Granted, he didn't meet her in any of the ways mentioned above. No, he crossed her path once on a job, and she wasn't too happy with that. She taught him the meaning behind "hell hath no fury" and then some. Despite the rocky meeting, though, they managed to settle on an agreement and parted ways.

That was supposed to be the end of it.

But lately it seemed the universe had developed the annoying tendency to never let things go Fetch's way, especially when she was involved.

She was usually much more trouble than she was worth, and she didn't seem to know the meaning behind the word ‘no’ unless she was saying it, yet Fetch saw something in her. He just hadn't figured out what that was yet.

Maybe it was just the fact that it was rare to come across a woman in his line of work, or the fact that she was good at it, even though he ought to consider her a rookie for her age alone. Sure her technique had some rough edges, but at least she had a technique, a style to call her own. She had a talent for getting under people's skin before even pulling out her knife, and she was a recurring headache for Fetch in particular.

And yet, he couldn't get enough of her. Most women were put off by violence and blood, even in their line of work, but not her. Violence was like second nature to her, whether she struck first or merely provoked you until you lashed out. And blood, well…blood was usually a given if you knew her well enough, and Fetch knew her, every inch of her.

He wouldn't call it a relationship. No, a relationship requires trust and vulnerability, and both of those could get you killed around her, or at least get your ego stomped on. She didn't pull her punches, so neither did Fetch, which was probably the only way to handle her.

Her visits usually went one of two ways. She either barged in unannounced, fought with him, took what she wanted, and left him with a throbbing headache and an empty sack, or all of the above minus the last one. It was impossible to tell which one it was going to be off the bat. He had to work for it, while to her it was all fun and games…

He hadn't seen her in a while, not that that mattered much. She was unpredictable after all. So when he got back from buying new cigarettes one day, only to find Erick sitting outside on the stairs of his apartment, he couldn't immediately figure out why.

"What are you doing?" Fetch asked, while he closed and locked the van.

Erick was acting off. He didn't give him any attitude in his reply. Instead he gave him an uneasy look.

"Lavender is here…"

Fetch promptly opened one of the new packs of his cigarettes and lit one, needing a preemptive shot of nicotine. Then he pulled out his wallet and handed Erick some money.

"Get lost."

Erick looked down at the bill Fetch gave him.

"Wow, five whole dollars."

"I said get lost," Fetch replied, giving him a kick on his way up. He didn't stop to see if Erick had actually left once he reached his front door, he had more important things to attend to. He opened the door and stepped inside his apartment.

"You're out of milk."

"Get your own damn food, Rhodes."

She turned around, holding a bowl of cereal. Her hair was damp, leaving a wet spot on the shoulders of her shirt— Wait.

"Last time you at least waited til you had me out of my clothes before stealing my shirt," Fetch said, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"I had to do laundry, why else would I be here?" Lavender replied.

"Laundromat," Fetch just said.

"Your place was on my route."

"So would a laundromat be eventually."

"How many laundromats also have a shower and food though?"

Fetch took another drag from his cigarette, then he stepped forward and pushed her away from the counter so he could make himself some coffee. Lavender only gave him an inch of space, continuing to stand right next to him as she ate his cereal.

"I also had a question," she said.

"No," Fetch just said.

"At least let me ask it before you blow me off, you might even like it," Lavender said, nudging him.

Fetch rolled his eyes at her, finishing setting up his drip coffee and not looking back at her until the coffee was beginning to run through the machine.

"Fine," he finally said, "what’s the question?"

"What kinda places can I stab a guy without him immediately bleeding out on me?" Lavender asked.

"Who pissed you off?" Fetch asked.

"Not important, where do I hit him?" Lavender asked, beginning to drink the milk from the bowl.

"...you can get away with a lot if you just avoid most major arteries and organs," Fetch said with a shrug, "if you hate them enough, try starting with the ass. Lots of fat, no major arteries…gotta watch out for the sciatic nerve there though."

"I don't care about the nerves," Lavender said, "arteries go fucking everywhere."

Fetch took a last drag from his cigarette, before extinguishing it in the last sip of Lavender’s milk. She glared at him, but he didn’t seem fazed as he simply took the bowl from her hands and put it in the sink. Then he put his arm around her shoulder, nudging her away from the sink. Lavender tensed at first, but the nudge was gentle, not rough like before, so she set a step forward.

Fetch moved behind her, first pulling her hair back over her shoulders, before wrapping his hands around her throat. His grip was both gentle and sturdy at the same time, and she could feel her heartbeat thump against his hands.

"Common carotid," Fetch said, "very hard to miss, probably the fastest way to kill someone, which is the opposite of what you want. They come together with the subclavian arteries into the aorta arch, just above the heart…"

His hands moved down, brushing past her collar bones. His right hand moved to the centre and down over her chest, while his left brushed down over her arm.

"The brachial artery you also wanna avoid, as well as the radial and the ulnar, but here, between the wrist and the knuckles…"

He lightly trailed his fingers over the back of her hand, indicating the area he was talking about.

"That’s a good spot. Might lose function in a finger or two depending on how deep you go, but you said you don’t care about the nerves."

His hand moved off of hers, brushing over her stomach and tracing a line in the middle until he met his right hand on her chest.

"The aorta at the centre of the action, feeding into all your organs. That generally makes the entire torso off-limits, since everything is packed in nice and tight."

"So, hands and ass?" Lavender asked.

Fetch moved his hands again, his left brushing the side of her face, while his right moved down her chest, her side, her hip…

"The cheeks, if you wanna be mean, can take a lot before the blood loss reaches dangerous amounts," he said, "the thighs, on the exterior side, are mostly fat and muscle."

He squeezed a bit, massaging the muscle gently.

"A good hit here will cause the muscle to seize, making it hard for them to get away from you," he said, before moving his hand again, slowly creeping towards the inside of her thigh, "but on the interior, the closer you get to the groin, the more chance you hit the femoral artery."

His hand moved a little closer to the centre again, but this time Lavender stopped him, grabbing onto his wrist and turning her head a bit to glare at him.

"Keep going if you wanna lose that hand," she said.

Fetch just moved his other hand under her chin.

"Make me."

Lavender pushed his hand away before letting go so she could turn around, she slapped his other hand away too, only to grab his shirt next and pulling him closer for a rough kiss, biting down on his lip until he pushed her off. It didn’t stop her though. She leaned back against the kitchen counter, pulling him with her and closer for another kiss. She let him lift her onto the counter, his grip on her thighs rough enough to leave a bruise…but she wasn’t interested in bruises today.

She pulled on his shirt, he broke the kiss again so he could take it off, but she didn’t follow suit just yet. She pulled him closer again, one hand on his belt, the other weaving in his hair until she could close her fist around a good handful of it, her nails scraping over his scalp as she yanked his head back, trailing kisses down his throat. He swatted her other hand away from his belt, trying to unbuckle it before she’d change her mind.

But her mind was already set, they just didn’t have the same goal in mind today. After he swatted her hand away, she groped around behind her for the knife block on the counter, until her hand locked around one of the handles. She didn’t know which size she grabbed, but it shouldn’t matter. Unless he lied to her.

She moved her other hand from his hair to his jaw, grabbing it tightly and pulling his head back down for another kiss, he had his eyes closed like a total sucker. She grinned, and jabbed the knife into his thigh with a sudden and swift movement.

"F— Mrrrgh!"

Fetch’s pained cry was drowned in her kiss, before he finally managed to pull away and stepped back, only to fall over as his muscle seized up, just like he said it would. Lavender tilted her head with a smirk as she watched him writhe on the floor.

"I see~" she said, "that’ll do perfectly. Thank you~"

"What the fuck, Rhodes?!" Fetch hissed, feeling like he’d warped straight down from cloud nine to the ninth circle of hell instead. He used the table to try and sit up a bit, so he had both his hands free to try and put some pressure on either side of the knife, though that hurt like a son of a bitch.

"Just wanna see how long this gives me," Lavender said, "will you bleed out before I finish my laundry~?"

"...probably not," Fetch said through gritted teeth.

"Most of your blood is probably still in your dick anyway," Lavender said with a chuckle.

"I am going to cook you your own liver for dinner one day," Fetch growled.

"That sounds so romantic, but I’m gonna have to take a raincheck," Lavender said, hopping off the counter, "where’s your first aid kit?"

"You know where it is, you thieving minx," Fetch snapped.

Lavender didn’t even bother denying it. She simply headed into the bathroom and pulled the first aid kit from the medicine cabinet behind the mirror. She took it back to the kitchen, sitting down next to Fetch and beginning to pull the knife out as slowly and painfully as possible. How could she not? It was simply far too amusing to watch his face twist in pain and anger whilst trying to keep the sound to a minimum so his downstairs neighbour wouldn’t get too suspicious from all the noise.

After she pulled the knife out, Fetch pushed her away, insisting on doing the rest himself. However, to properly access his wound, he did end up needing her help to slide his jeans down, which of course was the perfect moment for Erick to return.

"Oh my GOD you have a bedroom for this!" he said, covering his eyes, though he had already seen too much.

"I thought I told you to get lost?!" Fetch growled.

"You gave me five dollars, that gets me jack shit in this economy," Erick said.

"You only gave him five?" Lavender asked.

"Yeah— Wait, the fuck do you care?"

"Cause I bet him you’d give him ten, now I owe him twenty," Lavender said, "should’ve known you’d be a cheapskate."

"I told you so," Erick said.

"Get lost, Erick," Lavender said, "I left some bills on the machine, if you take more than twenty I’ll kill your dad."

"Sure you will," Erick said, blindly groping around for the bathroom door, and slipping inside.

"Why don’t you take that twenty and buy some supplies? You’re gonna be scrubbing this whole floor for that attitude," Fetch said.

"If you’re still alive by then," Erick said, "try and keep it down a bit, Ethel’s already asking about fifty shades."

"Ask her if she’s heard of fifty shades of red," Lavender said, pressing her hand on Fetch’s wound.

"Goddamnit woman!"

Lavender Rhodes belongs to @scarletfish8eta (DA, X) Here's an image impression of how cool she is.

Lavender and Fetch first cross paths in the Weeks and Villain's View crossover "Your Move" followed by the sequels "My Move" and "Our Move" — Collectively known as the YMO AU

Masterlist Main account

CW: abuse, neglect, eating disorder, sexual assault, human trafficking, Stockholm syndrome (platonic or familial I guess)

Erick first shows up as the second main character in Villain's View, where he gets kidnapped for ransom, but his life as a whumpee starts long before that. Being born to a wannabe rich and narcisistic asshole of a father and an enabling mother he's always lived under a lot of pressure to be perfect.

Things got worse after his mother died when he was eight or nine and he would've been alone if he hadn't made a friend at her funeral. Initially he only sees his friend in school and other social situations where he has to put on a mask and pretend everything is fine and well, but when he's at home with no visitors around, his father won't even look at him.

To cope with the stress and loss and loneliness, Erick develops bulimia at age twelve with a pattern of binge eating followed by purging. His friend eventually notices and gets him to see a therapist, paid for by his parents so Erick's father won't find out.

When he's fifteen he's finally beginning to recover when his life turns completely upside down when he's violently kidnapped by Chase Fetcher. He watches his best friend get shot as he's dragged into a van, never to be seen again.

In captivity, he quickly learns to appease his kidnapper by following his rules, following orders, and taking abuse and torture without complaint. Days turn into weeks and he slowly learns more and more about his kidnapper while waiting for his ransom to be paid so he can go home. He also learns to trust him after being saved from being sexually assaulted, being taken care of when he catches an infection, and especially when his kidnapper stops his client from trafficking Erick when the ransom continues to not be paid.

After finding out that his father never bothered to get him back, thinking his only friend didn't survive, and the only other person who had shown a smidgeon of care in years being his kidnapper, Erick refuses to leave when he gets the chance to go. He feels indebted to his kidnapper and wants to make that up to him, even if that means having to tolerate more abuse and possibly never being free again.

Thus forming the dynamic duo of Villain's View and the AU spin-off Your Move, My Move, and Our Move.

He'd already done the bathroom, Fetch's bedroom, the living room, the hallway and the pantry. He'd been scrubbing all day, his knees and back were aching, his hands raw from all the water and chemicals, but after he'd scrubbed the grout between the floor tiles in the kitchen with a toothbrush he'd be finished for today.

He was almost done, sitting in front of the door opening and scrubbing between the tiles in front of the washing machine, which was working on the last ten minutes of a cycle, making a lot of noise.

He didn't hear the front door open as Fetch returned, shaking out his wet hair before pulling it back with his hand. A plastic bag and his raincoat dripped onto the carpet as he crossed the living room into the hallway. Erick quickly shuffled aside when he noticed him, so Fetch could step right past him and drop the wet bag onto the table.

"I-I just cleaned that," Erick said quietly.

"Then clean it again after you're done there," Fetch said, shrugging off his raincoat, dripping more over the clean floor. Erick sighed, but returned to scrubbing the grout while Fetch began making coffee.

"Did I tell you about the job this Friday?" he asked.

"Um...no?"

Erick paused his scrubbing again and looked up at Fetch.

"Some low-tier mobster is throwing a Christmas party and Tito wants us to use the opportunity to sneak in and find some important files for him," Fetch said.

"Why doesn't he send Jonas?" Erick rolled his eyes, "He can sneak in as a waiter."

Fetch chuckled, "You know he finds himself too important to pretend to be a waiter."

"Yeah, true." Erick agreed, "So how are we sneaking in?"

"It's a Christmas party." Fetch emphasised, "What better way to sneak in than to dress up as Santa?"

He opened the wet bag and pulled out the classic red costume, before pulling out something green as well and tossing it at Erick.

"And you can try that on for size." he said, "You can be Santa's lil helper."

Erick made sure not to drop the outfit in the bleach he was using for the grout, before taking a better look at it. He pulled a hat from the pile of green, with a red trim and a little bell at the end.

"...I'm not dressing up as an elf," Erick said.

"You have to." Fetch claimed, "It's a two-man job and you can't sneak in without a costume. We can't show up as two Santas either, or a tiny Santa and a giant elf—Now go try it on, I want to make sure I grabbed you the right size."

"Is it really a two-man job, or is it just an elaborate scheme to make fun of me?" Erick asked.

"Try on the outfit or I'll make you drink that bleach," Fetch threatened.

Erick got up, but did roll his eyes and sigh in the process before locking himself in the bathroom to try on the costume. It fit perfectly, but it looked even more ridiculous than he had imagined.

He didn't think an ugly shade of green existed until he dressed himself in this, the red trims here and there only making it worse. Not to mention the bells. There were little bells on the outfit everywhere; on the hat, at the end of his sleeves, and on the tips of the stupid pointy shoes.

He didn't even have decent pants; they were green tights. There was even a set of plastic, pointy ears that he could put on his own ears, but it definitely didn't make the look any better.

An impatient knock sounded on the door.

"How's it going? Does it fit?" Fetch asked.

"I hate it!" Erick stated, "I look like Kermit on crack!"

"Step out and let me see."

Erick reluctantly moved over to the door, cringing at every step as the bells on his outfit jingled, and unlocked the door. Fetch opened it and a bright flash briefly blinded the teen as he took a goddamn picture.

"What the— You did not just take a picture!"

"Lavender's gonna love this," Fetch said, snapping another picture. Erick tore the hat off and threw it at Fetch. He simply deflected the attack and put his phone away after sending the picture.

"Fetch!"

"Watch your tone, kid," Fetch said, "I really need you on this job, either as a distraction or doing the stealing part. Depends on how things look inside. If there's kids I better do the distracting part, as Santa."

"Jesus— Fine. But I'll complain about it." Erick huffed, "And no more pictures! Delete them!"

"Alright, alright, let me just send one to Jaime—"

"No!"

With great reluctance on Erick's part, they got to planning. Tito had given Fetch a series of numbers, which somehow corresponded to the files he wanted. It made sense that Fetch insisted Erick joined him on the job, he just had a bit of a better knack for numbers after all. It was the only thing Fetch ever admitted the teen was better at than him. He even repeated the statement to keep him on board with the plan, as he was still not enthusiastic about the whole dressing up part. He also needed the teen to drive, since his van would draw too much attention and, frankly, Erick's car was faster.

Come Friday, Erick reluctantly put on the elf costume again, peeking outside the bathroom door first to make sure Fetch wasn't waiting to take another picture before stepping outside.

At that moment, Fetch stepped out of his bedroom in the Santa suit. He almost looked like a different person, trying to fix the white beard in place.

"Well?" he said, "Don't we completely look the part?"

"Unfortunately..." Erick replied.

"Come on, have some Christmas spirit or whatever." Fetch said, "We need to be convincing."

"Looking the part isn't enough? We gotta act like it too?" Erick whined.

"Nobody likes a frowny elf." Fetch scolded.

"People don't tend to be very fond of a murderous Santa either." Erick pointed out.

"I can be very jolly when I need to." Fetch said, "You know adaptability is my game."

"I don't see it." Erick deadpanned. Fetch rolled his eyes.

"Listen to this then." he said, clearing his throat before bellowing loudly, "HO HO HO!"

Erick didn't seem very convinced yet, quite the opposite actually.

"I think I finally know what Jaime means when she calls something cursed."

"Watch the attitude, Kermit." Fetch warned, "Now let's go. We wanna arrive just when everyone's drunk enough."

Erick reluctantly followed Fetch outside. Thankfully it wasn't raining anymore and unfortunately it was warm enough that they didn't need coats. Fetch was even a little overdressed, pulling the fake beard down already.

"They should really start marketing a summer Santa for warmer climates." he said.

"Don't tell me you do this more often." Erick said.

"Every year when Jaime was little." Fetch said, "What's so wrong with that?"

"Lucy would call it cringe."

"How many women are you talking to?" Fetch asked, surprised.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Hey—"

"Aww! Look at you both!"

They both froze like a deer in the headlights as a bright flash blinded them both before they recognised Ethel's chuckle as she lowered her camera.

"Don't look so surprised, dears. Give me a smile!"

"No—"

"Humour her." Fetch said, pulling his beard back up and putting an arm around Erick, painfully squeezing his shoulder in warning. Erick forced a smile as Ethel took another picture.

"That one's going on the mantle." she said, "Now you two go and enjoy your party."

"Thanks Ethel." Fetch said, nudging Erick towards the car. After they'd gotten in and Ethel had gone back inside, Erick dared to speak up again.

"What did you tell her?"

"That we are volunteering as Santa at a charity event." Fetch said, "Try to put on a better smile when we get there, or they'll never let us in uninvited."

"I better get a cut for all this." Erick said as he started the engine and backed out of the driveway.

"We'll see about that."

Erick sighed. Fetch just had to have the last word as usual. He didn't argue it, he had to focus on the road.

Fetch navigated them to the right address and they arrived just at the height of the party. The gate surrounding the property was open so Erick pulled up on the driveway. The door was also open, but there was a security guard, eyeing both outside and inside the manor.

"Okay. Time to smooth-talk our way in." Fetch said, "Remember to smile. And put on your hat."

"How much is my cut?" Erick asked, grabbing the hat which he had tossed in the back before driving.

"Zero if you keep whining." Fetch said. "Minus a kidney if you ruin this for me."

"Let's spread some Christmas cheer." Erick said, forcing a smile. Fetch nodded, fixing his beard in place and getting out. Erick followed, locking the car and joining Fetch by the door as the security guard stopped them.

"We didn't hire Santa as entertainment..." he said.

"It's supposed to be a surprise." Fetch said, "Right, little helper?"

Erick pulled out his phone, pulling up a document he emailed himself earlier that day.

"Yeah it says right here on the bill." he said, holding it up to show the guard, but he raised his hand and stepped aside.

"What the hell. What's the harm?" he said, "Just don't cause trouble, have a drink for me."

"Merry Christmas~" Fetch said, nudging Erick before heading inside. Erick smiled politely and followed Fetch, who was already ho ho ho-ing as he entered the party. Everyone was tipsy and they loved it, wanting to take pictures with either or both or them.

By the time Erick had the chance to excuse himself to use the toilet, Fetch had two women on his lap and having their picture taken. He didn't need to see that. He walked back to the entrance hall. The bathrooms were indicated to be right across, but he needed to go up the stairs.

He glanced at the security guard, but he was distracted with a drunk guest, slurring loudly at him, so he didn't hear the stupid fucking bells on Erick's outfit as he hurried up the stairs.

Once he was sure he was alone, he pulled the note with file numbers from his sleeve, before sneaking across the second floor to look for the office where the files were kept.

When he thought he found the door, he tried it, but it was locked. He sighed, cursing his costume for not having decent pockets. Now he had to lift his shirt-tunic-whatever to grab a lock-picking kit from the waistband of his tights.

"If Fetch doesn't give me a cut I'll talk to Mr Rana myself." he grumbled quietly to no one in particular as he fiddled with the pins.

Surely Tito would agree with him? He was the one doing all the work, running the risk of getting caught, while Fetch was own at the party flirting with women.

Erick shook his head, getting rid of the mental image and focusing back on the lock until it clicked satisfyingly. He put the pins back in the kit and got up as he opened the door, looking around to make sure he was alone before heading inside.

He put the kit on the desk and found the filing cabinet. Fortunately that wasn't locked, so he pulled a small flashlight from his sleeve and began looking for the files on his list.

"These guys are taking organised crime way too seriously." he sighed, only finding one of the seven files in the first drawer. He plucked it out and began searching the rest, clamping the found files under his arm.

After he found the third file, the lights suddenly flicked on and he froze, glancing up to see two men in the door opening, which he hadn't even heard being opened. One of them was wearing a shirt with a dabbing Santa, the other a shirt with a printed-on necktie.

"What do we have here, Juàn?" the first man said, smirking a bit.

"You've heard of elf on the shelf, looks like we got a thief up to mischief." Juàn answered, snickering at his own joke.

"Wow." Erick said sarcastically, "That was terrible."

"Shut up, you! Drop those files!" the first one said, pulling out a gun while closing the door behind them.

"Are you sure?" Erick said, "If I drop them the papers are just gonna fly everywhere."

"I think we need to teach Jingle Bells some manners, Dominic." Juàn said.

Erick rolled his eyes, holding up the files and putting them on the edge of the desk.

"For the record, the costume was not my idea."

"Grab him, Juàn." Dominic ordered, "We'll deal with him before telling Santa his lil helper made the naughty list.

"Okay you gotta stop with the stupid Christmas puns." Erick said.

But the lackeys ignored him as Juàn grabbed his wrists and twisted them on his back. The bells on his costume jingled infuriatingly as he struggled against the man's grip, but Juàn just shoved him harshly against the archive drawers, loosening his own belt so he could wrap it around Erick's wrists.

Then he turned him around and shoved him against the drawers again, pinning him in place with one arm over his throat. Erick hissed as he managed to hit his funny bone right on top of one of the handles, but other than that he could only glare at the two lackeys for now.

"Now what, Dom?" Juàn asked.

"Gag him with something. We don't need him causing a ruckus. Boss wouldn't want the party to be disturbed." Dominic said.

"You hold him then." Juàn said, shoving the teen towards his partner. Dominic caught him by the front of his shirt, pressing his gun against his chin.

"While we wait, why don't you be a good lil elf and tell us who you work for?" he said.

"Um, duh." Erick said, turning his head away from the gun a bit, "I work for Santa, obviously."

"The one downstairs at the party?" Dominic asked.

"No. The one in the North Pole." Erick deadpanned, "It's the busiest time of year for him. He still has to go over his list a second time, otherwise he would've shimmied down the chimney himself for these files."

"I found duct tape!" Juàn announced, pulling a seemingly new role from a drawer.

"Oh look, a Christmas miracle." Dominic said sarcastically.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop with the stupid references if you do too." Erick said, trying to negotiate.

"Nah, I think we'll just gag you." Dominic said, pulling his hat off so he could grab his hair and hold him still. He nodded at Juàn, who then tore off a strip of tape and pasted it over Erick's lips.

Erick tried to shake his head in protest, but with just two against one he was already severely outnumbered. Several strips of tape later, he was silenced too. Dominic shoved him into the desk chair, keeping his gun trained on him while discussing with Juàn on what to do next.

"I think we best just take him to the basement, then I'll go check on Santa at the party. They're clearly working together." Dominic said.

"So when you say 'we' you actually just mean me?" Juàn asked, seeming a bit annoyed. Dominic rolled his eyes.

"What? Can't handle one puny elf?"

"Pmmy?!" Erick huffed behind the tape, trying to get up, but Dominic pushed him back down.

"Shut up and stay down, you!" he said.

Then suddenly the door opened again, two people sneaking in while giggling. A man and a woman, closing the door behind them. The man pressed the woman against the door, kissing her neck while she giggled like a teenage girl in love, neither of them noticing the two guards and Erick.

"Hush güzelim, someone will hear you~"

Erick tensed a bit, recognising the voice.

Why here of all places?

Why him of all people?

Dominic and Juàn seemed too stunned to say anything, but did think to put away the gun and step right into the couple's line of sight, obscuring Erick from their view.

"Oh mi amore~" the woman said, before gasping horrified as she noticed Dominic and Juàn. She patted her partner on the shoulder, trying to get him to stop kissing.

"D-Daniel...I think this room is already taken."

"What—"

"Delaney! I should've known it was you, you horny son of a bitch." Dominic said.

Delaney winced and stepped away from the woman, turning around, looking over the two guards.

"Hey, if you didn't want interruptions, you should've locked the door." he said, but while he had his back turned, t he woman opened the door and slipped out, not wanting to get any more involved.

"Great! Now you cost me my date!" Delaney said, "What are you two doing here anyway? I thought you were married, Juàn."

"Definitely not that!" Juàn quickly said.

"The silent alarm on the door got triggered." Dominic explained, "So we went to investigate and found ourselves a little thief."

He stepped aside. Erick cursed mentally as he caught Delaney's eye before looking away.

"Oh my God." Delaney said. "You!"

"You know him?" Dominic asked.

Erick shook his head, but they weren't paying attention to him.

"Yeah I know him." Delaney said, "And trust me, you don't want to be caught with him."

"Why?" Juàn asked, "Who does he work for?"

Erick shook his head more vigorously, but some of the bells on his costume rang softly, so he quickly stopped as Dominic threw him a glare.

"Chase Fetcher." Delaney said, "Who works for your boss' biggest rival, Tito Rana. You don't want to be responsible for starting a war with him now, do you?"

"Didn't he start though?" Dominic said, "Sending this lil thief?"

"Yeah, but what would your boss say if you got him involved in that nightmare? Doesn't even matter who started it." Delaney said, "Let me take him off of your hands, no one has to know he was even here tonight~"

"Since when do you get your hands dirty?" Dominic asked, "Or is it just because he's your type?"

"I'm offering you a way to tell your boss that his party went smoothly and there was no trouble whatsoever, without asking anything in return, I might add...And you're going to question why?"

"He's got a point, Dom..." Juàn said quietly, "Boss'll have our heads if he finds out someone even made it into his office."

"Ugh. Fine." Dominic sighed, "But no funny business on the boss' property. Take the backdoor, we don't want the guests to see him. Give your car keys to Juàn, he'll bring it around so you can load him in without being seen."

"Deal~" Delaney said, pulling his keys from his pocket and handing them to Juàn, who hurried outside to get his car. Dominic pulled Erick to his feet and shoved him towards Delaney.

"No funny business." He repeated, "Save that disgusting shit for the privacy of your own home."

"Don't worry, I can wait." Delaney said, shooting Erick a wink. The teen just shook his head again, backing away from him, but he already had a hold of his arm and pulled him out the door and deeper into the darkened corridor.

"Stop that, be quiet!" Delaney hissed, trying to get Erick discreetly out the back door of the house, but he was putting up a good fight, pulling against his grip and trying to call for help despite the tape gag. He even dug his heels in, though his stupid pointy shoes slipped easily over the tiles, so it didn't help much.

"Just shut up a second, I'm trying to help!" Delaney hissed quietly.

"Fmm ymm!" Erick snarled, trying to pull his arm free again.

Delaney sighed and shoved him against the wall, grabbing a painful hold of his jaw and forcing him to look at him.

"Listen!" he hissed, "Do you want to get out of here or do you want me to bring you back so they can tie you to a piece of concrete and ditch you in the ocean?"

He waited a second, not for an answer, but for the teen to settle down. He let go of him and stepped back, and when he didn't immediately try to run, he nodded satisfied.

"I promise I'll untie you once I get rid of Juàn." Delaney said, "And then you need to get the fuck out of here. Without breaking legs this time, that'd be nice."

Erick growled, but he couldn't form a comprehensive enough reply, nor could he really promise not to break any legs. Still, he reluctantly let Delaney take his arm and guide him towards the backdoor, where Juàn was waiting next to a shiny new Audi.

"I thought you drove a Porsche?" Juàn said, handing Delaney his key back.

"I did." Delaney said, "Until it got stolen."

"So that's why you wanted the thief." Juàn said with a grin.

"Exactly." Delaney improvised, "I'm gonna make him tell me who he sold it to."

"Need help putting him in the trunk?" Juàn asked.

"No, I like to keep an eye on 'em." Delaney said, pulling Erick towards the backseat door, "Why else would I need blinded windows?"

"Against the sun?" Juàn said with a shrug.

"Right..." Delaney said.

Erick kicked him for being too obvious, to which he shoved the teen into the backseat. He was having a déjà vu, somehow more horrible than the original memory, but forced himself to stay cal as he settled in the backseat and waited for Delaney to talk Juàn away.

Then Delaney finally got behind the wheel and drove about a block away before pulling over just as Erick started to get suspicious. After turning the engine off, Delaney turned in his seat and reached into the back.

"Give me your hands." he said.

Erick turned around so Delaney could reach the belt and loosen it. Once his hands were free, he peeled the tape off of his face himself.

"Fuck..." he said quietly, balling up the tape and tossing it on the floor.

"Really?" Delaney said, "I save you and you thank me by littering my car?"

"Why?" Erick asked, still not trusting him.

Delaney turned back to face forward, sighing.

"I guess I uh...kinda owe you one."

"Even if I cared, you'd definitely owe me more than just one." Erick said, before pulling out his phone. Thankfully the two lackeys hadn't thought of taking it.

"Touché..." Delaney said, glancing at the teen through the rear-view mirror, "What are you doing?"

"Letting Fetch know to switch to plan B." Erick said, "Wait, fuck, I'll need my car..."

"...I could get it?" Delaney suggested.

"And why should I trust you?"

"You don't have to, you can figure it out on your own if you prefer." Delaney said, "Or you can accept my help and make things easy on yourself."

Erick narrowed his eyes a bit, trying to figure out what he could possibly be up to, when suddenly it dawned on him.

"You want to get in Lavender's good graces." he said, "That's kinda sad, you know that?"

"Shut up. Do you want my help or not?" Delaney said.

"...fine." Erick said, "But I'm not responsible for Fetch's actions when he spots you."

"Oh is he gonna drain my blood and harvest my organs?" Delaney asked, rolling his eyes.

"Let's just go." Erick said, getting out of the car.

"We're walking?" Delaney asked, getting out as well, "In that getup?"

"I don't have a change of clothes in these tights." Erick said, "Besides, I'll drop you back here if you hold up your end of the deal."

"Fine. But I'm walking ten feet behind you."

"Make it twenty."

They returned to the manor on foot, though Erick made sure to stay out of sight and headed into an alley, pulling out his phone again and opening a map. Delaney followed, having stayed several feet behind him like he said he would.

"Now what?" he asked.

"Here." Erick said, showing the map to Delaney, "There's a service road west of the manor. I'll go ahead on foot. I need you to drive my car there and then we wait there for Fetch."

"Oh, there." Delaney nodded, "Okay. And what car am I looking for? It better not be my Porsche."

"No. I sold it." Erick said. "You're looking for a green Nissan Almera, though it probably looks black in this light. It has a spoiler on the back."

"No racing stripes?" Delaney asked.

"Shut up." Erick said, pulling out his car key, but not handing it over just yet, "Do not, under any circumstances, change any fucking settings. Do not touch anything besides the wheel and the gear shift or so help me."

"Don't be so neurotic. Your call will be fine." Delaney said, impatiently holding up his hand for the key. Erick sighed, then reluctantly handed it over.

"If you don't show up, I'm calling Lavender." he said.

"I would love that." Delaney said, "I haven't heard from her in ages— Did she change her number?"

"Just fucking go." Erick snapped, before heading off himself so he could make it to the service road in time.

While he walked, Erick texted Fetch to let him know he'd been caught and they had to switch to plan B. Fetch didn't reply, but he could see him pop online, his message got marked as read, and then he went offline again.

Erick bit his lip, hoping he wasn't upset about him messing up and having to do everything himself after all. Not to mention the fact he had no idea how he would react to Delaney, if he ever showed up at all. The road was abandoned and he wondered if he maybe had gotten caught. Or worse...betrayed him.

"You really can't trust anyone in this world." Erick sighed, kicking a rock when he suddenly heard the soft rumble of a familiar engine.

He looked over to a turn in the road and sure enough his car came rolling around the corner. Delaney slowed to a stop as he drove past him, pulling over on the side of the road and cutting the engine, before getting out.

"That wasn't so bad now, was it?" he said, even handing Erick his key back.

The teen still gave him a suspicious look, however, taking his key back and getting behind the wheel. Delaney walked around and got into the passenger's seat.

"What are you doing?" Erick asked.

"...Sitting?" Delaney said, "You said you'd drop me off at my car."

"You can't sit there." Erick said, "That's where Fetch always sits. You don't want him to, like, blindly open the door and sit in your lap, do you?"

"Well that depends on the context—"

"Ew!" Erick interrupted, "Get in the back before I grab my bat from the trunk!"

"Alright, I'm going, I'm going..." Delaney said, getting out and switching to the backseat instead. "You're welcome, by the way."

"Go fuck yourself." Erick said, checking to make sure he really hadn't changed anything...only to find that the mirror was angled differently.

"I told you not to change anything!" he hissed, adjusting the mirror back to its desired position.

"I had to back out and I couldn't see anything!" Delaney said, "It's just the mirror."

"It's my mirror! In my car!" Erick said, still adjusting it, and again, and again, and again.

"You're stressed." Delaney concluded, "Take a deep breath. I can help you relax~"

"Touch me and I'll call Lavender and ask her to break your hands again." Erick said, adjusting the mirror again just so he could glare at Delaney.

"Do you really think she'd take time out of her day to see lil old me?" Delaney asked, though he definitely kept his hands to himself.

"I'll just tell her you tried to kiss me again." Erick said, "And I'll tell Fetch, and miss Thorne, oh and Mr Rana. Maybe if I cry a little he'll send Jonas after you too."

"Okay yikes." Delaney said, "But also hot—"

Erick sighed frustratedly, dropping his head on his steering wheel, to which the car made a soft honk.

"I really don't need that mental image in my head. Fetch and Lavender alone are bad enough."

"WHAT?!"

Erick smirked against the steering wheel as Delaney sputtered more questions, though thankfully he shut up when the passenger door was suddenly yanked open and Fetch dropped himself in his seat, whacking Erick with a familiar green hat.

"Do I have to do everything myself?!" he said, waving the files, "You just had to steal some pieces of paper, but instead I'm approached by one of Tito's undercover guys to let me know that you've been caught and then left with a fucking pervert, and then you text me like nothing happened?!"

"Dominic was one of Mr Rana's?" Erick asked.

"Yeah and he told me he had to hand you off to Delaney?! What happened?"

Erick could only stare sheepishly at him before slowly glancing towards the backseat, to which Fetch finally noticed the extra passenger.

"Hey handsome—"

"ERICK WHAT THE HELL?!"

"Trust me, I'm wondering the same thing." Erick said, but Fetch didn't even hear him as he pulled his gun while Delaney quickly shouted an explanation.

"I-I walked in on them by accident! I freed him as soon as we were out of sight, I swear!"

"Give me one good reason not to blow your fucking brains out right now!" Fetch said.

"U-um....Erick, help—"

"Don't fucking talk to him!"

Erick looked at Delaney's helpless, frightened face and rolled his eyes.

"How would we explain pieces of brain on my backseat to Ethel?" he said.

"Who is Ethel?" Delaney asked.

"Shut up." Fetch and Erick said in chorus.

"Listen." Erick said, "Yeah I got caught. Yeah Delaney of all people helped me escape. And yeah I used his help to get plan B back on track. He held up his end of the deal, so I'm gonna drop him off back by his car and then pretend this entire night never happened— Did you rent this costume or can I burn it?"

"No you can't burn it." Fetch said, "And you really need to stop making friends with people who hurt you."

"Who have I made friends with besides you?" Erick said, before immediately changing his mind, "No. Don't answer that— This isn't friendship, this is just me using him to get our job done and after dropping him off, I still very much never want to see him again."

He started the engine and pulled back onto the road with a U-turn to drive back into town. Fetch kept his fun trained on Delaney, just in case, but he wisely didn't try anything, nor did he say anything stupid.

After about ten minutes of awkwardly silent driving, Erick pulled to a stop behind Delaney's car, leaving the engine running.

"Get out." Fetch said, "And get the fuck out of my city. If I didn't live here you would've been dead already, but I don't shit where I eat."

"Going, I'm going..." Delaney said, getting out. Erick rolled his window down as he walked past.

"Hey um...thanks." he said, "For not being a complete sack of shit this time."

"Don't thank him, he'll try to come back for more." Fetch said, reaching past Erick to close his window again, before Delaney got a chance to reply, "I'll ask Tito to give you a cut if you run him over."

"I think he's just lonely." Erick said, electing to not run him over as he reversed first so he could get around him instead.

"Why do you care?" Fetch said, lighting a cigarette.

"...I'm not sure." Erick said, "Maybe it's that stupid Christmas spirit you tried to get me into."

"Okay fine you can burn the costume, but only if you stop being empathetic for that guy." Fetch said.

"I'd even take it as a Christmas gift." Erick said, "The bells are driving me insane."

"...I never give you Christmas gifts." Fetch said, raising a brow.

"There's a first for everything." Erick shrugged.

"No. We're not making it a thing."

"Aww, what happened to your Christmas spirit, Fetch?"

"Keep that up and I'll put glass in your breakfast!"

"Whoa that's a new one—"

"Erick!"

"Sorry, sir..."

Keira is unfortunately a background character. Classic sexy gun-wielding, motorcycle-driving, tattoo and red lipstick-wearing bisexual icon who seduces horrible men and takes them for everything they're worth before showing their wives what pleasure really is and setting her up for life with insurance money from the now-dead husbands.

She makes an appearance in Villain's View twice. First as a client; she hires Fetch to pick up a target so she can dispose of him quickly. Then a second time as she's hired to bring Fetch before his other client.

She makes a more prominent appearance in the YMO AU and maybe she'll make a return in the VV sequel, but I'm not too sure about that yet.

My favourite things about her are her knowledge about engines, how she signs cards and letters with just a print of her lips with fresh lipstick, the butterfly tattoo spanning her throat and collar bones, and how she always seems to hoard all the braincells in a group. She's the voice of reason with a gun so fortunately people tend to listen.

Look forward to her appearance in the story here~