The moment he was taken to the Sun Room, Byrne rushed over to the bulletin board and checked his secret posted note for the latest response. He wouldn't be disappointed. Agreement. Finally! Was he already in here? Byrne scanned the room but couldn't spot him; then again, the prosecutor had gotten in here earlier than most of the other patients, so the old detective was likely still in the cafeteria. And so he rushed over to the cafeteria entrance to stand and wait near there, hopefully staying out of sight in the spot he picked.
It was set.
You wanna avoid me like a pissy two year old, Tyrell? You think you can get rid of me so easily? Fine then. I'll MAKE you want to see me. Like it or not, you WILL meet me today.
Badd would be here. Oh, he'd be here alright. He agreed to it. He had to show up. Any minute now.
Gleefully impatient as he was, there were two concerns weighing heavily on Byrne's mind as he waited. The first was the fact that someone else had unexpectedly jumped into that otherwise private conversation. Two people,
( ... )
Niikura was bad enough. Now there was another stalker out for the Yatagarasu's head. The threats wouldn't be idle in a place like that, and what was worse is that he knew that both Badd and Byrne were involved.
Try as he might he couldn't catch a glimpse of anyone but Byrne and Niikura at the bulletin board, and so he was forced to acquiesce to the writer's demands.
And there was the man he'd been avoiding for the last two days, standing around nonchalantly as if his life wasn't in constant danger. Badd came up and took him urgently by the shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" He must have seen the note on the bulletin. Just like that idiot to rush into danger out of curiosity, just like him to stick his neck out where he should.\n't. "Byrne, you need to get out of here," Badd ordered, whispering through his teeth. The stalker would be here any minute and if things got messy Badd didn't want Byrne tied up in it.
Byrne nearly jumped out of his skin when Badd grabbed his shoulder. Christ, how did--what? How did Badd manage to sneak up on HIM? He'd been watching the doors the whole time and he didn't see him come out of the cafeteria at all! Where did he...oh, forget about it. Badd was here now, wasn't he? At least he'd come up to Byrne willingly instead of Byrne having to hunt him down himself. Business! They had business to take care of. So how was he going to handle this again? Uhh. Umm. ...Uh
( ... )
"The man on the bulletin, the one who threatened you, he's supposed to be meeting me..."
Badd trailed off as a look of horrible understanding came across his face. The handwritting had been purposefully disguised, because they knew Badd might recognize it. He'd never caught anyone but Byrne and Niikura at the board. And now Byrne was here where the stalker should have been, playing at innocence rather than rushing to discuss the imminent danger of the person who knew their secret.
Badd's Logic made less of a 'schwing' noise and more the clink of a bullet being loaded into a chamber.
"Byrne." His voice dropped to a chill murmur as he loomed over his partner, glaring down at him with the fury of a thousand von Karmas. "Did you set me up?"
Well, shoot. That didn't take long, did it? Byrne should have figured it would be impossible for him to hide anything from Badd, of all people. Though actually, being found out so quickly didn't bother him a bit. In fact, he was feeling quite...pleasant right now.
So in response to his partner's horrified realization, a devilish smirk spread across the prosecutor's face and he folded his hands behind his back, looking a lot like a little kid who probably deserved to be smacked upside the head for some cruel prank they pulled. Jackass mode activated. "Maybe, maybe not," he replied almost coyly, grin widening even more. "It got you to stop avoiding me finally, didn't it?"
And that was all that mattered right now. Badd was obviously a tad upset, understandably, but he could get over it. How else was Byrne supposed to talk to him? He'd tried looking for him at night, he'd tried asking nicely over the bulletin board, and nothing had worked. So you know what? The ends justified the means in this situation.
add raised his fist and then, very slowly, lowered it. The only thing stopping him from decking his partner was the knowledge that the guards were watching. Of course if he murdered Byrne purely with his glare of unbearable rage nobody would be able to prove a thing
( ... )
Aaand the jackass smile was gone in a flash. But unlike their last argument, Byrne would not lose control and get angry right back at his partner, nor would he treat him like a senile old man with anger issues. (Even if Badd was literally just about to punch him and was now glaring at him with the intensity of a thousand angry suns - not that he blamed him, honestly, he kind of deserved it.) There was just...not exactly pity, but a sort of...something that he couldn't describe, deep down. Something that made him want to magically absorb all of Badd's negative feelings like a sponge so he wouldn't have to carry so much of them anymore. If that were even possible.
But alas, he was a prosecutor, not a magician. He would have to solve this the only way he knew how: with words. "Then maybe you should ask yourself why I did it," he replied slowly, casually, "Maybe actually consider the feelings of the asshole who wanted to see you again so bad he struck a few low blows to trick you into seeing him
( ... )
"Byrne..." He wasn't the prosecutor. He wasn't good with words. He knew exactly what needed to be said, he needed to convince Byrne that he should stop being so selfish and short-sighted. Byrne needed to live. If it even slightly increased the chances of Byrne's survival they needed to stay apart. And even if it didn't, did he deserve to be around Byrne, after what he'd done? After he'd shown what kind of a man he really was?
Then Byrne tackled him and Badd froze up. He'd expected a blow or a barb but not this. He opened his mouth to tell Byrne off. For god's sake, you're a grown man--
For god's sake, you old idiot. You have him back, and who knows for how long. Stop wasting it.
Badd's powerful arm slowly came up and slipped around Byrne's shoulders. He gripped his partner tightly, chin resting against his temple. He was facing away from the room, but he was sure people were staring.
At that moment, there wasn't anyone alive in the world to Byrne but Tyrell Badd. And at that moment, it was suddenly getting harder and harder to keep a week's worth of stress inside. He'd felt perfectly fine just a few minutes ago. Why was he suddenly shaking like the morning after his torture session all over again...?
But he would keep a smile on his face, for his friend's sake if nothing else. If he broke down now, Badd would never believe that their being together was a good thing for the both of them. He'd make up some lame excuse, like look you're sad so obviously I have to keep avoiding you so you won't be sad. No, Byrne wasn't sad, he was happy, and he needed to prove absolutely positively that he was perfectly okay and that they were perfectly okay and nothing was wrong and goddamnit stop stinging, eyes, we're not doing this crying thing now, not now, not in front of fucking stop it, please please please
( ... )
Badd could hear the shaking in Byrne's voice, how close the powerful prosecutor was to breaking down. He held him as strongly as he had the night he'd realized Byrne had returned to him, desperate not to let him fall.
"No," he murmured into Byrne's ear. "We're not superheroes. We get beat, a lot. But we can get through it. They can't break us."
They very nearly had. Badd had been on the brink as it was, willing to sacrifice himself for Byrne not out of loyalty but so he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. A few more days of this torture and who knows what he would have done to itself.
"They can't break us," Byrne repeated slowly, softly. He liked those words better; they spoke truer. As long as they stuck together and had each other's back, they stood a fighting chance against all of the blows Landel and Aguilar hurled at them. Their evil could never hold this raven down forever...one of these days, they'd break out and take flight, and they would spread the awful truth about this place, and...
... Oh, to hell with raven metaphors right now. Badd was here, that was what mattered. And Byrne was going to make damn sure that he wouldn't decide to abandon him ever again.
He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, he sounded much calmer. "Promise me you won't run off like an idiot again, okay?"
It was set.
You wanna avoid me like a pissy two year old, Tyrell? You think you can get rid of me so easily? Fine then. I'll MAKE you want to see me. Like it or not, you WILL meet me today.
Badd would be here. Oh, he'd be here alright. He agreed to it. He had to show up. Any minute now.
Gleefully impatient as he was, there were two concerns weighing heavily on Byrne's mind as he waited. The first was the fact that someone else had unexpectedly jumped into that otherwise private conversation. Two people, ( ... )
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Try as he might he couldn't catch a glimpse of anyone but Byrne and Niikura at the bulletin board, and so he was forced to acquiesce to the writer's demands.
And there was the man he'd been avoiding for the last two days, standing around nonchalantly as if his life wasn't in constant danger. Badd came up and took him urgently by the shoulder.
"What are you doing here?" He must have seen the note on the bulletin. Just like that idiot to rush into danger out of curiosity, just like him to stick his neck out where he should.\n't. "Byrne, you need to get out of here," Badd ordered, whispering through his teeth. The stalker would be here any minute and if things got messy Badd didn't want Byrne tied up in it.
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Badd trailed off as a look of horrible understanding came across his face. The handwritting had been purposefully disguised, because they knew Badd might recognize it. He'd never caught anyone but Byrne and Niikura at the board. And now Byrne was here where the stalker should have been, playing at innocence rather than rushing to discuss the imminent danger of the person who knew their secret.
Badd's Logic made less of a 'schwing' noise and more the clink of a bullet being loaded into a chamber.
"Byrne." His voice dropped to a chill murmur as he loomed over his partner, glaring down at him with the fury of a thousand von Karmas. "Did you set me up?"
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So in response to his partner's horrified realization, a devilish smirk spread across the prosecutor's face and he folded his hands behind his back, looking a lot like a little kid who probably deserved to be smacked upside the head for some cruel prank they pulled. Jackass mode activated. "Maybe, maybe not," he replied almost coyly, grin widening even more. "It got you to stop avoiding me finally, didn't it?"
And that was all that mattered right now. Badd was obviously a tad upset, understandably, but he could get over it. How else was Byrne supposed to talk to him? He'd tried looking for him at night, he'd tried asking nicely over the bulletin board, and nothing had worked. So you know what? The ends justified the means in this situation.
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But alas, he was a prosecutor, not a magician. He would have to solve this the only way he knew how: with words. "Then maybe you should ask yourself why I did it," he replied slowly, casually, "Maybe actually consider the feelings of the asshole who wanted to see you again so bad he struck a few low blows to trick you into seeing him ( ... )
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Then Byrne tackled him and Badd froze up. He'd expected a blow or a barb but not this. He opened his mouth to tell Byrne off. For god's sake, you're a grown man--
For god's sake, you old idiot. You have him back, and who knows for how long. Stop wasting it.
Badd's powerful arm slowly came up and slipped around Byrne's shoulders. He gripped his partner tightly, chin resting against his temple. He was facing away from the room, but he was sure people were staring.
Let 'em.
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But he would keep a smile on his face, for his friend's sake if nothing else. If he broke down now, Badd would never believe that their being together was a good thing for the both of them. He'd make up some lame excuse, like look you're sad so obviously I have to keep avoiding you so you won't be sad. No, Byrne wasn't sad, he was happy, and he needed to prove absolutely positively that he was perfectly okay and that they were perfectly okay and nothing was wrong and goddamnit stop stinging, eyes, we're not doing this crying thing now, not now, not in front of fucking stop it, please please please ( ... )
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"No," he murmured into Byrne's ear. "We're not superheroes. We get beat, a lot. But we can get through it. They can't break us."
They very nearly had. Badd had been on the brink as it was, willing to sacrifice himself for Byrne not out of loyalty but so he wouldn't have to suffer anymore. A few more days of this torture and who knows what he would have done to itself.
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... Oh, to hell with raven metaphors right now. Badd was here, that was what mattered. And Byrne was going to make damn sure that he wouldn't decide to abandon him ever again.
He took a deep breath, and when he spoke again, he sounded much calmer. "Promise me you won't run off like an idiot again, okay?"
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