-- always stacked against me

KALI.

-

As stupid as it looked, Kali had given in and picked up one of those pregnancy pillows to help make things more comfortable when it was time to sleep. The amount of back pain and uncomfort carrying around all the extra weight had finally gotten to be too much and the women at the stupid new mom’s group wouldn’t shut up about the thing. As much as she’d like to say they were full of shit, it really did help. Her eyes flicked away from her phone when Javi got back in bed. “He fall back asleep?” She asked, a yawn following her words. “New mattress, got it. Maybe a bigger bed, if he wants it.” Soon enough he’d be a giant just like his father and they wouldn’t be prepared. “I feel disgusting but I’m finally comfortable for the first time today, so I’ll shower at three in the morning when I have to pee or he decides to start a mosh pit with my organs.” Was she being a little dramatic, sure. At least she was comfortable. “I’m fine. I think he’s sleeping, but he might wake up now that you’re back.” It had become very apparent their child loved his voice. Not that she could blame him.

"I think so. At least for now, but who knows how long that’ll last. Maybe I should start usin’ the baby monitor with him.” He figured he’d sleep through the night, he was five after-all but it was hard when you had bad dreams. Even he understood that. “He’s little, he doesn’t need a bigger bed. I don’t want him growin’ up so fast.” He couldn’t handle Alex getting older but at least he’d still have a little brother who would always be younger. He plopped onto their bed, shaking his head, “You don’t need to shower anyways. No one’s gonna talk shit about you.” He’d rather her get some sleep. “What can I say? He likes my voice. Like mother like son.” He gave her a smirk as he wrapped his arm around her. “All I can think about is how much shit we gotta do before we move in.” 

KIT.

×

Kit listened and nodded in agreement, knowing that every member of the MC and the Bastards were well aware of the lifestyle they were signing up for, and yet they signed up anyway. Being a criminal was never exactly meant to be a walk in the park, and maybe Kit needed reminding of that too. “You’re fuckin’ right, man.” he admitted, a hand moving to rub the back of his neck. “She fuckin’ hates me for what I did. She told me.” Kit sighed heavily, his head dipping low. “C’mon man, Andy fuckin’ despises me. Angel does. I’m pretty certain your girl would’a felt better if she threw a punch at me. I’m on a lot of people’s shit list right now and it don’t feel so good.”

“Yeah, I’m always fuckin’ right. When are you gonna realize that?” He assumed that Kit already knew that, considering that Javi was well, Javi. “Well, now she can just join that ever growing list. There’s nothin’ you can do about it. You can’t let it eat away at you, it’s just gonna fuck with your head. You gotta keep moving forward.” He at least didn’t care who hated him and who didn’t, but Kit was different even if he didn’t want to admit it himself. “Kali bein’ pissed at you wasn’t personal, it would’ve been anyone in that situation. Andy hates everyone besides his fuckin’ family, why does that matter? Who do you got to prove shit to? It’s not like they control how you feel.” 

Alex ran into their room earlier, claiming that he was having a nightmare but Javi knew his kid and he knew that he just couldn’t sleep and was quickly getting frustrated. Like father like son. So he laid down with his son until he actually fell asleep, making sure that Alex was actually in a deep sleep before he got up from Alex’s bed. His bed wasn’t as comfortable as his own. Javi trudged back into his and Kali’s room, rolling back into bed, “I almost fell asleep on that bed. Remind me we need to get him a new mattress at the new house.” He exhaled before looking at her, “How you feelin’? Think the kid’s ready to sleep.” He asked as he looked at her belly. 

KIT.

×

“She might be strong, but I know I fuckin’ wouldn’t be if anythin’ happened to her.” Kit confessed, his hand moving to rub the back of his neck in frustration at his sudden realisation. All this time he had been trying to protect Angel, but all he was doing to protecting himself. Selfish son of a bitch. “I was fuckin’ worried about her, didn’t want any of us sittin’ here wonderin’ what more we could’a done.” suddenly Kit felt very stupid as Javi’s words began to sink in. “I tried doin’ that by lettin’ her take the lead sorta with the warehouse job.” and look at how well that turned out, Kit winced. “I want her back as a dealer, just ain’t so sure she wants to work with me anymore.” the truth hurt like a bitch, but unfortunately he was having to reap what he had sown.

“Anything that happens, that shit isn’t on you.” He reminded Kit, “Everyone chose to be here. This is life we chose. We could’ve walked away before joining the Club or even not have joined the Bastards before then. No one’s here because they wanna play it safe.” Maybe that was just his opinion but no member was here to play it safe in life. “Did she really say she didn’t wanna work with you?” Shit had been fucked up, sure, but that was something that could be fixed. “What’s with this whole fuckin’ attitude that no one wants to work with you? I’m gonna smack you in the head.” 

FINN.

-

“Aw, poor baby missin’ out on all the fun.” Finn mocked what his face would allow him to of a pout. He shook his head, and refilled his beer when the new pitcher was delivered. Javi wasn’t high on his shit list at the moment. He was too busy with his debate about popping the question to Adrian, growing his business, and the Rogues. Not to mention the ever present family drama that kept popping up into his life, as unwanted as it was. “Thanks for the compliment, sweetheart. I try.” He winked. “This is where the party’s at, of course I’m here. Wouldn’t be the same if I stayed home.” Even if that was where he’d rather be at the moment. “Don’t y’have a pregnant psycho bitch to annoy, instead o’me?”

“I’m not complaining, you just asked.” Was this man idiot? It was more rhetorical considering he already knew the answer to that one. “Skating’s just about as much of my thing as it is yours. At least I’m not moping around like you.” He really wasn’t listening to Finn when he spoke some more, but he zoned back in when he started insulting Kali. “I don’t want you even thinkin’ about her. She’s not a psycho, she’s not a bitch. You want me to start fuckin’ calling Adrian that shit? Watch your fucking mouth.” 

REINA.

“No.” Short and sweet, that’s how Reina likes her rejections and she isn’t about to let this giant, annoying oaf try to guilt her into fucking skating of all things. She waves away his correction when he reminds her that Kali is his girlfriend, seeing no difference when they act like they’re married anyway. “Semantics,” she rolls her eyes, moving to inspect her nails while he drones on about said not-wife. It’s only when he asks if she’s spoken to Kali lately that she flicks her gaze back up at him, eyebrows shooting high. “With everything going on she could use my support? I get the length of my back fucking barbecued and she could use my support?” It’s almost too ridiculous to even get angry about but Reina lets out a loud scoff anyway, promptly lifting her middle finger with a scowl. “Go fuck yourself, Javier.”

He must’ve struck a cord or something with the obvious look that Reina gives him. He knows that look. Hell, anyone in Olympus knew that look at this point. Was he really about to get yelled at by Reina Thane in a fucking skating arena? Yes, yes he was. “What happened to you, it’s fuckin’ awful. And y’know, I am sorry about that.” Not just from the guilt of feeling like he could’ve stopped that from happening to her. “I jus’ thought I’d throw that out there, that she’s also struggling. You could use each other’s support. Aren’t you two best friends?” Maybe it was just the way he and Kit worked, but he was always there for him and vice versa. “I’ll put the two of you in a room together and lock the door without a problem. You two are both so damn stubborn but I know you both need each other right now.” 

WILL.

-

“Something happened?” Will asks innocently enough, nodding towards Javi’s knee and just making conversation. He knows, to his dismay, he’s gotten to an age where he’s realizing he’s not as young as he used to be. Some mornings, he’ll step out of bed to find a slight, annoying pain in his knee before he gets ready to go for a run - a new alignment, a gift of aging. But then he finds himself laughing when Javi asks if he’s fallen on his ass. “No, not yet. Honestly, I’m surprised someone hasn’t tried pushing me down yet,” He says, knowing the majority of the people here would love to watch him make an ass out of himself.

“Yeah,” He thought it was a known thing at this point, gossip flowed through Olympus like wildfire. He figured Will already knew and was being an asshole. “Gettin’ shot makes it hard to skate.” This man couldn’t be that clueless, right? “Yeah, I’m surprised someone hasn’t either. I’d do it if I saw you out there, if that makes you feel any better.”

REINA.

Javier has never been someone who actively irritates Reina, but given the state her mood is in right now, it truly doesn’t take much to piss her off. “I’m allowed to stand here, if you’re going to skate watch where the fuck you’re going,” she snaps right back at him. Her shirt is fine and Reina had honestly been about done with the drink anyway, but it’s still annoying. And when he tries to summon her to skate, that irritation only heightens. “Oh, no no. I’m not doing that,” she shakes her head, backing as far as she can toward the wall without eating shit. “I’m perfectly fine staying right there, thank you. Shouldn’t you be making sure your pregnant wife doesn’t fall on her ass, anyway?”

“Why the fuck you’d come if you’re just gonna stand here?” The day he understood Reina Thane was probably never going to happen. “C’mon, if I’m skating there’s no reason for you to not be. Are you really afraid that you’re gonna fall?” He figured giving fucks nowadays for her was overrated. “Girlfriend. We ain’t married.” Yeah they were going to have a house and everything together, but they were still probably never going to get married. Neither of them seemed to want that. “She’s not skating, I don’t gotta worry about her. It’s probably not the safest thing for her to do right now.” He was occasionally looking for her, just for his own safety of mind. Of course she could take care of herself, she was Kali but that didn’t stop him from looking out for her. “Have you spoken to her lately? She could really use your support with everything going on.” 

FINN.

-

“Yeah? Must have missed ye rollin’ around out there in yer disco get up.” He answered Alvarez the asshole with a roll of his eyes. Months ago, Seth had told Finn to drop the vendetta against Javi and Otto. While he didn’t stop holding a grudge, he also listened and sought any sort of revenge on behalf of his friend. Like an angry dog on a chain, he’d behave until the people he was loyal to released his collar. “I been up a few times, had to refill m’ beer.” He pointed out. “You still bein’ a baby about your car or what?” Finn asked, a grunt of a laugh followed. 

“Can’t really skate much. My knee’s still recovering.” It was way better but it still wasn’t a hundred percent, at least not yet. “No. Just reminding you that you’re a prick. I don’t care how fuckin’ nice we’re supposed to be to each other now.” The Bastards and Primordials had been blended for a while now but he really had avoided Finn, so he couldn’t express how he felt towards the other man. He still wanted to punch him in the fucking face. “Guess I’m shocked that you’re here, didn’t think this was your type of scene.” 

WILL.

Status: closed @javialvarez​

Location: Skateland

As luck would have it, Will finds himself standing near where Javi sits. Granted the two of them once had the strangest conversation Will has ever had on a street corner, he fully remembers the other man. He’d feel weird not making an attempt at a conversation. “Not much of a skater?” Will asks and nods towards the rink, deciding against taking a seat with Javi. The detective has a sneaking suspicion his company isn’t entirely welcome, and sitting down would seem overly familiar and comfortable. And so he stands, moving lightly from foot to foot with his arms folded across his chest as his eyes hop from person to person going around the rink.

The only problem with not skating right now was that anyone could come up to him. And that anyone right now seemed to be the Detective that he wasn’t a huge fan of. “I can skate.” He told him, not wanting Will to think he couldn’t do something as basic as that. “My knee’s just a little shot right now, I had to call it a night with the skates.” He  wondered if Will was actually asking him cause he wanted to talk to him or if he had ulterior motives. “What about you? Fall on your ass?” 

FINN.

set: september 25th, 2021 location: skateland availability: open

Roller disco. How he ended up in attendance was beyond him, besides maybe for some kind of security purposes. He didn’t think Skateland would be a main target, though. There wasn’t much thought put into his outfit, not like some of the other people he’d seen already. It was as seventies as he was going to get, however and there was no way in hell he’d be getting in roller skates. Instead, he sat off to the side at one of the tables with a pitcher of beer and a large pizza, watching people he knew attempt to disco on roller skates. He walked over to the window with his empty pitcher to get a refill and turned to the other nearby. “You havin’ fun yet?” Finn eyed them, checking out their get up. “Music is awful, but the beer ain’t too bad and fairly cheap. Pizza could be better, but guess y’can’t expect much from a roller rink.” He shrugged. It was food and it was warm. Beggars can’t be choosers.

He couldn’t remember the last time he spoke to Finn, but he did remember that at one point, they got into a little bit of a fight after he had taken Seth’s eye out which just made him hate the guy even more thinking he had to stick up for Seth of all people. He gave Finn a nod, “Yeah I’m having fun cause I’m actually y’know, trying to not be a fuckin’ stick in the mud.” Maybe he was overreacting because he just didn’t like Finn. “If you got your ass up, you’d have fun too. No one likes someone chewing on their bad pizza in the corner watching all of us.” 

REINA.

OPEN / ​​​everyone LOCATION: Skateland, Disco Night

To be completely honest, Reina does not want to be here. She’s only been recovering from the burns covering the length of her back for a little over a month now, and some days it feels like just lifting her arms is the hardest thing in the world let alone getting on skates. Not to mention, she’s got very little interest in being in public right now. She’s only ventured out of Rick’s home to check on Calliope a few times — she’d never be able to leave the place alone for too long, even if she was on her death bed — but that’d only been because she’s sure Otto wouldn’t dare step foot in there. Anywhere else is free game, especially Skateland, which happens to be owned by one of his lackeys, for lack of a better word. Reina may technically be an investor in this place, but she’s not sure that matters when it comes to Otto. But Rowan had practically forced her to put on the ugly sequins pants she’s wearing and Rick had made it a point to drag her out of the house, and she’d actually been having fun for a little bit until the man’s date decided to show up. Now, Reina’s glowering in a corner, phone in one hand and drink in the other until someone promptly skates into her and knocks it out of her grasp. “Are you fucking kidding me?” she rages, fully taking out her terrible mood on the poor soul who clearly just lost control of their skates. Luckily, only a few drops landed on her, but that doesn’t stop Reina from being a complete bitch. “Do you have any clue how expensive this blouse is?”

There was many things that Javi was good at, and a few things that he was bad at. Skating was one of them, especially with his knee having a bullet wound in it a few weeks prior. He hated dressing up but he did it for the good of Skateland. He had to come out and show support. He didn’t have to go hard enough to put on skates and attempt to try and skate but he already looked like an idiot, he might as well fucking try it. Of course it came to bite him in the ass. He didn’t have any control when he was on these things which was probably going to bite him in the ass. And it did when he ran into Reina. “Will you relax? You shouldn’t be standing there then lookin’ like someone copied your outfit or whatever.” He had to take it easy on her, he knew that, all things considering but he still was going to call her out for drinking where everyone was skating. “Just put it on my tab.” He then shook his head, “You know, I’ll reimburse you if it’s actually ruined.” He reassured, “Why the hell are you standing there? C’mon, if I’m skating, then you are too.” 

KIT.

.

“I wish it was enough when I’m stuck in a room with a pissed off Kali.” Kit joked as he smiled an exhale, shaking his head at Kali’s stone-cold anger issues. The woman was terrifying, but that didn’t mean Kit loved her any less. “Yeah well, it was my first time leadin’ that kinda thing and it was fuckin’ nightmare-inducin’.” he teased with a laugh that sat heavy upon his chest, along with the packet of cigarettes he had smoked the night before. “I demoted her.” Kit winced, waiting for Javi to call him an idiot or something of the sort. “After the whole overdose thing, it didn’t feel right puttin’ her back as a dealer surrounded by all those drugs. Just wanted to give her a bit of time to get back to normal, y’know?”

“It could’ve been worse.” He didn’t want Kit kicking himself for the things that happened. Sure nothing went right but when did it ever? “You should’a let her make her mind up about that. She’s stronger than you think.” She also mixed business with pleasure so hell, maybe she wasn’t. “Sometimes that looks like you got no faith in her, y’know? People like Angel, you gotta show that you have confidence in ‘em.” He had dealt with addicts in a few different situations before, the best thing was to let them make up their own mind. “How long are you gonna keep her on the back burner?” 

SAWYER.

–

“That she is,” Sawyer agreed, chuckling softly into the rim of his drink. Javi and Kali were a good match— even after five years of being away from everyone, Sawyer could see that. But the mechanic’s smile soon faded, his thoughts circling back to his roommate and his evident struggle ever since the warehouse job. Shrugging his shoulders, Sawyer shook his head and unleashed a heavy sigh, “I dunno, man. Just seems spun out,” he divulged, feeling comfortable enough to do so despite not really knowing Javi as well as he’d like to. They had at least one common thread, though: Kit. And while Sawyer had clearly been out of the loop for five years, he didn’t know if the benders his roommate had been on lately were commonplace or cause for concern, “I just need to know if I should be worried.”

“Fuck.” He slammed his hand down on the table in front of him. He had been pretty wrapped up in his own shit which meant that he just sometimes forgot to keep an eye on Kit. He felt like it was pretty much his job to considering he was his best friend and he had dropped the damn ball. This wasn’t like him, he couldn’t let a simple run effect him. Maybe Kit needed to take a step back. “I’ll take care of it. What else you got to be concerned about besides maybe havin’ to throw him into bed?” He needed to know what exactly he was dealing with before confronting Kit about it. 

KALI.

-

“Mmm, that I can let you do.” She hummed and resituated herself to lean into him. Kali turned her head to roll her eyes but looked back with a smile and a nod. “Deal. You let me take care of you for two whole days and actually rest, then I promise not to bug you about it anymore.” Or at the very least, she’d back off a little bit. She was worried about him. There were a lot of things Kali was confident she could do alone, but raising a baby was not one of them. Even if she could manage to pull it off, she didn’t want to. Not without him.

She watched him and when it sounded like he was getting worked up she placed a hand gently on his thigh. “It’s okay. Getting to the hospital was more important.” Kali didn’t expect Javi to question Otto. The same way she hadn’t expected Angel to or Kit to either. They weren’t taught to question the people in charge. Kali always had, but she’d be lying if she said it hadn’t got her in trouble and reprimanded for it. Though, it might have been why she kept her position as long as she did. The change in subject was good. He didn’t need to worry about Otto, she would do enough of that for both of them. “Ugh, I know. It’s very boring and adult of us.” She teased. “I looked at a few, I’ll show them to you later. But first-” she reached for his free hand. “Last night while y’all were off gettin’ into trouble, your son decided to start doing somersaults all night and wake me up every two seconds.” They had found out the sex of the baby earlier that week but the motion was new. She moved his hand to her stomach to see if he could feel it.

"A whole two days is askin’ a lot but y’know, I can do that for you.” He reassured before rubbing her back gently. At the mention of Otto again, he remained pretty stoic.  “I didn’t think twice when I saw him. I thought we were on the same team. He’s supposed to be our president.” Not a fucking shitty person. 

“As long as I get to share a bed with you, I’m fine with whatever house.” He wasn’t picky about much. “He’s only my son when he’s doing something wrong.” Javi pointed out, “For real?” He asked, a smile appearing on his face. “Well, now he’s gotta do it again for me. I just hope he doesn’t get stage fright.” He rubbed his hand on her belly, waiting for him to respond. “He’s movin’ in there.” He confirmed, feeling the flutter from him kicking or whatever he was doing in there. “You really think he’s somersaulting? Gymnastics ain’t no joke.” He was already thinking of what he’d be good at. His genes were good, her genes were good, it wasn’t like they weren’t going to have a talented kid. “Are you feelin’ that all the time?” 

ANGEL.

Status: closed @javialvarez​

Location: Javi’s place

Fortunately for Angel, tips have been a little more generous this week, so she’s actually able to splurge a little. The least she can do, she figures, is treat a friend while she checks up on him. “It’s no Calliope, but pick your poison,” She says, removing the contents from the bags and putting it onto the table between her and Javi. “They’re both burgers. This one has cheese on it. This one doesn’t,” She points at the respective wrappers. She’s indifferent either way, and so she pulls whichever option’s left towards her along with her fries. “How’ve you been?” Angel asks, sitting with her legs crossed underneath her. “How’s your kneecap?” She focuses on her burger, unwrapping it and taking a bite. There’s a gratitude in being here with him. After all, she could be having a somber lunch on Javi’s grave instead of sitting across from him.

“Not Calliope but it’s still good,” He was just glad that she brought food and that she was visiting. Honestly, he wanted to make sure Angel was okay. She was young and while he knew she was tough, going into that type of action that they went into, it was a lot to happen all within a few minutes. He grabbed just the regular burger, leaving the cheeseburger for her. Considering he was lactose intolerant, he didn’t want to have to deal with the gas later. “I’m fine. I’ve been shot before,” He shrugged, “And definitely wasn’t in too bad of an area. It could be way worse.” He wasn’t an optimist usually, but he didn’t like focusing on himself. “I think Kali’s more upset about it than I am.” He understood why, though. “I think the real question is, how are you?” He wiped the oil from his hands onto his pants before looking at her. “I mean, that was a lot.”