❦

Simon had learned in the years he’d spent watching Todd grow that he should avoid comparing him to his actual father, which Simon couldn’t exactly blame him for. He’d never met the man, after all. Surely Renjae had disliked all those years people (namely Todd’s own father) spent comparing him to Simon. And there were plenty of ways Todd different from Han: his cleanliness, for one. So Simon had to make quiet comparisons with only himself. Just how many times had Han given him that same pout when Simon informed him there would be a lack of mushrooms and mold with dinner?

But the fact remained - he wouldn’t allow Todd to bring home that much kombucha and mushroom pizza, especially since he would be the only one to touch any of it. Once Todd turned his back and began to put away the bottles of kombucha, Simon looked back at the choices of fruit and whether or not he wanted romaine or iceberg lettuce for that week. Only when Todd swiveled back around did it catch his attention.

After watching Todd sign in the air, a frown deepened on Simon’s face. How could he say no to that? Of course Desiree would give him just about whatever he wanted, right? Simon couldn’t stand the smell, or the taste, or even the mere texture of mushrooms. Besides, he had a very valid point - Todd couldn’t survive on mushrooms alone, not when he needed other fibers and vitamins and some source of protein. “Fine,” Simon scoffed. “Get more than one bottle of kombucha. But I’m serious about the pizza and the appetizers. You can’t just eat mushrooms all week.”

todd would, obviously, never be opposed to doing such a thing as stomping his foot, and crossing his arms, and pouting his lips out if it meant he’d get his way. did it matter if he was eighteen years old? of course not. what mattered is that he got his way, and he knew that if he used good old mom and dad against each other, this would usually work.

it wasn’t like there should be any problem with a few extra pizzas anyway. he was a teenage boy, he could be stuffing his face with so much more than mushrooms anyway. and kombucha was good for you. imagine a parent trying to limit you on something that literally had a million heath benefits, all because he didn’t like the idea of it. it wasn’t for him to drink? why should simon care how many bottles there were in the house? he should, at least, know that they were going to be drank!

he started to smile when simon seemed to cave, the scoff filled him with an overwhelming sense of joy as he started to put the bottles of kombucha back in the cart. it was the next statement that made him furrow his eyebrows in a huff once more. “It’s not just mushrooms--” he began to sign. “It’s dairy, and fruit, and vegetables, and grains, and literally half the food pyramid. it’s a balanced meal, dad. get with it.” he rolled his eyes in the highest of teenager fashion.

–––––– HAN ; ( @castingxdesire ): a dance with the devil in the pale moonlight

The body before him continued to disappear into darker greens, light greys, and finally into pitch black dust. Unfortunately for the older man, he hadn’t used his decomposition  powers for a human body in a long time. It’d been so long since he killed, it’d been so long since he’d felt the thrill of it all. He didn’t expect it to feel differently. It took a minor toll on his breathing. Or perhaps it was the nonchalance of which the young woman spoke. He watched the shrug of her shoulders as she attempted to dismiss the ordeal as if it were nothing. Though he felt it soothing for him to finally something he couldn’t remember saying the first time they met, “ I’m sorry about your parents.” He meant his words as he tried his hardest to meet her gaze with softness. “They didn’t deserve die. You didn’t deserve to lose them, and you didn’t deserve to watch it happen.” A shudder escaped in his sincerity, “But I gander that you know this, you seem like you learned from this.” He chuckled, “You’ve blossomed with wonderful grace.”

It didn’t matter that she didn’t have the scalpel he’d given her. She’d moved on to other weapons, though he chuckled at her comment. Tilting his head, he rose to his feet, feeling finally capable to carry his own weight on two feet. The blood stains on the ground would be a mystery, surely, but with a missing body, the authorities would fail to trace its origins. His shoes could be disposed of, though he found no need to worry about it now.

“We’ll have to replace it if you miss it so much. Don’t you think?” He held out an arm for her, “ Let’s visit the scalpel store, shall we?” It was a joke of course.

desiree’s eyes continued to dance over the body that was disappearing before her very eyes. what a power to have-- to be able to get rid of evidence so quickly, so seamlessly. she was so intrigued with the fact that a whole body was disintegrated in mere moments that she had almost missed the words he’d spoken to her. 

they were words she’d so seldom heard in her life. only one time, perhaps, right after the fact had happened. though, even the only other people who had spoken the words to her didn’t know that she’d watched everything happen with her own eyes, and yet here she was, listening to a perfect stranger tell her that she didn’t deserve that. yes, while it was true that she knew she didn’t, there was something inside that jumped to her throat when she heard it. however, she shook her head, swallowing down the lump. she couldn’t allow that emotion to rise to the surface. “yes. i do know.” she shuddered slightly, and set her jaw against the notion. “it’s an image you let be a driving force behind a knife.” she shrugged, again, trying to sound nonchalant against the wavering in her voice. 

her parents were long avenged, and she knew it was because of the man in front of her. she still missed them, but the man who took them from her got what was coming to him. she didn’t have to be angry about that wound specifically anymore. nor did she have time to continue to dwell on that, given the invitation from the man before her. she let out a quiet laugh, smirking towards the man with a glint in her eyes as if nothing had ever happened here. “i was unaware we had one of those in this town.” she managed to catch his joke, though she still took his extended arm as an invitation to leave together, rather than parting ways right now. she immediately hooked her arm in his, making sure to step over the pool of blood. “take me.”

–––––– Kyle ; ( @castingxdesire ): She will wear you out. Livin La Vida Loca

with his fingertips against the pavement and terrified eyes glued to his glasses he winced at her words. he winced at her voice as she finally dragged those wiry frames along and towards him. 

it all happened way too fast. he couldn’t stop nor control himself. he still felt rather blinded from the flashing beam of light he’d so mistakenly caused. the familiar smell of electrocution–the burnt rubber smell– played with the more deeper and hidden memories in his mind.  why was it familiar? what was he forgetting? he wanted to rise to his feet and turn away and never look back, but the knots in his stomach prevented him from making any more sudden movements. perhaps it was time to face the eerie, perhaps it was time to face the locked memories. 

the pain in her own exhale spread even more guilt into his body. he felt his heart sink as she held out those glasses to him. he felt undeserving of even beginning to take them from her. a shaky hand wavered in the air as he pulled back, still scared of the harm he could possibly still do to her. he let out a pained grunt as he tried to stifle those tears in front of the strange girl. the crying he’d done made him feel week and vulnerable.

even given the circumstances, it felt wrong to share these feelings with her. he tried to shut them off, and instead in his own voice tried to break the silence.

“A-are you okay? I didn’t–”

it was a part of him he hardly showed anyone. he attempted to scoot away from her. thought once he finally took a large exhale the eyes traveled to the lifeless corpse just feet away. he scoffed at himself. eyebrows knit together in pain for the other man the man he’d… he’d… killed. and the panic fled over him again as he scrambled to his feet.

her words, however wouldn’t leave his ears even after he tried to ignore them. while they were meant to be reassuring they were a terrible reminder that no, he did mean to hurt the man. if it meant the knife wasn’t going to be used on the girl– if it mean the knife wasn’t going to be used at all– if it meant he’d zap the guy just a little then what was the harm? 

despite this, Kyle, as always underestimated his powers. 

with his glasses still in the girl’s grasp, he let his head slump along with his shoulders as he slowly backed away from the scene. pulling his hoodie back over his head, he attempted to hide his face as the tears continued to fall from his eyes. his pained sniffles filled the cool night air as he took a moment to release the pain. a quake of sob from his chest escaped from his chest as he offered her one request.

“P-Please stay away from me.”

he didn’t mean for it to sound as rude as it did. he didn’t mean to sound as if he were blaming her. he only meant, “–I don’t want to hurt you again.” a pair of softened eyes finally and carefully traveled past those glasses and up to her face. he whispered, “What do you mean it’s you?” 

the pained cries of her baby brother only served as a reminder of everything that she didn’t do when they were little. it took her back to the time when she’d done everything wrong, and she’d done nothing to protect him the way their mother had told her to. she let him go, and she let him get dragged away by the people whom she had, all this time, thought killed him. she should’ve held on, no matter how much the pain of the electricity made her want to recoil away from the grasp of his tiny hand. what had happened to him all this time? where had he been? had his fate beyond the walls of that horrible place been just as bad as hers had been? 

she shuddered at the thought. her expression winced at the idea that something could’ve happened to the one that was the most important in her life, and she wasn’t there to keep him safe. she could’ve kept him safe, after everything. she grew up in the moments that she had to get herself out of there. she could’ve protected them both, if she had been able to find him before she got out. if she’d only known--... 

it was a thought that made the guilt wash over her in a tidal wave. she stood with wobbly legs from where she’d fallen onto the ground beside the now dead man. she could see the fear in his eyes, and it broke her heart. he shouldn’t have had to be the one to do that. it wasn’t his job to protect her. she should’ve been able to protect him from having to do that. 

the pleas for her to stay away from him cracked into her chest. she furrowed her eyebrows in a sort-of sorrowful confusion at him. where was the recognition? why hadn’t he realized who she was yet? how was she supposed to make him feel better? to comfort him? to tell him that it was going to be okay, and that he didn’t do anything wrong? “you didn’t hurt me on purpose--,” 

she was going to continue, but the next words from him confirmed that he wasn’t going to be remembering who she was. a couple of tears spilled to her cheeks as she continued to wonder what had happened to make him forget who she was. had he blocked her out in his trauma? did that mean he’d blocked their parents out as well? “you-- you don’t remember me, do you?” there was a pained exhalation of breath, shaking through her body in another shudder. 

–––––– CHRIS ; ( @castingxdesire​ || TODD TODD TODD TODD ): 

WOW THANKS I THOUGHT I HAD IT PERFECTLY SET UP FOR ANY SETTING BUT OKAY NERD.

you can try and take the class out of the president, but you can’t take the swaggy out of the boy. he began to explain, “It means that this shirt is extra silky, these jeans are tighter than a tamale, and these shoes are untouchable.” he then shrugged, “So ya, fantastic.” He gave his HYUNG?-TF IS HE SECOND COUSIN I’M? WHEEZE  Todd a grin as he took a slumping seat in the couch nearby. 

The careful eye on that kombucha made his lips fall into a pout, though he chose to keep his comments to himself about that acquired taste. After all, who was he to judge? He took a long sigh to express just how bored he was about to explain. “I’ve got the fresh new outfit, and a bunch of time on my hands. Now all I need is a ride to the mall and I’d be all set wouldn’t I?’ He raised an eyebrow at Todd to take the bait. “…wonder if Denny will meet us for mall pizza?” 

todd could only nod in response to chris’ explanation of what he had meant by the word ‘swaggy’. which he, in fact, was still convinced was a way-outdated term that he probably picked up from uncle kyle, or maybe it was even older than that. he had no idea. as much as he enjoyed spending time with his younger cousin, he made no attempts to try to understand his slang, or much of anything else, really. gladstones were kind of an enigma that todd didn’t try to get. “we’ll go with fantastic then, tamale pants.” a snort, an eyebrow raise at the buffoonery of such a descriptor. 

he took a long sip of his kombucha as he fought an eye roll. he knew a bait when he saw one. he wasn’t born yesterday. was this even the first time that chris had tried to use that name to get him to do things? “what? you mean uncle kyle hasn’t bought you a car yet? shame on him, forcing you to try to bribe your cousin into driving you places with girls’ names.” though, he shook his head anyway. “alright. i’ll get my keys.”

–––––– SU-JIN ; ( @castingxdesire​ ) : moonstruck by desire

clearly, it was his first day. luckily for him, however, it was a much slower night than usual–people don’t typically frequent bars on a Tuesday night. he was lucky for this, in fact, he was lucky for any job that would fit in with his already busy schedule. and in all honesty, the current night job fit in with his career path.despite this, Sujin was an entire fish out of water. he couldn’t quite get used to the weight of each bottle. with wines, they were pretty standard, shaped alike, and easier to grasp. with the abundance of types, colors, content, and fancy bottle fashions, he, again obviously, was having trouble pouring, or to the trained eye, over-pouring, for the customer in front of him.

that was when the beautiful lady spoke to him, though, he was already entirely distracted. it ruined whatever form he lacked in the first place. first thoughts, of course, were spoken, “Ma’am… you can’t be back here.” his words were issued with a chuckle and a sheepish grin that hadn’t at all shown off that perfect smile hidden in the dark lighting. a nod in his head indicated that she was next for service.

 the shots were poured for the customer, and after a quick exchange a bright face his customer service shined brightly as he turned to who he didn’t realize was his coworker. the mess on the countertop added to the oblivious charm. the job was, after all, a means of extra earnings. it was also a means of getting to know the type of business that he may undertake in the future. it was all for experience, learning, and earning. and despite the workload of two jobs, he was eager and chipper in his stance behind that bar as he offered to pour the new customer a drink. “What can I get for you?”

the smile and measly $2 tip gave way for a smile, though widened as she joined him in a paralyzing frame. she rendered him speechless at the mere sight. though, he knew immediately since he was a mere service worker that he was out of his league. despite this, he was SUPPOSED to act cooly in front of any customers. he’d taken a glass from the shelf for her only for it to drop at his feet a pained issuing of an “aishh” filled the air as it was released under his breath. which was cut off short by a set of chuckles again issued from himself. “It’s not too obvious that it’s my fist day, is it?

she couldn’t be back here? it was an idea she giggled to, as the new guy obviously didn’t realize that she was an employee too. all she did was roll her eyes in a playful way, and stepped behind the counter herself, raising an eyebrow at him and the shot that he’d finally handed to the customer. it was kind of cute, how bumbling and out-of-the-know he seemed. the sheepish grin only added to it. normally, in such clean-up situations, she might have ended up annoyed, but he seemed so adorably confused that it was easy to forgive. 

she eyed him with curiosity, wondering why he wouldn’t assume that if she was talking about taking over, that she was a coworker of his. did she, of all people, look like she didn’t know what she was doing? or, in his eyes, did people ask to take over tending all the time? still, in it all, she couldn’t be annoyed. he seemed too well-intentioned. at least, for now. men had a way of pretending, most of the time. she didn’t put much faith in most men. especially men in bars. 

before could answer his question, she winced at the dropped glass, backing herself away from any stray shards that might fly in her direction. she sighed at the extra mess, though there was concern that perhaps some of the glass had injured him, given the ‘aish’ that was said. new hires were always hard. especially when they appeared to have no experience in this kind of thing at all. had she been hard for the vets before her? 

“you can get me a broom and dust pan from the closet?” she gave him a slightly amused, lopsided, joke-y kind of a grin, trying to step around the glass, and also around the new guy. “it’s a little obvious. but don’t worry. you’ll get the hang of it all eventually.” she hoped, but there was still a chuckle of amusement as she brushed past him to go to grab a broom. “try not to hurt yourself again.”

clownpool‌:

–––––– SU-JIN ; ( @SIMON AND DESIREE ) : In search of the Todd

Jin was worried for the boy and his mother, his wife, Desiree Lee-Sung. And after checking with Kyle, his brother-in-law, and departing without their two-year old, Dani, he’d made his way to Simon’s. the car ride over, he couldn’t stop the thoughts from flooding. While he knew Todd was entirely fond of his dubbed father, he also knew assumed that this was his fault.

it wasn’t without trying. he’d made attempts to make sure his new family was safe, secure, and loved. change, he knew, was difficult to process. he was a bit stubborn in his own ways, but the twelve year old trumped all notions of that. he was beginning to think that it was a little too much for him to handle, but the three of them, they could surely figure it out. couldn’t they? 

the problem of Todd not liking him broke his heart over and over again. the idea that he’d never be able to legally adopt the boy crushed his hopes as he wanted to be a part of Todd’s family. And the fact that 11 years later, Todd still hadn’t accepted the marriage to his mother pained the man in ways he couldn’t imagine. 

he knocked before he entered, assuming they’d know that he was on his way, and immediately walked over to his wife’s side, pulling an arm around her. Su-jin was not the territorial type. he tried his best to not be jealous, and he couldn’t imagine that the two were to ever get along, but it was the only quick way he knew to comfort Desiree. the sign language exchanged were sentiments he didn’t understand.  he hadn’t quite nailed the down the ASL, though he promised he’d learn ages ago.  he knew the basics. he could signal a greeting, he could express gratitude towards Simon for helping them, but he couldn’t sign,  “He’s not at Kyle’s.” 

he looked to Desiree to interpret for him. “He said he’d watch Dani while we search for him. I imagine we’ve tried the park already? Have we tried calling his friends?”  

Simon rolled his eyes in response to Desiree, as he did so often with most of their conversations. “Right. Sure. Let me just go back in time and fix a problem that I didn’t even cause. Just because I can’t hear Todd,” Simon paused to point to his ears, which hadn’t been of much use to him in the twelve years since he’d lost his hearing. “Doesn’t mean I don’t listen.”

He’d always asked Todd all sorts of questions and did exactly what he preferred: standing back and watching words spelled out against hands rather than speaking himself. He liked giving Todd the platform to speak about whatever he wanted. Unless, of course, it came to Desiree — particularly Simon’s relationship with her, and the absence of a child that shared both of their DNA. Not only was Simon not interested in having any more children with anyone (from not being around for Renjae’s childhood, taking in Nemo after…and then babysitting Todd, he’d decided he’d had enough when it came to parenting), even if Simon wanted another child, he wouldn’t go anywhere near Desiree for one.

He looked to Su-Jin, who had entered and placed a protective arm around Desiree. Protecting her from what, or who, Simon didn’t know. He didn’t care for Desiree, not in the slightest, but he had no intention of doing anything. Especially not when Todd was more important to find. He saw Su-Jin’s lips move but couldn’t hear what had been said. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been that important, otherwise, Simon figured Desiree would abandon his apartment to search for Todd.

“How far could a twelve-year-old get?” Simon scowled. He reached for the wallet he kept in his back pocket, knowing all too well how Todd had a bad habit of taking his credit card to pay for whatever he wanted. Simon spared a single glance up at Desiree as he flicked through the various plastic cards and old pictures he kept in his wallet. “Did you want me to let him keep thinking he’d get another brother or sister?”

@castingxdesire​

“maybe you didn’t cause the problem, but I’m certainly not alone in being at fault here, you know.” she rolled her eyes in a huff as she continued to sign to him. todd ran away because he was upset with both of them. todd didn’t run away solely because of her. “if you were so good at listening to him, maybe it’d be easier for you to guess where he was hiding.” fake father of the year, it seemed. he listened so well, obviously. why would desiree even try at this point, right? 

it was that moment that there was a knock on the door, and her husband entered. she snorted under her breath, and leaned into him, expecting him fully to hold her back if she were to try to lunge at him, or something. though, probably only for something childish, like a tugging of some strands of hair, or maybe even a pinch if she were feeling particularly annoyed with him. 

she had hoped to hear some good news from jin, that maybe he had an idea, or kyle had had an idea. more so, she’d hoped that he’d just walk in with her child. no such luck, as her shoulders slumped in a second when she heard that he hadn’t been hanging out at his uncle’s house. her face faltered from annoyance to a split second of worry as a frown graced her face when she signed the same sentence back to simon.

“i just want to know my baby is okay.” she groaned out in a whiny tone to her husband, rubbing at her temples for a moment before shooting a glare at simon once more. his sentence was something she didn’t particularly want him saying out loud, as she wanted to keep jin out of the situation as much as she could. she didn’t want him feeling bad about todd’s wishes. so, opting out of speaking out loud, she answered him by signing only. “maybe you shouldn’t have let him call you ‘dad’ if you didn’t want the repercussions that could possibly come with it.” 

–––––– DENNY ; ( @castingxdesire​ || TODD ) : For the love of kombucha

The pair of high school students surely didn’t look like they were head over heels in love with each other. The odds for that were hardly in Denny’s favor, anyways despite her late night wishes, and delusional day dreams. Todd had been her very best friend for as long as she could remember. While many would feel icky about that sort of thing, she couldn’t help but to stare at the paragraphs of words in her textbooks and think about the dreamy eyes of his. It bothered her, technically always. She was learning to deal with it, given the incredulousness of the idea. 

It didn’t stop her from wanting to try and help him in every aspect of his life. In fact, it probably fueled the fire that was determined to see him get at least a B on that midterm. 

“You know, if you’re going to pretend to read, you could at least turn a page every minute or so…” She peeked over at him, a set of brown eyes hidden beneath an eye roll. “Should we take another break? Or should I begin my lecture on the importance of high school midterms? I don’t want to be lonely and all by myself in college” 

his bad grades were totally not his fault. not at all. it wasn’t like he didn’t try to study... most of the time. it wasn’t like he didn’t try to pay attention in class, most of the time. he couldn’t help it that other things seemed to require more attention. other things were more interesting than listening to stuff that happened hundreds of years ago, and how many times could he hear about some math formula before his brain started oozing out of his ears? he just wasn’t interested. he only did the studying because he had to.

or, rather, he only did the studying because that’s what she wanted to do when they were hanging out. he could take the dumb flashcards, and the questions, and the lectures about the importance of doing good in school so long as it meant that he could watch her eyes scan a book while he glanced at her over the top of his own. 

she was another reason that he didn’t focus. how was he supposed to focus on studying when he was either with her when he was, or he was thinking about her yelling at him about midterms while he was? either way, denny was there, and it was starting to get kind of annoying, but in a good way-- the kind of way that he allow for the rest of his life, ya know? 

when she called him out for pretending to read, it was only because his eyes were trained on her. his gaze widened in embarrassment as he flipped a page too quickly. “i don’t know what you’re talking about. i’m riveted.” he gave her a lopsided grin as he put the book down. “but if you’re suggesting a break, i’ll take that over a lecture, obviously.”

There were some perks to being deaf - Simon no longer had to deal with relatives or friends shouting or stirring up too much noise. Trips to the grocery store with his totally-biological-son were a breeze when he didn’t have to hear any snotty children screaming and throwing temper tantrums, or the older women gossiping loudly in the middle of the aisle, or the man at the front of the store demanding to see the manager after he couldn’t find his favorite brand of steak among the shelves. 

But that still lead to the issue of all the things he needed to be able to hear, but couldn’t, such as everything Todd had decided to slip into the cart when Simon hadn’t been looking. With a container of fruit in his hand, he was glad he’d turned when he did to see Todd with more than enough bottles of kombucha.

Simon wasn’t born yesterday, and an actual look into the shopping cart revealed plenty other food littered with mushrooms that he certainly hadn’t added. Again, Simon could only see Han in the son that looked so much like him - how many times had Han unsuccessfully tried to slip mushrooms and mold into his food?

“What do you need three mushroom pizzas for?” He asked. Had it been Han…Simon would have made him put all the kombucha, the kimchi, and the mushrooms back. But Han wasn’t…and he’d never…Simon shook his head and held up an index finger. “One. You can have one pizza and one bottle of kombucha,” He said. “We still need some non-mushroom things to eat this week. I doubt that you can survive on just mushroom appetizers and kimchi alone.”

the look of sheepishness on his face dropped when his totally-biological-dad looked into the shopping cart. as soon as his gaze turned, he knew the jig was up, and he’d end up having to put something away. he wasn’t always successful in shoving his extras into the mix, but he’d have to be more careful with how and when he sneaked things in in the future. yes, insinuating that he’d keep doing it. this wasn’t the first time he’d done it, nor the first time he’d been caught either, but he kept doing it. what for? well, for the mushrooms, of course. it was a dog-eat-dog world when your dad didn’t like mushrooms nearly as much as you did. it was every man for himself.

he groaned through a pout, giving simon a look of ‘have some empathy for me’, when he was told he could only have one of each. how was he supposed to survive with one bottle of kombucha till the next shopping trip? it wasn’t at all fair, and he hoped his expression was enough for simon to catch the message. what did he need three mushroom pizzas for? for eating, of course. he was going to eat them. what else would he be doing with them? 

he turned in complete silence, his eyebrows furrowed in annoyance as he grabbed up the simple joys that he apparently wasn’t allowed and started to place them back up on the shelf. with his back turned, he mumbled something to the extent of ‘mom would let me have them’, which didn’t give the effect that it should have, given that simon couldn’t hear him. 

so, in one swift motion, he turned, and he signed it, yes-- ‘mom would let me have them’. before huffing and turning back to placing his would-be things on the shelf.

despite what she may have thought previously, no-- it didn’t matter if you were the most highly requested escort in a place. going awol for some weeks could and would, apparently, make you lose your job. all of this could’ve been fine. what was the need for an escort job anyway when you had a man that had you posted up in his condo for free, and paid for most, if not all, of your things for you? it was a nice setup, and desiree assumed it would probably make said man happier anyway. eyeroll

the issue with that now, though, was, what was supposed to happen when that man went and got himself killed? what, especially, was she supposed to do when said man knocked her up before he decided to take a nosedive off a cliff? she didn’t have much else left in the world-- just a younger brother that she wouldn’t even attempt to try to receive help from. he was too young for that kind of a responsibility, and filled with too much of his own trauma anyway. 

she knew that something needed to be done. she knew that she had to try to find a way for herself. scary as that was, given that she’d only known one thing for the rest of her life, and understanding that she had absolutely no qualifications at all, she hardly knew where to start. 

desiree found herself walking into a bar after hearing they were hiring bartenders. sure, that probably wasn’t the safest place for a pregnant woman to be working, but she had to make ends meet somehow. 

she was making it, and luckily, her power helped her get great tips. she’d been there just over two years now, and while keeping up a job with an infant to care for wasn’t easy, she was making it. in fact, she was a pretty highly favored employee-- again, that might be because of the superpower, but shh.

so, being the ~star employee that she was, it was funny to her to watch the poor new guy from across the room struggle with the bottles of liquor, and pouring in the glass, instead of beside the glass. it was kind of endearing, if she didn’t think she’d end up having to be the one cleaning up the mess at the end of the night. 

with a snort of a chuckle, she moved over to the bar, giving a look of amusement to the guy behind the counter. “maybe i should take over?”

setting;; a grocery store somewhere timeline;; probably when todd’s 18 hotel;; trivago

there was a benefit to your dad not being able to hear. you could sneak out of the apartment easier, assuming mimi wasn’t around. you could blare your music, if you felt like it, again, assuming mimi wasn’t around. even more so exciting, you could shove whatever you wanted in the grocery cart without dad knowing, so long as his eyes were turned to something else. the clanging of the metal cart went completely unnoticed. 

by the time the pair had reached the kombucha aisle, there were already several things inside the cart that had escaped simon’s notice. a couple of pizzas with mushrooms, obviously, a couple of extra jars of kimchi that simon hadn’t planned on buying, some frozen appetizer of fried mushrooms that look particularly delicious and interesting, and, of course, a bottle of wine that simon would never be carded for because of all that gray hair. and not like-- the cool gray that uncle kyle had. 

so, when simon had his back turned to something else, of course, there was the idea to shove about a dozen more bottles of the fermented nectar of the gods into the cart. however, while he was only on bottle four, simon turned around and todd was caught red-handed with the extra bottles being placed into the basket. he wore a sheepish grin in his dad’s direction, giving an awkward ‘eheh...’ that simon could only notice by the up-and-down movement of todd’s shoulders. he’s completely innocent. don’t mind him.

–––––– CHRIS ; ( @ANYONEINNEXTGEN ): STOPP YOU ALMOST MADE ME DROP MY CROISSANT!!!

“Nope. Not so damn fast there.” If Chris was taught one thing, it was 1. Remember your Pinenuts, 2. Anytime the dramatic music queued it was a sure sign that there was a bachelor/bachelorette on screen and 3. That as a class president, you always had to carry that playful authoritative tone with you.  Perhaps he sounded a bit too strong, but he had a very important question to ask. As the other stopped in their tracks, he took a couple forward to meet them. “Where do you think you’re going without telling me just exactly what you’re thinking about this outfit?”  He, himself, indulged in a tiny spin, showing off the rather expensive set of clothing his father had purchased just that weekend. “Swaggy, huh?” A set of fingerguns ended his speech. 

in a setting that sounds like it could potentially be in a school, but is now most definitely not since i’m dragging the twenty-five year old in. is this at simon’s house? maybe. hgvhbijnklsdv.

he wasn’t going anywhere in particular. maybe just to the kitchen for a bottle of kombucha that dad kept around specifically for him, and definitely not for any brother that he may or may not have :angry7:. point being, he was dying for a sip of fermented goodness now that he’d thought about it, and maybe he was in a rush, sure. his cousin’s words drew his attention as he ‘nope’d him. 

he turned back around, meeting chris with a curious gaze-- one with confusion, and laced with a look of ‘the fuck you going on about?’. though, in typical chris fashion, he was only trying to show off his clothes. todd snorted at the spin he was given. “totally ‘swaggy’... i guess. i’m still not sure exactly what that word means, so if it means something bad, and i’m being played, then forget i said it, and you look fantastic.” he fingerguns’d him back, but in more of a deadpanned fashion. 

@castingxdesire​

Todd wasn’t at Mimi’s apartment. His bed hadn’t been slept in, the bottles of kombucha seemed to remain untouched in the fridge. Despite the fact that it was a week Todd normally would have spent in Simon’s apartment, he was nowhere to be found. Had Desiree not dropped him off? Had he not come on his own wishes like normal?

Simon wasn’t quick to worry, he’d dealt with teenagers before. How many times had Rowan not answered her phone only for her to be a raccoon and enjoying the city with her other…raccoon…friends…and even Renjae, the few years which he’d still lived at home with both Simon and Mimi, Simon would’ve considered himself lucky to get a one-word back in response to his text messages. But it wasn’t like Todd to go for so long without saying anything.

As much as Simon hated talking to Desiree, as much as he avoided even seeing her (save for the one day they set aside any differences to get lunch and complain about their old mutual connection), at least she might have some idea as to where her son was.

So when she didn’t, Simon, rather unfortunately, found himself standing at her side while he tried to rack his brain as to where Todd could have gone in the city. It wasn’t like Rowan, where he could check the pet stores, the zoo, and the dumpsters scattered around. “He didn’t say anything to you?” Simon both said and signed; although he couldn’t hear anymore, that couldn’t undo the familiar habit of actually speaking. “Or did you just not pay attention?” Simon’s hands hung in the air while he rolled his eyes. “Maybe if you listened to him more, we wouldn’t have to go out and search for him.”

the amount of panicked text messages and angry, motherly voicemails left on her son’s cellphone must’ve been enough to potentially break the twelve-year-old’s phone. desiree hoped that was the case-- the phone was broken, and the child wasn’t just ignoring her, because otherwise, he was SO grounded. No XBOX, and ABSOLUTELY no hanging out with his cousins, and DEFINITELY not going to his so-called ‘dad’s’ house. 

there was a fear that something had happened to him. he never ignored her, though she had an inclination as to why he might have left. while there were bits and pieces of todd that reminded her of his actual father, there were plenty of parts that were like herself-- one thing in particular being that he threw one hell of a holy fit when he didn’t get his way. of course he would run away. of course he would ignore her and turn his find my friends off. but literally, actually if he was okay, he was grounded for a YEAR. 

and she hated it-- she hated having to spend her time with simon muhn, but she didn’t have another choice. todd considered simon his father figure, much to her disapproval of the matter, and that meant if there was a search involved, shouldn’t it be his responsibility to help in trying to find him? 

she growled out an annoyed sound that simon couldn’t hear, and turned to glare at him. “maybe,” she began, also speaking and signing at the same time. yes, she’d learned sign language just to be able to continue to annoy him. “if i weren’t the only parent actually able to listen to him, i could have a little bit of help.” she sneered as she continued. “maybe if you’d just let him down gently, he wouldn’t have thrown a fit, and ran away in the first place.”

Margot couldn’t begin to imagine what Desiree had gone through after she left their care, but Margot also wasn’t stupid. She could practically smell the resentment in Desiree’s tone, the bitter reminder that Annmarie had returned to them while she’d gone off somewhere else. Margot tried to put herself in Desiree’s place – hadn’t she been upset in her own childhood when aunts or uncles forced her to move back with grandparents or cousins because of issues with one of their other children?

Although Margot had certainly never intended for Desiree to feel that way…Margot couldn’t exactly blame her, either.

“I’m don’t think I need to remind you that I’m not a child,” Margot replied. Though, admittedly, Margot did feel an ounce of fear; whatever Desiree had gone through, it hadn’t been any good. How easily could she and Lis have prevented it if they’d just found a way for all three children to live with them? Just to what scale did they ruin things? And, perhaps most importantly, did Margot stand any chance at repairing them? Would Desiree even allow them to try?

Margot didn’t know, but she intended on finding out.

“We were assured that the next family you were going to had a decent reputation,” she explained. “But I…I always wonder what happened to the children Lis and I fostered after they left us, however briefly they were around for. There was one little boy,” her face faltered. “He only stayed with us for a week before his grandmother arrived to pick him up. He was one of the sweetest six-year-olds I’ve ever met. Said please and thank you for every little thing, but he was so quiet to the point where it worried me,” Margot shook her head. “That was years ago and I still think about him, hoping he turned out okay. So, no, I didn’t just pretend to care,” she insisted. “I always wondered. Always.”

desiree grit her teeth in anger at the woman. she had no idea what she was asking. she had no idea what she thought she was going to end up hearing. it was enough to make a stomach turn, and she knew it. she’d tried before and failed to make anybody understand the depth of what had happened-- the scale, even, of how messed up it was. she was stopped, even by whatever therapist she could happen upon when she came across the money for a session or two. nobody wanted to hear just how bad it had gotten. not even professionals. she was supposed to trust her story with the woman that abandoned her to it all in the first place? 

her voice snapped, finally, tone full of anger and bitterness, even more than it’d been before. it was no longer passive-aggression. “I don’t think I need to remind you that I was a child! Imagine throwing out one child you’d cared for for a whole year just because the child that you actually wanted was available for you again. Should I be able to look at you and explain everything? Should I want to?” 

though it occurred to her that maybe it wasn’t a matter of wanting to. if margot was so set on the excuse of being told that desiree would be sent to a good home, then desiree could easily pull back the curtains of the supposed ‘decent reputation’. if margot wasn’t a child, then desiree could supply her with the stories. “decent reputation.” there was a scoff that she breathed out. “anybody can be whoever they want in public. anybody can take in a child so they can get a tax write-off. anybody can take advantage of a scared, lonely teenage girl that got kicked out of a home she was hoping could make up for the things she lost.” 

she huffed, trying to rein in just how much hurt was there, before the trauma was brought back to closely to the surface, and spilled out over herself. “you want so badly to know how things went after you sent me away? or are you hoping that they were good?” she wished that were true. she wished she’d been sent off to some good family, and lived a happy life the past twelve years, but it didn’t happen. 

–––––– HAN ; ( @castingxdesire ): a dance with the devil in the pale moonlight

the memory that once escaped him sent a flickering image in the mind. the flashbacks of the glorious night were some of his fondest memories. he’d basked in so much blood, he’d finally achieved the all time high of vengeance, and he had finally felt that victory so many had denied him. of those memories, the face on the girl before him hadn’t recovered and for that he felt a sliver of guilt. it was a pity she was so forgettable, though, given the age difference, perhaps his mind was askew in trying to remember the very same face.

a smile finally formed on his face as he looked into the sparkling eyes finally reaching some familiarity. and while that body began the slow process of decay before the two of them, his eyes remained fixed on the girl as he tried to regain that memory in a copacetic cohesiveness. “I can’t take all the credit.” He softly shook his head at her, “And if they are anything like the sleeze ball before us, well, I’d offer a round of applause.”

the body, with his fingertips on the corpse, continued to turn to the last stage of decomposition. the bubbling and rotting flesh would soon turn to ash to match the dirt below them.

“Do you still have the scalpel I gave you? Or have you lost it with the rest of your innocence?”

desiree watched with near wonder at what was happening to the body in front of her. her eyes were lit up with question as she briefly let herself think about whether or not this was what ended up happening to francis, or if there was something much more sinister done to get rid of that horrid man’s body. her gaze trailed back to the man’s face, a small smile appearing at his words. “they were all slightly too touchy for their own good, yes. and i’ll take that round of applause, and give you at least a quarter of the credit in return.” 

it was quite likely she wouldn’t know how to protect herself at all, had he not been the one that passed by her that day. had he not stopped and put that scalpel into her hands, she would probably be dead. she’d had a silent graciousness her whole life for the matter. it was always something she’d always hoped that one day, somehow, she’d be able to repay. there was an idea, now, that she could now. 

she sighed, leaning back on her heels to catch a better look at the man in the dark alley. “i lost that the day you handed me that thing. watching your parents get murdered right in front of you will kinda do that to you.” she nonchalantly shrugged her shoulders. “then again, maybe it was the screams of torturing that did it too.” again, her tone was too flippant for the words that were coming out of her mouth. “as much as i’d love to still have the thing that helped me first kill a man, i think it’s long gone. why? got a new one on you for me?”

–––––– HAN ; ( @castingxdesire ): a dance with the devil in the pale moonlight

the pad of his thumb rested on his chin as his eyes remained fixated on the glimmer of the knife. the suspense hung in the air. he could feel his own breathing hitch in his throat as she pressed the blade into that poor man’s skin.  the hissing of the other man filled the air with a flush of panic, though Han could only feel the excitement through it all. the smile grew wider as eyes floated up to hers. though he wore an inquisitive look as he tilted his head to the side as he repeated her statement.

“The one who killed Francis?”  how did she know that? who was this girl? was she a fellow super? had she been at the compound? would she be a friend or foe? could she used this information against him?

one of the fondest memories replayed in his head, despite his flurry of curiosity. the bloodshed of that day echoed the bloodshed that fell right in front of this eyes as she swiftly took the victim’s life. she’d done as he instructed, though he couldn’t take full responsibility for the kill. it was hers.

“Well done.”

he began to chew on his bottom lip as he watched the victim fade out of consciousness and slip from her grasp. the limp body of the man continued to spill that viscous liquid, though his concern was for the mess on the girl’s knife. he reached into his coat pocket, fishing for his handkerchief to hand over to her. though, he tried his best to keep his distance. a woman with a knife, and the capacity to murder in cold blood was one to remain weary of. especially if she knew him.

a series of slow claps is what he gave her along with a playful confirmation, “Where is your proof? I’m certain the killer of that asshole would have been extra careful to cover his tracks….. Just as we will be.”

he crouched to the floor, eyes still peering up at her as his hand hovered over the victim. he began to generate the early decomposition of the wound.

“How do you know what you know? Who are you?”

the one who killed francis. yes, of course it had to be him. how could she forget? it was impossible for her to forget anything that happened that day, let alone the man that got rid of the one that had led to the deaths of her whole family. he was that man, and she knew it. 

the way her eyes lit up, and her smile widened, simply at the words ‘well done’ showed the satisfaction in the fact that he was giving her praise for doing something as simple as what she’d done probably nearly a hundred times before at this point. she’d always wondered, ever since the day she first killed a man, if this man were to ever be before her, if she would be able to please him by her actions. the look in his eyes, and the smile on his lips as he watched the kill happen told her enough. had she been doing something right in her life? finally? something to look at and say that she did something other than being a stripper well? could she even say she did that well? it was part of her power to make people want her, after all. 

the moonstruck look behind her gaze only deepened as he cautiously stepped towards her with the handkerchief, which she, too, approached with caution. she had seen him kill a man before. he told her how to kill man. he happily watched her slit a man’s throat. he could turn on her just as easily as she could decide to turn on him. these thoughts, however, didn’t minimize the thumping of anticipation in her heart as she gently took that piece of fabric from him and began to clean her knife with it. 

a quiet laugh fell from her lips at his coy response to being called out as the man from the dove compound. she turned her gaze on him as he knelt beside the bleeding man. “tracks you may have covered, but someone who watched the tracks be made doesn't need any other proof than that.” she raised an eyebrow as knelt to the ground on the other side of the man, watching him go to work on helping with the body. 

she tilted her head as she continued to look at him with sparkling eyes. “i think i answered that question. i was there, and i know the man who killed francis, is the same man who taught me how to do what i just did to the bastard laying here.” she shrugged and raised the corner of her lips up in a smirk. “maybe you don’t remember, but i remember all of it. i guess you could say you’re probably partially responsible for a lot of missing, club-frequenting sleazeballs.”

Margot knew she couldn’t physically feel a cold gaze, but the eyes Desiree set upon her sent frozen daggers into her chest. She and Lisbeth had taken Desiree in because, at that moment, they had a spare bedroom and plenty of room for her to stay. Like all the children that had come to stay with her…Margot had grown a fondness for Desiree. She’d enjoyed watching the young girl progress, from her small nervousness to seeing that golden smile against her face when she realized Lisbeth had remembered her favorite dinner.

But then Margot and Lisbeth had gotten word that Annmarie needed to be placed with them again. And, unfortunately, their house couldn’t support three young children in their house. It hadn’t been an easy decision, not in the slightest. Margot hadn’t wanted to give up Desiree, not after the progress they’d made together. But she and Lisbeth had already been fighting for custody of Annmarie, who had only ever known them as her family…at twelve-years-old, surely Desiree would understand, wouldn’t she? 

She’d made sure to contact the foster agency, to ensure that Desiree would be going to a home just as kind and loving, one that could pay her all the attention she deserved and more. And Margot had been lied to told that the home Desiree would go to next was, in fact, caring parents. Which had certainly helped Margot feel better – she knew how cruel some families in the foster care system could be, how lucky she’d been to be raised by various family members instead of being tossed into the system when her own parents passed. It wasn’t a fate she wished on anyone, let alone the scared young twelve-year-old.

“She’s…” Margot struggled to answer Desiree’s question. While she always loved talking about her children, boasting about their achievements or their latest successes, but she could tell from the mood Desiree gave off that she wasn’t really interested in hearing about Annmarie. So rather than trail off a list of Annmarie’s accomplishments, how she’d gotten into college and finished her freshman year on the dean’s list. “She’s doing well.”

After spending so much of her time thinking about Desiree, Margot should’ve, perhaps, had more conversation prepared than she did. She should’ve, perhaps, expected more tension from the young woman. But how could she possibly know what Desiree had been through after she left their home? Whatever it had been…Margot got the feeling it wasn’t very good. She knew she needed to get back home, but surely Lisbeth would understand – she would have to send a quick text to explain her continued absence.

“Can…can we catch up?” Margot asked. As tempted as she was to rest her hand on Desiree’s shoulder again, to brush a finger under her chin, Margot kept her hands to herself. “Can I buy you dinner? I…I always wondered what happened after you left,” She explained. “Thirteen years, and I never stopped looking.”

to the answer on the state of margot’s daughter’s well-being, desiree could only respond with a snide raising of an eyebrow and a snort of breath through her nose as her gaze trailed to the side. she wasn’t interested in hearing about how well the girl was doing, or how great of a life she must have, or how many things she might’ve done in all of her years with margot and lisbeth. desiree didn’t care. desiree didn’t want to care. what was that girl but the one that took desiree’s place? the one good home that desiree’d found in all her years in the system? the one she was thrown out of because of that girl. 

why would she care about anything having to do with her, whether or not her sarcastic, bitter question might’ve given off another motive? she didn’t want to hear anything about how that household had fared since she left it all those years ago. she’d spent twelve years resenting the two women that were her guardians for a year. she’d spent all the same amount of time resenting the little girl that took her place, the two people that actually cared, and probably even the bed she’d slept in. 

no, the daughter perfect enough to keep probably got a new bed. new paint. new furnishings. new toys. new anything. if she was the one good enough to adopt, why wouldn’t she have gotten the best of what margot and lisbeth could give anyway? the little girl must’ve been perfect. then again, could desiree put up much of a competition anyway? she’d learned since then-- people don’t just choose her. not unless she chose to make them choose her. after so long trying, and practically burning out her powers on so many people, she stopped trying so much. 

when the invitation to dinner came up, desiree couldn’t help but laugh-- a real, full-on unamused chuckle floated up into the air. she gave a cynical smirk as she rolled her eyes to the woman. she shook her head, considering, for a moment, that she might not even be worth the words of rejection before actually slitting her eyes in a stare. “you wonder what happened?” there was yet another scoff as she crossed her arms. “i don’t think you’re quite prepared for a conversation like that.” if she went into the smallest amount of detail, her stories could make anyone uncomfortable. 

“though, maybe you only tell yourself you were looking because you want to pretend that you care what happened to me after you kicked me out.” because saying desiree ‘left’ was insinuating she had any say in the matter. saying that she ‘left’ was like saying that she’d run away, or that she was fine to go with her next set of foster parents. was it a lie margot told herself to make herself feel better about throwing a child to the curb?