THE SHADIDS ARE ALWAYS HUNTERS

“I’m sorry.” He repeated again, shaking his head. Obviously, this was his fault. He’d gotten himself into trouble, and now he was bothering Alex with it for no reason.

“I’m just-I’m gonna go. You don’t have to worry about what happened. I’m over it.” So he said with tears in his eyes.

“Look at me, kid.” Voice dropped low, as gentle as it every got. “You’re gonna be okay. I won’t let anyone else hurt you.”

Callused hands framed Mikey’s face. “You’ve known me your whole life. Have I ever not worried when someone was in danger?” Because try as he might to remain detached, Alex just wanted to keep people s a f e.

“Ow, Alex!” Mikey protested, struggling against the grip on him. “You’re hurting me!”

He was bombarded with questions, shaking his head loosely. “I don’t know their names. I went to some bar or brewery or something for a tour with this person from work, and I ran into them. I could pick them out of a crowd, but I don’t know…”

He made a pained sound as the grip on his shoulders tightened, face screwing up, wounds from his attack still trying to heal. “I’ll be quiet! I promise!”

He didn’t even notice that he was holding Mikey too tight, just hypocritically focused on the fact that someone had hurt him.

“You...you’re a kid! Why did you go to a brewery? Are they friends of your friend? Maybe we could ask them—”

“Just because it’s true, doesn’t mean it’ll work every time.” He turned around further, elbows resting behind him on the bar top, facing the crowd instead of “Alex” now. Two could play the disinterest game, but Jasper probably wouldn’t hold out for much longer. Games were tiring and trivial. “Alex it is.”

“You goin’ to school to become a rocket scientist, or did you not need to be one to figure out that I’m more than worth your while?”

He cast his gaze back over at the man briefly, though posture suggested Alex could lose his interest if he wasn’t careful.

“I’m figuring it out just fine.” Alex waved over the bartender, spinning in his seat slightly to face Alfie. “All right, you win a drink at least. What do you want?”

ALEX ;;

“That was smooth, even if I have heard it before.” Jasper smiled around the rim of his drink. “Do you have a name, Mr. My Cheekbones Could Cut Glass?” He turned in the bar stool, legs crossed and head tilted to the side.

“You do if you’re the top. But me, little baby bottom? I buy drinks for no man.” He glanced down at the drink a moment, humming in thought.

“All you had to do was say no. I’m confused but not offended by disinterest.” He turned, scanning the bar for someone else who would take pity on him if he smiled pretty enough.

Alex finally let himself smirk. This kid knew what he was doing. But did that mean Alex was going to give in easily? Absolutely not.

Jasper usually didn’t frequent dive bars, but he was bored and had nothing to do tonight so there he was, nodding to the man next to him in response. “Are you doing alright there, honey?”

“Could I trouble you to get me a drink?” Alfie murmured, tipping his head to the side as hefinally caught Alex’s eye. A smile crossed his face, past charming and into downright enticing.

The bartender knew he wasn’t 21. There was no way he’d be able to use his fake ID.

“I’ll pay you back, if that’s an issue.”

Alex raised his eyebrows and looked over the boy next to him. Curly hair, a small frame, tempting smile. Then he looked back at the glass in his hand.

“The next time I get assaulted by guys who are probably demons. Got it.” He snapped, wanting Alex to get how badly Mikey had needed his presence, his guidance.

Although Alex wasn’t any better at hunting than he was, at least in the eyes of other hunters, Mikey trusted the other’s judgement better than his own.

Looking to one side, Mikey felt the need to apologize already bubbling up within him, unable to be tamed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to… I shouldn’t have said anything. Nevermind.”

The words took a moment to sink in but when they did, they hit hard. Alex swore, gripping Mikey’s shoulders as both panic and purpose rushed through his veins. 

“Demons? Do you know their names? Remember anything about them?” His mind was already planning what he’d need to defeat two demons on his own. He didn’t even think that maybe death wasn’t the right response. 

“But I don’t…” Mikey trailed off, frowning.

He didn’t own a car. He rode a bike or walked wherever he had to go. His frown deepened as Alex ignored his questions, shrinking in on himself and petting Barrel’s fur.

“I guess it’s not important.”

It was important. It was terribly important. He’d tried to reach Alex for a day straight, had done everything short of walking to the garage and flagging the other down.

“Don’t worry about it!” He smiled, pushing himself to his feet, scooping up the leashes of all three dogs as he did so. “C’mon, guys. Time to go. Alex has better stuff to do than play silly games with us.”

Although he brushed off Mikey’s concern, he couldn’t help but notice the way the young boy curled in on himself, looking more like the kid Alex remembered from so many years ago. Whatever it was had been important.

“You’re like Oscar the Grouch, what are you talking about? You’ve got like, frown lines permanently etched onto your face! It’s because you don’t come and hang out with me enough.”

He nodded, as though this made perfect sense. “Barrel, tell Alex he needs to stop being a grumpy old man.” The dog, of course, did nothing but fall onto his side, allowing Mikey to rub his belly.

“But really, though. I needed your help a couple days ago, and all my calls kept going to voicemail. Are you ignoring me? Do you hate me?”

“F--k off,” Alex grumbled, letting one of the dogs lick all over his face to hide his ‘frown lines’ from Mikey. “I’m not listening to anything you or your dogs have to say.”

When Mikey started asking questions, he was even more grateful for the dog to hide behind. Truth was, he had been ignoring his old friend. As the ten-year anniversary of his father’s death grew even closer (now less than a month away), Alex wanted less and less to do with anything hunter. Even someone so bad at hunting.