Sigefrid x Serena: 'Let me stay the night.'

Sigefrid had been near dead from the late night he'd had dealing with shit for the club as well as his ex who'd decided to stop in and stir up old shit a second time. Honestly, he couldn't stand how she seemed to only come around when she needed something or felt like giving him an ear full but at the same time at least he could break down on her and no one else would know or see so that had been fleetingly nice before she'd again left. Following her leaving he'd taken some of what Serena had given him as well as drank a rather good amount. Then of course ended up back at his house that was about thirty minutes out into the country with her on his hip as he stumbled into the large two-story home.

What happened after that can probably be imagined and eventually, he'd ended up rolling over after on his bed and simply drifting off into a very deep sleep. So deep that once the female had gotten up and gotten dressed, he hadn't heard a damn thing. Not when she'd tripped on the staircase up from the basement where his room was. Nor when she'd bumped a bottle from the table and shattered it on her way through the kitchen and certainly not when she'd finally made it out of the back door and climbed into some guy’s truck to leave the nearly ten-acre property.

Finally however he began to wake up to rather throbbing pain in his hand. Lack thereof more like it but the ghost pain had to actually be the worst and as he finally opened his eyes, face slightly nuzzled into his pillow he sort of squinted at the red light coming from the alarm clock on the nightstand lost in thought for a moment. He didn't want to move, especially seeing as not only did he heard but he had that feeling of death already with how much he'd drank. Hunger, dehydration, and withdrawals. Not a nice way to wake up that was for sure.

Slowly rolling over he finally noticed Candace was gone and sort of snorted. Not shocking. She was always heading off while he slept. Hopefully this time she'd left his damn wallet alone seeing as he couldn't afford much at the moment. Pushing from the bed to slowly sit it took a moment to try and convince himself to go any further but eventually his hand moved to flip the light on beside the nightstand. Still a bit blinded as his eyes adjusted to the light, he moved to open the drawer where he'd left the bottle Serena had left. Feeling for it for a moment however he frowned.

That was where he put it right? Moving over to open it more he was soon rummaging around a bit panicked and after a few moments had only managed to cut his finger on an undiscarded needle and find at least twelve bucks in change. Cool! He could wash the fucking pickup! Letting out a growl in frustration he finally got up to head for the bathroom still figuring he probably had a decent amount of the shitty stuff left.

That however didn't last long and after about thirty minutes of digging through his jeans and even checking outside in his bikes saddlebags as the trucks glove compartment he had found ONE fucking hydro. That shit was such trash to only have ONE!

Now leaning on the counter in the kitchen he was pulling his contacts up. The sound of the coffee running about the only sound within the darkened house as he debated whether to call Vaugn and see if he could do anything at this hour. Wait maybe Dagfinn had something! It was then that he spotted the small piece of paper sitting on the counter not far away. Or…

Slowly reaching to pick it up he stared for a moment at the number. An inward argument was going in within his own head as he stared at it. On one hand she was probably bad news, and he DIDN'T need her getting the wrong ideas. However on the other hand. She did work at night she said? Maybe she'd be getting off soon? Unlike most of his friends and colleagues who were asleep. Chewing his lower lip he finally caved and sort of shook his head at himself even as he pulled his messages up and sent her a text.

[Hey. It's Sigefrid]

Hitting send he set the phone back down in the counter and moved over to grab the coffee. Only stopping briefly to pull a cigarette out and light it up before he continued fixing the coffee and finally turned, setting the coffee down long enough to slip the phone into the pocket if his gym short he then made his way back for the living room and soon crashed down in the sofa and reached to turn the TV on sinking down on the cushion and damn near hugging the couch pillow to his chest to fight and ignore the throbbing that was getting a bit worse now that he was mostly awake.

 

Serena had been keeping herself as busy as possible with clients— the nighttime kind— to dull the constant ache in her heart. Trent's friends treated her like she was acting spoiled over nothing, and she hated it, especially from Rebecca and George, who damn well knew what it was like to pine after someone and do every damn thing they could think of to get that someone's attention.

'But you have Xander' — not for a month, she didn't

'and Trent' — yeah, and Rebecca couldn't keep from rubbing Serena's nose in the fact that she was ✨magnanimously✨ allowing Trent to date Serena

'and Lucifer. Why do you keep chasing new people?' She didn't have a rebuttal for that. She was fully aware her husband spoiled her, less aware of his feelings toward her, though their friend group seemed adamant that Lucifer was, in fact, madly in love with her. So why did she still chase the likes of Coco and Sigefrid?

Maybe it's because it was what she was used to, that constant ache in her chest. She had loved Trent since the day they had met. He had been seven and she had been eight. They were 32 and 33 now, though he still looked twenty-something and she looked barely legal. She thought all she wanted was to be loved, but then when someone did love her, she couldn't accept it. She felt betrayed easily, at the snap of a finger, almost, like when Xander had been legitimately unavailable. He had claimed he'd missed her every day and that she always had his attention, yet she had been unable to bury her sorrow, and he had been unable to feed on her while she was upset, so she had assumed he didn't want to.

Then there was Trent, her oldest and dearest friend, who had sided with boring, whiny, ZOMGTRAUMATIZED manlet George over her when she had needled him about allegedly getting pegged by some chick way back when. Trent had been complicit in exiling her to their hometown in Iowa until she'd caved and apologized to George.

Lucifer had technically never betrayed her; they had an open marriage, so sleeping with Nathaniel wasn't a big deal, but the fact that Nathaniel had slept with him did irritate her, moreso because Nathaniel kept throwing it in her face that, instead of servicing her husband, she had been slipping into bed with one of her legal clients— that is to say, one of Sebastian's clients for whom he was a defense attorney— who was currently on the hook for raping and murdering a prostitute. Which Serena knew him to be very much guilty of, considering he had tried to do exactly that to her, only she'd survived it and snuck in through his window for more.

Deep down, she knew she was a horrible person. She wouldn't acknowledge it in front of Trent's friends because they kept holding it over her, her misdeeds, like they were all just pure as the driven fucking snow, goddamn hypocrites, the lot of them! She felt she deserved punishment in some way, so she leaned into and even enjoyed the torture… not that she was consciously aware that that was what she was doing. It simply was.

So she was finishing up with a client when her phone pinged. As she let out a soft sigh and straightened her skirt, the guy caressed her cheek.

"Same time tomorrow?" he asked rhetorically; he'd already paid Lucifer up front and had her under contract for one hour every night this week.

"I'll see you then," she said, smiling at him, acting as if she cared. The second he left, the smile dropped, and she checked her phone. She had given Sigefrid the number for her Pinger app, the free secondary phone number that separated Sebastian from Serena. She was delighted to see that he had texted her so soon.

[Hi! How are you? Medicine working out ok?] she texted back, resisting the urge to call him sweetie or any of the other endearments that crossed her mind whenever he did. She hugged her phone to her chest, smiling happily, then put it aside to clean up.

 

Feeling his phone go off within his pocket Sigefrid shifted his hips a bit and fished it out. Soon holding it up he eyed it for a moment chewing his lower lip in thought as he again felt that terrible debate creep into the back of his mind. Head falling back against the sofa his eyes moved to the tv for a moment sort of simply staring at the idiot currently tire spinning a semi on ice that was on the screen. "Fucking noob" he muttered as he for a moment got lost in a trance at the tv. Shit! Another pain shot threw his arm and for his elbow and he grimaced a bit. Well, ok he didn't have much to debate anymore.

Picking the phone back up and clicking it to unlock it he soon moved to send her another message.

[Yeah, about that. I sort of lost it. 😒 ]

 

Reading the text, a disbelieving laugh escaped Serena. That soon? Well, this wasn't something she felt comfortable discussing further over text. She called him immediately.

"Hi. Let's touch base in person. Where can we meet?"

 

Sigefrid honestly wasn't all to shocked when his phone rung only a moment later. Letting out a sigh he moved to turn the tv down a bit and picked it up simply putting her on speaker for the time being. "Hi…" He started before trailing off a bit in thought. No that was a terrible IDEA. He immediately wanted to smack himself for even thinking about how lazy he wanted to be currently. However after a moment’s pause and chewing his lower lip he finally made up his mind. "Might take me an hour but I can meet you at my shop on the edge of town" He finally spoke letting out a bit of a breath. Yeah, that was fine. Dwarf and Sarka would try and eat her if she showed up unwanted …. If their master didn't.

 

Well, that wasn't very helpful. Serena couldn't very well map directions to a place without a name.

"What's it called?" she asked. "And, um." This next question would be a bit awkward, but hopefully he would catch her meaning. "How should I dress?"

 

"Thurgilson Inc. Big ass diesel shop and Semi lot. Not hard to miss. I can send you the address though" Sigefrid replied as he moved to finally push off the sofa and start back for the stairs down to his bedroom again. He had to at least try to get his damn hand on without Erik's help and grab the keys to his bike if he could even find them.

"However you want?… I mean the only other fuck there are this hour is that creepy old man I was with at the bar awhile back. And he couldn't give a single fuck if you showed up buck nude trust me …." He added but then immediately second thought his response and rolled his eyes. "That wasn't an invitation to…" He added slightly snickering.

 

"It's best if you don't text me your location right after we were discussing the whereabouts of your medicine," Serena said slowly. "I'll find it. I do have half a brain cell left," she teased.

At his other response, she laughed. She had intended to ask if he would be more comfortable meeting her in drag, as they'd been meeting thus far, or as Sebastian. But she didn't want to give him too hard a time right now, especially since he sounded tired and hungover. "I'll see you soon," she said, and ended the call. She gave a happy little squeal and hopped into the shower, calling Luci for help getting her extensions cleaned and secured. She washed herself with jasmine soap that had real petals for the authentic scent, and her hair was prepared with lavender shampoo and conditioner. She didn't strictly need perfume, but one soft spray of her favorite, Sanderling, couldn't hurt. She spritzed it once into the room and walked through it so the scent wouldn't be overpowering. She had been taught that perfume should be a reward for getting close, not a punishment for being in the same room.

She decided to wear something reasonably nice, something that didn't scream, 'I'm a sex worker at an LA nightclub!', and something that was unlikely to make Sigefrid think she was just trying to hook up with him again, which… would be nice, certainly, but strangely enough, she had managed to catch feelings for the grumpy man.

Tucking her phone and another bottle of the pills she had given him before into a small white leather purse, she kissed Lucifer's cheek, opened her navigation, and set off in her Ford F150 to the appointed meeting place. She would rather have driven her Jag, but …a diesel shop and semi lot? The truck was a safer bet.

[[dress pic goes here]]

 

"Well that was easy" Sigefrid muttered moving to finally click his phone shut before his eyes moved to the top of the dresser. Now to get on this lug that really only worked for looks and to hide shit. Like weapons or drugs. Actually that part was nice though eventually he needed to actually out some money towards one with real functionality. After a bit of a struggle he managed to get it in however as well as his T-shirt at least. Honest to the damn gods he had half a mind to call Erik and whine by the time he was done but he knew what the younger male’s response would be. 'Maybe if you didn't run off or fuck the help!'

He ended up rolling his eyes just at the thought before finally digging out his black hoodie and getting it on as well. Then came the part that nearly made him want to actually scream when he realized. Either A. He could leave the house without shoes. B. Not tie them and look like an idiot! Or C. Boots and fucking shorts! Well either that or completely change and by this point he was FAR too lazy for that shit.

Grabbing his one pair of worn cowboy boots from the closet he finally managed to finish and just like he thought he might. He'd killed nearly forty minutes JUST doing that much. Pulling his hood up and finally grabbing his keys he finally moved out the front door and pulled it closed behind him.

Soon climbing onto the bike he moved to first strap one hand with the leather to the left handle and then turned the key. Only then finally kicking the stand up and pulling off down the long dirt drive for the road. Honestly it had taken some getting used to, it was VERY illegal and still dangerous but if he didn't? Well a president would get voted out fast if he couldn't ride a bike and for a time he had been. Luckily only replaced by his brother but he knew Skorpa and Bloodhair were practically itching to take his position when it came to the M.C. shit.

Maybe they'd get their fucking chance eventually if he ate absolute shit one of these days. Wouldn't be a first! This actually brought a bit of a smirk to his face as he tore down the highway as nearly sixty-five finally. Wind whipping in every direction.

Well he was late by a few minutes but finally pulling up in the front part of the lot his eyes scanned the large building to the left as he rolled in then slowing, he eyed the white semi that he knew was Skorpa's. No lights were on, and he hadn't heard the damn dogs so maybe he'd thrown them in the kennels? Slowly rolling just past the line of parked semis to the side of the shop he finally stopped and parked directly outside of a second building. Smaller than the Diesel shop though it still sort of resembled a garage from the outside. Save for the M.Cs GIANT logo painted on the outside of course.

Moving to turn the bike off and unstrap his other hand he soon shoved them both into his pocket before pulling out his pack of cigarettes and pulling one out with his teeth and seconds later he moved to spark it up. Hopefully she showed or he'd probably just end up asking Skorpa to knock him out for the day. Not something he felt like doing but he was fairly exhausted, so it wasn't out of the realm of possibilities.

 

Serena arrived just moments after he did. She had taken surface streets to get here and obeyed every traffic law to a fault. Obey the small laws so you can break the big ones, was one of her mantras. On the drive, she thought of Sigefrid's voice, how sexy she thought he sounded over the phone, how good it felt to be called upon, to be needed. She was sure he had other dealers he could call, but he had called her, and she was, for the first time since they'd met, full of joy and hope!

She wasn't an idiot, though, and she had strapped her switchblade to her dance belt before she left, just in case she needed to show someone she meant business.

She parked about a block away from the destination and chose to walk the rest, in her silver slingback heels, which… well, at least she was a size 8, so it's not like she couldn't replace them, but choosing these particular shoes maybe hadn't been her smartest moment.

As her heels clicked on the pavement, she took in her surroundings, her eyes capable enough in the darkness, but looking for something to latch onto. She trusted that, if Sigefrid was here, he would hear her shoes, at least….

 

Oh he heard them. Squinting a bit from where he sat sideways on the bike currently, he finally saw the figure drifting into the streetlight just at the edge of the property by the road. Waiting for a moment until she was a bit closer to the Semi's be finally let out a whistle to get her attention from where he was. Damn, moments like this he sometimes forgot it was actually a guy under all of that. Not that it honestly mattered but still. He actually had to make himself look away to keep from seeming too obvious once she'd started his way.

Plus he wasn't going there! Another thing he had to remind himself. She'd crossed SO many lines he just honestly had wanted to forget she existed until she'd suddenly went and whipped the drugs out for him. He was still partially blaming Bloodhair for that one! Fucking shit fuck of a Sgt at arms!

 

At the sound of the whistle, Serena's ears perked up, though she continued walking at the same speed. Businesslike, but sedate. She didn't want to scare Sigefrid off further by running across the lot and wrapping her arms around him, and it took every ounce of her limited self-restraint to keep from doing just that. She did notice, in the low light, that he seemed to be actively avoiding looking at her well-dressed, made-up self, and the thought made her chuckle inwardly. She casually ran a hand between her hair and her neck, fluffing out her long curls, making them spill over her shoulders more visibly, without breaking her steady pace, shoulders back, head high, with a confidence that belied the fluttering in her stomach.

As she approached him, she offered a gentle smile. "Would you like to tell me how you managed to misplace the first dose?" she asked without preamble.

 

Dark hues lifting from where he'd sort of been staring at the ground, he looked even more dull than usual given the fact he'd just had to drive all the way to the club house at this hour, hungover and tired just for this. That and he had considered the entire thing a few times over and finally came to the conclusion Candace HAD to have run off with them. Stupid bitch! However when Serena asked, he merely shrugged a bit. "No idea… Must have fallen out of my pocket or something" He replied before taking one last drag of the cigarette and flicking it to the ground next to his boot, soon crushing it into the sand. "If you want, I can pay you …." He added still honestly wondering about that part. She hadn't asked for shit the last time, so he was a bit confused.

 

Serena didn't believe for a second that he had let a bottle of drugs just fall out of his pocket, but she didn't press the issue. It wasn't a problem for her to just acquire more opiates to give to him, and besides, what if the reason the first batch had gone missing was because he had been with someone else? She didn't want to think about that.

At his offer to pay her, she beamed and bounced a little on her feet, her heels clicking as they touched the ground. "I would like that very much," she said. "But… I don't require money. I have enough of that" — so to speak; she was married to a successful nightclub owner who also happened to be the Devil, and her daytime self was a successful corporate and defense attorney, and she had a joint checking account with Trent, who was himself the owner of a computer programming firm, and both she and Trent owned stock in Trent's family farm — "so… perhaps there's something else I can ask of you?"

She was pushing her luck, and she knew it, but she couldn't help herself. Her eerily bright teal eyes searched his face for a reaction.

 

For a moment his brow furrowed once he heard she didn't want money. Shit! Then what could she possibly want!? He was already a bit nervous looking as she added in the last bit and immediately his eyes sort of rolled. "Oh yeah? Well let's hear it. And you seriously better not just be wasting my fucking time" He sort of growled at her looking a slight bit irritated. Who could blame him though with all of the shit she'd pulled!? He wasn't about to be shocked if she pulled out something like 'Let me touch your dick!' or 'Fuck me!' Literally that had to be one of the oldest tricks in the book though usually it wasn't someone like him people were using it on.

 

Serena rested her head on his shoulder gently and took his hand, twining her fingers between his, and looked down at their hands. "Let me spend the night with you," she said. "Not— we don't have to— um—" Surprised at her own nervousness, she was actually fumbling her words! She cleared her throat and tried again. "Listen, the pills are good. They'll ease whatever it is you're feeling. I didn't charge you the first time, and I could have used it as an opportunity to coerce you into finishing what we started earlier. But… I don't… I just want to spend some time with you. Can we?" She peeked at him hopefully.

 

Hearing and watching her response left a rather confused looking expression on his face. Watching as she moved closer to take his hand, he bit the inside in his lip and let his eyes drift away for a moment in thought. Simply staring back at the gravel and leaving his hand simply lax with within her grasp for a moment before he finally nodded. "Yeah ok…. That's fine I guess" He muttered I'm response finally before taking in a bit of a breath to swallow the amount of nerves he suddenly had wanting to absolutely choke him. Spend time with him? The idea still threw him for a loop but what the hell ever floated her boat he supposed. "Hope you're cool with the club house though … I'm not driving back home tonight" He added bluntly. Not that he didn't want to but honestly fuck that. He'd just deal with one of the spare bedrooms they had hear and make sure to lock the door.

 

That he let her continue to hold his hand surprised her more than his acceptance of her fee. Her smile was radiant as she restrained herself from throwing her arms around him and squealing in his ear. She opted instead to just continue holding his hand, her head still resting on his shoulder, allowing him to take the lead.

"I understand if you don't want me to know how to get to where you live," she said. "Otherwise, I'd offer to drive you home and… I don't know, take care of you? You sounded like you were in pretty rough shape over the phone, and you look…." She took a better look at him, then chose not to finish that sentence.

"Do you want to take one now?" she asked gently, producing a small water bottle and offering it to him. "Don't worry, um… despite what I threatened earlier, I'm not fixing to rape you. For some reason, I guess."

 

"Like shit, I know" Sigefrid cut in as she paused. Yeah, he knew he probably looked like a train wreck at this hour. How much sleep he'd gotten before the damn meds and booze had worn off mixed with a bit of a headache pounding in his skull. At the moment that might have been worse than the pain in his arm. For a long moment he'd been letting his eyes wander the lot and it wasn't until she moved to pull out the bottle that he finally looked towards her again and immediately seemed to perk up a little. Ok maybe he looked a bit desperate, but he honestly couldn't help it at this point.

"Can you not remind me and just give me them" He asked giving her a sort of irritated look as she mentioned the fact she'd threatened to rape him. Actually more like she'd threatened that twice, but he wasn't really all too concerned about it. It was just obnoxious at this point. Moving his hand from hers a moment later he didn't wait though. Instead just reaching to take the bottle from her before moving to full stand again and open the plastic bottle with his teeth.

 

Serena let him take the water bottle from her without a fuss, then opened the pill bottle and shook out two pills into her hand, replacing the cap expertly. "Start with these," she said, putting the pill bottle back in her purse. "We'll see how you do with them, and I'll leave the bottle with you when I go, okay?"

 

Shooting her a bit of a frown as she pulled them out, he looked for a moment even more irritated. Eyes rolling he huffed a little "Do I look like a child to you? Think I know how much I can take" He stated in a bit of a tense voice as he cocked his head to the side a bit studying her before his eyes momentarily shifted down to the bag at her side. The thought he could try to just take them did cross his mind but honestly who had the energy for that at this hour? Other than the vampire or his brother while they were cracked out of course.

 

Serena slipped the pills between Sigefrid's lips and gently pushed up at his hand holding the water bottle.

"I don't think you're a child," she said calmly, "but you also don't know what I'm giving you. Start with two, and we'll see how you react to them. Besides, I need to see for myself to get an idea of your tolerance, so I'll know when to switch on you, so you don't experience that pesky declining high, you know?" She zipped her purse and locked the zipper to the strap loop with a small custom lock, the key to which was sewn to the inside of her dance belt.

 

Parting his lips as her hand moved the pills to his mouth, he took them from he before moving to take a swig of the water bottle. Still looking vagally irritated by this treatment sense honestly no one had ever really been this way towards him with stuff. Well, other than actual nurses and such or when he was in prison. Swallowing them he finally moved to set the water down in the seat of the bike long enough to fish his keys from his pocket. "Yeah whatever" He finally muttered in response before turning to start for the door of the club house. Using his teeth again to pick the key for the door from amongst the others he soon moved to unlock it and push the door open. Briefly pausing to click the main light on that illuminated the inside of the building. That once in view looked very much like a men's den of sorts.

Couches and a massive, big screen tv on one side and then on the far wall a garage door with a couple bikes parked that were clearly mid being worked in seeing as tools pretty much lay everywhere. Then of course an actual bar fully stocked was on one wall with a large glass double doorway behind it and a second hall door to the right which led even further in. Really the place was pretty spacious even for all of that but then it HAD been a garage before they'd remodeled it.

"Want something?" He suddenly asked. Already making his way a bit slowly over to the bar and planning to hit the small beer fridge just behind it himself. Nothing took away a hangover better.

 

Unperturbed by his gruffness, Serena scampered along beside him and watched him affectionately. She thought it was cute, how he used his teeth as a sort of replacement hand.

She took in their surroundings, impressed. It did smell like a bike shop, and she loved that. She was attracted primarily to strong, muscular men and she liked the evidence that a few of them hung round here.

When he offered her a drink, she answered without hesitation, "Amaretto, please." She liked drinks that were strong and sweet. Her favorites were the ones that tasted like candied apples, but asking him to mix a drink in his state would just be cruel, so she kept her request to a simple liqueur, a single bottle. She technically shouldn't be drinking, what with her vampire not liking the taste of any drugs in her system, but right now she couldn't tell if they were together or not, so fuck it. Besides, she really needed to take the edge off, and since she suspected the only reason he had agreed to have her over was that she had specified she wasn't trying to have sex with him in exchange for providing drugs, her number one method was out of the question. At least he was being polite now, though, she thought fondly, stretching out on one of the couches.

 

For a moment he vanished behind the counter as he knelt to get in the mini fridge. Then grabbing the Heineken first he moved to stand back up again and glanced to the back shelf. 'Fancy ass bitch' he thought and truthfully, he wasn't even sure WHAT the hell he was looking for until he finally spotted the bottle on one of the higher shelves. Literally meant it probably hadn't ever been touched. Turning back for the bar for a moment he moved to put the beer in the crook of his arm and grabbed the nearby bottle open. Soon popping it off he took and few swigs before placing it back in the counter and turning he looked up for the shelf above.

Who the fuck had thought this was a good idea!? Easy answer actually! Probably FUCKING Erik! Moving for the shelves he soon reached and pushed up just slightly on his toes to grab the dusty bottle from the top. Very dusty actually… ' Well then'

Blowing on it he wiped some of the dust off on his short before tucking it under his arm and turning back to grab the beer. Soon sauntering over to where she was laying, he set the beer down in the coffee table beforehand her the bottle. "Your fancy bullshit my not lady" He smarted before moving away to plop down on the next couch over and letting out a bit of a tired sigh as he reached for where his beer was sitting and picked it up.

 

"Thank you," said Serena easily, taking the bottle and opening it. She drank the strong almond-flavored liqueur like water, then put the top back on and watched him. She had enjoyed watching him fetch the amaretto, although she wouldn't have been upset if he had flatly declined and brought her something easier to reach. The fact that he went to the effort confirmed what she suspected that he was actually a lot kinder-hearted than he wanted to let on.

She nestled into the couch, propping up her head on her purse. She brought first one foot, then the other, in reach of her hand and gently pried off the silver shoes. She wore black nail polish, a little dramatic, but even though pink was her favorite color, it was a little too on-the-nose for a drag queen, even one as good at it as she was. She stretched out her legs and smiled, relaxing as the alcohol hit her. She'd been clean for a while now, save for the smoothies Trent had made, unknowingly with a real smooth tequila that he had somehow mistaken for flavored water. That man, that adorable, silly, hopeless man! So the amaretto hit her hard, but not as hard as it could have if she hadn't had tequila a couple weeks ago.

"Come here often?" she asked, half-jokingly.

 

He'd fallen silent, mainly because he was both VERY tired and the pills and slowly started to kick in. Not that they gave him THAT much of a head high or maybe they just hadn't kicked in yet? It was a small bit disappointing, but he was still too tired to care. Downing was left of the beer in his hand he'd slowly slid down on the sofa and nearly forgotten about what the fuck he was even doing there when he heard her and moved to push himself to a sitting position again if only to appear more alert. "Har har you're hilarious…. So funny I forgot to fuckin laugh" He retorted shoot her an amused look as he grabbed the nearby remote to turn the tv on at least. Then setting down his beer he fished out another cigarette and lit it up, trying to at least do something stimulating for the moment. Unfortunately though he certainly wasn't as alert at this hour as Erik and after a few moments he'd already slumped back against the sofa again and had a bit of a distant look to his eye.

 

"Don't sit up," Serena started to warn him, but she didn't think he had heard her. Despite him claiming she wasn't funny, the look on his face said otherwise and she felt gratified. She thought about offering him a clove, but he was already lighting a cigarette — not her favorite, but it was his choice, obviously — and….

Uh-oh. She rolled off the sofa and gently pried the cigarette from his hand, grinding it out in an ashtray. "You can have it back, don't worry," she murmured, making a motion to smooth back his hair. Then she went back to her own couch and continued watching him. Why was it that she found everything he did so endearing?

 

Feeling her hand on his head his eyes actually fell shut finally. The mixture of everything finally a bit too much to fight and slowly he'd began to drift off where he sat mostly just slouched into the cushions. He hadn't exactly wanted to but then again how the fuck could he have not? Nearly twenty minutes before he ended up subconsciously slipping to the side letting out a bit of a groan in his sleep. Then again, he fell silent in what was mostly blissful unconsciousness.

 

He looked so sweet, so peaceful, but she was worried he might fall off the couch and bonk his head or something, so she got up and padded around, doing a little exploring. When she located an empty bedroom, she padded back, then tried to scoop Sigefrid in her arms like she had seen people do in the romantic movies she and Trent always watched together. Unfortunately, Sigefrid was dense and muscley and had about a hundred pounds on her, give or take, and it wasn't exactly an easy feat. After a few minutes, she gave up trying to move him and instead inspected the couch. Could she…?

Yes! She could pull it out! It also took a little while, having a heavy man on top of it, but she got it done, and then basically collapsed on the new makeshift bed next to him, snuggling instinctively into his warm body.

 

He'd felt her try to move him pretty instantly and let out a few growls in protest. Eventually going as far as to shove her to get her off as he shifted to nuzzle into the arm of the couch. By then he was a bit awake and simply delirious so as she moved to start rearranging cushions and such, he subconsciously moved to kick his boots up and attempted to stretch out length ways which was the first he really got in her way. Groaning a bit lowly as he started to pull from sleep a bit more to her pulling and pushing him around a few times, then feeling the mattress click and shake beneath him his eyes opened for a moment. Just long enough to reach and one of the back cushions the literally cover his head from the light of the room and the tv. Eyes finally drifting back shut however he somewhat felt her moving up against him and for a moment he sort of growled under his breath bit that was about as far as complaints got as he was soon drifting back off next to her in a bit of a sprawled position on the mattress.

 

Serena giggled softly, finding his little growls cute. After resting against him for a bit, she stood again, searched for a light switch, and at least made it a little darker so his head wouldn't hurt so much. Then she grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and placed it on an end table next to the couch bed, and turned off the TV. This dress would be comfortable enough to sleep in; she braided her extensions and cuddled warmly into him again, sighing happily. Sleeping next to him was a dream come true, as far as a dream she'd only had for a few days went!

 

The rest of the night honestly ticked by rather slow and Sigefrid hardly woke up at all. Though that wasn't to say he didn't move. A few times he'd tossed away from her and for the edge of the bed only to end up rolling back a smidge and end up very much up against her. His heavy snores occasionally rumbling loudly anytime he was on his back. However finally he'd shifted towards her and feeling the warmth of her body so close he'd moved to press up against her. One arm draped over her while his face nuzzled into her. Truthfully, he hadn't even thought about it but under all what most people saw other than those he slept with was a man desperate for human contact and affection. Which certainly showed seeing as while this asleep and mostly stoned he had absolutely no wall up and wasn't really thinking or aware and simply doing.

For a long while he'd stayed like this. Even when the early morning hours of seven had rolled in and Erik and Bjorgulf had drifted in at one point and not at all cared to be quiet. He hadn't noticed a damn thing. Not until it had to have probably been mid-morning and Bloodhair and Haesten had come in arguing. Briefly stopping near the bar to finally whisper arguing before trailing off down the nearby hall before their voices had begun to raise a bit again. Arguing something about a woman who'd been at Haesten’s house, that Bloodhair certainly sounded jealous, suspicious and angry over if one had paid much attention.

This finally had pulled Sigefrid a bit from sleep. Still not enough to move but slowly opening his eyes he tried to squint and see who he had beside him. Letting out a bit of a groan tiredly however his eyes fell shut again for a moment and his head slowly tilted to nuzzle back into her to hide his eyes from the sunlight currently leering through a nearby window. Fuck what had…. Rather quickly coming back to him he nearly froze and stiffed where he lay. Damn near holding his breath as he realized and slowly lifted his eyes to check and see if she was asleep. Shit!

 

Serena was accustomed to sleeping beside a warm body. For most of her life, it had been Trent. Nowadays she spent more time cuddling with the cold body of her vampire, Xander. The month he'd been gone, she'd been climbing into bed with the man who'd tried to kill her, Roulet, and sometimes she slept beside her husband. So a tossing, turning, snoring man wasn't exactly new territory. She snuggled up soundly beside him, her dress riding up as she slept so that the arm which did not have a hand might have brushed against her lower back a few times while they were cuddling in bed together. She loved having someone to be close to, and there was something thrilling about a hard-won bedmate, even a platonic one.

She had actually woken up more than once in the morning. The first time was about five, when she used the powder room and was groggily pleased with herself for choosing a dance belt last night instead of full-on chastity. After freshening up, she snuggled back into bed with him and drifted in and out of sleep. She was, however, fully awake and aware once Erik and a man she didn't recognize had come in. She opened her eyes briefly, then let them flutter mostly closed, observing them through slits. She had stayed, like this, happy to be in Sigefrid's arms, not moving for fear of waking him or being pushed away, silently observing the arrivals and arguments of the others.

She sensed the awakening of the man beside her and smiled to herself. Slowly, with gentle movements, she picked up the water bottle from the floor and glided it to him. Dehydration did nobody any good.

 

Feeling her moving beside him Sigefrid slowly moved to roll away onto his back. His dark hues for a moment staring up at the ceiling in somewhat of a trance as he tried to adjust to the light somewhat. Truthfully his entire was a bit achy again but waking up like that was certainly nothing new. Moving to run his hand over his face he finally reached to take the water from her once she'd moved to hand it to him. Side eyeing her for a moment before finally pushing up on the mattress. As usual using his teeth to pop the lid off and spit the plastic nearby he chugged a good portion of it before his eyes drifted down the hall as a door slammed so hard it sounded like it might break.

Finally out came a very defeated looking Haesten who sort of eyed them with a bit of a skeptical look before he moved over to the bar where another much younger male had appeared and seemed to be unloading some cases of beer. "The fucks that about?" Sigefrid couldn't help but press as he eyed Haesten back with an annoyed expression. Of course they had woke him.

"Blaming everyone but himself for why he can't sleep at home." Haesten informed the other before moving to open the beer the prospect had given him. "I see you played musical bitches last night? Is this one new?" He added with a rather wicked smirk as he eyed the strange female who sat next to Sigefrid. Shooting Haesten a look if irritation Sigefrid finally moved to sit towards the edge of the bed. "None of your business Storrisson…. How about when you're done with that you get all these females rounded up for fuckin Chapel. And shut your big mouth" Sigefrid growled back at the other before reaching for the nearby half burnt cigarette that had been left in the ash tray the night prior.

 

Serena greeted Storrisson with a sarcastically bright smile and wave. "Hiii, how are youuuu?" she chirped. Then, more seriously, "Since you were wondering, no, we didn't fuck last night. I just came over and we crashed." She left out the part about the drugs, reckoning that was a need-to-know situation. "I'm Se— Uh, I'm Serena," she said. "And I'm gonna use the powder room and get out of your hair."

So saying, she knelt up, made sure her skirt was pulled down properly, then slid off the pullout and stalked towards the bathroom, purse in hand. She made sure to lock the door as she pulled off her dance belt and bit loose the key to the lock on her purse. She unlocked it, then pulled the drugs out and wrote on the label, dotting the i's with little hearts:

[Sigefrid. Take 2 every 6 hours. Call when you're out or when they stop working. Fees to adjust accordingly.]

Then she dropped the pen, the lock, and the key back into her purse, pulled up her underwear, straightened her skirt again, grabbed the bottle and headed back out. She slipped her shoes back on and draped her arms round Sigefrid from behind, pecking his cheek and subtly sliding the bottle into his good hand.

"That number I gave you also works if you boys find yourselves jammed up. I know a real good lawyer. Pleasure meeting you. Stay safe." And she turned to go.

 

Haesten sort of stared at her like she was actually on drugs herself. One eyebrow raised before he looked to Sigefrid then to Sihtric as if wondering if he was missing something entirely. "Who says powder room?" He finally blurted as she vanished down the hall. Sihtric by now was actually stifling a laugh as he moved to put the beers away and walked around the outside of the bar adjusting his kutte some as he went. 

"I'll go find everybody. Oh ummm Skorpa's held up loading to leave. Guess they're really backed up right now so he may not make it" Sihtric added as he paused by the door looking to Sigefrid.

Nodding and looking a bit dull Sigefrid waived the Prospect off before moving to stand finally. Slowly making his way over to the bar he gave Haesten a look. "Just don't ask…. And shut your fat mouth about it" He whispered under his breath knowing the other would know he meant Serena. No, it wasn't like it was obvious but if he knew Haesten the guy would find out and find out VERY soon. The other just seemed to have ways of knowing everyone's business and keeping record of it in his head to pull out when he needed it for whatever purpose.

"Yup can do boss" Haesten replied rather simply as he pulled out his phone to start making a few calls to those he knew were not around and needed to get their asses back.

Meanwhile Sigefrid was leaning against the bar when Serena finally drifted back in and stopped to peck his cheek and give him the pill bottle. Eyeing her for a moment he seemed to be thinking before he finally simply nodded. "Yeah … will do" he muttered before looking back to Haesten and unshockingly found the other watch him and Serena and then her taking her leave. "Shut it…. " He whispered one last time and only got a snigger in response as the blonde moved to stand and put the phone to his ear heading off.

 

Serena smiled over her shoulder at Haesten and Sigefrid, then left. She got in her truck and drove to Trent and Rebecca's place to hang out with them for a while, then borrowed some leather pants and a jacket and drove Trent's motorcycle around Covina for a while before heading to Sebastian's law firm, Morningstar and Associates (which had been a bitch to change over from Freedman and Associates once he'd gotten married).

Once inside, she went straight to Sebastian's office, shut the door, and changed clothes. Unbraiding out the extensions took the longest, but nimble fingers, that's the ticket!

Twenty-five minutes later, face clean of makeup, hair short and with leave-in conditioner combed through it, Sebastian stood in his office in his trademark grey bespoke suit. Serena's clothes, extensions, and purse were neatly tucked away in a dark blue and grey gym bag in Sebastian's bookcase, next to his CEB books. He checked his calendar and immediately grabbed a can of iced coffee and dashed to the conference room to meet his clients.

By lunch, he felt wonderful. Last night had been better than he could have expected. It was daring, telling Sigefrid that a law firm could be reached through Serena, but as either Serena or Sebastian, he would do absolutely anything for the sexy biker, except of course leave him alone. Sigefrid was intriguing, lost, damaged, and though he was surrounded by people, Sebastian sensed he felt alone. That he pushed people away before they could push him away. He recognized the habit, as it was one of his own.

Had Serena considered trading the drugs for another, less abridged, roll in the hay? Absolutely; it was part of her job, after all. She prided herself on being able to have almost any man at any time. But last night, Sebastian had experienced something far more precious than sex. Sigefrid had agreed to let Serena stay the night, and Serena had been allowed to take care of, to pamper, Sigefrid to a degree. Pampering Trent had been Sebastian's habit since they were small, and Sebastian liked very much to be able to do it. Had Serena asked for sex, she maybe would have gotten a few unenthusiastic thrusts and then been sent away. But staying the night, she got to observe Sigefrid in his element and, of course, watch how the drugs affected him.

Sebastian smiled fondly to himself as he wondered how Sigefrid would react to reading Serena's little custom label. Would he heed the directions, or take too many at once and get absolutely fucking blasted out of his mind?

 

Well the day had gone by rather slow and unnerving. He'd found the note and wasn't all to shocked seeing as she'd been very adamant about taking them right which he found very annoying to say the least. If he wanted a damn pharmacist, he'd fucking have one! DID have one actually. However of course now the pills he got through the doctor were far from enough and anytime now he knew they'd most likely cut his off. Especially if he was dumb enough and they ended up seeing the track marks from the times he'd gotten his hands on the REALLY good shit. Usually through Dagfinn who had similar if not worst taste.

This he'd gone up to three by the afternoon and that at least gave him a decent head high for during the day. Meeting with those who'd been able to make it minus his obnoxious road Captain he'd nearly toned out over half the meeting but then what did it matter? Anymore Erik mostly ran shit and Sigefrid just slammed the gavel unless he really didn't like something. Today had been no different in simply deciding what to do about their issues with a local cop they had in their pocket as well as issues with a rival gang who had conveniently bashed up Sihtric on his way to his mother's not long before the meet. The kid was in BAD shape, and most were pretty angry.

Sigefrid though, he was pissed and out for blood but if anything he came off a bit distant most of the day up until late. Skorpa had headed out with several of their guys to help run protection once they picked up their better load and Sigefrid had ended up hitting up the retaliation with Erik and Haesten. To say the night had been interesting was an understatement and he didn't finally make it home until late. Both himself and his little brother slipping into the house to get cleaned up he'd all but spent the day so sidetracked it wasn't until then that he finally found himself sitting on the couch staring at the partially opened pill bottle and thinking about the night before. What the hell was her game? Who just … Spent the night with someone? Was she really that desperate to appeal to him?

Not that she didn't of course and in a lot of ways through the whole ordeal he'd actually found himself liking her antics. Both the good and bad left him a bit turned on and almost angry at himself for being that way. Why was a different story, however. Despite her constantly claiming she hadn't lied he still felt a bit betrayed, and he wasn't one to let grudges drop very easily. At least not in most cases.

Finally slipping the bottle between the cushions so Erik wouldn't hound him about where he got it and what it was, he finally flipped in the tv, attempting to try and get past his brain thinking about Serena and all those dirty images that flashed through his head and actually had him occasionally fighting the urge to go find someplace quiet to jerk off or call one of the girls. Either way it was a struggle really. After a long bit of trying to get into the show Erik eventually out on though he gave up and headed back down to his bedroom. Two am by this point he collapsed onto the empty bed and curled up with his arms around one of the larger body pillows. Eventually though he'd dozed off and ended up very deep asleep only shooting awake a few hours later after a dream that had left him both sweating and almost panicking.

The worst kind of nightmare honestly, blood, bodies, even Erik had died and turned into something unnatural. Moving to sit up in the bed he'd found himself on his phone watching videos and sending a few texts back to people he'd been ignoring when he finally ended up accidentally clicking on Serena's message box. Not that he'd meant to, but he wasn't really paying attention. Even after he'd hit send in fact.

[I’ve told you a hundred times to put the pass ON THE FUCKING DASH! It's NOT fucking hard. Pass=Dash. Stop jerking off to three Asians one cup and just fucking listen once in your damn life bitch!]

Honestly by this time he figured he'd have gotten ahold of Erik to but what else was he good for? The occasional fit pitching to keep everyone in line and doing what the fuck they were supposed to. Next, he still clueless went to text Erik seeing as he was too lazy to head upstairs.

 

After lunch, there were no more meetings, so Sebastian drafted depositions and reviewed the others' work with his door ajar in case any of his staff needed something. Most of the other lawyers and paralegals were confident about approaching him, but the administrative staff tended to be shyer, like they didn't want to bother him, even though he had made it clear at every staff meeting and review that he had an open-door policy. He would rather someone come to him with questions than consistently mess up paperwork and have to re-draft it. It happened just often enough to be annoying.

Sebastian's main client was Mad Tech Solutions, a computer programming firm run by none other than Sebastian's close personal friend, Trent Maddock. Trent had a natural gift for… well, almost everything, but had gone into computers as a career once he'd fallen in love with, and realized he could use them to stalk, his now-fiancée Rebecca. He had hacked the existing surveillance feeds of every building Rebecca had set foot into since arriving in California, and had Sebastian place bugs in rooms that didn't already have them. Rebecca and her boss/boyfriend Nathaniel had demanded the extra bugs be removed, but Trent and Sebastian still had access to the footage they had already collected and to the surveillance feeds they hadn't planted. The line between professional and personal work was a clear one, Sebastian made sure of it, and had used Trent's requests for certain extracurricular, off the books activities to blackmail him into being Sebastian's lover once. It had led to the blossoming of the relationship Sebastian had always wanted between them but been too nervous to actually ask for.

Trent, however, wasn't always as professional in his outgoing emails. Today, he had sent a request for a presentation to new staff on the corporate do's and don't's per California law, in the same breath as some rather more… affectionate… requests. Sebastian's cheeks warmed and he couldn't help smiling as he responded, agreeing to schedule the presentation and gently reminding Trent to keep personal requests in separate emails— or better yet, text messages— from professional requests.

He approved most of his staff's work without complaint today. He ran a tight ship as far as court forms and the wording of things on pleading paper went, and everyone knew he expected excellence at all times. They met his expectations or were quickly replaced with someone who would. He had a two-strike rule for every infraction except the major ones, and a zero-tolerance policy for anything that could get anybody in the office disbarred or arrested, although he preferred to phrase it as, "If you're going to do it, don't do it under my nose." He also had a strict policy against defending anyone who worked for him in court, feeling that to do so would set a bad precedent.

At about 4:30 p.m., one of his clients, the one who had tried to kill Serena the very night he had engaged Sebastian as his defense attorney, popped in unannounced to go over the case. Roulet had expressed a desire to introduce Sebastian to his "girlfriend": Serena had snuck into bed with Roulet to show him she could survive anything, including 50-odd stab wounds, and ask for more sex; he'd clocked her biological sex but not her true identity and had started sleeping with her regularly, at least until Trent had sent Lucifer and Sebastian to Iowa "on honeymoon" to get Sebastian away from Nathaniel's boyfriend. Obviously, Sebastian and Serena were unable to meet, and Roulet, who had wanted to secure Serena as a character witness, had grown increasingly antsy.

"I don't know what to tell you," Sebastian said now as they sat down in the conference room. "I haven't been able to reach her at the number you gave me."

"She works at Lux—" Roulet began.

"Yes, I've been to Lux. I've spoken to Lucifer. Whatever work she does there is completely off the books." These statements were unrelated in the context of what he was telling Roulet, but true nonetheless. He had indeed gone to Lux, many times. He spoke to Lucifer daily. And there was no legal record of anyone by the name of Serena Sublime. "However, her name has appeared on some promotional material." He left out the part where the promos were for drag shows.

"Great. What can we do with that?"

Sebastian closed his eyes for a moment. "Look, your girlfriend is a performer under what's pretty obviously a stage name. Bringing her in as a character witness, it's risky. But if you talk to her and she's willing to do it, then—"

"She hasn't been taking my calls. I've been trying to reach her ever since her pimp got back from vacation, and nothing. I even went by Lux last night. Her bodyguard said I'd just missed her."

Sebastian grimaced, in what he hoped came off as sympathy. "Sorry to hear that," he said. "Maybe she's gone off the grid. Listen, I'll be happy to go over your case again this weekend, but I'm sure you don't even need a character witness."

"Maybe not, but she would be a powerful one. A girl in her line of work, whom I'm in a relationship with, telling the jury that I couldn't possibly have done what I'm accused of? That I don't kill girls like her, and she's living proof of that?"

Roulet was slowly becoming unhinged. Sebastian could see it in his eyes. He made a mental note to have Serena contact him later and maybe go out to dinner and discuss why this was a terrible idea.

"You have a point. Listen, I have to check up on someone— a real pain in my ass— so unfortunately, I do need to cut this meeting short. I'll email you on Monday with a status update."

They shook hands and, thankfully, Roulet left. Once Sebastian was sure he was gone, he changed back into Rebecca's leathers and, slinging his gym bag over one shoulder, drove Trent's hog back to him and swapped it out for his own Ford, which he drove back to Lux so he and Lucifer could enjoy dinner together in their penthouse.

Tonight, Sebastian opted for a quiet night in, even though that meant Lucifer cancelling on that one client from last night and refunding his money. He did text Roulet from Serena's Pinger to deliver a quick apology and plausible-sounding excuse for ghosting him, but didn't respond to any of Roulet's follow-up messages. He just… wasn't interested, which was surprising. Roulet was thrilling, or had been. Why didn't Sebastian want him anymore?

He made some progress reading a novel he'd started, then just dozed off with his glasses still on around midnight. Lucifer removed his glasses, tucked him into bed, and turned off the light, and Sebastian snuggled happily into him in his sleep.

When Serena's Pinger went off at 5 a.m., Sebastian groaned, assuming it was Roulet yet again. "Leave me alone," he muttered, reaching for his phone. But it wasn't Roulet, it was… Sigefrid. An incomprehensible text. That wasn't good. He texted back,

[I don't have a pass. Are you okay?]

 

Sigefrid had finally moved from the bed and for the shower by the time Sebastian’s text had come in. Well, Serena's technically and honestly, he was still clueless he'd even sent her anything seeing as it was Skorpa he'd been trying to text bitch out for this annoying shit. Especially sense it had turned into drama at a toll road at five in the fucking morning. Why wasn't Erik dealing with it? Well he'd eventually forgotten about it to the feeling of hot water on his back and more meds. Probably enough he would have gone back to sleep pretty quickly had he not been met by the cold air once he climbed from the shower. The damn basement got the coldest it was actually annoying this time of year.

Hair down for once and rather soaking wet still he finally drifted from the bathroom using a towel to dry his hair that was still dripping when he neared the bed and remembered the shit he'd been picking at. He needed to know they'd made that damn load, or no one was getting paid. Dropping the towel and picking the phone up however he slightly frowned seeing Serena's text. Being as stoned and tired as he was it took a moment to really grasp it but finally shaking his head, he nearly wanted to facepalm. Great….

[Well FUCK you to!! Ya I'm goddamn peachy Serena. How's raping people going?]

 

Serena had been pacing the penthouse until she got his return text, which was thankfully much more cogent. She opened it and gave a little "Hah!" of disbelief.

[Point of interest: If you're telling me to fuck you, and I do, it isn't rape. Also, I normally don't top.], she sent back.

She had done some research on his MC and found out his full name and where he lived, and she had thought about going over there. Had, in fact, been about to get dressed (in something other than her pink silk pajamas) and head over if she hadn't received his response when she did.

[Seriously, though. Are you okay?] She thought about telling him the actual dosage of the opiates she had given him was 1; she had written 2 because she figured he would need the extra edge off. 3 was dangerous territory, and judging by his attitude towards her insisting on only taking two, he'd probably gone up there.

 

Oh yeah, she thought she was funny. Mid way fighting at attempting to light a half a blunt and honestly failing he briefly glimpsed her message. Well mostly and he was at least aware it contained the word fuck. Finally getting the joint lit he leaned back on the bed and for a moment simply stared off tiredly taking a few hits from the blunt in his hand. Vagally hearing a thump just above he had no doubt it had to be Erik doing something and he was only surer of it as he finally heard the door in the hallway above actually slam. Well at least he wasn't the only one annoyed about being bothered with shit that a ten-year-old could remember at this damn hour.

Reaching to finally grab his phone as he heard it buzz again, he stared at it for a moment squinting. 'Seriously? Seriously you bitch!' fumbling to unlock it for a moment he soon managed to use his thumb before of course dropping some ash on the bed. Well fuck that. Moving to stand and groaning a bit in annoyance he reached to grab the ash tray from the side of the bed before leaning and rolling onto his stomach to grab the phone again.

Then Erik had texted, and he got at least some clarification. He was running to the club house to make sure nothing was out at the club house sense Bjorgulf wasn't answering. That could only mean one damn thing. Letting out a bit of an annoyed sigh he completely forgot he hadn't texted Serena back at this point and he was starting to see pretty blurry from the mixture of both what he'd taken before bed and the joint. Even deciding to text Erik back in a moment his head had eventually dropped to his arm and for the moment he'd faded back off.

 

This time, Serena didn't receive a return text. She waited ten minutes, pacing, near panic the whole time, and then set about getting ready to go. She asked Luci to help her with her extensions again — by some miracle, they hadn't tangled after being transported in her gym bag — and then changed into a reasonably cute top and a skirt that clung to her curvy little behind, showing it off to advantage. She applied some light eye makeup and shimmering cotton candy lip gloss, then got in her Solstice and drove to the address she had found when she had looked Sigefrid up earlier that day.

She called him when she got there. Technically it was more polite to call before dropping by, but if he hadn't returned her text by now, he could be in serious trouble.

 

If it wasn't one thing it was a god damn nother!!!

First Skorpa had LOST the damn toll pass and tried to argue his way around it instead of pay. At least that's what Bloodhair had informed him. The guy was completely cracked out again from the sounds of it. Following that his suspicious behavior had gotten them pulled over for a FUCKING search. Well, just Skorpa of course by all technicality but then he'd had Chí with him on top of that shit. Then off popped Sigtryggr who hadn't been too happy with the cops’ apparent lack of procedures and now they had the stupid prospect, Ragnar by default of association, Chí and Skorpa in custody. Erik was borderline fuming and honestly, he didn't doubt Sigefrid would be to once he got back to the damn house and got him to pick up the damn phone.

Hands gripping the bars of the medium blue Harley bagger he rode he'd sort of gone into a pissed off trance heading down the highway that led out of town and back to the house. He'd found Bjorgulf, nearly scared the guy and gotten shot at to top everything off and he'd set both him and Bolton at clearing the club house of all things remotely sketchy. Drugs, weapons, everything went just in case this turned eyes on the M.C like it undoubtedly would if the cops found what was left of the mess in the impounded trailer. Finally hitting the brakes as he spotted the long dirt drive, he turned onto it and slowed heading back through the rather thick trees until the front porch drifted into view. Shit! Who the hell? Spotting the back of a blonde female outside the front porch with her phone out it took a brief moment to recognize her, but he finally did.

Seriously? First at the club house and now here? As if he didn't know some of the shit that had gone down between them. Sigefrid had told him plenty…

Light hues locking onto her as he shut his bike off, he sort of huffed and moved to step off. "Please tell me you're trying to get directions back to town" He commented a bit smartly at her as he moved to step off his bike and slide the keys into the pocket of his kutte.

 

Relief broke across Serena's face as she recognized Erik's voice.

"Thank goodness!" she exclaimed, going to hug him. "He sent me a text that was probably meant for someone else, then dropped off without warning. We weren't fighting this time. And now he's not picking up, and I'm worried. Can you just make sure he's okay, please?"

 

Erik's expression quickly changed at hearing the tone of her voice. The fuck did she know that he didn't!? Sure he knew his brother was usually fairly stoned anymore but the extent? He was clueless as it wasn't like the other wasn't a grown man. He could handle his own shit like they all did and last he checked it hadn't been anything to hard. Freezing a bit as she hugged him, he hardly moved to hug her back and eventually moved to pull away shooting her an almost angry look down at her. "Why are you worried? Did he say something?!" He asked a bit harshly though even as he did, he was already pulling his house keys from his pocket and moved around her heading for the steps up to the front of the house. One thing he had been worried about on the flip side? His brother calling it quits…

And being with what they worked with alone he had plenty of ways to choose that if he wanted to. However that to he hadn't exactly thought of for some time so to say this was a bit alarming to him in that moment would have been an understatement.

 

Serena didn't want to tell Erik about the drugs, so she just said, "Besides 'pass = dash'? Look, if he doesn't wanna talk to me, he tells me to fuck off. He doesn't just stop responding."

Even though she had asked Erik to check on Sigefrid, she still followed him inside. Why wouldn't she be worried? And besides, if he had overdosed….

 

Under normal circumstances Erik actually might have laughed hearing what immediately indicated to him that Sigefrid had probably been texting Skorpa or thought he was sending something smart ass sounding like that. However at that moment he was more concerned on why Serena was worried and heading past the kitchen to the stairs he only stopped briefly to flick on the light above the stairs before heading down into what was essentially a large living room that Sigefrid had turned into half his bedroom and half where he had all his weights and stuff. Not that he needed to, but he'd basically turned the two bedrooms off the far side into storage for endless work out shit and the other honestly random. Erik was fairly certain he'd legit seen a tire in there.

The bathroom light still being on he immediately was able to spot where his brother lay on the bed still in and towel next to the phone and of course. He smelt the pot. A breath of slight relief soon came and though Serena couldn't see from behind him he rolled his eyes. Both at her and Sigefrid for what he thought was being dumb enough to tell her where they lived. Nearing the bed he grabbed the ash tray move it finally and due to the worry she'd already caused him he stopped long enough to push some of the other long dark hair away from his neck to check his pulse. Doubtful by how asleep Sigefrid looked that he'd wake up assuming he'd smoked a food amount.

Now had he known more he may have been more concerned still, but he did feel a heartbeat so that was good enough. "He's fine… " Erik stated sounding a bit flat as he moved to set the ash tray down on the bed stand and then turned to grab the clothes he'd almost tripped on off the floor. No info over to the bathroom door he soon tossed them in the hamper.

 

Serena followed Erik to Sigefrid's room and knelt beside the bed. She was relieved to see he was alive but still worried about how conked out he was. She scooted closer to his head and gently stroked his hair.

"This is why I said only two," she murmured. "Poor thing." She understood why he took more than she'd told him to; he seemed like he was in chronic physical as well as emotional pain, and needed to take away as much as possible. But he didn't need to be going on to his reward, not now, it was too soon.

"Please wake up," she whispered. "I know you'll be mad at me for invading your privacy like this, but please… just don't go comatose on me, baby, I couldn't take it…."

 

"If he wakes up…. Tell him he's needed. Like yesterday. And to find me" Erik finally stated having been double checking the pocket of the jacket he'd pulled from the floor just in case. He wasn't THAT dumb. He had training in this kind of bullshit for god’s sake! Serena was FREAKING like either Sigefrid had told her something worrisome or she thought he'd taken something. He also WASN'T deaf. Oh certainly not in fact being what he was he picked up every single word from where he stood and dropping the jacket finally, he moved to pull a cigarette from his pocket and for a brief moment moved to lean in the bathroom door seeming to study both of them. 

"Comatose?" He finally blatantly shot towards her with a cold expression. "What the fuck aren't you telling me?" He added, the mad look now back on his face as he watched the way she was just so casually touching his brother like it was her place to be there at all.

 

Serena shook her head, tears prickling behind her bright teal eyes and starting to slip down her cheeks. She leaned into Sigefrid and gently kissed his lips. He smelled terrible, but …well, romance movies had been her bread and butter growing up, and the foolish, irrational part of her hoped that would wake him up.

"Do you have a cold cloth?" she asked.

 

Ok THAT actually pissed him off that she couldn't even answer him. In fact it answered enough that he had something to be worried about and turning to head back into the bathroom he moved to grab a washcloth from the counter and pushed his sleeves up, holding the cigarette between his teeth as he rung it out. Then simply putting it out on the sink for the moment he turned to head back into the other room and nearly shoved it at her. Eyes darting around he soon spotted the trash can and grabbed it setting it beside the bed before moving himself to the other side to so sit all but trying to ignore IT was there at all.

Ok that was kind of mean to think that way, but he hadn't liked her for a couple of reasons and now she was avoiding telling him what his older brother could possibly be on? Seriously? She had to know or why else would she be so panicked. "Sigefrid…. Sigefrid wake up" Erik whispered a bit tensely. His own hand moving to shake the other’s shoulders before he moved to grab his wrist and check his ACTUAL pulse as best he could. It was pretty damn slow which he figured just by quickly doing it in his head.

Finally though and probably due to both now messing with him a low groan finally drifted from the others chest and he mumbled something that wasn't exactly audible at first. Then letting out a heavy a breath this was followed by "You're fuckin loud"

 

Serena had started dabbing Sigefrid's face with the washcloth the second Erik gave it to her. Then, when Sigefrid woke up, she kissed him again and wrapped her arms around him as best she could. She whispered in his ear, "Big dummy, you scared me! Why did you overdose?"

 

'She was talking… Why the fuck was she talking…?" Honestly, he was far too gone with the high to try and make any sort of sense out of what she was saying, and he wasn't even sure if he'd heard Erik or not yet and merely let out an annoyed groan shifting a bit to turn his head away from her.

"He's just high out of his fucking mind. Not the first time" Erik finally growled heaving a bit of a sigh. Ok well first in a hot minute and the last time it had been from Morphine. Moving to stand Erik had been about to walk around the back end of the bed and check his brother’s toes for track marks when his phone rang. Shit! The club! Fishing the burner cell from his pocket and seeing it was Dagfinn he flipped it open and put it to his ear. "Ok ok slow the fuck down…… Well tell him no. We can't go posting bail like that without a club vote Dagfinn he should know this. Well then, he wasted his fucking call and of course they're going to deport her." He paused suddenly thinking better of the rest of what he might say. "look I'll call you back idiot. If the others call tell them the same shit. It's gonna have to wait a few fucking hours anyway it's only seven in the damn morning" Erik half snapped moving to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Meanwhile still mostly out of it but finally hearing Erik Sigefrid seemed to perk up a little. If only due to his eyes moving to open as he rolled over slowly on the bed, so he was on his back. "Who's deported?" He half slurred not really picking up every word and only getting a bit more confused by it. "Deport Serena" he added he added before actually snorting a laugh.

 

Serena pouted. "Dummy," she said again. "I'm going to make you breakfast, okay? So don't deport me. And next time, hey! Next time, follow instructions. You scared the hell out of me." She kissed his forehead again, stood, smoothed her skirt, which clung to her ass before flaring out into little pleats, and walked out.

She stalked off to the kitchen and opened the fridge. She could cook pretty well, having learned alongside Trent when they were preteens. She made French toast, scrambled eggs, and hoecakes, figuring it would be easy to digest and help him soak up whatever was in his system.

She brought him his food and some Gatorade, serving it to him with a tender smile. "Eat up," she said cheerfully. She had made enough for three people, and the rest was in the kitchen. She wasn't going to eat until she was sure Sigefrid was okay, though.

 

By the time Serena came back down the stairs Erik had long sense gotten off the phone and proceeded to get into it a bit with Sigefrid dispute the others extreme lack of real function. Honestly what had probably gotten him at least awake enough to off the bed and at least pull on a pair of shorts. Ok that wasn't entirely true, Erik had to keep him falling over a couple of times in the process but eventually he'd gone back to laying in the bed and the conversation had turned back to the issue with the club. A BIG issue at that seeing as Skorpa, Ragnar and Sigtryggr were locked up on what was currently only kidnapping. If the cops turned this into a damn human trafficking case however that could turn on the entire charter fast.

Hearing Serena reaching the bottom of the staircase finally broke the conversation and Erik stood up from where he'd been sitting in the edge of the bed. "I'll call as soon as I know more. Just stay here today. You look like dog shit" Erik finally stated towards Sigefrid before eyeing Serena with a rather unreadable expression. Soon heading for the stairs he finally vanished leaving the two of them alone again for the moment.

"Took you long enough" He smarted still squinting a bit from where he was laying with an arm over his eyes. However before she could really reply he was snickering. A clear sign he was joking as she'd probably started to figure out by now. Only about half the time he insulted people or complained was he actually serious. Moving to push up from the bed to sit cross legged he took the plate from her and set it down sort of eyeing it for a moment. Honestly it looked good but hungry wasn't exactly something he really felt right now.

Still, after this it would probably be a bit to rude even for him so finally, he dug in, sort of eyeing her with a bit of a hazed overlook after a moment. "Why the fuck are you here again?" He asked and honestly it wasn't exactly what he meant or had even been thinking but he was still a very decent level of STONED. His head was pretty wonky to so it damn near felt like bed was moving anytime he moved to fast. Expressing or saying shit that made sense was the last thing he was worried about.

 

The fact that Erik trusted Serena alone with his brother spoke volumes. Serena smiled at him as he passed.

She gazed tenderly at Sigefrid and was gratified when he began to eat. She and Trent used to cook for each other, it seemed like a lifetime ago. Now Trent was living with, and cooking for, his wife-to-be, who, after ignoring and pushing away Trent for years, suddenly thought she had the authority to tell Trent whom he could and couldn't spend time with. Serena hated her. The feeling appeared to be mutual. So Serena was ecstatic to have someone to cook for and cuddle with and pamper again, regardless of how that 'someone' felt about it.

She took his question seriously. "I'm here because you overdosed," she said gently. "You texted me something obviously meant for someone else, dropped the thread pretty quickly when I followed up, and then didn't pick up the phone when I called. I didn't know if you'd be okay, so I came over."