June 14, 2022 | Xander x Serena [SOLO]

 It was slow going, but Serena was healing. Xander had taken the initiative to make love to her regularly since their fight. Admittedly, her body did take some getting used to for him, but she preferred keeping at least a skirt and teddy on. He was surprised to find that, from the moment he made it clear he intended to make love to her, pure euphoria washed over and through Serena, burning away every painful emotion and lasting until hours after they'd both finished. He knew she loved sex and was uncomfortably privy to how she felt with others due to the nature of their bond. He had never known her to feel like this.

With clients-- when she felt lonely and went back to selling her body-- she got high off the feeling of being desired, but it was fleeting, and she had never actually gotten off with any of them. Xander still could not comprehend why she felt the need to be so promiscuous, nor why sex was so important to her. With her actual lovers, she was tender and adoring, at least with the men. She trusted Lucifer with her life. With Sigefrid and Louis, she was frequently overflowing with adrenaline. She still carried a torch for Trent, but since sleeping with him also necessitated sleeping with his wife, she was somewhat less than enthused anymore.

When she was with Xander, she was tender and adoring, cautious with her heart but trusting him entirely with their kinks, adrenaline-charged, passionate, and above all, joyful. He was beginning to understand the magnitude of her devastation when he had been away. Every time they made love, she healed a little more, trusted him a little more. She was as clingy as ever, but she was easier to be around and feed from.

It became a sort of ritual for them. He fed from her, which turned her on, and he now allowed himself to grow aroused, too. He teased her while he fed; she melted against him and teased him in return. When he'd had his fill of her blood, she pleasured him with her mouth. They would make love for hours. she would wrap her arms and legs around him:

"Xandy, I love you so much."

Since it was clear Serena thought of her Xandy as a second husband, Luci was strict in his standards for how the vampire treated her. Making her cry or making her feel insecure in any way would lead to a diet of animal blood and loss of his vampiric powers until he made up with her. It was a harsh punishment, but considering Luci had the power to send him to Hell or destroy him entirely, Xander had no choice but to watch his step. Serena herself was unwilling to make Xander suffer and would do everything she could to show him where she was coming from before it got to that point.

For someone so sadistic and antipathetic towards most, it was shocking to see how kind and forgiving she was towards her lovers. Luci had stalked her since she was 17 and kidnapped her to watch her sleep on multiple occasions. Trent had taken advantage of her feelings for him and broken her heart more than once. Sigefrid, Louis, and Nathaniel had all tried to kill her. Dany, was one of her official lovers, and Haesten, who was not, had both forced their way with her. Yet she'd forgiven all of them, or at least, needed their love too much to give them up. Xander deeply wished she would let go of the others and belong to Luci and him alone. He outright despised Sigefrid, Dany, and Louis. But as much as Serena wanted to forgive him, she didn't fully trust him yet.

(Note: The incident with Haesten is a solo I started but then got distracted before I finished. I'll put it up eventually.)

April 3, 2022 - Post-divorce [SOLO]

Note: This was written in March, but takes place in April.

 

A couple of months after the Blackwoods' divorce, Blaine Menchineel awoke to a knock at the office door. He had been sifting through the paperwork Fr. Blackwood had so considerately left him when moving across the damned country. Wearily, Blaine sat up and stretched. The knock sounded again, more insistently. Blaine stood and strode to the door. He threw it open with a look of annoyance, which softened as he saw who was standing on the other side of it.

"Lady— er, Freya!" he exclaimed, not bothering to hide his surprise. "What brings you here?"

"I have news," she said. "News my ex-husband will want to hear. What are you doing in his office, Blaine?"

"Eh, about that." Blaine scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you when we met, but I was transferred here to train as Blackwood's replacement. Antipope D'August recommended me."

Her eyebrows furrowed. "Then you're…?"

"Father Menchineel, yes. Ehm, what is this news you bring?"

She opened and closed her mouth, then opened it again and said, "Nothing of concern to this branch of the church. It's a personal matter between Faustus and I." She blushed, hoping that didn't sound too rude.

"He and Dorian have moved already," Blaine said reluctantly. She balked at the pity in his gaze. "He's put the plans for the new church on hold for the time being, as you were disinclined to accompany him. He… ehm… he's been declared a consort of his friend, the club owner."

Freya could feel the emotions swirling around inside her, bringing her to a state of teeth-chattering dizziness. "You mean Luci," she said. "And his husband— wife— whatever, approved this?"

"If there've been any protestations, I've heard nothing of it."

"You would have," Freya said darkly. "Bash isn't the type to handle replacement gracefully." The air around her crackled dangerously. "Even if he isn't being replaced. You would have heard something," she insisted. A flame burst forth from her, dissipating just before it reached the paperwork on Blaine's fine mahogany desk.

"Shall we take this conversation outside?" he offered. "Conjure you up some tea, perhaps?"

She agreed to follow him outside, but declined the tea. "I can't risk it. Certain herbs— the baby—" She clapped both hands over her mouth, blushing furiously.

Blaine said nothing, but silently conjured a quill and piece of parchment. He wrote a short note and sent it off with a wave of his hand. Within moments, Faustus materialized, frilled shirt pulled out of smart grey slacks, hair uncoiffed. When he saw his ex-wife, he straightened up a bit.

"Freya." His voice carried the barest hint of astonishment. "Yes, Father Menchineel said you need to see me. What for?"

At the sight of him, Freya had to work hard not to break down crying or throw a curse or a fireball at him, or launch herself at him and start beating his chest with her fists like a mortal woman.

"You— you left me in my state to go chasing after a man!" she spluttered, laying aside the fact that it had been she who had left him. "All your pretty promises to love me forever and cherish me! They were all lies, Faustus!"

The expression on Faustus's face made it clear he thought he could say the same for her. "You've had no trouble moving on," he said bluntly, inclining his head to Blaine. "Did you think I wouldn't know about you flirting with him?" he asked patiently, calmly.

"Do not patronize me so!" she snapped. "As if you didn't flirt with Luci all the time, and now you're LIVING with him! I can't believe you!"

"Is this why you had Father Menchineel summon me here?" Faustus asked. "To rehash the same old arguments yet again?"

"No, you ASS!" she snarled. "I'm with child!"

Faustus blinked once, twice, three times in rapid succession. "… Mine?" he asked. He neither ducked nor flinched when she slapped his face.

"Yes, YOURS!" she bellowed. "Whose else would it be? And don't you DARE cut your eyes to Blaine again! He and I were never more than friends!"

"Neither were Luci and I, till you chose to divorce me," Faustus pointed out.

"I… gave you EVERYTHING!" she raged. "My brother DIED so that I could be with you! You took my innocence, you took me away from my family! I loved you more than anything, but it still wasn't enough for you, was it? You lusted, you PINED after Luci, and Trent, and Luci's spouse and who KNOWS who else? You stopped protecting me from Nathaniel's insults long ago, and— and— you never deserved me, Faustus Blackwood!" she finished, with an impressive stomp of her little foot.

Faustus couldn't help a small chuckle from escaping him. As angry as she was, she still had a strangely endearing way about her.

"IT'S NOT FUNNY!" she roared, aiming a fireball at him. He mostly dodged it, but stumbled, and it singed his shoulder.

"I'll take my leave," Blaine said, bowing out quickly.

"I stopped defending you against Nathaniel because he stopped insulting you in malice," Faustus tried to explain. "I got the impression he was ribbing you, in a sort of— how do the mortals do it?— pulls her hair and runs away, manner. As for Serena, I've explained to you that I'd no intention of actually shagging her—"

"Have you?" Freya asked abruptly, cutting him off. "With either 'Serena' or Luci?" The discomfort on Faustus's face as he hesitated told her all she needed to know. She scoffed. "Of course you have."

"Not the way you're thinking," Faustus said placatingly. Freya narrowed her eyes at him.

"What other way is there?"

Faustus took a breath. "Serena— Sebastian— brings home girls who've flirted, yet doesn't sleep with those girls solo. Each young lady chooses someone she'd like Sebastian to share her with."

"Thank you. I don't require more details." Freya's lip trembled. "How often have you been that man?"

"Eh, three times," Faustus muttered, toeing the pavement uncomfortably. "As have the rest of us."

Freya was curious despite herself. "Who?"

Faustus sighed. "Luci, Maze, Trent, Nathaniel, Catherine, Helena, Dorian, Louis, and someone called Dan or Danny. Xander and Sigefrid have a talent for making themselves scarce when the girls show up."

Freya did some quick calculations in her head. "Thirty!?" she exploded. "Bash— Mr. 'I can't date Cat because I'm actually gay'— has brought home THIRTY WOMEN!? And you all SHARE them with him? That's disgusting, Faustus!"

"Yes, well, it turns out you've something in common with them," Faustus said dryly.

"What could I possibly—" Then it hit her. "Ohhhhhh…. No! Faustus! What the FUCK!?" She slapped him again, hard! "And how many of THOSE are yours!?"

"Easy, girl! I've pupped no-one," he said, raising his hands. "None other than you, and Constance when she lived, of course. They're all Sebastian's."

Her disbelieving scoff mirrored exactly the one he had uttered when he had learned the same.

"All thirty girls have gotten paternity tests, and each of the tests indicate Sebastian is the father."

"Wow. WOW. It's a good thing you never fucked him or you'd have probably, somehow, magically come up pregnant too."

"Don't be silly," Faustus said lightly. "He doesn't penetrate men."

"Except Trent."

"Yes, except Trent."

They shared an awkward sort of smile.

"Well, Freya, I'm happy to give you the support you need, but I would either require you to move to the ladies' flats with me—"

"Wait… What?" Freya tilted her head quizzically.

"Ah, yes, I've not explained. Sebastian bought an apartment complex for the mothers. Each of us has been assigned as caretaker for the women we shared with him, so therefore each of us is in charge of three units and three ladies. Actually, Luci declined to take care of his ladies and reassigned them to Xander."

"He compelled Xander?" Freya asked with interest.

"I was not present for that conversation, nor have I asked. Though I do seem to recall eavesdropping on Xander and Sebastian discussing raising a baby together, so it's likely he volunteered."

"Oh." Freya blew out a breath as she and Faustus sat down at the edge of a fountain. They sat in silence for a few minutes, then Faustus said,

"I know you've made connections here. This is an awkward situation with no clear resolution—"

"I could stay with Blaine and raise the baby here," she said quietly.

Faustus's mouth puckered. "If that is what you wish, why would you tell me about the baby in the first place?"

"I do not know." It was her turn to shift about awkwardly. "I thought it was the right thing to do. I don't know if that's what I want."

Another long pause. Then, "You've lands given to you in the settlement. The caretakers of the honeymoon castle in Prague, for example, would be more than happy to assist you. I'm not worried, Freya. You make friends wherever you go."

"I also make enemies," she pointed out. "People who hate me for no reason. Ursula. Nathaniel. In fact, if Nathaniel is living in the mothers' complex, I DON'T want to go there." She fisted a hand in her skirt angrily.

"He's fond of you," Faustus pointed out. "He was against the divorce."

"So I've heard." The set of Freya's jaw made it clear she didn't believe that. "He may be cute, but he was always a jerk to me. I'd never even consider someone like that." She gave a little harrumph and stuck her nose in the air, crossing her arms to emphasize her point.

Faustus smiled wistfully again. "You should get your rest," he said. "I'll stay with you." He took out his phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Texting George to have him take over my girls."

"There's no need. Father Menchineel can look after me." Was it a test or did she speak true?

Faustus gave her a long look. "I shall stay," he repeated. "Father Menchineel has paperwork to see to. He has Ambrose's help, but I imagine they're overwhelmed even so."

Freya scoffed. "That must be the lamest excuse I've ever heard."

"So be it."

February 28, 2022 | Louis x Serena ficlet

To say that Louis had a bad history with women was a bit of an understatement. His peers in college had nothing kind to say about him, and he and Serena Sublime had met when he had tried to kill her. Serena was odd, to say the least. She had considered him beating her to be foreplay, had offered only a batting of her mink lashes and squeals of delight at his attempts to rape her, and had somehow survived being stabbed 50-something times. She had taken his attempted murder as an invitation to follow him home, sneak into his room, and seduce him. She was also the only drag queen he had ever even considered sleeping with. He'd tried to kill her again, of course, but once again, it hadn't stuck, and he'd allowed her to sleep beside him that night when she'd broken into his home.

She baffled him, and he was both intrigued and utterly infatuated. She kept him guessing, and he liked that. He'd heard from others, including her husband, that she was clingy and needy, but that hadn't been his experience with her. If anything, she kept him at a distance. She had even briefly taken a break from their relationship following her belated honeymoon. He had later learned she was the drag persona of the very lawyer he had hired to get him off for murder, Sebastian Morningstar.

The fact that Sebastian had made absolutely no fuss about representing him despite knowing beyond doubt he must be guilty was something that still surprised Louis whenever he thought about it. Sebastian was a talented lawyer who had gotten him off... and then promptly turned Louis over to the other Morningstar, to be punished.

"I'm sorry, but I did promise him," Sebastian had said. He had fixed Louis with such an intimate look that Louis was initially repulsed... but then he noticed those beautiful teal eyes with flecks of emerald green, eyes he'd gazed into countless times over the last few months, eyes that lit up in delight when he and Serena made love.

After Serena's husband had managed to instill a sense of guilt in him for the horrid thigs he'd done over the years, he had asked Louis what Louis wanted. The truth had been pulled unwittingly from him-- he wanted to get back together with Serena. Not to harm her, but to date her.

"She has two straight lovers already," her husband had said dismissively, "a vampire she's donor to, and a biker whose club Sebastian represents for free. The vampire had to be ordered to live with us and feed from her regularly after taking off for a month. The biker she had to bribe with drugs to get him to spend time with her and he's been in a stupor for weeks. Neither of them are particularly happy with the fact that she was born male, and it kills her a little more every day either of them neglects to spend time with her."

There it was, the secret to finally killing Serena, told to Louis as freely as anything. He was surprised, even now, that he hadn't wanted to use it. He had wanted-- he still wanted-- to protect her from it. He had expressed as much to her husband, who had welcomed him into the fold.

Now here he lay, with this peculiar, gorgeous, pampered creature in his arms. She wore a red silk negligee that disguised her utter lack of breasts and a pair of matching panties that didn't disguise anything. Unlike her vampire or her biker, Louis didn't require her to remain in chastity in order to be comfortable sleeping with her. He did like her cute little outfits, though, and she beamed contentedly at him as he ran his hands over the soft, smooth fabric of her lingerie.

"I'm glad we got back together," he said warmly.

"I am, too," she murmured, nestling closer to him. "Sigefrid's been tripped out so long, he doesn't even notice anymore when I cuddle him. At least it keeps the nightmares away, but sometimes it's like he's not even my... well, whatever he was. Point is, I quit hooking for him and I was about to get back into it when Luci summoned me for you."

There it was, the needy side her husband and boyfriends gossiped about. She didn't trick for the money; she did it because she was addicted to the validation from getting men off, and Lucifer thought she might as well get paid for it. She was good in bed and had the unique talent of making Louis feel loved. He believed it was because she herself deeply craved love-- and couldn't recognize it when she had it. She was so fragile, so feminine, so easy to mistake for a cis girl, that Louis couldn't comprehend why her other boyfriends left her alone for so long.

He had been shocked to discover he didn't like it when she cried, which she did easily when her feelings were hurt. Hers was a heart accustomed to breaking, and he found he wanted to piece it back together. Maybe it was because she didn't care that he was a killer. Maybe it was because trying to kill her didn't make her cry, but refusing to let her pamper him did. She wanted so badly to be useful. She believed with all her heart that it was her ticket to being loved, but she'd been let down and let go so many times that she'd settle for being used, just as long as it got someone to stay.

He hadn't seen her as needy when he'd first overheard it, but now that he thought about it, she definitely was. In a way, he was, too. He needed power, control, thrills. Those lusts, which repulsed most women, she was highly attracted to. She was happy to submit to him.

Her vampire, Xander, had made the mistake of trying to become a moral person after he and Serena got together, out of a misguided belief that love should redeem a monster. Xander had been upset to learn that Serena had no interest in redemption, and that she saw him defending his human friends from her as a personal attack. Even her own husband, Lucifer, didn't side with her 100% of the time and, while she had consented to renew  her vows with him, she had lost some of her trust in him when he tried to rein her in. Xander thought it should mean something that he'd changed himself for her, but not only had she preferred the monster she fell in love with, Xander had made the mistake of reminding her he was straight and that she was not physically what he had been looking for. After a month of not taking her blood, no less. She claimed she'd forgiven him and was just happy to have him back, but Louis, at least, could tell it still bothered her, especially since Lucifer had had to force Xander to move in with her-- with them.

Sigefrid was an unrepentant killer, and it excited Serena when he had her help him torture people. She had designer drugs made for him, fed him, and doted on him, to the point where she cooked for his entire club because they needed to be strong to serve him. He was the most traditionally masculine of all her lovers, but the downside was that, if he felt any affection at all for her, he only expressed it during sex, and even then it was never in words. She obviously adored him, but was terrified to mention it because she thought he would leave her if she did.

Two of Serena's other lovers were dating each other, which she was okay with, but had married people she hated. She saw that as a betrayal, too, especially since the hatred was clearly mutual.

This meant that, by default, Louis was her current favorite. She loved and trusted him a surprising amount, considering. He didn't like hearing about her other men, but he also wasn't going to stop her from talking about them. It did feel good to be needed, and she needed him to stay with and comfort her.

He pulled her leg up over his hip. "I'm glad you quit," he replied. "I want you in bed with me, not-- what was it?-- ten random guys a night?"

"Eight." She tapped his nose. "On average."

She was so cute, even when talking about a profession Louis found disgusting, that he couldn't help but smile. He wondered, not for the first time, how any man could possibly neglect her. He kissed her, rolling over on top of her, and decided to show her just how glad he was to have her to himself tonight. And, if he was being honest, he also wanted her undivided attention, which she gladly gave him during sex.

Posted on Fanfiction.net as "Roulet's New Lover, chapter 3"

January 30, 2022 | Serena's diary

 How is it that Sigefrid can hold me and kiss me so nicely at night but be so cruel during the day? Luci doesn't understand why I insist on maintaining a relationship with him. Are we in a relationship? Skorpa and Dany seem to think so. But he barely touched the food I made for him, and he seemed so resentful when I asked him to eat. Of course, I did later find out Erik and Skorpa were in the hospital. Dagfinn is recovering from a punctured lung. Harley is sniping at Sigefrid about everything, which is adding to Sigefrid's stress, and when he's stressed, he's mean. I really don't like Harley.

Dany has night terrors. I told him Trent used to have them too. What I didn't tell him was that I did too, more recently but still years ago. When Trent dropped out of grad school, I had them every night that I wasn't completely blacked out. But when I was, I would wake up in bed next to someone who kept me safe. Luci. But it's a lot to explain, which is why I didn't try to climb into bed with Dany.

I like Dany. Not as much as the men I'm actually involved with, but with different timing, who knows? He likes me, too, or at least, he's flirted. I rebuffed him for Sigefrid's sake. Again, I don't know if I should consider Sigefrid my boyfriend, but better safe than sorry, right? Which, paradoxically, is why I can't tell him how I really feel about him. It's bound to scare him off. But I've done everything I can to make it clear that my utmost loyalty is to him, including pretending I didn't care that my friends were hurt.

I can be honest here. I was out for blood the moment Sigefrid got hurt, and I grow hungrier for it the more I learn about my friends' injuries. I've been training with Maze and Duckie to learn how to dual-wield Millie and Tillie. I want to help. I want to fight. I want to kill. But I also want to buy them a proper safehouse or two. Somewhere a bunch of bikers would never be expected to live, a gated community, maybe in the Hills. No HOA, but possibly a thriving Nextdoor community on neighborhood watch. It would be a lot more secure and a lot harder to hit.... Don't get me wrong. I love the clubhouse. It's my favorite place in the world now. But it's not safe. If anything else were to happen to anyone but especially Sigefrid, I couldn't live with myself knowing I could have provided a resource but never offered because I was afraid of hurting someone's pride. Maybe I'll ask Roulet about what's on the market that could accommodate all the charters currently in town.

The Firefight (Sebastian -> Sigefrid's MC)

 Sebastian -> Skorpa - Skorpa has a headache

Everything happening as it were, the mess with the cops, now Bloodhair, would it ever fucking stop!!!??? And withdrawals had to be THE WORST! Still it was better than risking a possible drug charge on top of everything. After getting back from everything, the hospital, picking up Sigefrid band Erik's two cousins from the airport and then taking one to do errands. Oh don't forget circling BACK to the hospital for a time to relieve Bolton for a time until Erik had shown up to take over? Well Skorpa felt like he'd been ran over by ten trains and a half.

Sitting on his bike still just outside the clubhouse he was sort of staring into space when he heard the car pulling up. Taking a drag of the cigarette he held within a rather shaky hand he squinted towards the male getting out before simply sighing. Right, the Lawyer Sigefrid mentioned was probably going to help them all out of the damn hole. Awesome…

"If you're looking for someone specific good luck. You might find Bjorgulf talking to another fish if you're lucky" He remarked smartly as the other got closer.

 

Sebastian parked his '56 Jaguar Roadster, a gift from Trent upon moving to California, outside the clubhouse. His eyes narrowed in distaste behind his sunglasses as he recognized Skorpa. He got out, grabbed his black briefcase from the passenger seat, and walked towards the clubhouse. As he got closer, he noted that Skorpa's hands were shaking and felt a pang of sympathy despite himself.

"Good," he said, and his sweet, rich baritone voice carried a slight dismissive note. "Actually, perhaps you can brief me on why I'm here." He opened his briefcase and withdrew a legal pad and a light pink Montblanc pen, then poised to take notes.

 

Skorpa's brow furrowed for a moment as if in thought but after a moment it hit him like a two ton train. Wait, that was actually his life right now. Letting out a bit of a sigh of exasperation he moved to pinch the bridge of his nose both in frustration and in pain. "I'm going back to jail soon!" He suddenly mused smartly and actually began to snicker almost looking insane. Oh this was a nice reminder of exactly how FUCKED he currently was.

"Anything else you might want to wait until someone else gets here. Seriously. I'm not doing this right now" He stated a bit shortly before moving to flick his cigarette onto the ground step from his bike so he was finally standing at full height. Eyes shifting to squint down briefly at the other in annoyance he slid his hands into the pockets of his hoodie and turned to head for the door of the club house actually starting to chuckle again as if this was the funniest shit ever.

 

Sebastian looked after Skorpa in confusion, then strode to follow him—  long, confident strides, not the prancing steps Serena usually took.

"You do realize my firm charges by the hour?" he asked. "Right now is when our appointment is. I'm happy to wait, but that time is billable." Sebastian was toying with the thought of representing them pro bono, since he hadn't taken a pro bono case since he'd returned to work and he needed to in order to continue practicing. But he found Skorpa unpleasant enough that he wasn't exactly going to make that offer off the bat. "You might as well just tell me what's going on," he pressed. "The person who called was… vague."

 

Oh my god the idiot was now RAMBLING away! Skorpa took a breath and nearly let the club door slam in the man's face on purpose as they entered. Walking over to where the bar was he sort of rolled his eyes and moved to grab one of the bottles of whiskey. However by this point both due to nerves and the withdrawal his hands were shaking so bad as he poured he spilt a good portion of it and ended up setting it down again letting out a bit of an angry sigh.

"Fucking Dagfinn" he growled under his breath before moving to all but chug the whiskey in several gulps. Only about halfway through realizing it was fucking Jack and immediately he stopped and made a face of disgust. 'Way to pay the fuck attention' he thought in annoyance before his eyes slowly moved back to the lawyer damn near flaring daggers at this point. "Three of us are out on bail…. Abduction charges. Oh and I busted a cop’s nose. And apparently the lady that works for the toll booth says I threatened her" he sort of snickered at the last part. 'Threatened her? What a cunt'

"The other two aren't here right now. Not sure what all they've got on their charges, but I imagine ones got resisting arrest" He added with a shrug as if it really wasn't that big of a deal. Could be Assault for all he knew since Ragnar had actually head butted one of them during the arrest. ''And they called him the fucking idiot? Yeah right!'

 

Sebastian took a seat on a couch and watched Skorpa with a mixture of pity and amusement. He took notes as he listened.

"Tell me what happened, from your point of view. Details would be helpful," he said. "And remember, I'm a defense lawyer, not a prosecutor. I'm here to get you off, not to judge you." He closed his eyes briefly as he realized what he had just said. 'If I had three grand for every time I'd said that… Oh wait, I do,' he thought to himself.

 

Lips pursing together for a moment Skorpa actually had to mentally ground himself for a moment if only not to say what he REALLY wanted to. He hated lawyers, uppity fucking shits. However he finally moved to run a hand over his face and took a slow breath. "Yeah sure…. Give me a minute" He finally muttered and moved to push from the bar soon vanishing down the hall. After that shot and the taste! Fuck ok maybe it hadn't ONLY been the taste but he'd soon ducked into the back bedroom and further into the bathroom to vomit.

So much for shit he'd already took and after a moment he finally moved dial a number in his phone as he sat by the toilet. "Yeah it's me. Tell Cuyler to come by in like an hour would you? Please Dusty…. Thanks" He muttered the last part before finally moving to hang up. Hopefully his band mate would know why he had called at least. Other than music shit he never called for other reasons anymore. He was far to busy.

Taking a moment he finally moved to push himself off the floor and head back out to the front room. Mentally praying he'd find Erik or someone else out there who wanted to at least deal with this first meeting. Wander in he soon made his way to the sofa and sunk down, slouching enough to put his foot up on the table and close his eyes for the moment. "So…. Details?" He sort of remarked dryly.

 

Sebastian could read the disdain on Skorpa's face clear as day, but continued watching him mostly impassively. He had chosen not to remove his sunglasses and probably looked like a real douche sitting there inside with tinted glasses on his face… not that he cared much.

When Skorpa left the room, Sebastian checked his text messages. A status update from Trent on behalf of his tech company. A picture of Helena wearing an outfit, captioned by a question mark, to which he responded with a thumb emoji. Then he checked Serena's messages. One from Roulet looking to set up a date. Oh right. Sebastian made a mental note to break up with him later. Several dagger emojis from Maze; he didn't know what that was about and chose to ignore it.

When Skorpa came back, Sebastian put his phone away and picked back up the pink pen. "Please," he said.

 

"So this stupid cop pulled me over on our way back home…… ((-Insert highway names, Toll road name etc… He's the road captain he'd know what the mile marker is😂-))” Pausing for a moment Skorpa opened his eyes and moved to fish out a cigarette from his leather kutte. "Oh wait no first this stupid little bitch was giving me attitude at the Toll gate. Because I drove through the lane you have to have a pass for but I didn't have it. Lost it somewhere. Well there was a line and she noticed and tried to ask about it so I told her to go fuck herself. Nooott that big of a fucking deal" He continued slightly exaggerating part of what he'd said a bit childishly in annoyance. Placing the cigarette between his lips he sparked it up and took a drag. "Not any of her fucking business anyway I was in the lane for people who have passes. You just cruise through slow as dog shit so it picks up on the camera" He muttered. However that's when it hit him and he let out a slow sigh. If at any point he'd suddenly felt like he should probably get his patch ripped now was definitely the time.

Head dropping back for the sofa again he chewed his inner lip in thought for a moment. "Well so we left… Might have threatened to run her over. But I just took off. Made it like ten miles before the cop pulled me over. Stupid little douche bag" He snickered as he remembered how immediately tense the guy had been. In fact he had eventually pulled his gun just over Skorpa having an attitude and well? Skorpa ended up getting pissed enough to throw him off the step with the semi door. Aww, what a lovely night of splendid choices.

 

"Ohhhhh." Sebastian nodded in understanding at the toll bit. That explained the Pass = Dash text. "I keep mine adhered to the inner windshield. Not on the Roadster, of course, but the Ford and the Saturn, for sure. Was she not allowing you to pay in cash?"

He kept listening. "Sounds like you got a rookie cop," Sebastian said sympathetically. Those ones always liked to act like the cock of the walk. "There might be an irregularity there we can exploit. Okay. Keep going."

 

By now Skorpa was honestly starting to lose focus at least a bit. Staring off at the fan above it took a moment for him to snap from his trance before he realized he'd been quiet for a moment to long. 'Oops.' "Oh I umm… Hit him with my door cause he pissed me off. I think my dog made him nervous and he started bitching about I needed to tie her up. Which meant he was gonna search the fucking semi and I don't get how he had probable fucking cause but whatever. I wouldn't and told him if he didn't back the fuck up I'd bust his teeth. Sooooo the gun came out. He was all kinds of freaked out" He mused with a snigger. Rookie for sure seeing as the guy had been pretty young.

Moving to run his hand over his face again he casually moved to pulled his phone to check and make sure no one had called about shit at the hospital. He was still having a hard time believing Bloodhair would overdose … really? After he'd acted the night before? It just didn't make sense.

For a moment he'd gotten to distracted but eventually he put the phone back down and sort of stared. "I forgot where I was…" He stated bluntly looking a bit lost. To be fair he had tried to tell the guy to fuck off but then he'd been SOOO pushy so here they were.

 

Sebastian nodded and took notes. This guy was clearly a handful, but the way Marley the puppy was a handful in Marley & Me. Dangerous, prone to wrecking everything he came into contact with, but dumb as a box of rocks.

He waited patiently for Skorpa to put down the phone. "You were saying you pulled a gun," he said neutrally. "What happened next?"

 

"Wait wait wait no…. He had the gun! I'm on parole! The only gun I had …" Skorpa paused and seemed to think for a moment before shaking his head. "Look point is I may have been born on a weekend but it wasn't last weekend. I'm not trying to get shot and I didn't pull a gun on the stupid pig. I just might have threatened to break his ugly face" Skorpa replied a bit smartly towards the end. Fuck honestly, if this went on much longer he was probably going to lose his cool, or throw up on the damn hoity Toity smarty pants bitch. One of the two.

 

"Yes, of course. He pulled a gun." Sebastian corrected himself and tried not to smirk. Honestly, he wouldn't put it past Skorpa at this point, but maybe the guy wasn't as dumb as he—

Nope. He was definitely as dumb as he seemed.

Sebastian shook his head and cracked a smile as he took more notes. "And that's when you got arrested?"

 

"Well no, because the idiot called back up. That and our prospect finally stepped in and pulled a film the idiot cop while telling the guy he didn't have probable cause to search the semi and by law had started the physical shit. Kids pretty smart…. But he also has a nasty sounding attitude so the piggy didn't end up very amused by it" Skorpa replied with a faint smirk. Of all their younger guys he had a fondness for Sigtryggr. The boy was smart as all get out but also knew how to play dirty. He nearly even gave Skorpa the chills sometimes.

"Back up showed up maybe ten minutes later? He wasn't far I guess. Anyway when he got there he started pressing us ten times more and ended up asking about my girl. Which was in the semi the entire time but cops are nosey bitches" He snorted as he moved to cross his arms over his chest and sink back onto the sofa. For moment his eyes seeming to stare through Sebastian as if in thought. 'No he shouldn't say that. Keep to the story don't insult the pansy'

"Anyway she didn't have shit for ID because… Well she's from Korea and came here." He paused almost looking awkward. "Not important…" He quickly added deciding to leave that one for the moment. "So they insisted she had to come in so they could prove she wasn't an illegal. Bitch started getting physical with her so I stepped in and punched him in his ugly face. Now…. I've hit both pigs. And that's when Ragnar jumped in because he had a white knight complex sometimes. My girl was screaming and cry and he was maybe more pissed than I was at this point. He got in the cops face and they decided they were going to arrest all of us. One of them said and I quote they'd find a charge if nothing stuck" He finished with a rather annoyed looking expression soon crossing his face.

"And that's the gist of what happened on the highway. Sigtryggr’s phone might be in evidence if you want to take a look at some of it" He stated moving to scratch the back of his neck a bit awkwardly now. He honestly might have downplayed a bit of what he'd done at least. Still, he hadn't really been thinking and he'd been on a very bad high arguing with Chí most of the night. And what? Just for this shit to happen? The thought actually made his chest slightly begin to ache as he stared off at the nearby table for a moment.

Was life out to get him or something? Chí, then Bloodhair, who was next? Other than himself probably. Well there was ALWAYS Larson if they through him back in the same prison. Surely that guard would get a kick out of seeing him again. Hurray for drug smuggling and dick sucking……

 

"Can you get me the video?" Sebastian asked, perking up. Smart prospect, he agreed. Smarter than the man sitting before him.

Yes, Sebastian agreed, cops were nosy bitches. He got the feeling Skorpa was also implying *he* was one, but he didn't care. His nosiness was for their assistance, not to their detriment.

"Off the record?" Sebastian said. "You should have an ID guy to prevent future mishaps. We've got to be prepared for the cops to play up the assaulting an officer charge, but we can get the case thrown out if they're dumb enough to make a gross exaggeration. Did your prospect get it on video that the cop said they'd find a charge if nothing stuck?"

He scribbled a rough approximation of Sigtryggr’s name and the word "phone", then put his pen down.

"Is there anything else?" he asked gently. "In order for me to build the best possible case for you, I need to know as much as possible, so if there's anything you haven't told me, now would be the time."

 

By now Skorpa had resigned himself to not really caring anymore and slowly he'd moved to actually lay on the sofa grabbing one of the pillows to hug to his chest he sort of shrugged in response. "No idea…" he muttered to the part about what exactly had possibly gotten filmed. They'd be damn lucky if it had but sense when did he get lucky? Ha! Hearing the door open he suddenly seemed to tensed again, head shooting up from the sofa just in time to see not one but two ginger men in kuttes come striding through the door talking.

Granted one looked more like the depths of hell itself were burning from his thick beard and partially dreaded hair and the other merely had fed close to his beard and otherwise was a blonde much like Erik. However a quick look immediately read if they weren't related it would be a shocker.

"Oh look…. Run Ragnar! This party pooper has questions…… " Skorpa mused smartly. Almost IMMEDIATELY jumping at trying to get Sebastian to leave him alone. To be fair it wasn't because he wanted to party it was more so he wanted to lay there and shake to death until Cuyler got there. Still, he didn't feel like going into anymore detail no matter what.

"Oooo does he? Want a drink shades? You look like you need it" Ragnar cooed back smartly hardly even phased by Skorpa as he moved for the bar and already moved to grab a bottle from the counter. "Oh right… The lawyer … Oops" Cnut mused almost smartly from where he was standing behind the bar himself now. Save he simply had a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. "Sorry been a bit caught up. We got a member in the hospital, family visiting and life still has goes on as usual. So my apologies since I'm sure Skorpa hasn't been pleasant. Are you dying?" Cnut added directing his attention from Sebastian over to Skorpa with a bit of a sarcastic smirk.

"I might be…. " Skorpa replied almost weakly now before moving to place the pillow over his head and let out a slow almost forced sounding breath.

 

"The party pooper's job is to ask questions," Sebastian piped up. "And Skorpa is ne—  Ahem. He hasn't been particularly unpleasant, no." He had stopped himself from saying Skorpa was never pleasant. Besides, the man really was in awful shape. It wasn't productive to needle him.

Sebastian pulled a small tonic out of his briefcase and placed it on the table near Skorpa. It was something one of his chemist friends had come up with to ease the discomfort of withdrawal, and it had helped Sebastian more than once when he had quit everything cold turkey. He kept some on him just in case he needed it. "It'll help," he said, for once without a trace of judgment in his tone.

"By the way, who should I talk to about billing?" he asked. "For the legal services. Tonic's on me."

 

Head still beneath the pillow Skorpa simply reached out and took the tonic from where Sebastian had set it. Moving to lift the pillow just a bit to still block the light that was now really irritating him he used his teeth to open it before actually stopping to sniff at the contents a bit curiously. Only to make a face right after.

"Billing?… Can't you just send us the damn bill in the mail and call it a day?" Ragnar asked as his eyes moved back to look at the other male with a bit of a frown. Honestly he knew where to point him if it was a club thing but that whole thing was sort of messy. The club helped sure, but only if they NEEDED to or if a much larger chunk of members were involved. Honestly even Ragnar knew it was most likely going to be them paying whatever charges came from Skorpa going to court. Meanwhile his family would have to help his little cousin and he'd probably have to cover his own shit which was vagally obnoxious and not at all stressful.

"Skorpa? You good staying on the couch?" Cnut finally cut in sort of shaking his head at Ragnar's comment. "I am no longer present…. I am invisible" Skorpa replied knowing exactly what Cnut was getting at. Chain of command and decisions worked a hair differently in these situations. Skorpa by default was the only current ranking member however he wasn't up to. "In that case you're talking to me…… " Cnut stated moving to around to lean on the side of the bar as he eyed Sebastian with an almost bored expression.

 

"No, I need to draw up a fee agreement and go over it with the client, and have them sign it so they know what they're being charged, and for what. The invoice would be a more specific itemized list. However, there's something I would like to discuss regarding that since this is a special circumstance. There are multiple clients, perhaps in multiple cases depending on the DA, and all in the same organization."

Sebastian turned to face Cnut. "Sebastian Morningstar. Pleased to meet you. Listen, we all know my line of work is about the bottom line," he began. Then he paused a moment and withdrew a paper from his briefcase that had the Morningstar and Associates header and said "Fee Agreement" at the top. It went on to state that Sebastian would be representing ____________________ at a rate of $0.00.

"Right now, the bottom line is that I'm willing to represent everyone in your organization who's gotten jammed up for free. I just need you to write the legal names of the clients I will be representing in the blanks there, and I need them to sign and date this form. You will be provided with copies, of course."

 

Hearing him Ragnar sort of stared for a moment before nodding slowly. Not that he didn't get all of it but he really wasn't to savvy on his things worked being as he'd really only been arrested on personal issues before. Leaning back his eyes soon moved to his older cousin as well as if in thought.

"Cnut Rozelle…. And likewise" Cnut stated all to casually before looking to the papers the male pulled out soon reaching to take it for a closer look. "Paper work…. Awesome. So you need this right now?" He added looking up to Sebastian finally. Granted most of it was doable at that second save for the fact their youngest cousin was off somewhere with Erik so waiting on them was another matter. "Wait for free?… Why?" Ragnar suddenly butted in again with a bit of a furrowed brow. Sense when did lawyer do that kind of shit!?

 

"Well, the sooner you get it to me, the sooner I get you your copies," Sebastian said simply. "I do need it before we go to trial."

Sebastian had been expecting someone to question why he was doing it for free. "I have my reasons," he said. The fact that he had a crush on someone he gathered was high-ranking within the club, for one. He put on a charming smile and covered: "Don't worry, I'm not an altruist. In order for lawyers to keep their license, they do need to take on a quota of pro bono cases per year. While I'm sorry for your fellows' misfortune, this is good timing. I can assure you that the quality of my work does not change based on payment. I've been in this business for ten years." Hard to believe, with a face that looked barely 18, but it was the truth.

 

"Ten years?" Ragnar gave him a bit of a furrowed brow as if he wanted to ask but seeming to glance the other over his expression simply shifted to one of acceptance without so much as asking the obvious question. "Sigtryggr isn't around right now. We can probably get this done tomorrow" Ragnar finally added with a faint friendly smile soon crossing his lips at the other. "Yes, we can get to it then. I'll get these two to sign and find out other shit head tomorrow. Should someone drop it off or should I have secretary fax it to you?" Cnut asked as he finally simply set the paper on top of the bar again and his eyes moved to Sebastian with a raised eyebrow.

 

"Unfortunately, our fax machine is down for maintenance at the moment," Sebastian said, "so if you could have someone drop it off, our address is on the letterhead."

He chose not to clarify that he had only been fully licensed for about seven years; he had assisted on cases in law school under the supervision of licensed attorneys, and one or two times had acted *as* a lawyer for a client before graduating, but due to the nature of his drug use after Trent had moved to Connecticut chasing Rebecca, he had mostly just shadowed.

He stood. "It was very nice to meet you, gentlemen. If you need anything pertaining to the case, please feel free to call or drop by. Skorpa, I hope you feel better soon, and good luck to your friend in the hospital." He moved to shake hands with the men and leave.

 

"Yeah like wi… " Cnut had started before the sound of a loud crash suddenly echoed outside somewhere near the street. "What the fuck!!?" He immediately snarled seeing as the first assumption was that their bikes or one of the semi's had been hit. Moving fast Cnut was the first out of the front door and close behind him Ragnar still holding his beer. Both all but leaving the lawyer and Skorpa in the dust and they headed outside to what quickly became a shit show of a scene.

Across the lot on the street a large truck that resembled a trash truck had backed up and slammed directly into the front of Skorpa's semi. A guy was jumping out and for a moment Cnut looked near confused and so did Ragnar save for one thing. The sound of roaring Harleys ripping up the nearby road and the gun being pulled from one man's hip. "GET BACK INSIDE!!!" Ragnar shouted loudly just as he heard the door. Already he was grabbing for Cnut when the gun sent off and the first bullet found it's mark in Cnut’s shoulder before Ragnar barrelled them both over behind the nearest bike to use as a shield. "Hey hey are you good!!?' Ragnar spoke quickly already clinging to his cousin who was breathing heavily.

Inside Skorpa had jumped up. Despite how terrible he felt the crash had caused adrenaline to immediately kick in and he'd made it to the door just in time to go bug eyed as he spotted the shot before fired as well as at least six Harleys coming to a stop on the road behind a large van. "Son of a BITCH!!!" He shouted and rather quickly he was fumbling his phone from his pocket and shutting down door sliding down against the wall as he called Erik's phone. Hearing the others voice as his own went straight to look at Sebastian with a sort of deer in headlights look he took a breath. "Get here now…. Kjartan’s crew! I think Ragnar or Cnut got shot. I don't care hurry!!!" He nearly shouted the last part as the sounds of machine guns firing like actual rain came from outside.

 

Sebastian hastened outside to make sure his Roadster hadn't been hit. It hadn't, but now there was gunfire. His head whipped round when Cnut got hit.

"Shit! You okay?" he asked. "What's going on?"

He barely got the words out when he was assaulted by gunfire himself. "Okay, rude!" he muttered. He ducked behind the bikes for a moment to pick out the bullets and examine them with mild annoyance. Would they fit in his semiautomatic pistol? Was it worth the trouble? After a cursory look, he decided it wasn't and just left them on the ground.

 

"Fine…. " Cnut growled lowly below his breath as he held his hand over his shoulder and shifted away growling a bit lowly, almost to low for any normal person. Ragnar finally let him go if only to slowly slide along the ground for a moment. Light blue hues peaking as the fire briefly stopped. Trying to get a head count. His gun at this point already pulled though truthfully it SUCKED in comparison.

Suddenly the door to the club house flee open. Skorpa had taken that moment to go grab a gun from the office. A BIG gun. Thus the moment he could tell they were reloading he took the chance to open the door and cocked the gun loudly. "HEY MOTHER FUCKER!!!" He shouted before firing. The gun boomed loudly and he did take a good couple steps from the door of the club to fire. Cocking again he shot Ragnar a look and nodded for the door behind him as if to say he'd cover them. Which…. He was definitely the best bet next to Sebastian. Not that they'd have known that however. And that was if they didn't have their bullets laced correctly. Which likely not seeing they may not have catered just due to one mother fucker.

Again Skorpa fired, definitely hitting one guy by the sounds of a scream. Now they to were quickly scrambling to take cover. That gave them a few more moments at least.

Grabbing Cnut’s good arm Ragnar quickly pulled the slightly shorter bulkier male from the ground glad Cnut looked more like he was border line about to flip out as opposed to noticing the pain. "They're bullets are fucking laced…. Shit…. Fucking burns!!" Cnut snarled at Ragnar as both made it back through the door to the club house.

"Sebastian?… " Skorpa hissed shooting a look at the blonde male clueless and only hoping the other moved to get back inside before. NOPE! Bullets came flying and one grazed the side of Skorpa's face and ear causing him to damn near hiss as he simply whirled throwing himself to the ground behind some of the bikes just in time to miss more fire. Pushing up he quickly gave his own gun another heavy motion to prepare to fire.

 

Sebastian kept low, feigning that he was afraid to get hit again, and edged to his car. Going back into the clubhouse wasn't exactly an option, he thought, so he went for the semiautomatic Smith & Wesson Shield 9mm in his glove compartment. He pocketed some extra ammo and, ducking and rolling away from his car, found a spot out of the way of friendly fire and started shooting. He was offended on a semi-personal level. One of the best nights of his life had been spent at this clubhouse, with one if its members, and here these assholes were shooting it up.

"Long-running beef?" he asked curiously, not that it mattered overmuch. Destruction was destruction.

 

"Very…. " Skorpa growled lowly as he managed to push closer to the back side of the tires. For a moment his eyes going to his own bike then leaking briefly for his truck. Now that he could actually see his brow seemed to furrow far more and suddenly he moved to turn away. Creeping for the opposite side of Ragnar's bike before scurrying behind the large wood built section of dirt that held some old wilted flowers so he was now between the club house and the plants and moving to peak around them. Eyeing an angle he could run over for the junker trucks a good six yards away now.

Really he was just trying to escape the fact he was seriously struggling not to fully lose it on these fools and he DIDN'T want the stranger to see him vanish. ……. Better he just not know what happened.

However as he jumped to run for the back of the diesel shop it was that moment the sound of bikes came roaring down the street and immediately gun fire was hitting these others bikers from their right side. Several soon went running and one definitely dropped had anyone been paying attention. Well, quite suddenly the garbage truck had suddenly roared back to life where someone had snuck back on from the other side. "MOVE!!!!"

A young blonde with an eye patch sat in the driver seat and hardly seeming to care about the couple bikes in the way he only waited until his own men were out of the way before he suddenly pulled back onto the streets very slow at first before suddenly hitting the gas the moment he had a line straight at the four sons who'd only just came to a stop. "MOVE!!!!" Erik's voice shouting drifted through the air.

— — — — — -

Sigefrid had been mid turn in his bike to grab the gun Sigtryggr was tossing him having just hopped out of the truck. A bigger gun, definitely needed. Bike balanced between his legs he noticed Haesten revving the engine loudly and backing up fast before Erik even yelled then eyes meeting the truck and seeing the very familiar Secretary of the other biker crew his nostrils flared and he moved to aim. Firing at the wind shield attempting to simply shoot Sven in his ugly fucking face. The other must have fucked however because the massive truck only kept coming and he heard Erik's bike tipping and felt the other snatching him before he finally snapped into action and moved to stumbled from the bike. To late…. By seconds….

The front of the massive truck suddenly slammed into bikes and the massive black bike caught Sigefrid’s foot causing him to trip and snarl loudly and also send Erik stumbling back for the ground like a domino effect. To distracted by his damn near crushed foot Sigefrid had simply full body slammed back into the ground and for the moment looked dazed in the eyes other than the sounds of heavy breathing and loud snarling. Every breath was a struggle to keep from actually holding as the truck just kept pushing the bikes for a few more feet. That and he was a bit in shock.

The sounds of Erik shouting furiously all but seemed distant as he moved what was currently his mechanical hand to reach for where his gun had actually fallen.

Despite a bit of road rash Erik hadn't really gotten much and thus he had immediately jumped up aiming for some down the road and firing only to hear the other side of the garbage truck. "SVEN!!!!!!!!!!" He roared loudly.

Already on it Sigtryggr was running down the side of the road as the larger male began bolting back for his two men left on bikes.

 

Standing, Sebastian recognized Erik's voice immediately and was almost —  but not quite —  distracted from reloading. He wasn't the best marksman but he also wasn't the worst. He'd hit several shoulders, kneecaps, possibly even gotten in a headshot or two.

When he saw someone get their foot crushed by a bike, without fully understanding why, Sebastian saw red. His heart pounded, and it felt like it was pumping fire through is veins. Painful, agonizing even, but the fire somehow calmed him. His mind clicked in to a more strategic mode. He aimed for the tires of the truck —  got em! —  then for the driver. His aiming became far more steady in his sudden rush of emotion, and as he reloaded again, he walked slowly forward, aiming his gun with precision at everyone on Sven's side, spraying them with bullets, barely flinching when he was shot himself.

 

Eyes doubling the moment Sven spotted Sebastian he was honestly thrown off guard and immediately stumbled for the ground landing hard. Hand in his side he was in perfect position for Sigtryggr who suddenly came tearing up in a fury moved to jump over the other. Snatching him by the front of his kutte he brought a fist down hard, over and over and over and over and over……. By this point Sven’s face was damn near unrecognizable.

Meanwhile the two on bikes had started to speed away. Simply leaving their clubs presidents son behind but they'd become sorely outnumbered and rather quickly. However about halfway down the road one was suddenly flying across the road and slamming hard into the nearby ditch. The bike all but landing on top of him. Still it didn't appear as though anything at all had hit him. Strange right? Not for those who knew however.

"Erik!!!!" Sigefrid shouted finally. His voice a bit broken as he struggled to attempt and sit up. Pulling hard at his ankle and loser leg now crushed beneath the metal. Still, he'd have to be shifted completely and not injured to have lifted a damn dump truck and two mangled bikes.

 

At the sound of Sigefrid's voice, Sebastian's heart skipped a beat. He practically teleported over to the injured man and began to lift the part of the bike that was on his foot.

"Someone pull him out!" Sebastian yelled, to anyone who was listening. There was something feral and furious tinting in his voice. Dropping his voice, he whispered, "It's going to be okay." He wasn't sure if he was speaking to himself or to Sigefrid.

 

Haesten was already on it by the time Sebastian had the bike lifted enough he had Sigefrid’s shoulders and was pulling him out from beneath the crashed bike. Sigefrid merely letting out an angry snarl and squinting his eyes tight until the other had finally stopped moving him and dragging his injured leg and foot. "Fuck!" Sigefrid shouted nostrils flaring as he pulled from Haesten’s grasp for a finally dropping his gun angrily to the ground as his eyes drifted down for the sounds of Erik barking something at Sigtryggr. "The fucking cops are gonna be ALL over this FUCKING shit!!" Sigefrid snarled between gritted teeth flashing a glare at Haesten. "Call fucking Nilson! Get him over here…. Him and his brats …" He snarled lowly before finally making another face as his foot throbbed. "And who the hell are you!?" He nearly barked towards the blonde who he really hadn't paid much attention to up until this point. Still, admittedly a random suit was never exactly a GREAT thing in these circumstances. Meant witnesses … Public fucking witnesses.

 

"Don't worry about the cops," Sebastian started to say, but Sigefrid was still talking, so he didn't push it. When the man turned his attention to Sebastian, Sebastian set his gun down and raised his hands. "I'm Sebastian Morningstar. Cnut had just agreed to retain me as the defense attorney for the members of this club. No fee. Also…."

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, he lifted his sunglasses so they made a little headband on his thick blond curls. A pair of distinctive almond-shaped, bright teal eyes gazed warmly at Sigefrid, expressing more than it would be appropriate for words to say.

However, he couldn't resist one wry comment. "I believe we've met."

 

As Sigefrid met the others eyes with a bit of a skeptical look his expression went a bit confused for a brief second. Enough you could nearly see the wheels in his head turning as he stared. Then slowly his expression nearly fell and he was soon shooting Sebastian the most unamused look possible. "You fucking six faces cunt…." He grumbled eyes soon rolling before he sort of snorted. "Sebastian…. The fucking lawyer… What the shit" He sort of muttered more so to himself than anyone in particular. Finally though his face sort of scrunched up in pain and he glanced off to where Haesten had gone briefly before looking back to Sebastian and holding his hand out. "Well don't just stand there like a dumb ass help me the fuck up…." He finally snapped, though a bit more weak sounding than his grumbling had a moment before.

 

Sebastian didn't know what he had been expecting, but that was harsh. He blinked back the tears he could feel forming in his eyes and pulled his sunglasses back down just as Sigefrid held out his hand and demanded to be helped up. 'Harry Potter and the Audacity of This Bitch,' he thought to himself.

Without a word, he rested one hand on Sigefrid's injured foot and concentrated for a moment, summoning whatever healing power he had in him at the moment; even as disappointed and, frankly, heart-cracked as he was, he still wanted Sigefrid to be okay. He felt the warmth in his hand before he saw the white glow surrounding it.

"If you're going to be a prick, you can stand up yourself," he grumbled, though he did move back and slide one of Sigefrid's arms over his shoulders to help him stand.

 

Watching as Sebastian moved over and knelt to do his, well to Sigefrid it was damn near some ooga booga shit. Which was a lot considering someone within a mere feet of them currently could literally turn you into a popsicle if he felt like it. Still the whole strange healing ability was new to him seeing as non of his own people had anything close. Well, he'd heard of stuff but otherwise.

Taking a slow breath as the pain subsided he finally moved to push up only to feel Sebastian pulling his arm over his shoulder to help him. Admittedly it wasn't the worst thing seeing as he'd managed to all but body slam the concrete so he was pretty much just sore now that adrenaline had run down a bit. "And yet look who's still helping little ol me…. It's SeBASTIAN…. " He mocked the other under his breath he finally came to stand beside the other and finally pulled away to head in the direction he'd just seen Sigtryggr go jogging away from.

By now Haesten was off a ways on the phone so Erik had to be over with Sven… Or what was probably left of the bugger.

 

Sebastian could have held Sigefrid forever, and the other man's body leaning slightly against his was comforting in a way he couldn't define. He heard Sigefrid muttering his name and looked at him, but before he could say anything, Sigefrid pulled away and left him feeling… what?

'What are feelings?' he wondered vaguely, zoning out for the time being. 'Who am I? What is existence?'

He decided it didn't matter and shook it off. He retrieved his gun, put it back in his glove compartment, withdrew his switchblade, and went back inside.

Taking up his notepad and pen, he wrote down all the license plates he could remember from the guys who had attacked them, then made a bullet list of offenses, including attempted murder and destruction of property. Lucifer still had connections in the LAPD and could probably look these people up by their license plates, look up their rap sheets, call in a favor or two and get them jammed up again, possibly assisted by an anonymous tipster.

He grabbed his briefcase from the couch, opened it, and put his notepad and pen back in. Nestled next to a holstered gun was a rudimentary first aid kit. He opened the kit and withdrew some tweezers. Using his knife and the tweezers, he set about the unpleasant work of removing bullets from his body.

"Fuck. I'm going to have to replace this suit," he grumbled to himself as he picked out bullets. "Should have known better than to wear a thousand-dollar suit to a meeting at the clubhouse." He didn't voice the more important thoughts running through his head: Was Sigefrid mad at him again? Thank goodness they'd been able to drive off the rival club. Did they need help disposing of the bodies that had dropped? Sigefrid had been hurt. After that had been the best marksmanship Sebastian had displayed in his life, as if his body had known something his conscious mind didn't. Sigefrid was okay. He wouldn't even need a doctor. Was his medicine out? Should Sebastian leave more? He would have to find a way to discreetly ask Sigefrid about that.

 

By the time Sigefrid was done outside shit was a mess. Uhtred had been painfully unhelpful! Even despite who they BOTH knew it FUCKING was! Then again he also probably knew they were lying when they'd told him some of the bodies had 'got up and walked away' for once those had been Erik’s words actually. Sigefrid was impressed. Uhtred however had seemed very annoyed at all of it including them and not to enthused to be lied to. They paid him though right? Maybe he and his stupid Scottish deputy who didn't know how to shut up would leave it alone for now.

Beef with Kjartan’s crew was simple on and off and long time coming. A back and forth that had started a few weeks prior when they'd put their deflected member into the hospital and Erik had INSISTED. Prospect or not they needed to HIT back. So they'd blown one of their warehouses in North Stockholm to actual smithereens. Clearly that had pissed the other off a lot judging by the damage now scattered the lot. The next few days for those without extra bikes we're about to be simply annoying.

Well after leaving Erik to keep dealing with his old buddies Sigefrid finally came drifting into the club house. By now Ragnar and Cnut had also left. Takin Sigefrid’s work truck and headed for the hospital so the club house was mostly silent by the time he came walking in. A tired, dull expression on his face.

"Looks like it hurts" He commented, in a tone that could hardly be distinguished as either happy, sad or mad it was simply … well it lacked near everything but a hint of sarcasm as he moved to over and soon came slumping down in the chair to the left of the sofa. His eyes for a moment studying the other. "Anything else you want to tell me?… You aren't going to suddenly turn into a sheep mid fuck right? I hear they do a good deal of screaming but I also can't think of a bigger turn off" He stated all to casually before finally snickering at the very thought. Still, his point should have been blatantly obvious.

Should have ……

 

Sebastian was making an incision to pluck out one of the last few bullets when Sigefrid spoke. He looked over at him.

"Baa," he deadpanned, then went back to what he was doing. "No, I'm not a shifter. That feather that you touched to heal your shoulder, I can harness the power of it to heal you through any kind of touch, but sometimes it takes more concentration than others, and it's not a panacea. Couldn't regrow your hand, for example, but I could probably do something about phantom limb discomfort and organ damage. The feather itself keeps me from getting sick or permanently injured, although I've never been in a firefight before today. But I'm forever clean, so… yay.

"There's also a red glow, a thrall, that brings out the capacity for lust. I could use it to subdue someone and *make* him want me. Works better than my twink ass trying to knock him out and tie him up." That was what Serena had meant when she had told Sigefrid she could force him. Of course, judging by his words just now, it didn't look like that would be necessary.

"I'm married, to Lucifer Morningstar. It's an open marriage. We let each other know if we're hooking up with someone regularly. He doesn't know about our spat when we first met. My other job —  Serena's job —  is as a drag performer, usually singing and dancing, then seeing clients privately afterwards for a fee. Obviously that last part is illegal, so there's no paperwork linking me to it. I've been blowing off hooking lately, though. It takes the edge off if I'm not able to sleep with someone I actually like for a few days, but then it gets boring.

"I'm a recovered addict. Used to do everything, then quit cold turkey when I moved to California, except the occasional drink. I know a chemist through Luci who makes customized drugs to order, and another who makes tonics to ease withdrawal symptoms and hangovers. I never gave you anything that would endanger your life, just give you a nice buzz, unless you take too much." He threw Sigefrid a pointed look as he scooped up his bullets and put them in a little jar in his briefcase. "I'm also exclusive donor to a vampire and he hates the taste of drugs, so I stay clean for him, although I was tempted to relapse once or twice when he wasn't around, before I met you.

"What else do you need to know? I'm pretty sure that covers all the surprises."

 

As the male started in Sigefrid almost looked bored at first. Of course the bit about the others healing he had already been somewhat privy to in more than one way so it wasn't all to shocking. However the part where he could apparently seduce with some sort of power caught his attention and for a moment his brows furrowed as if in thought. Damn near do hard the husband part seemed to be of less concern once Sebastian had started in on that part. Who cared anyway? Wasn't the weirdest shit he'd heard from another. Oh yes and the part where Sebastian seemed to slightly chide over taking to much if the drugs he'd brought. This caused a slight snigger to drift from Sigefrid’s lips in amusement as he caught that and then slightly rolled his eyes.

Slowly nodding as the other drew closer to finishing he seemed to scoff at something but merely shook his head, shifting forward to pull. Cigarette from his kutte his eyes then moved back to focus on Sebastian with a dull expression. "Your vampire sounds like a little bitch" He remarked before he sort of chewed his lower lip for a moment. "So what were you doing here? Other than running at bullets…. " He finally had to ask honestly still kind of clueless in the lawyer part. Granted he remembered one was supposed to have came by and Sebastian would have fit the bill to had he really thought about it but Dagfinn had handled the phone call and they'd all completely missed when the lawyer was supposed to come by so who was to say if Sebastian was ALSO a damn lawyer on top of that lovely list he'd just given him. Or maybe this was just all big coincidence?

 

Sebastian shrugged. He and Xander hadn't been getting along lately. "So am I," he said. "He left for a month and I fell apart. I could say something cheesy and dumb like how meeting you put me back together, but we both stabbed each other," he said with a little laugh. "I stayed clean for him, just in case, because I didn't know when he would be back. When he feeds on me, I feel useful," he stated simply and without shame.

He blinked at Sigefrid's question. "Meeting with Skorpa," he said. "About the case. We had an appointment. I got some details, wrote up a fee agreement. Cnut has it. He'd just agreed to have the other clients sign it when the firefight started."

 

Serena, Sebastian, Whichever, whoever both were honestly an unnatural phenomenon in Sigefrid’s mind. Especially hearing how he literally let a leach suck off of him just to feel useful. Honestly it was pathetic but for once he chose not to voice that opinion and simply shrugged moving to take a drag of his cigarette. Mid drag however the door to the club house suddenly came cracking open and Erik appeared poking his head in. Sort of furrowing his brow spotting Sebastian for a moment he then looked to Sigefrid. "Need you again…. Mr officer wants another word before we wrap this bullshit up" Erik stated and for a moment his eyes again drifted over towards Sebastian thoughtfully. Almost as if he were trying to place him now that he was actually looking at him and nothing was really going on but honestly he couldn't. Unlike Sigefrid Sebastian could have looked right at him and it probably would have gone missed by Erik.

"Tell him to come in here…. Wait no…. Tell him I died. I never want to speak to him again" Sigefrid grumbled though even as he did he was moving to stand. A vague look of tired irritation on his face as he headed for where Erik was standing.

"Ha! He doesn't believe a word I say ever he definitely wouldn't believe you just walked in here and croaked" Erik retorted, finally breaking that awkward 'Do I know you?' look he was giving Sebastian.

 

Sebastian wouldn't have disagreed with Sigefrid had he made his opinion about Sebastian's relationship with Xander known. He wasn't sure he'd disagree with much that Sigefrid said. He barely turned his head as Erik peeked in, apparently scrutinizing him, but he just leaned back and poked his sunglasses more securely up the bridge of his nose.

There it was, that sense of loss again as Sigefrid moved to leave.

"I could talk to him," Sebastian offered. "My husband and I have some ties to the community. He might believe me if I corroborate what you two are saying."

 

Freezing in the door Sigefrid shot a look to Erik for a moment which clarified the others same reaction. This was about way more than JUST what was happening outside the building in that moment. Chuckling almost immediately Sigefrid cast Sebastian a raised eyebrow "Yeah how about I just go show him some teeth and call it a day…. You still look like shit anyway." Sigefrid teased about the other who still sat there with the blood covering his front. Not to mention his shirt might as well be thrown away from what Sigefrid had just watched him finishing up.

"Might wanna make sure your tires didn't get blown out actually. Not as bad as Skorpa's shit …. Or mine…. But it isn't pretty" Erik pointed out making a bit of a face. Hoping that might actually distract Sebastian for now. The other didn't need to know anything more about the situation at hand. AT ALL! I'm fact he was fairly certain they'd get the heat for things if Uhtred even thought for a moment they were about to expose their current under the table 'friendly' agreement of sorts.

Moving past Erik to lead the way back out Sigefrid was soon heading for the road again. By now it was unfortunately far more than just the three cops who'd shown up originally and they'd all but blocked off both ways down the street to stop traffic and clean this absolute MESS up. From here he could already see the back of Uhtred’s head and ooooh GOD that Irish prick was talking. Really he was the most annoying. Well this aught to be good if he was being drug back out….

Probably had to do with OTHER situations.

 

Sebastian looked down at his clothes. Yes, they looked terrible. He shrugged lightly and packed up his stuff, then went to inspect his car. He'd been lucky: Only one back wheel had been dinged, and he had a spare. He opened his trunk, took off his suit jacket and shirt, threw them in, withdrew the spare and jack, and set about changing his tire. Very close-knit, private people these were, and Sebastian couldn't blame them. They were wary of outsiders, probably especially of lawyers, even the lawyers who were meant to help them stay free.

When he had finished changing his tire, he got in the car and drove home, to the house in his own name, not to Lux. He poured himself a drink and sipped it, contemplating the conversation between Sigefrid and himself. He hadn't seemed too mad, and had even implied they could sleep together again. Hopefully, despite his obvious being in shock, he'd caught that Sebastian had chosen to represent the club members pro bono, to take at least part of the burden off. He already had ideas for the case forming in his mind. The most important thing was Sigefrid's happiness, and his men walking free would make him happy, right?