𝗌𝗂𝗇𝗇𝖾𝗋.

she refrained from making a smart comment about how even talking here did not make this unbiased. the way they knew one another was anything but unbiased. she craned her neck slightly, trying to subtly get a peek of the materials in his folder, "well... i'll help as much as i can. if you think this will help and catch her killer, of course." she took a tiny sip of the coffee before setting it back down, "shame i'm not in handcuffs." she quipped.

" great, thank you, i appreciate it. " with his hues glued to veronica, he observed her actions, brows raising at her somewhat obvious attempt at snooping. " stop doing that, there's nothing juicy in here. " he glanced down at the first question, trying to ignore the comment made about handcuffs with a shake of his head. " do you remember much about hope's relationship with julien ? what led to their breakup ? did he ever come around after ? "

" how long's ' a little bit ' ? give me a realistic expectation here. thirty minutes ? an hour ? " the question about the duration of a little bit hung in the air. he needed a reasonable expectation to anchor himself in the stressful setting. " vitals shouldn't take more than a few minutes to get, right ? "

he let out a long exhale and tipped his head back. "well, you won't have sex with me, you don't like the movie, and i don't keep anything worth drinking in this place. so we should go out. what do you normally do for fun in a town this small, huh? everyone remembers when you get piss drunk and do something stupid at a bar."

" you're still thinking about the sex thing ? jesus, man. if i knew it was going to live rent free in your head, i would've done it out of pity. " he replied out of jest, nudging jack gently with a grin plastered across his face. " i do exactly that: get piss drunk and do something stupid at a bar. it's great fun. " he leaned back against the sofa, hues fixating on the ceiling. his boredom was palpable, and the idea of an adventurous night, whether it'd be out or at home, appealed to him. " we could get coke. i'd be able to pay attention if i do some. "

it took a lot of restraint for abril not to snort at his question. contrary to popular opinion, staying in wasn't boring to her at all. she could catch up on her readings for school or tv shows for her own amusement, or maybe even pull out her sketchbook. if abril was feeling particularly brave, maybe she'd try out a new cooking recipe courtesy of youtube or she'd let herself be consumed by a good comic book. the possibilities were endless. did that make her sound like a total loser? probably but she didn't mind. their home was her safe space. " something fun? so watching the twilight saga with me isn't fun?" faux gasping at the question, she pretended to be offended before pausing said iconic film and turning her full attention to her roommate and arguably the closest thing she had to family in mercer hollow. "what did you have in mind? face masks?"

the twilight saga ? face masks ? how javi had managed to get himself into a position where those were the only two options still baffled him. " i can't believe you like this shit, " he grumbled as he pointed at the television, head shaking in disapproval. " it's just pale people sparkling. what's the appeal ? why couldn't we watch something like alien or the blair witch project ? i would have much preferred that. " the mundane night was already suffocating, and yet javi still had a few hours left before he'd even consider calling it a night — something had to change. idly twirling his half-empty glass of whiskey, he turned to glance at abril, shoulders shrugging. " maybe we can drive to salem and have a drink somewhere ? or i don't know, maybe you can call maeve over ? she's fun. "

"what can i say, we're opportunists." she wasn't entirely sure if she hated or loved being compared to hope, even after all these years. growing up, all she ever wanted was to be just like hope, special and shiny and a god amongst boring, ordinary worshipers. the only thing she wanted in equal measure was to be so different from hope that people couldn't ever say that hope was better than her—she'd always been a paradox and a half; in that way, she was just like every other woman in the mercer family line. "oh, so you do care about playing by the rules for the sake of the case, and here i thought you weren't going to disclose your personal connection to hope and my mom. in that case, i guess it'll be common knowledge, and i don't have to keep it secret."

he understood that hope's case demanded integrity and impartiality, and in javi's mind, keeping his personal connection with veronica hidden was essential to ensure a fair investigation. however, ren's threat to expose their affair left javier in a difficult position. it turns out blackmail isn't fun if you're on the receiving end. “ fuck, okay, we'll do it your way. ” he huffed, arm extending out to motion for the other to sit in the chair across from him. “ i might not even have the answers to whatever questions you have, but what do you want to know ? you want to know if what's being aired on the podcast has any merit ? honestly, i couldn't tell you. people don't want to talk, and we can't force anyone to come in for questioning just because a podcast claims that something is true — we need evidence. ”

"a formality... so i'm not a suspect in the brutal murder of my own daughter? thanks, javi. means a whole lot." veronica deadpanned, nails drumming against the table. calls from javier weren't usually crime related. she didn't like this setting (even with a roleplay idea in mind). she wrapped her hands around the coffee mug, "thanks. it's fine." she didn't lift it to her mouth, just holding it in her hands on the table. she wondered, briefly, if maybe she should have called her lawyer. she let a breath out of her nose, "so what kind of questions should i expect?" veronica shrugged, "couldn't have just come to my house and asked?"

javier leaned back in his chair, observing veronica as she fidgeted with the cup of coffee he'd just set down. " i understand this setting may not be ideal, and believe me, i would have much prefered to do this at your home, but it's necessary for an unbiased investigation, " he explained before reaching for the file on the table, flicking through the papers and photographs to locate his notes. " i need to ask you some questions about hope, obviously, but they're mainly about the relationships she had with others. real easy questions, i promise. but like i mentioned before, we can stop whenever you want to. "

glancing around the room, his gaze fixated on the god-awful fluorescent lights overhead. impatience gnawed at him, and he wanted to escape the sterile walls that felt closed in on him. lucia was just doing her job, but he didn't want to wait around for a doctor, so naturally, he tried his best to cut through the red tape. " do we really need to go through all this ? just glue or stitch me up, and i'll be on my way and out of your hair... i'd owe you one."

she watched javier with a smirk, waiting for the reaction. of course there was the possibility she had pushed her luck after so adamantly pushing him away. his words eased any lingering thought of lingering resentment from him. ❝ oh, i know. it’s intentional. you're too easy to get a reaction from. ❞

Once she'd gathered herself she scrunched her nose at him. "Also, you should rethink this whole wanting to be missed at a dead college girl's funeral thing. I don't think it's a good look."

just like two puerile siblings, he pulls kara forward a few steps, attempting to prevent their drinking plans from being scrapped. " i'll make you a deal. i won't light up another smoke for the rest of the day if we go to the bar. " the deal was certainly phony — as per usual, after a drink or two, he'll be puffing away like no tomorrow, but perhaps kara had forgotten that about him... or at least one could hope. " i'm an attention whore, don't shame me for it. "

she shrugged at javier’s condition. sure, she knew he would be there for her. she knew that even before he had to make a whole scene of it. the hard part was admitting that she needed him. ❝ yeah, sure. whatever. ❞ at least if she ever did, she’d be able to wave ‘ you asked for this ’ in his face when he inevitably got sick of their relationship not being purely a good time anymore. ❝ i dunno. i can think of a few other guys that'll tell you a different experience. y'know because they're man enough to do something about it. ❞ maeve teased, taking a step back towards him as the conversation lightened.

' they're man enough to do something about it. ' those words alone were enough to send javier into overdrive, inhaling sharply as he tried to suppress his impulses. perhaps if they were ANYWHERE else right now he'd already be all over maeve, but on the same consecrated grounds where hope's funeral was held ? it was certainly a little off-putting. " don't say shit like that, you're killing me. "

javier saying he was proud wasn’t what she had been expecting. not only because their relationship had always been pretty surface level, all of their affections unspoken, but also because of her past. the expectations for meeting him had been fighting again or getting high to ignore it all. ❝ you’re not going to try to make this a regular thing, are you ? ❞ maeve asked, half teasing but also half worried those might be his exact intentions. the way that death can shake a person and make you think of everything you didn’t say. maybe just compensating for her comment about him not caring.

he can't help but laugh as maeve questioned his intentions, shaking his head from side to side before tilting back to look up at the night sky. " as long as you know that i'm here if you need me, this doesn't need to be a regular thing. " his words make him cringe inside, eyes shutting momentarily in an attempt to snap out of the sappy mood he seemed to be in. " besides, i would rather makeout and get left with blue balls; gotta love the maeve experience. "

" thought it'd stop bleeding by now, " he murmured as he trailed behind the other, holding a crimson-stained towel against his forearm. " but it's been, like, two hours and it ain't slowing down. was kinda hoping you could just dermabond me up. "

"Thank you," She murmured after they'd walked a few paces away, looping her arm through his. "I really don't think we'll be missed."

reaching into his pocket, javier pulled out an almost empty pack of marlboros and offered one to kara before lighting one for himself. " speak for yourself, " he said, taking a drag from his cigarette. " i want people to notice that i'm gone, i want to be missed. if i come into work tomorrow and don't see an angry email about us leaving early, i'm going to be very, very sad. "

ren had stewed over what to do about the whole 'lieutenant rojas' situation the entire week. she thought about going to the captain, and then ultimately decided no one on the force could be trusted to do the right thing when it came to their own people. then, she thought about going to the papers, but they'd rake her mom over the coals along with him, so that option was out. in the end, she could go to internal affairs, or she could keep the information to herself. she was still debating between the two when she walked into his office without knocking. "so here's the deal," she kicked the door shut behind her and folded her arms over her chest, "i won't tell anyone that hope was blackmailing you if you tell me how much of the bullshit the chronicle reports is true."

he looked up from his desk, body jolting out of suprise as ren barged into his office, taking note of her folded arms and determined posture. " are you trying to blackmail me about... blackmail ? it's nice to know that you're filling hope's shoes to the t. " the ultimatum hung in the air as javier silently weighed the consequences of both actions, resting his arms against the desk and leaning over in an attempt to hide the old charity mercer case files he'd been going through before ren bursted in. " this is not the time or place for this discussion. " he said firmly, hoping to maintain some semblance of professionalism. " besides, giving you information, even if it may seem insignificant, could jeopardize the case. is that really what you want for your sister ? "