DOUCE VENGEANCE.

***

“Oh. He…found a boyfriend, actually. And since he has a boyfriend now, well we couldn’t really keep…seeing each other.” Once again, a feeling of embarrassment at the words settled in. He had no reason to feel embarrassed, yet here he was. He was a grown adult. It was only natural that he would feel attracted to someone and he was well within his right to engage in something consensually sexual with them if they so choose. It was just, talking to his aunt about it all felt wrong. “It’s fine, though. I mean, he’s happy I think, and that’s what matters.” His shoulders rose in a slight shrug then. In front of his aunt, he would pretend as if it didn’t bother him – put on something of a brave face for her. She didn’t need to deal with all of his problems right away.

“Yeah. I guess I’ll find out what my type is when I find out.” If he even really had one, though Chad figured he had to, right? Everyone had a type, even if it was vaster than others. He had to have a type because there had to be some people in the world that he just didn’t find appealing.

“Heartbreak…yeah, I guess that will be a part of it, but I’m fine Aunt Harriet. Really, it was just a thing. It was just…sex, you know?” As embarrassing as it was to say, at least that lie felt better than admitting that he had been hooking up with a guy and went and got stupid feelings that weren’t even returned. His aunt would be sympathetic towards him, that much Chad knew, but he didn’t want her sympathy. He didn’t want anyone’s sympathy, never had. “It’s all fine.”

🔥

Harriett couldn’t help the feeling of sadness that fell over her when the male mentioned that the one he’d been interested in found someone else. While she had understood that Chad’s involvement with the other had been little and rather quick, she hadn’t anticipated the fact that perhaps Chad had genuinely liked the male. Mossy hues flicked over her nephew’s features in order to decipher what kind of response she should give him. Though he let little slip through, the red head still felt sad for him. “It doesn’t matter. It’s okay to be said about that.” Which she assumed Chad knew. This male, while perhaps a bleep in the male’s life, would still be significant given how he’d played a part in Chad discovering and accepting who he was. 

“Exactly, take your time and just have fun.” Harriet said. In truth, she was out of her depth with the situation. She’d never had children and hadn’t ever thought about what it would be like to speak to her nephew and niece about these kind of things. For many years, the red head had been content with giving them money and allowing them to raise themselves. 

“There’s plenty of other fish in the sea.” The woman said with a shrug of her shoulder. He couldn’t exactly leave town to see what other fish lingered out there or to avoid the other male, she Chad was strong and if anyone could get over heartbreak — she knew it was him. “Well, I’m just glad you told me and that you feel you can come to me with anything. At least, that’s how I hope you feel because I’m here.” A hand reached out to squeeze his but immediately pulled back as she knew Chad didn’t appreciate too much affection.

–

“I really hope it’s not. I could ask around, maybe Javier’s seen him.” The thought of Chad showing up at The Cage (which was the only more serious fighting scenario she could think of) made her want to straight back into medicine just so she could make sure he got patched properly. Not that she didn’t have absolute and complete faith in the staff at Grimmbrook Hospital, but there were some people she was loathe to trust to others. Like her mother. 

Maggie let out a small sigh. At least she had Harriet in her corner for Chad’s sake. Plus, she did genuinely enjoy the other woman’s company. “I know, sorry I tried to get out of you like this.” She said, feeling sheepish. “I trust you and I trust your judgement, I’m just a bit pent-up myself again. Maybe I should be the one picking fights, not Chad.”

“No, no.” Harriet said with a wave of her hand. Last thing she wanted was for word to return to her nephew that his aunt was looking for him. She’d only recently gotten close to him and she didn’t want to hover too close in fear that she’d scare him away. Especially with his recent admission. As of late, letting the male come to her had seemed to work best and she decided to keep that practice alive for the time being.

“It’s find, Maggie. We’re all on edge with the recent events and I promise you that as soon as something concrete comes up, it will be published and known.” It was a big what if for the most part. They hadn’t been able to test everything or even explain why the fog was continuous or how people couldn’t seem to leave this place. “Besides that, how are you doing?” She questioned, looking the other over.

***

            “I’ll talk to him. He worries, they both do, ‘cause there’s more that’s out of their hands that they can’t control and it seems like it’s something that neither one of them want to quit.” It didn’t matter how old she got or what all that she managed to create on her own, they were constantly wanting to keep an eye on her as if she were the same kid that had always been their responsibility. Sometimes she didn’t mind it, when the nights were harder alone and now she could have Sam around or even text Luke when she couldn’t stand the silence between them – but there were other occasions when she only felt suffocated. “If that were the case, then he would be more unhappy with me than you. That’s probably it anyways.”

“It’s completely fine. I appreciate that they care for you.” She didn’t want to cause trouble and a part of her wondered if Madison had people like that who cared for her, would she still be where she was? Maybe she’d feel like she could have vented, or felt more love than hatred. Shaking the thought away, Harriet let a small sigh part from her lips before she brought the drink to her mouth. “That’s true. It seems like the three of you are very close.” Twins or Thriplets? She couldn’t remember which was it was anymore. “You’re very lucky to have them. As much as they are to have you.”

———

He hadn’t pegged this as a haunt of Harriet Redding’s, which was precisely the reason he felt so safe in coming here. To say that he nearly physically recoiled at her sudden intrusion would not be too short of an understatement; even the woman’s voice was like nails on a chalkboard. Why did it have to be Madison Redding? He had already been investigating the shooting of Noel Enriquez with no potential leads when they’d discovered Madison’s body; now, the fog had made headline news, and his attention was pulled into that direction as people desperately searched for answers, the affliction now taking over most of the town.

Snapping his notebook shut, he peered up at Harriet with slightly narrowed eyes. “I have a couple of leads,” he lied. He had some tenuous at best grasps on the idea of some leads, but it was the best he could do right now, which frustrated him to no end. “I’d be able to get a lot more done if you and your nephew allowed me to.”

Harriet had begun to fear the male’s incompetence with each passing day and every visit where the male repeated the same tired line. Not that she’d believed he had much competence to begin with. Not after she’d heard such horrid words spoken to her niece, for her to suddenly disappear without a trace. It wasn’t a coincidence that he hadn’t found at least one suspect. Harriet, herself, had countless beneath her jacket. Starting with every fucking person in town. All he had to do was bring them in and ask the right questions. 

There was a bright blush on his cheeks as she mentioned using protection. This wasn’t a conversation he wanted to be having with his aunt, not now when he was well into adulthood and clearly knew how to take care of himself and his sexual health. “Okay, Aunt Harriet.” Whether or not he would really bring someone by to meet her, he wasn’t really sure. If he did, it wouldn’t be until well into the relationship. He needed to know that they were solid before he brought them further into his twisted life and let them get a peak behind the closet door. At least if he had some time to warn them and really prepare them, they could still like him after it all. That was the goal, just keep them interested after meeting the family.

“…are you sure?” Saying that she wouldn’t judge felt like a lie somehow, even if she didn’t actually mean to be lying to him. Not judging someone seemed like an impossible task for her, even with the best intentions. Chad knew that. “I…okay, well I guess I can tell you a bit about him. His name is Jesus and he’s very nice. He took me back to his place after the fundraiser and he was just very…nice.”

Others would probably find it sad, how eager he was for attention and love that he would get so attached to one of the few people to give it to him unconditionally. “I…don’t think I really have a type. I mean, I’ve never thought about it before. I just…I don’t know. I like attractive people, I guess.” And nice people, if only because they wanted to take care of him. Jesus wanted to take care of him, help him through his…issues, but admitting that to his aunt seemed wrong. 

Harriet was only worried about two things: that he was safe and happy. Whether it was with a female, male, non-binary individual didn’t truly matter to her. All she wanted was for him to be safe as he explored his own sexuality with whomever he wanted to explore it with. For what she knew right now, he was well equipped to do that as he’d never come to her for any sort of doctors appointment or worry. Therefore, she dropped the subject and saved them both the embarrassment of discussing something they’d never done in the past. It had been her job but when she’d taken up guardianship of them, she expected that they were old enough to have already gotten the sex talk.

“Positive,” she said with a nod as she brought the glass of wine to her lips and listened to the way the male spoke about this person. While she would have liked to know that they had met somewhere and gotten to know each other, she couldn’t fault him for a one night stand. Not when she’d done multiple of those throughout the year. “What happened?” She asked softly then, knowing they were no longer seeing one another. 

Bitting her lower lip, she smiled. “It’s also new, right? I mean people don’t normally have types because sometimes people surprise you.” Harriet didn’t have a type but she also wasn’t someone who looked for personality because she didn’t keep anyone around long enough to get to know them. “Attractive, nice, respectful. Hopefully all traits you enjoy in a partner. You’ll have time to figure it out and unfortunately, things not working out and heartbreak can often be apart of that.”

**

“He’s never told me. Lily may know but if she does she’s not telling me either. Which is fine. At least he’s taking it out on a punching page and not a person.” She didn’t much like to think of the possibility of Chad going to The Cage. Not that he wouldn’t fare well, if anything he’d do too well and she’d have to start worrying over him full-time.

Maggie slumped back in her chair feeling just as defeated as she had before she’d arrived. “Damn.” She said without any actually malice. No new answers then.  She wasn’t going to lie and say she hadn’t been rather hopeful. Harriet was basically the hub of all important information in the town. “Suppose it was worth checking. I just hate feeling like there’s nothing I can do.”

“I’ll have to have a chat with him about that. It’s an healthy way of releasing some anger but it may be more serious than either one of us expect.” Harriet hummed as she took a mental note to check in with her nephew when she got home. Maybe ask if he’d like to come over for dinner so they could catch up on things. Truthfully, the news that he was releasing anger worried her. 

“Well, I wouldn’t be where I am if I just gave the information I do have out to everyone.” Harriet said with a shrug of her shoulder. She’d need to vet everything that came in and pick and choose what would make it to the final edit. Speaking too soon could ruin all of that and get her into trouble. “I’ll be sure to let you in on any information that I have as soon as I can release it.” Of felt comfortable enough doing so.

***

Danielle glanced down at her own drink, eyes lost in thought for a moment to imagine why Luke would have been so adamant to protect her from Harriet who had been nothing but kind to her in the recent months. Maybe it had some to do with Madison, but that was years ago in another lifetime for the both of them as she glanced up to meet the other’s eyes with a sad, but thoughtful look. “I’m sorry, for him and for that. I think with how things have been since getting arrested that he might feel the need to look out for me more than he used to do.” She had a feeling that he blamed himself for things as much as she did, maybe even as much as Sammy did too but none of them were talking much less about the time they spent behind bars and separated. “Though I don’t know why he would have said that. Or thought that something else might have been going on underneath it all.” Not when Harriet had been nothing but generous with her time and attention towards Danielle, even with how things ended years before with Madison.

**

Harriet shrugged the young girl off when she began to apologize for him. While she understood that the male had some issues and was overprotective, it was not Danielle’s place to apologize. In the end, it had been shrugged off the moment she’d made her departure from the male. He needed to figure himself out but she only preferred that her good action not be tarnished by his horrible attitude. “At least someone is looking out for you. Hopefully he’ll have a better judgement of me the next time I see him.” At least for his sake as she wasn’t sure how kind she could be. “I’m not entirely sure. Perhaps he didn’t like the entitlement he felt about being able to see you without his approval.” Her shoulder rose and fell. “Men and their need to control everything. I’ve wasted enough time trying to understand it.”

****

Cordelia laughed, shaking her head at the question, “God, no –– I love you, Harriet but not that much.” She wrinkled her nose at the bottle, “it was a gift from my dad for Christmas. He loves wine so he always gets everyone a bottle of his most recent favorite. And last year it was this one.” She shrugged, not a huge wine drinker but had grown up with parents who definitely were and so she had an appreciation for it at the very least. Taking the corkscrew, she twisted it into the top of the bottle, pulling the cork free a moment later. “I mean, nothing really –– it’s hard to relax and I feel bad if I’m not helping,” she admitted, “so many people are struggling with all this so I’ve been trying to help out. Putting extra hours in at the shelter, you know –– since some of the employees can’t actually make it to work.”

Hugs had never been something he was a big fan of, Harriet was right about that, but Chad also hadn’t tried to pull away when he felt her arms wrap around him. Just this once, he would just lean into it and accept the woman’s affection. Besides, it was a rare feature, he could at least suck it up and enjoy it during this tender moment between the two of them. It hadn’t been excepted and was quite surprising when Chad realized that warm tears were starting to travel down his cheeks. When had he started crying? His own arms rose to wrap around the woman, fully embracing the hug for all that it was worth. Her acceptance hadn’t been something he had banked on and he was so thankful for it as they stayed there for a moment. “Thank you.”

His voice was tight as he tried to hold back the floor of tears threatening to burst from him. This wasn’t him. He wasn’t the crying type, yet here they were. Finally, Chad pulled back, reaching up to rub his eyes and wipe away the warm liquid as he laughed softly. “It wasn’t like that, Aunt Harriet. I wasn’t seeing him. I was just…it was more…. casual I guess?” Though Chad couldn’t deny that he had found himself liking the man he had been with, even for more than just the sex. Jesus had been…good to him, far better than Chad ever thought he deserved.

“I…I first went with him after the fundraiser, and he was nice. I guess, part of me has always known there was something different there, but he confirmed it. I didn’t know how to feel for…a long time because I knew I liked girls, so I couldn’t be gay. Then I thought maybe it was just some silly thought that I liked boys, but it wasn’t. I do. I like boys as much as I like girls.”

Harriet was shocked to feel the male’s chest rack and her own shirt soak up wetness that exuded from the male. Despite their odd and strained relationship, she had never seen the male as anything other than strong. Perhaps even cold at times. “Chad,” she whispered softly as her hold tightened on him. What was odder was the way her own eyes pricked with unshed tears, blinking them away while a lump formed in her throat. In the years she had known her nephew, he had appeared as confident and self-assured. The knowledge that he may have struggled with his identity and sexuality for a moment broke her heart — especially if she had anything to do for that. His fear should have never been aligned with speaking his truth to her.

“Don’t thank you,” she shook her head and pulled back. A small smile crept upon her face as she wiped a stray tear from his cheek. “I don’t want you to ever thank or apologize to anyone for accepting you or not. It doesn’t change anything and if people don’t accept it — then they can go fuck themselves.” It wasn’t the type of language she used, but she loathed the notion that he’d have to go up to people in fear of being rejected. “Well, that’s fine then. I don’t want to be the aunt to remind you to use protection but with this fog and inability to wander far — it’s best to do so. People will run out of options and it’s going to be a mess.” She smirked then, sighing. “But if you ever do meet someone you like, girl or boy or any other gender, I would like to meet them.”

As he explained further, she nodded her head. It was a recent revelation and she was certain that it would only make him want to explore more. “You know you can tell me anything, right? I wouldn’t ever judge you.” The red head explained as she tilted her head slightly. “As long as that person makes you happy and treats you with respect then I’m perfectly fine.” Winking at him, she bit her lower lip. “But tell me more, come on, I’m curious now. What type do you like? Do you have your eye on anyone else? I might be older but I’m not old enough to stop enjoying a bit of gossip.” Mainly, she knew a lot about people in this town and wanted to ensure he didn’t start liking those whom she knew weren’t well suited for her nephew.

           “He ― worries too much for his own good,” she mumbled softly as she finished the tea for both of them as the bags submerged in the boiling water from the microwave that beeped moments earlier. Danielle knew that he was only looking out for her in his own way, considering that it was strained to have him too close these days despite the gnawing need in her bones to be surrounded by both brothers all the time. It was hard to put into words but she managed to at least press on a flimsy smile as she set the mugs down on the table and slid one closer to Harriet. “They both have a tendency to only see the kid that I was the day we were all on our own instead of someone who can handle things. It’s nothing personal, he’s that way with a lot of people.” Particularly ones that he didn’t trust.

She nodded her head slightly. They were trying to protect her and she couldn’t fault them for that when she’d spent the majority of these last few months beating herself up for not having protected her niece like she should have. “That’s good. It’s nice to see that they care for you as much as they do. His attitude, however, ....” the red head shook her head and clicked her tongue against the roof of her mouth. “No, I didn’t take it personal. I was merely shocked that they would have withheld the gift because I wouldn’t obediently tell him what I wanted to speak to you about.” It could be seen as protective to some but she felt it was almost borderline controlling.

People were, Brandon had learned through hard-won experience, generally a nuisance; what little they could offer him, be it money, or power, or clout (though he didn’t find he much desired that) wasn’t often worth the price of having to interact with them. As such, he’d been holed up either at home (or the station, when Cosette needed what she referred to as personal space but what seemed something more akin to just being left the fuck alone, which Brandon could respect, if not appreciate), plugging away on any leads he had for Madison Redding and generally keeping his head above water just long enough to keep from sinking into the bureaucracy of what the law allowed versus what he wanted to do. But tonight, Cosette had made her annoyance toward him abundantly clear, and the station wasn’t necessarily inspiring any sort of breakthrough as of late, so he decided to venture out into the public after something of a sabbatical for some coffee and a piece of pie, plunking himself down in a corner booth at the diner and working through his notebook to attempt to connect some dots of the case.

This was, he quickly learned, a mistake.

Feeling eyes boring into him, Brandon finally took a sip of coffee without looking up, chasing it with, “Whatever you wanna ask, or whatever you gotta say, I’d suggest just doing it.” Before I lose my patience, he omitted, having a tenuous grasp on that as it was.

Harriet was on edge. Despite her nephew’s coming out being the sole reason a smile could be mustered on her face, it was the irritation at the lack of knowledge and information that irked the redhead. The thick fog had brought her no where and the dead of her niece seemed to be harder to crack than the fucking da vinci code at this point. It was almost absurd to think that amongst those who had visited her niece’s funeral and who had boisterously laughed about the death of Madison — they still hadn’t pinpointed one individual responsible. Perhaps it was because the one responsible was willing to point his finger at everyone else but himself. Either way, she was in need of a drink. Considering she had a meeting in less than two hours, the red head decided to forgo the alcohol and decide on coffee instead. 

Speak of the devil himself. 

Stepping foot into the coffee table, Harriet stood above the male and peered down at the notebook. “Working hard or hardly working,” she snorted, though the wrinkle of her nose signalled no humour. “I’ve asked and you’ve given me nothing so perhaps we should go down a different route where you simply tell me what you have.”

“You know I’m going to do what you tell me to because I have to. You have the power here Harriet, and I cannot forget that because you will not let me.” She can feel the edge in Harriet’s voice, can practically taste the bitterness, the pain that she’s most certainly burying beneath this vengeance. “I lost my parents, I lost my husband. And yes, if anybody ever hurt my daughter I would want to rip them from limb to limb, I would want to move mountains and break every law known to man to make sure that person suffered. But…” She held up a finger. “I would hope someone with more sanity than me in that moment would stop me. What are you going to do with this illegally obtained information Harriet? What’s the goal, how does this end for you? If you find an answer to the who are you going to kill that person? You certainly wouldn’t be able to try them legally since all your evidence will have been illegally obtained. So you must be imagining some sort of vigilante justice. How will you get away with it? And are you certain that you’ll feel satisfied if that person is dead and your sister is still dead and you’re the one in a jail cell? Is that going to feel like justice to you? Is that going to help you manage the pain? I know the pain of loss, I’ve been living with it for years. And I promise you, I promise you that nothing makes it feel better, Harriet. Nothing. I’m just suggesting you be very very certain what you want here.  The Truth, Revenge or Relief? Because if any part of you truly wants the latter you’re going to be deeply disappointed with where this road leads you.” It was a risk. The soft quivering tone in her voice said she knew what she was doing, that she was reaching her hands out towards a feral wounded creature that could just as easily turn on her as the people that had caused the wound in the first place. Marigold was not so naive to think she could truly dissuade Harriet from this course of action, but everything in her that empathized with the woman’s pain wanted to try. She didn’t want to see Harriet ultimately turn into a second life taken by whatever monster had murdered her sister. 

“I won’t get in your way and I won’t speak up like this again. But as….as a person in pain every time I look at my daughter and now she is going to grow up with a hole where her dead father should be…as a person recognizing that you are also in pain…I had to say this to you once. Just once. You deserve to have someone care about your pain enough to tell you this isn’t going to make it better.”  A helpless, emotional sigh caught in her throat and she held up her hands in defeat. “Alright…okay…I said my piece and you won’t hear it again. I’ll keep digging till I find you something better.”

Harriet listened as the other spoke. While she was smart enough to deduce that every single word Marigold said was the truth and right, there was one singular problem in this equation. It was the fact that the police, those whom she was meant to trust to search for the killer, were corrupt. In fact, she had reason to believe that their very own chief was involved in the death of her niece. Therefore, what good would it bring for her to wait around for another person to do what she could do. Perhaps it would bring to nothing in the end, but she was tired of waiting. “I’d need to find something to be able to figure out what to do next, Marigold.” In the moment, there was nothing at all. While she could make this easier on the pair and tell the other exactly why she needed her to look into the files that weren’t at her disposal, she couldn’t risk it. “The police aren’t going to do anything nor do they want to find out what happened. Do you expect me to call higher up when our own police don’t seem to care? It’s on me, Marigold. Which is why I need the information and as for what comes next, we’ll see when we get there. But you don’t need to worry about that because your job will be done.” She didn’t need the other to worry. Harriet would sprinkle evidence and put someone on the trail whom she trusted and ensure that it would move. But as of right now, with no one coming forward, her hands were tied. With each passing day, she knew that the possibility of finding what had happened to Madison got slimmer and slimmer. “It may not make me feel better but at least I won’t be sitting on my hands. The person needs to be brought to justice.”

Allowing a shaky breath to exhale, she peered back at the other. “Every single person in town had a reason to murder my niece. I’ve watched people speak about what her body would look like at her funeral. Watched them snicker when the movie of her death played on the screen. No one cares about the pain. Every person, including those meant to protect, have a motive.” She said as a fact, knowing that there were no lies in her words because she’d seen it. Watched them laugh and smirk over the casket of her niece. “There’s no words you can tell me that will make me back down. It’s not in my nature. I can live with the consequences that come with this but I won’t be able to live with myself if I allow them to get away with it.”

“He’s been spending time at the gym more, I think I may have to replace some of the punching bags he likes best.” She said lightly. Whatever Chad was working through, he certainly didn’t hold himself back. Maggie just hoped he didn’t let all that frustration out on a person instead of some gym equipment. The boy had gone through quite enough as it was. 

“Okay, no I didn’t, but I do care about you and Chad.” Chad because he looked a few good pushes away from fraying into pieces, Harriet because she didn’t. Sometimes Maggie wasn’t sure which one worried her more. 

“I was hoping you might have anything more to tell me about the mist.” She admitted. “You’re the best reporter in town, if anyone knows more than what the mayor keeps telling everyone, it’s you. Not a doubt in my mind on that.”

Harriet bit her lower lip nervously when Maggie mentioned that Chad was burning his way through various punching bags. While she wondered if it had to do with something about Madison, she felt that there was perhaps something else he hadn’t told. “He mentioned nothing about why he was there. I mean, what kind of anger he was trying to get rid of?”

Her eyes fell upon the other as lips parted and closed at the mention of Reporter. While she respected her reporters, she was the owner and editor of the Grimm. Not a reporter who went out and got the stories, they came to her. 

“Unfortunately all the information I have on the mist can’t be given out.” Not unless it was already released in the paper. Spilling her secrets would mean that others would pick it up and publish it before they could. “But it’s a lot of unknown at this point.”