Wild Tiger Chase - Chapter 45: Chapter 45
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Léon would never understand the reasoning behind that decision, but Director Han—the woman sitting at the top of the hierarchy of the First Correctional Penitentiary of New Continent—had decided to give her most well-behaved prisoners a short Halloween leave.
As the heavy gates closed at Léon's back, Director Han winked and waved to the four or five prisoners standing on the street.
"Behave, all of you," she said. "Remember I'll be watching, huh?"
The prisoners shared a nervous laugh. Director Han's power trace was a mystery, but Léon knew for a fact she wasn't joking.
He nodded and fit his hands into his pockets. Two of the others jumped into waiting cars, a third rushed into a taxi, and a fourth sat down on the burning cement of the sidewalk. Léon looked around. There was a lot of nothing as far as he could see, and the sun burned so hot, it made the horizon near the endless road twist and weave as if it was melting.
With a sigh, sunglasses, and no luggage, he started his long walk to New Continent urban area.
Maybe he'd arrive home in time to walk back...
A NAV horn made his shoulders jerk up. A door opened, someone jumped on the road, and as he turned around, Rio jumped in his arms, holding him close. Léon wasn't prepared for it, of course; he tumbled two full steps backward and just barely caught himself before falling.
"Leo!" Rio said. He laughed and sniffed against his shoulder; when he stepped back, his teary eyes seemed even grayer; lighter in worry, exhaustion, or maybe both. Rio grabbed his shoulders and grinned. "Look at you!" He held Léon's chin and turned his face this way and that. "It's so weird to see you in person and not on the other side of a plastiglass. Man. You look so thin," he said in a sad mumble.
"We'll take care of that today, right?" said another voice, a couple of meters away.
... Goddess.
Phillip looked awful! Not in an I'm-feeling-sick-of-life kind of way—although all the bruises made him look pretty banged up—but his clothes. What were those clothes?
A worn-out, bled-baby-blue tuxedo that, even with its sleeves folded up to his elbows, looked a couple of sizes too big, a yellow cravat, and fingerless gloves in the same color. To make matters even worse, when he rounded the NAV, Léon saw awful, Capiroto-sent, white nylon fisher shorts, knee-high socks, and yellow soccer shoes. And... shit. He sported two curled locks falling over each of his ears, and... what was that quiff? It looked like a sand-colored tennis ball glued to his hair!
What the fuck?
"Okay," Léon said with a deadpan voice. He raised both hands as a shield against Phillip's hug attempt. "In the name of Parvati, Kerana, and the dearest Goddess of all oceans, I'm not going any-fucking-where with you dressed like that. I swear it, Phillip. What the actual fuck is this?"
A bird crossed the sky. A child was born in Old Continent. The South American and Caribbean tectonic plates met, starting a mild underwater earthquake...
And finally, Phillip and Rio let out a roll of laughter that only ended when they were both panting, blushed, and supporting each other.
"I... I never heard him... talking like that," Rio told Phillip as he tried to control his breathing.
"Oh, Partner, neither did I." Phillip placed a hand on his hip, collected a tear in the corner of his eye, and—now able to stand on his own two legs—used his free one to bring Rio closer. "So that's the secret of making him swear, huh?" Phillip kissed Rio's temple. "We should've recorded it."
"And played it at next year's New Year party," Rio said.
"And reminded him forever of the day he forsook me," Phillip added.
"All because of a Halloween costume," they said in unison, sharing another bark of laughter.
Léon's cheeks warmed up, and so did the muscle inside his chest. He shook his head. They looked cute together, yeah, but that wasn't the issue here.
"Halloween costume?" Léon echoed. "How is this a Halloween costume? I mean—yeah, it'll give me fashion nightmares, but I don't think that was your goal."
Rio let out a new peel of laughter, but Phillip tensed at his side.
"You're... serious," he said, not sure if in an affirmation or a question.
"Yeah," Léon answered, pretty much in the same way.
With a chuckle, Rio motioned him closer, opening the Maybach's door for him. "Let's go, Leo; we don't have much time before the party starts, and we still need to find a costume for you."
"For me?"
"We're having a Halloween dinner party with a few friends, and you're coming, Partner," Phillip said.
Léon hopped in and frowned even more as Rio closed his door with a bang. The back seats of Phillip's NAV were softer than he remembered, there was a small crack on the windshield, and his window made a weird whirring sound when he tried to open it. It still smelled like new—Phillip probably still washed it at least once a week—but even if Phillip took good care of his Maybach, it was still a machine, and no machine stays new forever.
It was weird that only now, looking at Phillip's old NAV, Léon noticed how much time had passed. He should've noticed sooner, though. He wasn't the only one who had aged—Rio and Phillip did, too.
"Who are you, by the way?" Léon asked as Phillip and Rio entered the NAV. He perched on his seat and fastened his seatbelt. "The costume, I mean."
"Giacomo Dupon Effer from 'I, Were-vampire-wolf Death Machine 9000,' part three." In one breath, Phillip completed, "You know, the movie where Effer and Tulip go to that haunted Halloween Island and they have to share their Life Force so Effer can properly help Azziz and Lucca fight the Midnight Croak clan to stop his half-ghost, half-vampire-witch ex-boyfriend from running away with the man who will, in part four—"
"Okay, okay. You know what? Forget I asked. You're giving way too many spoilers, Phillip. Goddess." Léon thought for a while, biting the side of his thumb. "Just... how does Tulip end up with Effer, though? Effer is nothing but a bastard."
"I thought I had said this already?" Rio rested a hand on Phillip's cheek. "Even a bastard can have their redemption if they want to. They just have to want it and work really hard for it." He patted his cheek, then pinched it. "And to have professional assistance from a therapist, of course."
"That's exactly what I told you yesterday," Phillip mumbled.
"Funny. I thought I'd been telling you this since the day we met." Rio pinched harder, making Phillip grimace.
He brushed Rio's hand aside and smiled. "Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Needles." Phillip raised his key stick to the ignition but stopped. His eyes widened and moved to the rearview mirror to meet Léon's stare. "So, uh. Halloween dinner party! L... let's go."
Phillip zeroed in on the road and started his NAV. For a moment, one that felt longer and more uncomfortable than it should, Rio stared at him, frozen in place. Finally, he slid his hand down and placed it on his own thigh, the fingers in one hand tightening around the fingers of the other. Something crossed his eyes; sadness or guilt, Léon would never be sure.
This was the first time, in his entire life, that Léon had heard Phillip say the word love without any hint of irony. Even when they dated, so long ago, Phillip had never said it. Rio didn't answer, though. He didn't acknowledge Phillip's feelings...
Or maybe he was just too busy dealing with his own.
Léon let out a sigh and willed his shoulders to relax. There was a charged tension in the NAV, and it became worse after each glance that Phillip stole from Rio.
Say something, Léon.
"Here's something I don't understand. Why a Halloween dinner party?" Léon looked from Rio to Phillip as their expressions softened and focused on him.
"There's not much to it. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and Rio likes it too. It's a no-brainer," Phillip answered with a wink. "Besides, we need to have real food, not chips and alcohol—and thus, dinner." He sighed and sped up. His right hand left the steering wheel and rested on Rio's thigh. "Right, Rio?"
Whatever that awkwardness from earlier was, it was gone now.
"Oh. Right. Phil's been buying decorations for Halloween for almost a month, Leo. We have those jelly vampire fangs, edible fake blood, chocolate spiders, sugar webs, the whole thing. It's like... you have normal Phillip until September 30th, and shopaholic, Cursed Vampire Primogen Phillip on October 1st." Rio laughed. "By the way, I'm impressed you're not Count Dracula again this year."
Phillip shrugged. "Just wanted to do something different." Despite the smile he was trying hard to conceal, the tips of his ears were starting to redden.
"Huh? Well, I'm curious about what our Effer will cook for dinner tonight." Rio stretched, making his arms pop. He winced. "You bought so many sweets; I don't know if we'll have space for the main course."
"The sweets are for the kids, Partner." Phillip adjusted a rebel lock of hair that kept falling from his quiff. "But don't worry, I'd never leave you in the lurch. Not you. Not ever." He gave him a sheepish smile and a wink. "You know how the lyrics go, Rio. I'll take care of dinner—and of you and me."
Léon smiled and looked away. The way Rio and Phillip held each other's gazes felt so intimate and so warm, he didn't want to intrude. He wondered if he and Rob looked like that when they were together.
With a grin, Rio took Phillip's hand and pressed a gentle kiss on it. Rio peeked over his shoulder to say, "Yeah. He's obsessed with Halloween and now he's is trying to distract me with cheesy lines, Leo. It's adorable."
"I...! Shut up. I'm not obsessed. It's a... healthy... adoration." Cheeks blushed and eyebrows furrowed, Phillip slipped his hand from Rio's and placed them both on the steering wheel. "Tsk. Sometimes you talk too much, Gregorio."
"Yeah," Rio answered in a low voice. He smiled and brushed a lock of Phillip's hair behind his ear. "I guess we have that in common."
As the heavy gates closed at Léon's back, Director Han winked and waved to the four or five prisoners standing on the street.
"Behave, all of you," she said. "Remember I'll be watching, huh?"
The prisoners shared a nervous laugh. Director Han's power trace was a mystery, but Léon knew for a fact she wasn't joking.
He nodded and fit his hands into his pockets. Two of the others jumped into waiting cars, a third rushed into a taxi, and a fourth sat down on the burning cement of the sidewalk. Léon looked around. There was a lot of nothing as far as he could see, and the sun burned so hot, it made the horizon near the endless road twist and weave as if it was melting.
With a sigh, sunglasses, and no luggage, he started his long walk to New Continent urban area.
Maybe he'd arrive home in time to walk back...
A NAV horn made his shoulders jerk up. A door opened, someone jumped on the road, and as he turned around, Rio jumped in his arms, holding him close. Léon wasn't prepared for it, of course; he tumbled two full steps backward and just barely caught himself before falling.
"Leo!" Rio said. He laughed and sniffed against his shoulder; when he stepped back, his teary eyes seemed even grayer; lighter in worry, exhaustion, or maybe both. Rio grabbed his shoulders and grinned. "Look at you!" He held Léon's chin and turned his face this way and that. "It's so weird to see you in person and not on the other side of a plastiglass. Man. You look so thin," he said in a sad mumble.
"We'll take care of that today, right?" said another voice, a couple of meters away.
... Goddess.
Phillip looked awful! Not in an I'm-feeling-sick-of-life kind of way—although all the bruises made him look pretty banged up—but his clothes. What were those clothes?
A worn-out, bled-baby-blue tuxedo that, even with its sleeves folded up to his elbows, looked a couple of sizes too big, a yellow cravat, and fingerless gloves in the same color. To make matters even worse, when he rounded the NAV, Léon saw awful, Capiroto-sent, white nylon fisher shorts, knee-high socks, and yellow soccer shoes. And... shit. He sported two curled locks falling over each of his ears, and... what was that quiff? It looked like a sand-colored tennis ball glued to his hair!
What the fuck?
"Okay," Léon said with a deadpan voice. He raised both hands as a shield against Phillip's hug attempt. "In the name of Parvati, Kerana, and the dearest Goddess of all oceans, I'm not going any-fucking-where with you dressed like that. I swear it, Phillip. What the actual fuck is this?"
A bird crossed the sky. A child was born in Old Continent. The South American and Caribbean tectonic plates met, starting a mild underwater earthquake...
And finally, Phillip and Rio let out a roll of laughter that only ended when they were both panting, blushed, and supporting each other.
"I... I never heard him... talking like that," Rio told Phillip as he tried to control his breathing.
"Oh, Partner, neither did I." Phillip placed a hand on his hip, collected a tear in the corner of his eye, and—now able to stand on his own two legs—used his free one to bring Rio closer. "So that's the secret of making him swear, huh?" Phillip kissed Rio's temple. "We should've recorded it."
"And played it at next year's New Year party," Rio said.
"And reminded him forever of the day he forsook me," Phillip added.
"All because of a Halloween costume," they said in unison, sharing another bark of laughter.
Léon's cheeks warmed up, and so did the muscle inside his chest. He shook his head. They looked cute together, yeah, but that wasn't the issue here.
"Halloween costume?" Léon echoed. "How is this a Halloween costume? I mean—yeah, it'll give me fashion nightmares, but I don't think that was your goal."
Rio let out a new peel of laughter, but Phillip tensed at his side.
"You're... serious," he said, not sure if in an affirmation or a question.
"Yeah," Léon answered, pretty much in the same way.
With a chuckle, Rio motioned him closer, opening the Maybach's door for him. "Let's go, Leo; we don't have much time before the party starts, and we still need to find a costume for you."
"For me?"
"We're having a Halloween dinner party with a few friends, and you're coming, Partner," Phillip said.
Léon hopped in and frowned even more as Rio closed his door with a bang. The back seats of Phillip's NAV were softer than he remembered, there was a small crack on the windshield, and his window made a weird whirring sound when he tried to open it. It still smelled like new—Phillip probably still washed it at least once a week—but even if Phillip took good care of his Maybach, it was still a machine, and no machine stays new forever.
It was weird that only now, looking at Phillip's old NAV, Léon noticed how much time had passed. He should've noticed sooner, though. He wasn't the only one who had aged—Rio and Phillip did, too.
"Who are you, by the way?" Léon asked as Phillip and Rio entered the NAV. He perched on his seat and fastened his seatbelt. "The costume, I mean."
"Giacomo Dupon Effer from 'I, Were-vampire-wolf Death Machine 9000,' part three." In one breath, Phillip completed, "You know, the movie where Effer and Tulip go to that haunted Halloween Island and they have to share their Life Force so Effer can properly help Azziz and Lucca fight the Midnight Croak clan to stop his half-ghost, half-vampire-witch ex-boyfriend from running away with the man who will, in part four—"
"Okay, okay. You know what? Forget I asked. You're giving way too many spoilers, Phillip. Goddess." Léon thought for a while, biting the side of his thumb. "Just... how does Tulip end up with Effer, though? Effer is nothing but a bastard."
"I thought I had said this already?" Rio rested a hand on Phillip's cheek. "Even a bastard can have their redemption if they want to. They just have to want it and work really hard for it." He patted his cheek, then pinched it. "And to have professional assistance from a therapist, of course."
"That's exactly what I told you yesterday," Phillip mumbled.
"Funny. I thought I'd been telling you this since the day we met." Rio pinched harder, making Phillip grimace.
He brushed Rio's hand aside and smiled. "Yeah, yeah. Love you too, Needles." Phillip raised his key stick to the ignition but stopped. His eyes widened and moved to the rearview mirror to meet Léon's stare. "So, uh. Halloween dinner party! L... let's go."
Phillip zeroed in on the road and started his NAV. For a moment, one that felt longer and more uncomfortable than it should, Rio stared at him, frozen in place. Finally, he slid his hand down and placed it on his own thigh, the fingers in one hand tightening around the fingers of the other. Something crossed his eyes; sadness or guilt, Léon would never be sure.
This was the first time, in his entire life, that Léon had heard Phillip say the word love without any hint of irony. Even when they dated, so long ago, Phillip had never said it. Rio didn't answer, though. He didn't acknowledge Phillip's feelings...
Or maybe he was just too busy dealing with his own.
Léon let out a sigh and willed his shoulders to relax. There was a charged tension in the NAV, and it became worse after each glance that Phillip stole from Rio.
Say something, Léon.
"Here's something I don't understand. Why a Halloween dinner party?" Léon looked from Rio to Phillip as their expressions softened and focused on him.
"There's not much to it. Halloween is my favorite holiday, and Rio likes it too. It's a no-brainer," Phillip answered with a wink. "Besides, we need to have real food, not chips and alcohol—and thus, dinner." He sighed and sped up. His right hand left the steering wheel and rested on Rio's thigh. "Right, Rio?"
Whatever that awkwardness from earlier was, it was gone now.
"Oh. Right. Phil's been buying decorations for Halloween for almost a month, Leo. We have those jelly vampire fangs, edible fake blood, chocolate spiders, sugar webs, the whole thing. It's like... you have normal Phillip until September 30th, and shopaholic, Cursed Vampire Primogen Phillip on October 1st." Rio laughed. "By the way, I'm impressed you're not Count Dracula again this year."
Phillip shrugged. "Just wanted to do something different." Despite the smile he was trying hard to conceal, the tips of his ears were starting to redden.
"Huh? Well, I'm curious about what our Effer will cook for dinner tonight." Rio stretched, making his arms pop. He winced. "You bought so many sweets; I don't know if we'll have space for the main course."
"The sweets are for the kids, Partner." Phillip adjusted a rebel lock of hair that kept falling from his quiff. "But don't worry, I'd never leave you in the lurch. Not you. Not ever." He gave him a sheepish smile and a wink. "You know how the lyrics go, Rio. I'll take care of dinner—and of you and me."
Léon smiled and looked away. The way Rio and Phillip held each other's gazes felt so intimate and so warm, he didn't want to intrude. He wondered if he and Rob looked like that when they were together.
With a grin, Rio took Phillip's hand and pressed a gentle kiss on it. Rio peeked over his shoulder to say, "Yeah. He's obsessed with Halloween and now he's is trying to distract me with cheesy lines, Leo. It's adorable."
"I...! Shut up. I'm not obsessed. It's a... healthy... adoration." Cheeks blushed and eyebrows furrowed, Phillip slipped his hand from Rio's and placed them both on the steering wheel. "Tsk. Sometimes you talk too much, Gregorio."
"Yeah," Rio answered in a low voice. He smiled and brushed a lock of Phillip's hair behind his ear. "I guess we have that in common."
End of Wild Tiger Chase Chapter 45. Continue reading Chapter 46 or return to Wild Tiger Chase book page.