"Esen Sahin last person I wanted to hurt was you but no-"
NO
Harvey was looking at his own reflection tapping the lighter and coffee. Why didn't he practice earlier? Why is he doing this now. The villian tried not scream in public. It's easy just talk to himself but not to Esen. That was the outlier. You care about her don't you Harvey? That was the voice in his head. He suprised to hear footsteps. Harvey looked up.
After the night of the gala, Esen had been a bit hesitant to meet with Harvey after he had reached out. When they crossed paths again after five years, she knew it wouldn’t be the greatest of conversations, but she didn’t think it would be that bad. The pair had always been honest with each other, but she saw a much colder side of Harvey that left her feeling unsure of it all. Part of her knows she has no right to receive any warm welcome from him, but she also couldn't let this go. She needed to know what was bothering him so much and that's where she found herself now.
She was running a little behind, utterly out of character, but she had been nervous about entering the coffee shop. She found him quickly and made her way over to his table. “Hey,” she gave him a small attempt at a smile before taking off her warm winter coat and sitting across from him. “Thanks for inviting me.”
TJ was on phone duty at the fire house. He wondered to himself that if there was going to be any calls today, even thought it was the non emergency line. He didn't think too much about it as the phone rang. TJ picked up the device.
"Hello you have reached the non-emergency line, this is Captain Yoon, how can we assist you today?"
It was an honest mistake, in his opinion. He had never been that great with numbers, and after a couple of drinks, he really couldn’t be trusted. All he wanted to do was order a pizza or some other type of takeout, but he must have gotten the number wrong when he heard the voice on the other side of the line.
Non-emergency line? Had he screwed up that badly? “Nah, I’m sorry. I was trying to order delivery. That's my bad.”
Somewhere between the pathway of cerb and the hospital. Two paths finally meeting.
Warren walked out at the end of the day. The doctor took out the plushie and looked at it sweetly. He wondered what happened to Ariya. Part of him wants to believe she opened that bakery and lived happily ever after. There was that belief anyway.
Warren's ending was debatable. Sure he had a decent job, help some people. But his personal life was much to be desired. Especially that divorce, curse you Elvis in Atlantic City. He turned the corner and saw the familar face.
After another long day at Cerb, Ariya couldn't wait to go home. She wasn't sure if it was the lack of sleep or something else, but the past few days had been a blur. She often struggled to muster the energy to leave her bed and get ready for work. It felt like an uphill battle to drag herself to work, and she often wondered how she managed it. It was almost like she was on autopilot these days, waiting for things to return to normal. She was aware of the danger of being constantly on edge but couldn't control her emotions. The faster she got home, the better she would be.
Like most days, Ariya kept her head down on her walk home. The last thing she ever wants is someone to recognize her, which usually works in her favor. Today is the day that all ends, apparently when she hears her name. Except it’s a nickname that stops her dead in her tracks, and paired with the voice of her older brother, it almost makes her turn and run the other way. The last thing she had ever wanted was for him to see her like this. She would never want to put him in harm's way over something she could barely control herself. She hadn’t reached out since she started her new life. She didn't need him or their mother to be a part of this.
“Warun,” she starts a little hesitantly. “What are you doing here?”
saying the past couple of days were long would have been an understatement for kareem. he had been trying to get everything ready to open his store again after the two week break, but things weren’t working in his favor. when he had been here with cass after the gala, both had noticed that some things needed repairing, but with kareem’s fear of ladders, it wasn't going to be him. thankfully, cass had offered to help him, and he wouldn't lie about he was still in a bit of shock from that offer. one day, he would accept the fact that people want to help him in life without something in return, but today wasn't that day.
unknowingly, the repairs would be the least of his worries. when he had come in the day before, he had discovered that malee had been letting herself in for the last two weeks to “watch over things”. that was a completely different headache he didn't know how to handle. for now, he was going to try and forget that nightmare while he spent some time with cass.
cass was also another new thing in his life. they had met at the gala and hit it off. kareem had invited them back to the record store because, by that point, he was way over the festivities. a night of drinking and mingling wasn’t always his cup of tea, especially in a room full of eos he didn't know. the night thankfully, took a turn for the better after leaving and ordering some pretty shitty takeout and getting to know one another. in his opinion, it was worth ditching harvey for. he would make it up to him somehow.
that’s how they found themselves in this situation. cass trying to fix up the place with him while kareem helped supervise. he would do it himself, but he wasn’t about to go up the ladder to fix anything. he had enough of those for this lifetime. he takes a sip of his coffee and turns to the other.
“i found out why this place was in such disarray and i think we should change the locks too.”
two weeks, the store had been closed. two long weeks without worrying about long hours and getting out of bed early for work. he loved his job, but he knew he was long overdue for a break, and so were his employees. he had decided to come in a few days before opening to ensure everything was in order, but something felt off. had one of his employees been here while he hadn't?
kareem walked further into the small store before hearing noises from his office. his anxiety was rising with every step he took, but he kept moving forward. was someone trying to rob him right now? he didn’t keep much cash at the shop. they wouldn’t make out with anything. putting his hand on the doorknob, he opens his mouth to yell at the intruder but instead lets out what he hopes sounds like a laugh. his heart was still pounding in chest.
“malee? what are you doing in my office? more importantly, how did you get in here?”
“do you want to stay in and order food tonight?” hana stands in front of their refrigerator, pulling open the door and gazing over the assortment of food and drinks inside. “i mean, we could always go out as well. it’s not that big of a deal to me. i won’t lie to you though, i’m still mentally drained from the gala.”
zeeko zaki. 33. cis man. he/him. ┊┊ cerberus corp has been watching KAREEM HASSAN. some of the public has dubbed them GUARDIAN because of FORCE FIELD GENERATION gifted by FALLING OFF A LADDER. having been an extra ordinary since 2015, they’re doing a good job at hiding THAT IT DRAINS MOST OF HIS ENERGY. when they aren’t working their day job as a RECORD STORE OWNER, they are fond of COLLECTING VINYL RECORDS and are never seen without HIS CLASS RING at first glance they seem HARDWORKING & RESOURCEFUL, though their close friends know them to also be STUBBORN & INDECISIVE. they consider themself a VIGILANTE.
tw: mentions of head injury & surgery .
001. GENERAL.
name kareem hassan
nicknames n/a
age 33
date of birth november 15th
zodiac scorpio
place of birth chicago illinois
current residence somewhere in the city
gender cis male
pronouns he/him
sexuality bisexual (masc pref)
occupation record store owner
faceclaim zeeko zaki
height 6’5
tattoos a couple but will get back to this later
piercings none
distinguishing features his arms, his broad shoulders, his height…i’m getting off track, OH the scar on his head from his nde
positive traits independent, resourceful, hardworking
negative traits stubborn, indecisive, overthinking,
labels / tropes answer
likes running his store, working, still working, working out sometimes
dislikes being lied to, not having control over a situation, losing money to gambling
fears heights & ladders
hobbies collecting old records
habits cracking knuckles (ew), biting inside of cheek, clenched jaw
002. EXTRA ORDINARY.
near death experience…
was helping his dad do some work outside and wasn't paying attention and slipped and fell off the ladder
he doesn't remember much of his two week hospital stay but from what he was told he needed surgery to close up his head injury
i will make this better later
power…
can create a field formed from energy, elements, the environment, or by manipulating smaller items
centered on or around the user like an aura, these fields often take on a spherical or flat shape
can either possess a solid, fluid or elastic structure and surface
capable of blocking or impeding approaching objects and nullifying attacks
drawbacks / vulnerabilities…
drains all of his energy using his ability
super strength can destroy force fields
weak against: energy absorption/energy draining, shield break, force field penetration & defense break
cannot maintain a force field under stress
attack to the barrier will cause him physical harm
barriers can't block every kind of attack
codename… as always kareem wants to go by his real name & doesn't understand the alias thing or how they come up with it
esen is looking up at him, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears, and JAMES feels his heart sink in his chest. he feels worse, not better, that esen is being so understanding. james is a liar, has been lying to esen for a while, and there's a certain level of ... consequence he's come to expect with that. he's no stranger to people being upset with him after realizing that they were deceived by him — in fact, several breakups james had been through in the past were due to him getting caught in a lie — and he's not naive enough to not realize that he reaps what he sows. this is the way the world has always worked for james and his father, and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. he lies — and in return, he's lied to.
he shifts his weight on his feet. " well. the night's not over, " he says, holding out his hand for esen. " it's not even 11pm… do you want to go for a late night snack ? it's on me. "
as the moments pass, part of esen wonders if she should question the situation between them more, but she decides against it. given that she had only been in one relationship that lasted eight years, she wouldn't know where to begin if she had to approach a subject like this. she was a firm believer that honesty was the best policy, but she decided to ignore this. she trusts james, and it’s not like he would deliberately hurt her, right? she quickly realizes that if she doesn't stop getting lost in her thoughts, she will have to hit the bar again, and being back with the crowd is the last place she wants to be. in her eyes, all that mattered now was that they could endure the rest of this night together.
as he extended his hand towards her, she gazed into his eyes and replied, "i would love nothing more." with a hint of a smile on her lips, she gratefully took his waiting hand, intertwining her fingers with his.
after the events of the gala, esen needed to clear her head. after all that had happened the night before, she wanted to stay in her apartment and be lazy. she debated spending the day alone but ultimately decided to call a friend. esen was texting imara without hesitation, especially since they hadn't crossed paths at the gala, and that's how they found themselves lounging on the sofa. “thanks for coming over. i really needed your company today.”
