we are no heroes

We're just doing what's right. ✘ Independent characters written by Caitlin

[gearedvoices-archive-blog]

“I’ve only met them once in passing, so you should totally do that,” Matt said, sounding for a moment like a laid back teen. “I’d call Anthony over but uh…” The message as to why was clear. “He’s probably busy.” A halfassed cover up. He knew Lisa was onto him. The boys didn’t get their smarts from nowhere.

He looked over at Lisa, realizing something. “We haven’t had a pizza day in forever. Not since you married this lump. We should do that after the full. Like old times.” Lisa broke into a grin, not saying anything, but obviously agreeing.

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     He wasn’t a lump. But he couldn’t disagree to them having fun. He didn’t need to be involved in everything. Really, he preferred to not be involved in almost anything. He liked being alone. Happy feelings were always enjoyable though. He pulled out his phone and texted the girls, putting his phone on his desk after tapping it three times.

“They’re coming,” he said, looking back to them. “Both of them are nice. Different ways of showing it. Dio speaks her mind and usually does what she wants, Verizon...”

     He looked over to Lisa, sighing softly. How did he describe Verizon? She was quiet, but she was much more than that. More complex. She didn’t let him in a lot, but she let him in. Just that alone was big.

“A lot quieter, not as much of a trouble maker. If you want to talk to either of them you probably need to initiate it since still in workplace. Especially Verizon.”

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“Of course! He’s practically my brother, he has to meet his niece.”

Matt ruffled his hair with a hand. “You’re making me responsible for all these little punks and she’s going to be as bad as the boys, I’m sorry, it’s inevitable. And now there’s four of them?!”

“Six with the girls,” she reminded. Matt let out a soft screech.

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     Jaq was quiet up until the screech, where he let out a soft laugh. He agreed. There were a lot of kids. But really, he wasn’t complaining. He loved all of them, even if one or two didn’t exactly return it.

“Which the girls should... Be here today. Scheduled for weapons checkup and I think Dio already got into a small fight. Surprisingly Verizon in a way helped. The guy must’ve had it coming for both of them to be on him.”

     He waited a moment before glancing at the clock. “I can see if they can stop by if you guys want. They might crash on the couch a bit though.”

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phoebe benson: the aesthetic

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Matt blinked slighty. He had not met the girl, but Lisa had spoken a lot of her. “Haven’t gotten to yet,” he said softly, putting his feet up on the tale. “I’ve seen pictures though. She’s precious.”

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     Jaq immediately smiled when Matt said no. He looked over to Lisa, his eyes wide with excitement. He wanted to show Aurora to Matt. He had met everyone else, he was sure, but not Aurora. “We can bring the boys too. Let them say hi to Matt,” he said, his voice still gentle. “Can we?”

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“No. I thought you were talking about your dick.”

“You don’t know him very well,” Lisa said simply, putting her feet in Jaq’s lap.

“Cut me some slack, sis, I’ve met the guy like three times.”

“So why are you helping him with work?” she asked seriously, something not fitting together.

“Because I’m not an asshole. Eat your ice cream.”

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     Jaq moved slightly to a more comfortable position when Lisa put her feet on him. Otherwise, he stayed quiet. This was their bickering. Even at the question he remained silent. He wasn’t going to tell Lisa. He really didn’t like not telling her the truth. It was kind of for her own good. And Matt’s. It was a topic Jaq knew wouldn’t be very fun to deal with. After a few silent minutes from him, he looked up to Matt, then to Lisa.

“Have you met Rora? Has he met Rora?”

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“Matt has a dirty mind,” Lisa said simply. 

“Guilty as charged,” Matt said in the same tone, taking another bite of ice cream.

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     Jaq blinked a couple seconds before he got a small idea of what they were talking about. Dirty minds. It’s not like he didn’t grow up with a brother who had a mind of a prepubescent boy.

“Did you think I was talking about sex?”

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“I thought you were going to say…” He glanced at Lisa awkwardly. “Something else.”

“I don’t even want to know what just went through your head, Matthew.”

“Ya really don’t.” He took a bite of ice cream, effectively giving himself brain freeze instead of talking.

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Jaq looked between Matt and Lisa, a confused look on his face. He felt like he had just missed something. He was sure of

     “I’m... Confused. Did I miss something? I missed something didn’t I.”

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Open

“If I hang up on you it’s because I have an untrustworthy robot holding the phone, what do you want?”

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      “O-kay then. Hey to you too. Do you want any food while I’m out? Like, anything dude. Besides broccoli. Nothing with broccoli.”

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“Cheers,” Matt agreed, offering up his sad, troubled smile that looked just as soft and happy and kind as any other. Lisa was troubled when she saw it. It was his normal smile, but she couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong with it. She raised her own ice cream, mumbling “cheers,” before looking into the cup, wondering why it bothered her now of all times.

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     Jaq raised his ice cream, only to take a bite out of it a second after. He stared out the window, watching over the railing at the people walking below.

“We should do something later...” he said softly. “Before I have to dive into work again. Sticking to the papers for a bit. I’d rather paper cuts on my hands than cuts on my face.“

    He was trying to lighten the mood, but he was pretty sure he didn’t change it at all.

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Jake was honestly waiting for the word Nerd to come up. But when he was proved wrong, he looked up at his son, a faint smile on his face. “Alright you’ve redeemed yourself. Now come here.” He held out his arm for a hug.

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Blake hugged Jake when he was given the chance, a small smile on his face. He liked being hugged.

    “Redeemed myself? Were my puns that bad?”

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    “What do you call a vampire who's married to a crazy ass scientist and helps me get through times after bad missions when I kinda want to sleep forever?”

He waited a few seconds, this time not waiting for an answer.

     “One of the best dads in the world.“

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Pawns

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He kicked his dresser before calming down just slightly, balling a fist in his hair and pulling slightly. He was stressed. He was tired. He was scared for Veronica’s life, and he had no way to protect her other than to work himself until he dropped, only to get up and work some more.

He took a deep breath to try and prevent the tears before looking over at her from under his arm. “I can’t work with them,” he whispered. “I need to get the weapons done, I need to turn in the most recent robots, I cannot operate like that under that medication. I’ve gotten things done like this–” He had also broken several times in the week, crumbling into vivid auditory, visual and even unfamiliar sensory hallucinations. He had passed out twice from migraines, unbeknownst to anyone’s knowledge. 

He hadn’t slept, he hardly ate. He had even lost a dangerous amount of weight for him, leaving him as nothing but a stick. All in just the last week. All it took was the mere idea that Vern was in danger. The mere concept. 

It was edging into a form of self harm. He knew what would happen if he drank another cola, or a half cup of coffee, but he had to do it. He had to keep her safe.

“I don’t know,” he mumbled to the question, leaning on the dresser now. “I wouldn’t be shocked if she did… She’s from Nebraska, after all.” 

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She tried not to jump as he kicked the dresser, but it couldn’t be helped. She wanted to go up to him, to pull his hands away from his head like she always did. He had to get it out though. She would let him. She would make sure that he wouldn’t hurt himself. She was trying at least. She listened to what he had to say, waiting a minute before slowly walking over to him. She knew sometimes he wasn’t okay with being touched. She knew that feeling.

     “Rory. Come ‘ere.”

She was soft as she spoke, her arms slowly wrapping around him. She didn’t know how much weight he had lost until she felt how thin he was. Everything was taking a toll on him. She knew she couldn’t take all of it from him. She could try.

     “Then she can take care of herself... It’s hard to not worry, but do your best to not worry. You know what all is wrong besides the boss... You need to take your medicine... You’ve done these things before while on them. Take it easy on the coffee and sweets. Try to sleep. Stick to flavored water or something... For right now, just breathe.”

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Okay. Just ride it out. “I don’t know,” he mumbled.

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     “The guy necks door, and a vampire would own a blood hound. Get it?”

He began laughing, a hand on his stomach. He was funny. At least that’s what he thought. 

      “Oh, yeah, and I have one more.”

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Oh he wasn’t repaid enough for this shit. Having a son was awesome. He loved him. But good god he was an asshole. “Lord give me patience,” he mumbled under his breath.

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    “Who is a vampire likely to fall in love with? And what type of dog would a vampire own?”

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He rolled his eyes at the first sentence. Here they went. “An asshole,” he answered simply, looking back to his comic. “I wasn’t aware Clans were a joke.”

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   “A stapler. Asshole clans aren’t even close. Come on. Do you have any jokes? Do you even know how to make a joke?”

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Pawns

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Rory flinched and recoiled when she first yelled at him, but his face turned to anger as she got it out. So Vern told her. Knowing Vern, if Emily was told, everyone was told. He was far from happy with this outcome.

“What are you going to do? Send me back?” he asked in a mocking tone, pushing her off him slightly so he could step away and get her out of his face. “Send me back over medications that I don’t even need? Or just send me back for the hell of it? What’s it matter, the boss is considering that much. The bitch thinks she knows everything. She doesn’t know shit! You wanna make me take my meds? Fine! I’d rather feel anger than feel nothing, though.”

He didn’t mention Veronica. He loved her. She was the one stable thing in his life. He wasn’t happy that she told them, but he wasn’t happy that he pushed her to that extent just to feel something at work. He was less happy that this new boss – this fucking bitch – was trying to pull Vern into this mess. He had neglected to tell her about it. He had forced himself to stay silent. It’d sound like a delusion anyways.

“What’s a little cola gonna do anyways? Makes me work faster, keeps Vern safe,” he grumbled under his breath. He had hardly even realized he had said it aloud.

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Emmy didn’t walk closer to Rory as she was pushed away. He did need his space even if she didn’t want to give it. She didn’t want to send him back. But skipping his medications weren’t something she could easily forgive.

    “No, Rory, we won’t send you back over medications. I’ve seen first hand what happens when you don’t though. Do you? Remember the screaming, the hiding, crying? You can be angry at bitch boss even while on the medications.”

She paused when she heard- or thought she heard Rory mention keeping Vern safe. She had heard that before. It wasn’t with the new boss, but she had heard it before. It was from Travis. That was when his addiction started. Now it was the same with Rory. Except he was addicted to something different. She had heard that the new boss did nearly all the dirty work herself. She wasn’t in the Division, but she still kept up with what happened. None of this was good.

Taking a step away, she ran her hand through her hair. Vern couldn’t die. She was nearly the only thing that held Rory together. The Division couldn’t just take her away like that. She couldn’t see another family member get taken away.

     “Switch to diet and take your meds... Does Vern know how to work a gun?”

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“That’s…. not really age related, but sure? I mean, he’s also blind, and I’m not.”

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   “...Onto the next subject. It’s a joke type thing. Ready? With pointed fangs I sit and wait, with piercing force I crunch out fate, grabbing victims, proclaiming might, physically joining with one bite. So what am I? You should have an idea.”