Wandering

[onlynothuman]

It was good while it lasted, the gig working for Harvey, but once it was over, Simon did his best to vanish again.  Sorry, Jack, Jon, or whoever you are.  Sell your own LSD.  Hide your own corpses, if you make any.  Simon has no desire to be caught if, God forbid, Mr. Dent decides to tell people where the bodies went

Comments

[goshdarnniteowl]

Daniel's leg is healing up, at least. Sure, he can't run, or do anything too strenuous, yet -- it'll be at least a couple more weeks 'til he feels okay with the idea of going back to either of his jobs -- but he can walk well enough to get around town, to get to the little junk stores and military surplus places that he gets most of Nite Owl and Rorschach's supplies from.

It's on the way back to his car from one of these, scarf tight around his face and heavy canvas bag rattling with bits of sharp, cold metal, that he passes by that street corner.

He knows that voice, that pale, big-eyed face. And he almost freezes in the middle of the street, staring -- only barely turns it into a pretense of checking his bag. What do I do? What would Rorschach... he'd run after him and probably get stabbed again. Jeez, look at him, out here in just that coat, he must be freezing. No wonder he was... God, what'll he do for a place to stay if someone else offers? He's just a kid. Even he doesn't deserve...

He takes a deep breath, and approaches Simon. This is such a bad idea. "Hey." He stutters a little, eyes cast down as he tries to stave off the irrational fear that he'll be recognised, and scare the poor kid off. "Y-you need a place to stay? Something to eat?"

He just has to be sure to get him fed and out of the house by the time Walter gets home from work. That shouldn't be hard, right?

[onlynothuman]

There's no recognition when Simon looks up at him, just an attempt at an alluring smile that does nothing to hide the utter wariness in his eyes. He pushes himself up the wall to his feet, dusting off his palms on the thighs of his pants, letting his hands linger there. "Just tonight. You got a hotel?"

[goshdarnniteowl]

His stomach turns at Simon's assumption, at his assumption that that's what Simon's assuming. "No -- no. Not like that." Oh God, this poor kid... He swallows hard. "A-an apartment. I can't give you a place to sleep, but I have hot food. And I can find you a better coat. Nothing in exchange."

[onlynothuman]

Simon looks Daniel up and down, then looks back into his face, chewing his lip. Big, well-fleshed. Just a bit soft. Perfect.

"No one's that generous." Just the right amount of suspicion. "What do you want?"

[goshdarnniteowl]

"For no one to freeze to death tonight if I can help it." Oh, Dan. You mean so well...

[onlynothuman]

He glances both ways down the street, shifting his weight from cold foot to cold foot. "... If you try anything weird," he concedes grudgingly, completely shedding the attempt at seduction. If the guy wants to make this easy on him, who is Simon to stop him? "D'you have a car?"

[goshdarnniteowl]

"Yeah." He shrugs his scarf up higher, and smiles sheepishly, even though Simon can't see. "Come on."

Archie's a cheap car, boxy and brown, but the seats are soft and the heater works. And it gets them to his apartment in good time -- just as warm and a little bit more spacious. "Just a second, I have to put this away..." He darts toward the workroom, to crack the door and toss the bag inside, closing the door right up again, while still keeping an eye on the kid. (He's naive, not stupid.)

"What kind of soup do you like?" He doesn't mention Walter just yet. He has enough time that he probably won't need to, right?

[onlynothuman]

Simon's too busy watching Daniel to check out the room. Inside, in the light, he's quick to put on his black sunglasses, the skin around his eyes creased in a squint, and the big lenses hide the way his eyes are fixed on his prey host.

"Nice place," he says quietly. Could be diffident, could be distracted. What type of soup does he like? "Um. Chicken. Anything thick? Or do you have pork and beans?"

[goshdarnniteowl]

"Um. I think so. Let me see." Walter's fond of it, so there's probably at least a couple cans... unless they've been eaten already. To the kitchen he goes to find out! Do you dare follow, Simon?

[onlynothuman]

He's following! ... Actually, he's following quite close. "This is like the apartment my mom had, but she couldn't afford it by herself," he says, still soft, listening for any other sound in the flat.

[goshdarnniteowl]

I'd like to say that that gives him some cause for alarm, but... let's be honest. Between Arkham and Walter, Daniel's Weird-O-Meter is pretty busted when it comes to personal interactions. He makes a triumphant sound as he comes up with a can of pork and beans, and rummages for the can opener.

"Yeah. I have a roommate, but he's at work. You, uh..." He really wishes there was a polite way to put this. "You should probably be gone by the time he gets back. He's sort of weird about people."

[onlynothuman]

"That's no problem." He sounds a little disappointed. The apartment is warm, after all. He shifts over to stand next to the cupboards, staying out of Daniel's way as he rummages... except he's reaching for another can, and suddenly taking a step forward, swinging it hard at the side of his head.

[goshdarnniteowl]

Daniel doesn't suspect anything, right up until the can is coming at his head. Then he's twisting away, eyes wide -- reflexes better than expected for someone of his size and apparent bookishness, but still not fast enough to avoid the blow entirely. The can clips his temple, hard enough to have him seeing stars.

But he's dealt with blows to the head before, and he swings at Simon past the sudden constellations, looking pained in more ways than one. You idiot. Why did you think this would be easy? "You don't have to do this..."

[onlynothuman]

Simon bares his teeth, jerking back from the retaliatory blow and lunging forward to swing again. This is the moment when he stops pretending to be like them, to be human, and his face twists into a predatory snarl.

[goshdarnniteowl]

A jolt goes up Daniel's spine, bone-deep recognition of the wrongness of that look on a human face. Of the similarity of it to some of the patients at Arkham.

He raises an arm to ward off the blow, rushing forward to tackle Simon. If there's one advantage he has over this kid, after all, it's size.

[onlynothuman]

And Simon knows it, keeping a death grip on his can as he meets Dan's charge, lets him slam him back against the cupboards. It knocks the wind out of his chest noisily, and its his turn to see stars, but there's Daniel's throat, right there and Simon strikes for it, biting at him.