a breakdown in miscommunication somewhere but he wasn’t going to get an answer about that either now.

At least there was beer. He took the bottle Laila proffered and chugged from it. Getting accused of murder really made you thirsty. He wanted to point out that he was right there in front of them but it seemed kinda useless. When it was clear that Laila was finished, he tried again. “Look, it’s late and my feet are sore from trying to rollerskate using only my fucking socks because someone decided we’re not competent enough for wheels, we can call this your one accuse people of murder and get off scot free card. But you gotta be the one to take it, Tee.”

They were a DM. They knew about these kinds of trade-offs. If Tee wanted Leo to be safe, they needed to keep a close leash on Leo and an even smaller one when it came to nosing around Tony. “Your dad is a great detective,” Great at finding nothing, at least, “And you wanna make him proud. I get it. We all have daddy issues. Find a different outlet.”

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[khanlailakhan]

“Oh Finn.” Laila said with an arguably apologetic purr. “I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity soon enough. Perhaps at my expense.” With her luck tonight, it would be. “Sorry to disappoint.” As if Laila could ever be a disappointment. She was Laila fucking Khan.

It wasn’t that Finn wasn’t doing a good job. He was. Considering. But Laila also knew that Tony and the boys he surrounded himself with came in two varieties: coward (Reg, Trip) and hothead (Tony, Adam). Finn had never burned as hot or as fast as the latter, but she knew enough about people (and had observed enough of Mr. Beaumont’s banter) to know that he was no coward. So process of elimination suggested she was entering into a volatile situation. She’d never trusted Tee. It was always the quiet ones, and their rapid ascension to power in New Ham only proved the point. Moral superiority could be an opiate for people like them. Nevermind that the moral superiority was entirely unearned. Everyone in this room was about one degree of separation from a murder, but pointing it out was just gauche.

Laila wasn’t exactly a touchy-feely person with the infrequent exception of her trio of chosen people, but some part of her wished she could wrap her arm around Finn’s shoulders just to get him to relax a little. Especially considering what she was about to say next.

“Anu will indeed be… displeased.” She started delicately. She generally didn’t like using her best friend’s anger as a threat and she certainly didn’t like when her baby brother’s friends used it either. “But more importantly, I imagine Leo may be unhappy, Tee. From what I understand, the two of you are a united front now. Situation notwithstanding, that does make me very happy. I love a second chance romance, and you deserve nice things.”

She slid a beer toward Finn as a subtle peace offering as she kept her eyes on the intruder. “Finn is being very direct…” She gave a little nod of her head to Tee, as if to say people raised as boys, amirite? “But he makes several good points. This is not the kind of accusation that should be undertaken lightly, and it’s not the sort of the thing that should be communicated secondhand. Why don’t we table this conversation until you can speak to the people who actually know what’s going on rather than their devastatingly attractive underlings? You go back to wherever you’re holing up with your rekindled love, and we’ll pretend this didn’t happen.” She didn’t add a ’right, Finn?’ Because she was almost certain she knew the answer. And she didn’t like it. But she’d called him attractive. That should count for something.

[leograviano]

Did you do that because he’s dead? Leo almost dropped the fucking phone. “Jesus… Mary and Joseph,” Leo whispered into the dark. Nobody could hear him but he still felt like he had to be quiet. He glanced in the direction of the house as if he could see them from here.

Finn was talking to someone else. His blood ran cold imagining Tony walking up to them. Leo gripped the phone in one hand, his other on the door handle. If he heard a single syllable out of Tony’s mouth he was going in. But it wasn’t Tony. It was Laila. And Leo wasn’t entirely sure how he felt about that.

But more importantly, I imagine Leo may be unhappy, Tee. “I’m right fucking here assholes,” he said to the phone. “Don’t use me against them.” Devastatingly attractive? Leo gagged. “That’s nasty.”

“C'mon Tee. You got this.”

[beaumontf]

“Naw, you’re no fun to poke.” He deflated like a balloon. If she was here, they weren’t going to get anywhere fun. Laila had stolen his thunder and his only chance to get a real reaction out of Tee. Gloves off. The whole thing was a fucking waste now.

Anu wasn’t always diplomatic but she wasn’t here. She was at the party. Where Laila was supposed to be. There’d been a breakdown in miscommunication somewhere but he wasn’t going to get an answer about that either now.

At least there was beer. He took the bottle Laila proffered and chugged from it. Getting accused of murder really made you thirsty. He wanted to point out that he was right there in front of them but it seemed kinda useless. When it was clear that Laila was finished, he tried again. “Look, it’s late and my feet are sore from trying to rollerskate using only my fucking socks because someone decided we’re not competent enough for wheels, we can call this your one accuse people of murder and get off scot free card. But you gotta be the one to take it, Tee.”

They were a DM. They knew about these kinds of trade-offs. If Tee wanted Leo to be safe, they needed to keep a close leash on Leo and an even smaller one when it came to nosing around Tony. “Your dad is a great detective,” Great at finding nothing, at least, “And you wanna make him proud. I get it. We all have daddy issues. Find a different outlet.”

[teeoakes]

“If I’d murdered someone,” Finn crossed his arms in front of his body, “Do you really think it’d be a good idea to just ask me? Like, I’m no expert, but what person is gonna say yes to that?“

Tee had been ready to speak. Ready to yell, really, but then she was there. Laila fucking Khan.

Anu’s best friend had already been a thorn in Tee’s side on account of, well, Anu, but Nell and Laila’s relationship had always bothered Tee. There are some people who just make the people you care about worse, and Laila was one of those for Nell. But maybe, in fact, Laila was that for Tee. And Tony and Anu and Finn too. They hated this house. They always had. They didn’t want to believe this callous, irritated, lazily squirrelly little creature was the person they’d invited to their table, but Tee did specialize in seeing the best in people. Or, perhaps more accurately, believing that their worst was ultimately harmless. That was Tee’s mistake. It was one they were resolved to not make again. Not when they’d hurt Young so badly. Hurt themselves so badly too.

Tee wasn’t ready to acknowledge Laila. Not yet. Not when Finn looked so run down. So not like himself. Whatever kindness his "get out of jail free” card was offering, the bite in his voice told Tee they were onto something. Especially the daddy issues bit. “You first.” Tee spat back. Really, what were these “bro” heavy friendships if not proof of a lack of soft and kind masculinity in the boy’s original domestic space? It wasn’t much of a comeback, but it made them feel better, and that was what counted.

“You like being called an underling, Finn? Or does it make you feel better to sign your fate and your brain over to someone else?”

@beaumontf

[beaumontf]

Finn tilted his head slowly. "I was, Tee. That's why I was being nice to you." He was too fucking tired and not nearly drunk enough for this conversation. He took another sip of his beer.

They didn't want to admit defeat. He got that. But it was getting a little irritating. "So, just to be clear, first you think that I'm capable of murder. Now, you think that I'm a minion? That's quite the switch in like two minutes." He looked back over at Laila, clearly there was something else going on between the two of them.

"Frankly, I don't give a shit what Laila thinks of me. We're not exactly friends, we're just adjacent to each other." He could lose her favor and it wouldn't mean shit to me. It wasn't like Charlie moving out. Or Carmen ending things. Tony yelling at him for trying to save someone's life. God, he'd swallowed a lot of shit in the past few days.

He rubbed at his forehead for a second. "Are you going to take my offer or not? Because if you're really gunning for a fight with me, you're gonna lose. My hands are clean." They were. Tony's...not so much. But Finn hadn't been allowed in on the action and he could use that to his advantage here, even if it stung. "I am genuinely trying to help you here." As much as it pained him to do it, it was the better choice. "Go home, Tee. Forget you came over here for whatever bee got in your bonnet. Skinny dip with Leo or whatever the fuck draws you two to each other and leave the justice department stuff to when you're officially on the clock."

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

teeoakes:

Tee contained their urge to say ‘oh so you made it official’ to Finn. It wasn’t a queer thing so much as a minion thing. One of the parts of the Alessi house that had always been strange to Tee was how many people were around always. Housekeepers and gardeners and far more bodyguards than anyone should need, even a mafioso. They’d remarked on it to Anu once, and she’d said yes, the guards had their own wing in the house. Like a Sicilian Downton Abbey.  Still, Tee nodded at Finn’s assessment of the evening’s entertainments. They’d found themselves needing more active stimulation than reading lately, which was a shame for someone who read as much as them, both tabletop books and the regular kind. Finn’s story made sense as much as any of this made sense, which was, quite frankly, very little. Tee had risked everything for Leo and by extension, by neither their nor Leo’s consent, Leo’s stupid capital F Family. Tee had lost their best friend and their sense of safety and their sense of self, all because Anu had promised she would keep Tony under control and leave Leo alone. But torching Noah’s house accomplished neither goal. Tee now had a decision to make. They could take Finn’s explanation and confront Anu later, or they could take the risk of potentially giving Finn information that was above his no-pay grade. But the words left Tee’s mouth before they could even decide, a fracture of hurt that split their words open, raw and exposed to the air. “Did you burn down Noah’s house, Finn? Did you do that because he’s dead?” They had intended the royal ‘you,’ the general you that included Anu and Tony and probably whatever gullible little minions they’d recruited, but some part of Tee was still especially hurt by the small thought that it could be Finn who knew something about this. They’d always known he was True Neutral, but he didn’t have to be such a dick about it. 

[beaumontf]

Finn stared dumbly at Tee for a full minute. When the awkward silence had been stretched to its brink, he finally spoke. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

Leo had snitched. Big time. That wasn't Finn's problem. That was Tony's problem. Tony didn't want to be disturbed right now so he'd slip a note under the door or what the fuck ever later. But this kinda gumption, it needed to be stopped.

"If I'd murdered someone," Finn crossed his arms in front of his body, "Do you really think it'd be a good idea to just ask me? Like, I'm no expert, but what person is gonna say yes to that?"

He would. Actually. If he hadn't done it. Then he could gaslight the situation a little bit and end up in a more interesting position. But he couldn't fuck with Tee when there was a chance, however small, that they would find out the truth.

He leaned back slightly. "No. Tee. I didn't burn down anyone's house. I also doubt Noah is dead. He's probably crying on some dude's shoulder about how that little shithead won't text him back or whatever." Honestly, it Noah was alive that is probably exactly what he would be doing. "Really interested in seeing who else you ask about this though. I'm sure Anu's gonna love to hear that while she was at a party the community put on, you were going door to door trying to get people to admit to murder." They might be a hell of a DM but their real life planning was absolute shit.

He heard the tell tale clack of high heels behind him. "Speaking of," he turned around, but it wasn't Anu. It was Laila. "You really fucked up a great punchline. You know that?"

@khanlailakhan

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[beaumontf]

teeoakes​:

Well. That was not who they expected to see. Perhaps they should have. It felt like both Tony and Anu’s friends had gone the full minion route, but it was still weird to see Finn Beaumont playing doorman. Tee would have guessed he was too lazy for that. 

“I could ask you the same question.” Tee said, jutting their chin out probably a little too far. Carrying guns was supposed to give you confidence, wasn’t it? So why did they feel like they were going to need to ask for the bathroom? “You and Tony sulking because of the other party?”

Finn had never had a deception proficiency. Relatively good charisma modifier, yeah, but his irritation tended to waft off of his very high hair. It was generally fun trying to get his orc barbarian to do social things, but that was one of the fun things about Tee’s table in general - the contrasts. And the sheer eclecticism. But Tee was surprisingly confident that they could lean on their insight enough to (gently) push Finn if needed. Not that they wanted to. Innocent creature that Tee was, they still nursed a hope of running a oneshot or two in the apocalypse (not set in the apocalypse though, that would be in poor taste.)

But they were losing track of the point. Which was probably because the whole thing was more than a little terrifying. “I need to talk to Tony and Anu. Right now.”

Finn blinked at Tee. “I live here.” They hadn’t been at the dinner, but surely Tee could have assumed it was coming down the pipeline. Unless Leo was a bigger idiot than he thought, which was surprising because his bar was so low. “No, we’re not five. We went. I got bored of hearing people scream in the dark,” He assumed that’s what West Ham’s dumbest were up to, “So I came back here to relax. But there’s not enough to do when none of the electronics work. I read like five pages of a book and it just wasn’t as good as tv.”

If Tee were someone else, he’d ask if they wanted to help to fight boredom with him. The idea of doing that with them, though, gave him hives. He wanted them gone. They had no business being here and they knew that. Tony had been clear on that front.

“Well, that’s a damn shame.” He leaned against the doorway, hip pressed against the frame. They’d barely be able to see around him. “Neither of them are here. They’re both at the party. Last I heard, Tony was looking to talk to Jacks about snack selection and Anu was comforting Lucy over the loss of good lighting.” It sounded true to his ears. “Anything I can help with?”

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[beaumontf]

teeoakes​:

Tee accepted Leo’s call, and shoved the phone in their front pocket. They sighed, taking him in. If he thought they could do it, then they could do it. Simple. No shit kicking needed. “Always.” They responded, as casual as they could be. Tee kissed him quick and then climbed out of the car before they could think better of it.  

They paused, looking up at the house in the distance, weighing the balance of the handgun in their palm. Then they holstered it, pulling the hoodie they borrowed from Leo far down enough that it was nearly a dress. Not their favorite gender expression, but Tee really didn’t want to stroll around looking like the Sheriff, even if they were wearing their father’s backup sidearm (a revolver, “Southwest style” as their mom liked to say. When she did say anything.)

The night closed in around Tee as they walked towards the house. Their rage was a beam in the darkness, a flame of frustration and betrayal. This was why you couldn’t trust criminals even “gentlemen” ones. Tee could conduct themselves with honor, but when other people started it, they could challenge their inner Nell and finish it. 

The house was a bastion of shadows, if a tacky faux Italianate mega-mansion could be called a castle. Tee checked once more that the gun wasn’t visible, took a deep breath, and knocked on the door.

@beaumontf

Finn was halfway through fixing his hair when he heard the door. For a minute, he thought that Trip and Heli forgot the keys again, but he wasn’t getting involved in that mess again. He couldn’t take anymore showers. He waited for someone else to get the door, but it didn’t seem like luck was on his side.

With the power still out, he couldn’t use the digital peephole which sucked ass. He didn’t want any surprises tonight, that one girl had been more than enough. He tried to stare through the one on the actual door, but all he saw were his own eyelashes. Honestly, how did people live without technology?

He let the person on the other side stew for a moment, hoping they’d get the picture and get lost. Then, he opened the door. “What are you doing here?” Tee was the last person he expected to see tonight. He looked behind them but he didn’t see Leo. “Are you lost? Town’s the other direction.”

[beaumontf]

tonyalessijunior​:

Phase: Day Ten

“Sounds like she’s a little obsessed with you, dude. If I’d’ve known…” Well, Tony actually wasn’t sure what he’d done. “Point is, you didn’t fuck up. I fucked up. And she definitely fucked up. But as long as I didn’t Batman her too hard, she’ll get the picture. And if I did, well, problem solved.” Problem not solved. Not really. There were at least four women who would be mad at him if they ever found out. Luckily he only gave a shit about two of their opinions.

Tony chuckled. “Is that what that means? I feel like I’m out of touch with the hip young people.” ‘Hip’ was one of those words his dad would have glared at him for saying, but his dad wasn’t here right now, was he?

He nodded along. “Fuck yeah.” Finn always made him feel better, even if it was technically Tony’s job to make sure everything was okay. But that was what best friends were for, right? “Everything is grace.” He said softly to himself. It was his mother’s way of saying you had to trust God to figure out his shit. Even if it looked bad, it was for a reason. 

“Yeah, well, who wouldn’t be?” Finn fluffed his hair. He was a cool guy and sometimes that attracted the weirdos. He wasn’t proud of it exactly, but you had to take the Violas with the Carmens sometimes. You couldn’t always score just the hot girls. That was how math worked.

He patted Tony on the shoulder. “You did great, man. She’s just a loose cannon. Don’t let her rattle your confidence. It’s the only card she has to play.” She talked a big game, but it was all just a mind fuck. That’s what he’d learned this past week. Nothing was ever backed up.

“Uh..yeah...let’s go with that.” He wasn’t going to explain what it actually was. Tony was too ace for that. “You don’t need to be hip, you’ve got the kind of style that never fades. You’re a camaro. You don’t need slang.”

Finn didn’t get that last bit, but he let Tony have it. Whatever he needed to say to make things better was on him. He’d done all the hyping he could. Compliments weren’t usually his bag. “Point is, we’re gonna be just fine. This is the beginning. We’ll see who’s standing in the end.”

[beaumontf]

tonyalessijunior​:

Phase: Day Ten

“What does threatened mean in this context?” That would determine both the scale of Tony’s reaction and the scale of his retribution. He resisted the urge to tell Finn he wasn’t the wildcard, he was the joke. It wasn’t a thought Tony would have had. It was like his father leapt into a brain for a moment, leaving cigar smoke and aftershave in his wake. It made him want to hurl. You’re sensitive, bambino. He heard his mother say. Don’t let anyone take that from you. And don’t let anyone know. 

“My thinking exactly.” Tony did let himself laugh a tiny bit at Finn’s eagerness. “If we’re moving the bag, something’s gone really wrong. Or someone’s really pissed us off.” He gave Finn a good natured grin.  “But we’ll get your right hook up to speed with  your mouth. You’ll be unstoppable.” 

He looked down at his phone to check the time, but was met with a message from… Jacks Atwood of all people. He unlocked it and scanned it quickly.  I, the undisputed party king of both Hams, have returned to give you what you poor things /really/ need. A blacklight party. So come one, come all (even you, Alessi) to the roller rink tomorrow at 8– “That fucking bitch.” He held out the phone to Finn. “We’re gonna need to get into this intimidation thing pretty fucking fast.” 

He was fine with Jacks throwing her little shindigs. The burnouts and ne’er-do-wells would always need a place to buy their low quality drugs, bad music blasting, horny teens making out in the dark. There was no reality where Atwood could afford what he did. Even if she was bleeding several of the rich kids as “investors.” But this was his fucking title. Wars had started over shit like this. And that was the mistake Fern had made three days ago. He’d explained to her that Families were like nations. 

Maybe she’d missed the part where nations went nuclear. 

Finn lips quirked to the side. Tony wasn’t going to like this. “I don’t remember exactly, it was the wake. She saw me in the woods and got a little testy.” She was always testy. He’d thrown her off his scent at the time and that was all he could manage. “She was trying to bait me into giving her a reason to pull bigger shit. That’s the vibe I got.”

Okay, yeah, he’d fucked that up. “See? This is why I need your help. I’m just talking about t-bagging myself and you’re showing me why that’s wrong. I’m learning already.”

He didn’t like Tony’s face. As much as he tried to peer over Tony’s shoulder, he couldn’t read it. But his own phone was buzzing. Shit. She’d really kicked the fucking hornet’s nest hadn’t she?

“Hey, you’re an expert at taking bitches down a notch or two.” He pat Tony on the shoulder. “We can handle this. We’ll make both her and Viola. They’ll learn not to mess with us.”

[beaumontf]

tonyalessijunior​:

Phase: Day Ten

Tony tried to hide how relieved he was that Finn wasn’t pissed at him. He was a little pissed at himself, really. “Live wire? Try a fucking depth charge.” It was meant to sound like a joke but caution wiggled its way in there all the same. “It’s rational to think people will act on their own self interest. Or at least their primal needs. But she’s no self preservation. Just self.” There was a danger to people who could only be threatened bodily. Eventually you reached their pain threshold or the ends of your own patience. It was much easier to threaten family, friends, property, etc. But kids didn’t really have property, and Tony was growing to realize that a lot of people didn’t think of their friends, their real friends, as closely as he did. It was hard to apply real world lessons to this funhouse mirror Fern had set up for her own blithe self aggrandizement. 

“Yeah.” He tried to sound sure about that. He had gone into this sure. He always had Finn’s best interests in mind. And Charlie’s. And Anu’s. And Tali’s. And Reg’s. And fucking Laila and Lucy’s and her dumb siblings. And Trip. Especially Trip. Despite himself. But Finn trusted him. He always trusted him. And Tony knew that. Especially when he was looking at him that way. “Yeah.” Fuck, man, don’t make it weird.

“Well, the good thing is we already did what should have been the first step. We established the threat. My mistake was thinking the threat was already established because well, I’m me and you’re you, and my dad’s my dad, my mom’s my mom, etc. etc.” He paused. Then he sighed. “I feel like I can blame Leo. Anyway, point is, people don’t do what you want unless they understand what you’re gonna do if they don’t get it. Now, she knows. That said…” He gave Finn’s shoulder a small squeeze. It was a little too easy to do it.

“We could maybe work on your… uh, reflexes.” If Trip could learn how to box, Finn could too. He didn’t really know how to teach throwing a girl against a wall on reflex. But he wasn’t sure anyone could. That said, if he could get this right, it be fucking killer. A hitman with Finn’s fashion sense? Truly, a true crime writer’s dream.

Finn nodded along. He didn’t know what to say but yeah everything Tony knew was dead on. She hadn’t been trying to preserve herself, she’d been starting shit because she thought she could. His only comfort was that she saw how truly wrong she was.

He had the urge to write down establish the threat but that would make him look like a nerd. So he committed it to memory. He thought he’d established one with her when they were alone, but this had been his bad. “She threatened me a few days ago in the woods. I should’ve told you so we could be doubly prepared on that front. I think she respects you even if she doesn’t want to, I’m the wildcard.” That kind of thing usually would’ve made him smile.

The Leo quip brought the smile out fully. “We gotta increase the pressure. I want her to tell her little friend that we’re not the people you piss off.” He flexed under Tony’s fingers, but it probably didn’t make much of a difference. “Yeah, send a bag at my face and I’ll knock it down.” That did not sound correct. “You know, boxing, I can learn how to throw a better punch,” he’d never thrown one, “and get people where they hurt. Turns out, words aren’t always enough. Who knew?” 

[beaumontf]

tonyalessijunior​:

violaparker​:

Phase: Day Ten

There wasn’t anything particularly special about the lighter. It hadn’t been given to her by Jules and Bea or Go or her bio dad. She didn’t even know who her bio dad was. But it was hers. It was hers because it could fit in her pocket, the same way that the only things that were really hers could fit in her backpack, ready to run at a moment’s notice. 

So while her whole body hurt, and her head was reeling, and she was pretty sure she was going to vomit after this, she didn’t actually care. All her desire, her entire existence hinged on the pocket of Tony Alessi’s stupid probably $1000 khakis. Trying to lift her head felt like stabbing an iron bar right through it. Her vision was swimming and out of focus, like a glass bottle beneath the sea. She could taste blood in her mouth and could feel the stiff tightening over her nose that let her know it was broken. Still, she moved. She had to.

Viola let out a sound she couldn’t quite identify. A screech and a roar of rage and pain. Then she lunged. She grabbed hold of Tony’s arm and pulled, fingernails raking his flesh as she reached for his pocket. 

“Jesus fucking Christ!” Tony was genuinely surprised by Viola’s resiliance and speed. Less surprised by her pathetic choice of how to fight back. He could feel his skin slide open as her dirty fingernails slid along it. He pushed back the stinging pain to grab hold of Viola’s clothes and half push half throw her back into the booth. Her head hit the wall, hands slid along the lacquered table with a sharp squeak. She slumped. He considered walking up to her, grabbing her face, making it clear why that was the worst mistake she’d ever made.

But somehow, he was confident that she hadn’t learned. Not yet. In a weird way, he wondered if she was like him. If the adrenaline rush needed to recede for her to know what she’d done wrong and why. So he decided to leave her there, lying limply agains the dark wood. He watched her casually as he adjusted his button down sleeve to cover the scratch.

“You know, I was this close to calling you the c-word. But my mom raised me better than that. Later, Parker. And I do mean later.”

Tony strode towards the door without a second look, half kicking it open. He waited for Finn to follow him out and closed it behind him. Then he reached forward, looping his arm around Finn’s neck to pull him in, forehead to forehead. “Hey. Hey. You’re okay, alright? I shouldn’t have let that happen. I’m sorry. That wasn’t supposed to be the job.”

@beaumontf

Finn hadn’t expected an apology from Tony. This shit was more serious than he thought. “I should’ve checked. I knew she was a live wire going on.” No more hairspray on days when he had to intimidate someone. Too many things could go wrong.

“I know you’ve always got my best interests in mind. You really showed her what we’re about.” He was impressed. He was more than impressed really. All that talk about learning from the family and Tony was more than talk by a mile. He was ready to enforce while leading.

“You wanna give me some lessons on how to do that? That way I’ll be prepared for next time.” He’d told Viola not to fuck with him. She thought she was so smart a few days ago. He was going to wreck her little world just as soon as he learned how.

[beaumontf]

tonyalessijunior​:

violaparker​:

Phase: Day Ten

“I don’t think you’re hearing me, Beaumont. I don’t like being lied to and I don’t like being fucked with.” It wasn’t the first time she’d been accused of doing sexwork. It kind of went with the whole infrequent runaway generally grunge trash territory. But something sparked in her. Something deep and angry and feral. Then, something sparked in the lighter. The flame went up a little too close to Finn’s face. She leaned forward, feeling truly happy for the first time in almost a week. When his hair went up, she was gonna giggle.

When this was done, Tony was going to tell Finn how well he was doing. That it wasn’t his fault that Viola Parker was a fucking psycho. We were all good at our own things. Finn’s was following orders, being a good brother, and being an awesome person. Tony’s was putting blond bitches in their place. 

The flame was up for about.six seconds before he grabbed hold of her wrist. He locked his hand and turned until heard a satisfying crunch and a scream. He used his other arm to slam Viola’s head into the table. “I’m curious, Parker. Has someone ever actually fucked you up before or do you just always look like it?” He heard a ragged growl beneath him. “Guess that answers that question. I’ll keep in mind that it’s your first time.”

He gave Finn an understanding nod. Sometimes you just couldn’t work with people. “You don’t want to play ball. Fine. Be less of a bitch about it next time. If you can.” He liked that use of ‘next time.’ So that she knew she wasn’t actually off the hook. Then he lifted Viola’s head ever so slightly and bashed her against the table again. She mumbled another protest but he was already done. He picked up the lighter and pocketed it. Then he released her and held his hand out to Finn to pull him out of the booth. “Let’s go.”

@beaumontf​

There was pee on his leg. He could feel it leaking down the front of his boxers. That psycho bitch was actually going to try and burn him alive. He knew it wouldn’t work. But that didn’t stop him from feeling the fear and the pee.

He was relieved when Tony bashed her head in, but not even a little bit surprised. He couldn’t help but smile. She could make all her dumb little “jokes” but what he and Tony had was real. It transcended pretty much anything in his life except his role as best big brother.

Finn wasn’t going to wait around for Viola to try and get a last word in. He slid out of the booth and tried to ignore the vinegary smell on his clothes. He’d toss it in the dumpster later. “Thanks, dude. I knew she was crazy but I didn’t realize she was that crazy.”

[wewerechildrenwerenotnow]

[beaumontf]

tonyalessijunior​:

beaumontf​:

Finn wouldn’t know what she was wearing. She’d moved out. He had no clue what was going on anymore. If she hadn’t taken enough of her clothes, she could be dressing like one of those idiots she hung out with all the time. They wore dresses. 

“If that’s my sister and she’s de…” He couldn’t even finish the sentence. “God. Damn. It.” He whispered. He wasn’t even allowed to yell right now because it would give them away. He stomped back towards the car, getting in and slamming the door. 

“Fuck.” He yelled as loud as he could, slamming his fist against the dashboard. 

Finn was being a little bitch. Unequivocably. But Tony had to ask himself how he would have behaved in Finn’s position. 

The simple truth was he wouldn’t be in Finn’s position. Anu wasn’t fucking stupid. Not that Charlie was. Which was why she wasn’t in there. Couldn’t be. 

Unless.

Charlie had been hanging out with the Fuscos. The Fuscos, or at least one Fusco, apparently had a death wish. How could he know if Charlie had caught fucking feelings from one of them?

Tony walked around to Finn’s side of the car. His muscles were tight and wired as he yanked the door open with a ragged screech. He reached past Finn to the glove compartment to pull out his spare Massimo Alba silk handkerchief, shoving it into his pocket. He started unbuttoning his collared shirt to reveal the white t-shirt underneath. His handkerchief smelling like smoke was bad enough. He wasn’t risking more than was necessary on this bullshit. He unbuttoned the cuffs and pulled it off, nearly grunting at Finn as he tossed it at him. “You do that shit in my actual car you’re walking home.” 

Tony strode up the lawn and onto the porch. He tested the doorknob with the handkerchief, just like the stupid safety videos taught him. It was warm but not searing, so he turned it and pulled the door wide. 

A wave of heat hit him. He managed to not step backward as he brought the handkerchief to his face, covering his nose and mouth. “Chuck?” He called into smoke. “Chuck?” No one answered. He stepped a little further inside, bending low to keep his head below the worst of the smoke. “CHUCK?!?” Still no answer. He crept through the living room towards the stairs. His eyes were tearing. “JESUS FUCKING CHRIST CHUCK I’M LEAVING.”

His foot knocked against something. He looked down to see the vague shape of what he’d been searching for. He could barely keep his eyes open against the ash so checking if it was Charlie in here was a no-go. He grabbed the person in a dress (he didn’t want to make gender assumptions) and threw them over his shoulder. He turned back toward the front door, but it was obscured by gray. He coughed into the handkerchief. The air was so thin. Tony stomped forward, operating on faith alone. He didn’t have a free hand to probe the smoke between holding the person and the handkerchief so he tried to half-lead with his feet. Finally, impossibly, he reached the open door. He rushed out onto the porch and lowered his load onto the grass for examination.

Tony pulled his hand away from his mouth, crumpling the silk in his fist. “Are you fucking kidding me?!?” He stomped over to the car and got in, starting the engine. He didn’t look at Finn as he released the clutch. “It wasn’t Charlie.” He slid the car into gear, lights still off, and headed back towards the house. 

Finn didn’t say anything. He’d been pulled away from saving his sister, so Tony could be the fucking hero. Honestly, maybe walking home would have been better. He could get his frustration out along the way. 

But Tony was better equipped to go in, silk scarf and all. So, Finn just watched from a distance. Every nerve in his body was screaming at him to rush inside and make sure his little sister was okay. Nothing else mattered. 

Time moved so fucking slowly. His leg kept bumping against the dashboard. He’d have a bruise in the morning, but who cares? Charlie was more important than anything. She may not want to hang out with him anymore but that didn’t mean he wasn’t still her big brother.

His heart seized as Tony moved through the doorway with a limp body in his arms. His pulse roared in his ears. He still couldn’t see the body well enough to know if it was Charlie or not. 

The way that Tony stomped away from it made him think things might be okay. He waited for Tony to say something. When he spoke, Finn breathed the biggest sigh of relief he’d ever felt. 

“Thanks.” There wasn’t anything else for him to say. He didn’t care what happened to that girl, it wasn’t Charlie. She was safe. That was all he needed.