Sebastian had been deemed a ｔhｒeａt to himself and others and was under heavy sedation, as well as being fed via IV since he refused to eat. He spent most of his time daydreaming about Aemond and the rest of his time asleep. In his delusions, the night they'd spent together had been the start of something beautiful and magical. In his mind, they were together.
The day came when he needed to either pay out of pocket or leave. Trent had been granted power of attorney years ago, so he chose to have Sebastian discharged and become his caregiver. However, he didn't consider the implications of the fact that "home", for Trent, was Daemon's house these days. So he was not expecting Daemon's reaction to Trent wheeling Sebastian and his IV over to Daemon's house.
By the time Sebastian was released, he was vaguely stable. He burned through sedatives quickly, but Trent's presence kept him calm, almost grounded. He barely spoke anymore, but he was willing to apologize, since he couldn't find the words in his murky mind to explain to Trent why this was a HORRIBLE IDEA.
"OH MY GOD!! Look I'll just fucking take it to the fucking dealership they probably did something to it!!!" Daemon was snapping loudly interrupting what Erryk was attempting to tell him on his thoughts on why the Hummer was acting up. Why did he even try honestly? Well why would anyone right now? Daemon was clearly in a worse mood than he had been and it just got more and more unbearable by the day. Stepping away Erryk shared a brief look with Rhaenyra who was sitting in a nearby lawn chair inside of the the garage. Neither wanted to even touch arguing with a ten foot pole so looked like they'd just have to take it for him. And honestly it was on his dime anyway. As if such things mattered anyway considering Daemon was officially unable to leave the house until his next court date in two weeks.
Honestly Daemon probably looked about as bad as he felt right now. Rare occasion for him. Hair merely knotted on the back of his head in a bun, black t-shirt he'd been wearing for two days, black gym shorts and spandex under them if only to cover the ankle monitor besides that who the hell needed shoes in your own driveway anyway? And he definitely smelt like a wine vineyard mixed with a bit of grease from fucking with the Hummer. Moving to slam the hood down he'd just been turning and wiping his hands with the rag about to follow Erryk when he noted his niece had a bit of a frown on her face suddenly looking down the driveway.
Slowly his gaze shifted to look and seeing Trent wheeling the wheelchair up the drive he sort of froze where he was his brow scrunching up as he glared a bit in disbelief. He however didn't move at first except to just sort of throw the greasy rag down on the ground.
"Hi, Daemon!" Trent chirped, oblivious as usual. "Look, the hospital cleared Bashie for release! Bashie, did you have something you wanted to say to Daemon?"
Sebastian's head was just now beginning to clear up as the IV was running out. He swallowed and looked up at Daemon.
"Yes," he said, his words coming slowly. "I'm sorry. He's so precious, Daemon. So beautiful. I'm sorry if I hurt him. If I scared him. I'll do anything to make it up to you both." His eyes had been glazed at first, but they seemed to focus more as he looked at Daemon, a peaceful smile alighting his face. "Don't be mad at Duckie for bringing me. It's my fault. I should have...." He lost the thread of his sentence. "God, your eyes are so pretty. They're like violets dancing in the sun."
Daemon moved to cross his arms his eyes moving from burning holes at Trent to down at Sebastian and for a long moment his expression stayed that same angry one until the last part. Immediately he laughed rather sarcastically and looked back to where Rhaenyra sat and Erryk now stood watching cautiously next to a very tall red colored Doberman who'd wandered up with a panting German shepherd close behind him.
Eyes moving back to the two Daemon smirked a bit "If you'd like Erryk can give you a ride.... Wherever it is you two need to go" Daemon replied smartly before turning and shaking his head as he started back up the driveway.
"Uh..." Trent looked anxiously at Sebastian. "Hey, stay here a sec," he whispered. Then he strode over to Daemon and gently caught his upper arm. "What do you mean, honey?"
Feeling Trent's hand Daemon was quick to yank his arm away before he turned on the other jaw tightening a bit. "I can't leave the fucking house Trent. So wherever you're planning on taking...." He paused and pointed towards Sebastian briefly before looking back at Trent "That! I can't help you. Call an Uber or Erryk can drop you two off somewhere. Any other stupid fucking questions?" He replied his tone finally a bit hot.
Trent was completely nonplussed. "Honey, we're here because here was where I was planning to take him. He can't stay alone and I live with youー"
"I," Sebastian interrupted, slowly moving his head to focus on Trent, "I think he's kicking you out because of me."
"What?" Trent frowned. "No, he's a sweetheart. You always think the worst of people, Bashie."
Sebastian's head drifted from side to side. "No. Daemon doesn't accept my apology. Don't stress him out. Take... Take me to Nathaniel. Let him cool down."
Trent gave Daemon a confused sort of frown. He knew Daemon was on house arrest, but he didn't fully understand why. Maybe if he explained the situation to Nathaniel, Nathaniel could help him understand it.
"Bash, I can't just leave him here to stew," Trent said. "He's important, too."
Sebastian looked over at Erryk. "Heyyy," he said. "Can you please take me to 745 New Campbell Street? It's the condos by the um... by... Applebee's. Duckie, can you give him my medical bag?"
Trent looked between Sebastian and Daemon, conflicted. Things had been tense lately and he hated being caught in-between them. "Um... Let me change your IV bag first." He did so as nimbly as you please.
Sebastian smiled lazily at him. "I'll be okay," he said. "Can you do me a favor? Don't... Don't tell him. I'm at a spa, okay?"
Trent blew out a breath. "Little bug won't agree to that. You saw the footage, you remember how he reacted to finding out his dad had lied to him about his mom being 'on a cruise' after he found her passed out from those pills."
"Nate was nine, he found out the truth at 29. This is different," Sebastian said.
Trent shook his head. "It's not. Please don't ask me to lie, Bash."
"...Just don't tell him. If... If I'm still gone on the holidays, um... I...." Sebastian blinked. "I'll go to an actual spa," he finished.
Trent sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'll... call my sister. Maybe she can think of something that doesn't involve lying."
Daemon looked at Trent with a bit of disbelief. He knew Trent was dense but .. this level of dense?! Really?! Oh look and there he went doting over POOR pathetic Bastian again. "Oh my GOD Rhaenyra PLEASE tell your husband to call me!! I want one to!!!" Daemon suddenly snarled a bit over dramatically before heading for the inside of the garage. Whistling to the two dogs as he went merely pausing to pull the key's to the Hummer from his shorts pocket to toss to Erryk before he was heading for the small door into the inside of the house with Caraxes and Syrax scrambling after him.
"Excuse me!? Syrax!!! Oh what the hell!" Rhaenyra sighed moving to stand up. Wouldn't hurt for her to stay and help keep him company for now. "I'll take the hummer, you take my car and drop them off first. I'll call you if it doesn't make it" She was soon telling Erryk as she moved to take the keys from him.
By this point Erryk looked a shade of irritated himself but didn't say anything, merely handed the keys to her and took the ones she gave him before letting out a sigh and moving to start towards Trent and Sebastian. "Aight let's go" he added in a bit if a dull tone as he headed for where the white Toyota escalade was parked on the curb.
Trent was still confused. He tried to go after Daemon.
"Um..." Sebastian mumbled. "Duckie? Bag?"
Trent still had Sebastian's medical bag. "Honey, I'll text you," he called after Daemon. He really wanted to stay, but Sebastian was right. Seeing them together had clearly put Daemon in a bad mood. Trent wheeled Sebastian to the Toyota and helped him in, disconnecting the IV from its stand and handing him the bag. Sebastian winced as the movements tugged under his skin, but didn't complain. The wheelchair was folded and put into the trunk when the door was popped, and Trent scooted into the back with Sebastian, who leaned against him.
When they got to Nathaniel's place, Trent helped Sebastian out of the car and back into his chair. Trent thanked Erryk for the ride and Sebastian nodded in agreement. They made their way to the elevator up to Nate's apartment.
Nathaniel wasn't expecting company. Seeing Trent through the peephole wasn't too unexpected, as they were friends, after all, but seeing Sebastian in a wheelchair came as a shock.
"What the hell happened?" Nate asked as he opened the door.
"His insurance won't pay for him to stay in long-term psychiatric," Trent explained helpfully.
Nate blinked. "What... the fuck?"
Sebastian looked up at Nathaniel with that same placid smile he'd had earlier. "Buglet... Would you wear color contacts for me?" he half-slurred.
'What the fuck?' Nate mouthed.
"Listen, here's his bag and his outpatient instructions. Text me if you need anything. I have to get back to Daemon, he's REALLY mad that I brought Bashie over without asking."
"An explanation would be nice!" Nate called to Trent's retreating back, but he sighed and wheeled Sebastian in anyway. "At least tell me you can use the bathroom on your own," he grumbled.
Sebastian made a soft cooing noise. "You can order me to, if you want," he said.
Nate made a face; Sebastian's expression immediately crumpled. Fuck. This was going to be a chore.
--
Trent took an Uber back to Daemon's house and went to go hug him and ask if he was okay. Usually he'd be cooking for Daemon right around this time, but the air was so tense it was starting to make him nervous, and nerves and a hot stove were a bad combination.
"I know I should have called, but what would you have me do?" he half-pleaded.
Hearing the door Daemon had immediately tensed where he was standing in.... Well honestly it was a bit of an absolute WRECK in his bedroom like he'd torn the place apart or an animal had. Possible considering he'd started while EXTREMELY drunk the morning before and he didn't actually remember much about that time of day. Yeah, definitely Trent. Who else would have just came straight back to the bedroom without announcing themselves. As Trent had entered Daemon had actually purposely hard threw a bag with some of Trent's electronics on the floor next to the pile of... Mine but fucking trash clothes. Which by now there was some organization to the stacks of shit one being TRENT'S to shove into a bag.
Pulling away from Trent the moment the other had tried his usual bullshit Daemon didn't say anything and simply started over for dresser he hadn't gone through yet. Hearing Trent though he was suddenly throwing EVERYTHING on top onto the floor managing to smash open a fully potted plant and bust off the front of the alarm clock before his hands grabbed the dresser leaning on it and staring for a moment. "Trent.... Get.... The .... FUCK.... OUT!!!!!" Daemon snarled whirling on Trent suddenly and moving towards him. Grabbing the front of Trent's shirt he shoved him hard towards the door. "Out of my fucking house and off my FUCKING property!!! Just to clarify because I know you're to STUPID to fucking understand!!" He shouted before turning again and this time straight kicking over a stack of DVDs. Yeah the room by this point was covered in shit so much so there was hardly anywhere to step that wasn't clothing or stuff piled and where even was the damn bed?
"Plus you know..... Wouldn't want Mr. Ｓuｉcｉdａl ｏfｆiｎg himself while you aren't around. Better hurry back, be a shame if something happened while you were gone" He added smartly his tone having dropped to a far more snarky and cruel one as he headed back for what he was doing.
"Daemon, STOP." Trent was a patient man, but this was ridiculous! "I've been nothing but kind and supportive with you, and all you've been doing for weeks is yelling at me and pushing me away. I'm not stupid, and I don't understand why you're being like this. Sebastian's with Nate now. He'll be fine. I left him with Nate so I could come back to you. I love you, Daemon. I've always done everything I can for you, since the day we met. So please, help me understand where I went wrong."
"Oh my god if you can't fucking remotely see it WHY the fuck should I waste my time explaining it, you absolutely idiot!!!" Daemon replied again moving to pinch the bridge of his nose for a moment in frustration. Go away, exactly HOW was that not getting through Trent's big stupid head suddenly!!?
A shadow crossed over Trent's face. "Because the last time someone acted like this with me and told me to leave, I didn't see them again for months, and I don't want that to happen with you," he said. "At least then I knew why they were mad at me. You, I don't get. I mean, I should have asked if Sebastian could stay with us, but don't you think you're overreacting a little?"
"OVERREACTING!!!! ME!!!?? Are you FUCKING kidding me Trent!!???" Daemon shot turning again. "No! You know what I haven't over reacted enough to your sheer fucking stupidity!!" He suddenly moved for the closet to start digging managing to knock over the guitar with a loud clang in the process. "FUCK!!" Though soon he was pulling out a rather tall blow torch and walking over for the TRENT pile of clothes. "This is what over reacting looks like Trent!!!!" He jeered looking straight at him as he grabbed up a turtle neck and held the blow torch to it. Eyes straight locked with Trent at this point as he lit it and started burning it.
"Yes," Trent agreed, "that is also overreacting. Daemon, come on. Talk to me. You know I love you and I care about you. You don't need to be kicking me out and burning my clothes. Whatever this is really about, we can get through it, together."
"OH! Can we? Well ok then let's GET through this shall we!!! Mmm let's call this one that time you didn't answer my phone call because you were.... WITH BASHIE!" He mused loudly before throwing the half burnt turtle neck to the side then moving he grabbed up a pair of pants. "And this one's DEFINITELY you offering to pay because we both know it was only because it was fucking Sebastian! And he didn't even NEED the money he was being a cock!!!!!" Daemon added blow torch to the pants before he went throwing them. Moving to grab a very clearly crocheted piece he got an even more wicked smile on his face. "Oooo these were cute... Pity.... This is for staying with that lying cunt! You can't fucking tell me you didn't hear him making up that absolute trash about me!!! Not even a phone call or text in warning?! THANKS YOU FUCKING TWAT!!!" He shouted the last part still burning the piece of clothing but damn near spitting as he shouted at Trent so that soon the flame had escalated and he was suddenly yelping as it caught his hand and he went quickly dropping the piece of clothing. "FUCKING COCK SUCKER!!!" He damn near shouted.
Trent listened to him rant and rave, then calmly responded. "Okay, technically I'm the only one he lets call him Bashie, butーyeah, okay, no, you're right, not the point. I didn't answer my phone because I didn't feel it vibrate, honey. If I had, I would have taken your call." His brow furrowed. He thought Daemon knew that about him. He hadn't broken up with Daemon even when Sebastian had clearly butted heads with him when they'd met. That, he felt, should speak plenty to how much Trent loved and prioritized his boyfriend.
"I didn't pay him," Trent continued. "I just didn't want you to be charged. I told him privately he shouldn't ask money from someone who was in-and-out of consciousness at the time. He admitted he wasn't serious."
Trent automatically reached for the crocheted piece. It was cute, and it meant a lot to him. He pulled it mostly out of Daemon's reach, but the polyester yarn went up anyway. Crap. His shoulders sagged.
"I didn't hear a thing he said about you," Trent said. "They made me leave before he was allowed to talk to the cops. I didn't know what he was going to say. What... what did he say?"
Before Daemon could answer his question, his hand burned! Trent immediately grabbed the nearest cloth and used it to put out Daemon's hand, then rummaged through a pile for the aloe gel. He poured a generous amount on the scarf he'd grabbed and used it to wrap Daemon's hand.
"Baby, come on," he said, scooping Daemon up and sitting with him on a pile of clothes, cradling him like he weighed nothing. "Look, okay. Thank you for finally telling me. I'm not going to leave your side, though, because it seems like part of the problem is you think I care more about him than I do about you." He took a breath, hesitating. "Our history isn't all mine to tell, but it's more complicated than you'd think," he said carefully. "I need him to understand that you're not...." He trailed off as he tried to think of the right words. "I need him to understand that you're worth being in my life, and I need you to understand that just because there's someone else I'm close to doesn't mean I love you any less. There's other factors involved too, and if things between you two don't get resolved, it's... going to be even more of a headache. For everyone. I don't want anyone else getting hurt. I don't want you to be hurt." He swallowed and thumbed Daemon's cheek. "I want to be here. With you. Because you need to know I'm here for you. And... um.... Well, holidays are coming up. There's some people I'll want you to meet, if... if you still want to be with me by then?"
And there he went running about like he usually did. In most cases Daemon may have found it endearing but,... Well that had definitely faded now that he'd managed to convince himself of a few likely reasons Trent did this that more or less only made him angrier. That being said he still quite purposely attempted to pull away from Trent a few times before he was being pulled to sit with Trent on the clothes a far less angry and more sullen look on his face as he listened to Trent talk. Wow so did he just play dumb to get away with shit? He didn't say that tho he merely ended up sitting there now staring down at and sort of picking at the cloth on his burnt hand. A few times sort of rolling his eyes as Trent mentioned things like his history with Sebastian and needing Sebastian to realize shit! Why!? Sebastian couldn't comprehend jack shit!! Oh but he didn't roll his eyes more than the moment Trent went bringing up Holidays. Disgusting fucking things! "I don't know Trent, maybe I'll be in prison... Right where your little bitch wants me" He muttered trying to hide the slight shake to his voice. Which had been the very thing he wanted to avoid having happen. No, Trent didn't need to see that side of him especially being the one who near caused it. Fucking prick! Taking a deep breath to try and center himself a bit more he finally shook his head "Everything's already fucked Trent... I'm never going to forgive that bitch for any of this. So don't hold your fucking breathe. Might as well .. leave now and save us all the .... Headache" He decided to use Trent's words right back at him.
"No one wants you in prison," Trent said, stroking Daemon's hair. "He knows how much you mean to me. You're as good as family." Trent's expression turned contemplative. If Daemon was unable to meet other members of his family, he would never understand just how much Trent needed him and Bash to put aside their differences.
Trent did understand how Daemon felt, more than Daemon knew. He was inwardly furious with Sebastian, but he had to keep a calm front, especially with Sebastian's already-fragile sanity. There was so much Daemon didn't know, that he definitely wouldn't want to hear right now, but Trent knew that, if anyone other than Sebastian had done what he'd done, Trent would have murdered them himself. But there were just too many layers to their dynamic for Trent to be okay with harming Sebastian.
"Honey, I get that he made a mess of things and I get that your nephew is traumatized because of him. I understand that, and I'm not going to ask you to forgive him. I don't, either. But there are reasons I need him alive, reasons that have NOTHING to do with my personal feelings, and I really hope you'll understand what I mean soon, but for right now... Honey, what did he say that got you in so much trouble?"
"That I was fucking drunk! When they left that restaurant the SAME cops tracked me down and pulled me over. Who knows what else other than there was extra things in the bag of food" Daemon replied his tone a bit low still and his body clearly tense as he told Trent. Maybe if Trent had actually cared about what was going on with him during this he'd actually have known this. Fucking twat. "I had that money in the car... Only thing they didn't fucking find. They immediately wanted to take our blood and search the vehicle so who fucking knows what other shit his stupid ass said. Maybe even that I threatened him.... Fucking cry baby" He muttered the last part before moving to run both hands over his hair as he shook his head fighting to stay calm at this point. Trent really thought things could eventually just be fine? Sebastian was lucky he was still breathing right now but Daemon knew it was solely because his brother probably had blamed over half the situation on him anyway. Typical.
Oh, right, now Trent remembered. "Sorry," he said sheepishly. "I thought you meant he said something in his testimony that got you in trouble." He chose not to share that he was the one who'd slipped coke in the doggy bag. He just kept stroking Daemon's hair. Now that he was hearing it from Daemon's perspective, he'd really fucked things up. It probably wouldn't be helpful to point out that Daemon had threatened Sebastian, and that Trent, at least, had shared that with the police downtown.
"Daemon? I... wasn't keeping him alive because I have feelings for him anymore," Trent ventured. "You're my boyfriend and I take our relationship seriously. He begged me to ｋ💀ｌｌ him and if he had been anyone else, he wouldn't have had to. You might not have even gotten the chance to chew him out first." Trent's tone was quiet, serious. With another deep breath, he added, "The only reason he's alive is because he has responsibilities that outweigh my opinion about the situation. He fucked up. Whether he meant to or not, he hurt someone important to you. But I can't ｋ☠️ｌｌ him and I can't let him die, because there are equally important things that he needs to take care of. Does that make sense?"
"No... It doesn't" Daemon finally spoke having remained quiet throughout Trent's response. He didn't really care about any of it at this point. He'd spent about as much anger as he could for the day and now was that moment one gets after a rage where things just, stop mattering? "But I guess if there's something more important to you than any of us... Better go take care of it Trent. I've got alot of shit to do before the final hearing. So... You know... " He added moving to pull himself up out of Trent's arms finally and to his feet. Heading over to grab pink striped book bag and a black hoodie from where they sat on the end of the bed he tossed the bag over his shoulder and tucked the hoodie beneath an arm. Then grabbed his cell from the end of the bed and shoved it into his shorts pocket before heading for the door. Had to put this shit somewhere it wouldn't get lost in the mayhem and.... Probably go make sure his hand wasn't as bad as it fucking felt. That and he needed to call Erryk about the damn Jeep.
"Daemon, it's not like that," he said. Then, before he could stop himself, "There's a child involved, an actual minor. That's why. Please, I can't be responsible for ｋiｌlｉnｇ someone's father."
"Fuck you Trent" Daemon called over his shoulder this time not so aggressively and his voice nearly cracked. If he'd been hoping to appeal to Daemons better side he'd failed considering this.... This would DEFINITELY give his ex enough ammo to permanently take his own girls away from him permanently. Fuck Sebastian's crazy ass! He didn't DESERVE to have a fucking kid!!!! Though a sort of evil thought did begin to enter Daemon's mind as he moved to quickly wipe at a watery eye and drop the stuff on a chair in the kitchen. He'd have to have someone snoop about and find out who this minor was and what the full situation was. Eventually.... With that he was soon moving into the kitchen to lean by the sink pulling the cloth of with his teeth.
Trent immediately regretted saying anything. Luckily for him, the... rather complicated... legal proceeding that had resulted in both Trent and Sebastian maintaining custody of Sebastian's biological child had been sealed. Trent's father had "donated" a generous sum to the bureaucrats in question to ensure all records pertaining to that case were practically thrown into a metal box at the bottom of the ocean. The child didn't even share either of their last names. Hell, he didn't share his mother's legal last name. It wasn't that either Trent or Sebastian had wanted to distance themselves from their child; his mother had left without giving him a name. Sebastian had wanted something, some scrap of connection. He hadn't known her real last name, only the nickname she had at work. He'd used that, over the objections of Trent's mother, who was more like a mom to Sebastian than his actual mother.
But Trent had been right to think Daemon wouldn't want to hear about all of that. Even if Daemon knew why Sebastian was such a broken wreck of a person, he'd never care. Trent sighed. He hoped he hadn't unwittingly endangered his son by mentioning him. He went rummaging again and found the scarf and hat set that Troy had crocheted for Trent for Trent's twenty-sixth birthday, his very first yarn crafts at ten years old. They were horribly, irreparably burned. Trent buried his face in the remains and cried silently, letting out everything he'd been holding back.
After a few minutes, he went to the kitchen to make a snack, still unconsciously holding the ruined remains. He wished Daemon had a less explosive temper. Troy himself probably wouldn't care; it had, after all, been seven years ago, and time moved fast for kids. He put the accessories on the counter for a minute while he went to rooting around in the fridge. Fuck it, he'd just be lazy and grab an Uncrustable.
"How's your hand?" he asked, a bit dully.
By this point Daemon was at the counter, cigarette burning in a nearby ash tray, and slowly wrapping his hand with gauze. Hearing the footsteps nearing he hardly moved other then to move a hand to wipe at one of the few stray tear's before continuing for a moment and finally just lazily tucking a piece it to hold it for the moment before he reached to pick up the cigarette with his other hand. "I'll live" he muttered at hearing Trent. Seemed like the least important thing right now that was for sure.
Turning from the counter he picked up the wine glass he'd poured from the counter and merely moved past Trent to head for the living room where he sunk down onto the sofa and turned the tv on flipping a bit absentmindedly through the channels until he heard the sound of the scratching and barking at the back screen door. Damn it, he'd almost forgotten he'd let the dogs out back. For a moment he nearly just sat there and called for Trent but... Why should he? Moving to stand he was soon making his way back through the living room and for the back door opening it so Caraxes and Syrax could come in. However it wasn't both of them and his brow soon furrowed. Caraxes let out a whine before turning and seemed to bark towards the back fence. Fuck! Taking a drink of his wine Daemon was soon moving through the door and into the yard and hopping off the small step area he sort of rounded the house to look near the side gate. "Fucking shit... Where'd she go?!" He sort of asked as the Doberman trotted behind him as if the dog could understand. "SYRAX!!!" He shouted finally making his way across the yard now only stopping briefly to turn off the obnoxious sprinklers before heading for the back gate. Oh great it was fucking open!! He sort of rolled his eyes and reached to push it open and stepped out into the Ally eyes scanning the nearby dumpsters. "SYRAX!!!!" He shouted again before finally slowing near the dumpster. GREAT and guess who couldn't go very far without tripping out the damn cops!! "SYRAX!!!" He shouted again loudly.
Hearing Daemon yell, Trent put the half-eaten Uncrustable down and ran out the door, also calling for Syrax. He put a gentle hand on Daemon's chest and looked back to the door of the house, then went striding down and searching round the block to try to find the dog.
--
Meanwhile, at Nathaniel's, Nate had called his assistant, George, over to try to handle Sebastian's loopy ass. He wasn't making a lick of sense and Trent clearly didn't feel like returning Nate's texts asking what the hell was going on.
Letting out a sigh Daemon nodded and turned to head back a bit in frustration. Yeah much further and he'd have set the damn thing off, if he hadn't already. Heading back into the house he closed the screen door and turned sort of jumping the moment his eyes landed on the older male sitting at his table. FUCK! Sort of staring for a moment he didn't speak, Caraxes however was growling away standing next to Daemons leg.
"Shut that dog up or I will shoot him. Please, sit" The man spoke in a thick Russian accent gesturing for the table in front of him where he currently sat as if someone invited cigarette in hand. Biting his lower lip Daemon watched rather unamused as the man placed the gun on the table. Unfortunately, he already recognized him. Not exactly someone he'd any desire to have a chat with in his fucking house.
Taking a breath however Daemon turned and let Caraxes back out. Well damn near had to shove him back out the door before he moved to close it.
"You know my company is going to be back. Eventually.... I hope whatever this is won't take that long" Daemon finally spoke glancing to Rus a bit impatient looking. Fuck of all the things he DIDN'T need anyone knowing.
"It will take as long as it takes. You will tell him I am friend. Now sit, I think it's time we address the problem your nephew has presented us with" Rus replied blandly. Moving to gesture at the seat across from himself.
Oh right, Aemond and his inherited explosive temper. The dead mother and child that had him being hunted by the "White Supremacists" easiest way of putting it considering it wasn't all Aryans but from what Aemond had told him the guy after him had been.
Moving over to sit Daemon looked fairly unamused, eyes briefly glancing to the kitchen where he knew there was a gun in the drawer. Fuck if Rus was going to pitch something to far he'd have to play it off. Considering the others gun was literally sitting in front of him on the table.
"If you expect me to help you get my nephew in order to keep doing business.... You wasted your fucking time today" Daemon hissed a bit in warning. This of course merely caused the other to laugh a bit, blue hues staring a bit wildly back at Daemon from beneath the black hoodie he currently wore. He'd damn near have looked intimidating had it not been for the crayola colored red goatee.... Or maybe that just added to effect. Ruslon looked like at least half a mad man.
"I think, you may want to reconsider that. Is he not in the way as it is?" Ruslon replied with a bit of a smart smirk on his face.
Daemon's brow sort of furrowed a bit more but this time he didn't comment. The other had a point there. This .... Relationship would definitely be smoother sailing as a legitimate one as opposed to an under the table. Something that would only happen if Daemon took over the entire operation.....
----
Outside Caraxes spent a few minutes barking upset before simply turning and darting through the yard, pushing back through a lose board in the fence he was soon running down the ally in the direction Trent bad gone and in a few minutes came up behind the male barking and slowing to sniff at the ground before raising his head and spotting Syrax trotting back this way. Panting like she'd gone chaising after something.
Trent sighed. "Okay, guys, let's go home," he murmured. "Come on. Daemon misses you," he added with a note of sadness in his voice.
When the three of them got back to the house, Trent folded his arms at the sight of the man at the table.
"Good afternoon," he said, a little nervously. "Can I get you something to drink?" It was something his mother would have done, cover nerves with good manners. He glanced questioningly at Daemon.
And the dogs were less subtle.
Upon the screen door opening Caraxes was growling again and Daemon tensed, pausing mid sentence. Fuck! At this point Ruslan was sitting there looking like he wanted to laugh and Daemon looked six shades of pissed. However quickly trying to act normal Daemon merely looked to Trent with a raised eyebrow and then back to Rus. "Actually he was just leaving. I'll call you as soon as product is ... Available again" Daemon added more so towards Rus but fairly casually. Taking a breathe he sort of watched the Russian with a tense stare as Ruslan merely laughed and shook his head.
"I'll be waiting. Forgive me for my impatience but I have my own business you understand. I can only wait, a month. Which is quite generous in understanding your situation I think" Rus replied moving to stand and pick the gun up from the table. Shooting Daemon a more serious look as Caraxes again began to bark and snarl.
"Trent FUCKING put the dogs back outside!!!!" Daemon snarled suddenly shooting the other male a look.
This of course had Rus sort of sniggering again.
Trent ignored Daemon and walked back to the kitchen to pick up his sandwich and the remains of his scarf and hat. He took his sweet time leading Caraxes and Syrax back outside out of spite for Daemon continuing to yell at him. They were his dogs anyway and he was the one who'd lost Syrax. Trent had gone to go get him and did Daemon thank him? Nope. Just yelled at him and ordered him around. Normally Trent didn't mind, but Daemon wasn't the only one with a lot on his mind.
When he was outside, he tried to stuff his accessories into his back pocket, but there was already something there. He frowned and pulled out a little silver case. Sebastian's cloves and lighter. He sat down in the grass, turning it over in his hands for a moment before deciding, fuck it, and opening the case. He lit one up and took a deep drag, letting it out shakily, then took out his cell phone. He'd missed several texts from Nathaniel demanding to know what the hell was going on, what was wrong with Sebastian more than usual, etc. He shook his head and took another drag, then called his mom.
"Hey, Mom. It's me. A lot has happened...."
--
George was usually happy to help Nathaniel handle things. He had an upbeat attitude, not quite to Trent levels, but he took most of Nate's weird coping mechanisms in stride. Sebastian at first had seemed like... a much more blatant, in-your-face version of Nathaniel. But he had never seen Nathaniel this fucked-up. Sebastian couldn't say anything coherent about what had happened, why he was here, why Trent wasn't answering hisー
Was that Sebastian's phone? George plucked it out of the med bag and answered it. "Hello, this is George.... He's right here, but he can't really talk. Nathaniel and I have been trying to find out what happened but he's not cogent.... You do?...." George sighed and closed his eyes as he listened. "Great. Thank you, Mrs. Maddock. I'll let him know."
George ended the call and handed the phone to Nathaniel, then knelt so he and Sebastian were more or less level. "Are you out of your mind?! You lied to the police? Do you have any idea how much trouble you got Trent's boyfriend in!? He's on house arrest! As soon as you can form a coherent sentence, you need to call the police, tell them you lied, and get that case thrown out!" George stood and paced the room, running his hand over his face. "Jesus, Sebastian, you're a lawyer! How do you not know better?"
"Hey, easy!" Nathaniel spoke up, moving in front of Sebastian. "The guy just got out of the psych ward from trying to ｋiｌl himself."
George flopped down onto Nate's couch. "Maybe that was a little harsh," he admitted, "but getting Daemon in trouble like that... What were you thinking? Honestly?"
Sebastian looked bleakly over at the couch and said nothing for a moment, then held his hand out to Nate, who put the phone in it.
"Hel? Hey... Sebastian. Can we talk about something?... Umm, I just, I just need to talk to you.... Not really.... 745 New Campbell Street. I can meet you by the pool.... Okay."
Nate was already wheeling him down to the elevator.
"Trouble in paradise?" Rus commented after Trent had left.
Daemon sort of rolled his eyes "Fuck you... " He muttered moving to stand up. This guy really had the nerve to make fun of him after showing up to make more threats. He ignored the others laughs and merely followed him to the door, long enough to pause leaning in the door frame and watch as the other went jogging towards a black Impala rolling up. Briefly he swore he saw their main boss in the back seat but he couldn't be sure. Fuck! What had been a mere money grab scheme and an attempt to get something to pin on Otto had backfired in probably the nastiest way possible. Greedy communist pricks! Moving to step back inside and shut the door he soon headed for where he left his wine glass and then out for the back yard briefly glancing to Trent who was just hanging up the phone before straying for the back gate to grab a large padlock and chain off the ground. Stupid thinking and laziness, that and he really needed to check his camera system to be sure everything was working. Asshole thought to scare him by showing up to his house now? What next?
Finishing outside he'd headed back in to shower when his phone had gone off. Lyonel's ring tone, the most boring shit too. Listening to it could put anyone to sleep! Moving to ring out his hair Daemon moved to pull the curtain long enough to hit answer before ducking back in. "What!?" He sort of added sounding annoyed to the other who was now attached to the speakers in the bathroom that had seconds ago been blaring music. You know, of the angry depression variety in German metal not Lyonel's boring existence.
"That kid... Just confessed to lying to the cops. Now I'm still waiting to hear but you know what that means?" Lyonel informed him in a dull tone.
"Yeah, they just lost most of their fucking evidence" Daemon replied moving to wipe the soap from his face sort of smirking to himself. What a fucking twat!
"Yes sir. I'll get back to you on more details, but... By the end of it you may end up in traffic court at most. Least that's the hope" Lyonel informed him the faintest sounds of amusement in his tone.
"Ha! Well you know the speed limits merely a suggestion so I don't see why that would happen" Daemon replied smartly as he moved to start running conditioner through his hair head moving back to let the water run through it.
"Mmm yeah not sure I could defend you if a vehicles involved. You hardly deserve a license" Lyonel replied blandly. Oh Daemon could picture that eye roll. It actually made him snigger. "Well brilliant, let me know when they plan to come take this stupid thing off ... Before I get bored enough to do it myself"
"Not FUNNY" Lyonel replied, "You'll get a call. I should know more by tomorrow " he added before moving to end the call. The music coming back on again Daemon let out a brief sigh of relief. Well, there went one, small problem. Maybe, or at least half of it. That dumb cunt confessing had to count for something.
Sebastian had had to sign a transcribed statement of his confession, with Nathaniel and George as witnesses. Nathaniel still barely knew what the fuck was going on, but George could get Bethany Maddock on the phone if needed to corroborate what Sebastian said. Yet however accurate or not, he was still legally considered insane.
Helena made it sound like Sebastian had merely been confused and delusional, as opposed to lying to the police on purpose to try to get Daemon pulled over out of spite. After all, he'd just been released from the psych ward a few hours ago. Sharon Emerick did not like it one bit.
"You have too much of a soft spot for your college buddy," Emerick said bluntly. "You read Aemond's testimony. Hell, you read Sebastian's testimony! It's obvious your friend over there drugged Aemond so he could have him as a boy toy, maybe even a sex slave! And what he just said now, that he lied about Daemon being under the influence? He also said in his original testimony that he planted something in Daemon's car! Who knows what's true? Who even knows if he's actually crazy or just faking it to stay out of prison?"
Helena grimaced. She couldn't deny anything Sharon was saying. But if any of this ended up going to court, any lawyer worth their salt could insist there was no evidence of malicious intent even if they didn't go for the obvious insanity plea. And even if Sebastian was found guilty, he was far more likely to be sent to a mental institution than a prison. It wasn't worth wasting their time and police resources on a case like this.
"He's not faking insanity, but we should probably still write to the bar association. He's too out of his mind to be practicing law anymore," Helena said with a sigh. "We'd better talk to the boss about just dropping the case against Daemon Targaryen. It's too messed up by now anyway."
Sharon scoffed. She hoped to God that Aemond decided to press charges for rape. See Sebastian try to squirm out of that one.
--
Trent chose to stay outside smoking. He wasn't in any hurry to finish his clove and head back in. He didn't like the look of Daemon's guest, and he doubted the guy had come by to offer good cheer. Trent shook his head dismally. Daemon had been such a dick to him lately, maybe he should just leave. Who cares if it would be giving him the satisfaction of wallowing in his own self-pity about how even his boyfriend preferred Sebastian over him or whatever it was that got twisted up in that mind of his.
By the time he'd stamped out the butt of the clove, he'd decided to at least try to salvage the ruined project from his son. He went back inside and scrambled round in the mess for a bit till he found his sewing kit, then sat on a lump of clothes and went about cutting off the ruined bits, sealing them with stitches, and stitching them together. In about half an hour, he had a beanie with a floppy brim to show for his troubles. He put it on and went back out to the kitchen to grab some wine. He could use it after the hell that had been today.
Staying in the shower a bit longer Daemon was damn near feeling an early hangover start by the time he'd gone to climb out. For as much as that had been good news he wasn't about to get much peace that was for sure. Stepping out and merely drying off before pulling on a robe he came wondering out finally. Still working at drying his hair as he came into the kitchen he paused by the coffee pot only just then noticing what Trent had on his head. Jesus Christ seriously? Was he just doing that to run it in his face? Though he didn't outright say it and merely cast him a beady eyed look briefly before moving to start the coffee. "So your boy confessed to the cops... " He announced after the awkward silence had gone on far longer than he could possibly endure. The amount of perpetual tension in the air was enough to cut glass at this point and frankly it was getting annoying. If Trent just felt the need to act like a jerk why was he even lingering?
Trent breathed out a sigh and his shoulders relaxed. "Oh, good," he murmured. "Mom must have said something to him. So, does this mean you'll be off the hook?" he asked, cautiously optimistic.
"I'll find out more tomorrow but.... Yeah hopefully" Daemon muttered, though even as he did he was processing what Trent had just said. His mom had said something? To Sebastian? That didn't make any sense in his mind but then he didn't really know Trent's family.... Or Sebastian's so? Trent hardly spoke a word about them which in a way was kind of unnerving but, well Trent had always been weird so? Weird enough it took this to even mention Sebastian had a kid that.... Trent for some reason cared about? Learn something new everyday right?
Moving to take the mug from the coffee maker Daemon turned to wander back for the living room. Now maybe he could actually relax, for a moment at least. Kicking Caraxes out of his spot he soon went sinking down onto the sofa where the tv was still playing from earlier and for a moment just sort of stared off at what was now news. "Fucking depressing shit...." He finally muttered moving to change it.
Trent's brow furrowed as he glanced at the screen. Yes, the news was depressing, as a matter of course. Daemon must have put it on this station without realizing it.
"I hope you are, you know," he said. "Off. You didn't do anything wrong. You did a couple of things that could have been interpreted as illegal, but that doesn't make it wrong." He smiled encouragingly at Daemon. He wanted more than anything to just snuggle up with Daemon and forget about this whole mess, but Daemon wasn't as quick to move on from unpleasant situations. He probably needed more time to be moody.
His phone rang. "Oh," he said as he checked the caller ID. He'd forgotten to call Nathaniel and explain things. "Hey, little bug. My mom called?.... Oh, cool. Hi, George!.... Yes, Daemon said he confessed. We're hoping that means Daemon's out of trouble.... Well, I had to. Daemon needed me back with him. We had a fight to finish.... I don't know, I hope so. Oh yeah! I need to show you guys my hat. It was crocheted for me for my 26th birthday and I just got done modding it.... No, he didn't. Bash crochets stuff you carry. He knits stuff you wear.... Yes, there is a difference.... Okay. Did my mom say anything else?.... Yeah, that's because he's the favorite! 😁 .... Yes, he is. Even Aunt Annmarie likes him better, but that's 'cause he's nicer to Cat. She's not his sister, though. I think she prefers it that way, if you know what I mean.... Well, I want Daemon to meet them, but he hasn't said yet if he's spending the holidays with me. And even if he is, there's things we have to get through first.... Oh, is she going to fly in from Bakersfield to meet him before Thanksgiving? That would solve a few things. Possibly complicate others, like the situation with T-Ball, for instance.... Well, you can meet him whenever you want. You know, actually, I should go. He's trying to watch TV.... Yep, you too. Bye."
He put his phone back in his pocket. "So that was Nathaniel. His PA answered Bash's cell phone and then gave him what-for after my mom explained the situation. Also, are we still in a fight? And can we stop fighting so I can ask you to meet my folks?"
Finally leaving the tv on ... MTV being the most entertaining drama possible Daemon was soon slumped more onto the sofa, downed a couple pain hydros and curled up with Caraxes on his feet and Syrax laying in front of the sofa. He'd made it through perhaps a couple sips of the Coffee but frankly he was tired and had almost forgotten about it between the tv, Syrax licking at his fingers and Trent on the phone. Right, he had tried to bring that up. As always Trent had impeccable timing enough Daemon could have strangled him.
Eyes shifting from the tv a moment later as he heard Trent he sort of let out a sigh. "Do I look like I want to fight? You know what don't even answer that ... " Daemon muttered tiredly before slightly moving to push up on an elbow on the sofa. "No, I don't think we're fighting anymore Trent so ... What did you want to ask me about meeting your mom?" He asked looking a bit, confused. Possibly, it just wasn't something he'd been expecting from Trent maybe? Then again Trent basically knew all his family.... Well OTHER than his parents. Who'd been quite old to be having kids as it was when Daemon was little so even he had hardly known his own mother. Considering she'd also died young.
Trent's usual grin appeared for the first time all day, and he gave Daemon a happy make-up kiss. "Yes! I want you to meet my mom, ...ugh, my dad... my half-sister, my aunt, my-- other relatives. Actually, you've probably seen my sister. She lives in town and we work together. My dad and aunt live in Gilroy and my mom lives in Bakersfield! 😁So, what do you say? You want to meet them-- Oh! And if you get along with them and they get along with you, maybe they can meet the rest of your family? We could have a big family brunch like people do on TV!"
Well that was nice, however brief. Soon sinking back into the couch as he looked up at Trent Daemon rose an eyebrow. Damn, Trent was super excited about this wasn't he? It was enough he was fairly certain he was going to be ill at the thought .. No scratch that, the very idea he'd introduce anyone else's family to his was stomach churning at best. Where exactly had Trent missed that most of his own family hated him. His in-laws? About the same. His brother? It really depended on the day. He usually spent Christmas possibly stopping by long enough to be a nuisance before slipping off to find somewhere to put his cock for the night. Seeming to think for a moment his expression looked a little unsure, but finally he managed to slowly nod. "And when would this be happening? And are we going to have to travel?" He asked finally eyeing Trent.
"Well, we can all work that out together," Trent said happily. "I don't want it to be too inconvenient for you, and...." He kind of shifted, the grin dimming for a sec. "Um... I'm not exactly proud of some parts of where I grew up," he said. "But I'm sure we can make it work. And we don't have to involve our WHOLE families," he added. "I'd only invite my dad to be polite, and I know some of your relatives... get along better with you on some days than others." He had learned to tread very, VERY carefully when discussing Daemon's family.
"One thing at a time Trent.... If we're doing something with your family? Then mine will simply have to go without being graced with my presence for a time" He replied with a bit of faint chuckle to himself. For Trent he could at least entertain the idea right? He definitely didn't feel like seeing Trent full on puppy dog pout again today that was for sure. It was enough to sort of feel bad even for some of the things he still thought Trent had fully deserved.
Trent pulled Daemon into his arms and kissed his cheek. "Okay. You're right," he said. "Although I doubt you'll really get along with most of my family, but we've been together long enough that you should at least meet them and decide if you like them."
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