Fic: Past Tense
Sick-Katze is sick, feels ick, brings fic.
Title: Past Tense
Author: Katzedecimal
Rating: T
Characters: Giovanni Ricardo, Chase Williams, brief appearances by Kid Flash, Aqualad
Summary: What makes people tick
Morning. Blond lashes fluttered over blue eyes; Giovanni awoke feeling warm and confined. He glanced down at the same time as he heard a soft snore behind him -- Chase was spooned against him, one arm slipped beneath his neck, the other wrapped around his waist, caging him. Giovanni smiled; it was lovely and snug but he needed to go to the bathroom. He slooooooowwwwwly rolled Chase back and scootched out, then he smooched his boyfriend's cheek and went out to the can.
The house owned by world-travelling chef Giovanni Ricardo was a reasonably modest bungalow in a suburban gated community near the outskirts of Central City. The decor was much more sedate than the Trickster's apartment, as befitted its status as one of his hideouts. As luck would have it, his favorite colours had been all the rage in interior decorating a few years ago, so it was painted with a soft, pale orange and carpeted in blue. It was really too large for one person but would suit two just fine and the workshop could easily accomodate two eccentric geniuses creating gizmos.
Piper's apartment was easily the biggest mess James had ever witnessed. A one-room studio flat, nearly all of it was workshop, and not very well organised workshop either. Bits and pieces and equipment had lain everywhere, with something resembling a path cleared among them. There were scorch marks on the walls and carpet. There was a bed shoved into the corner, almost as an afterthought.
The kitchen was an even bigger disaster, at least in James's opinion. It boasted a substantial wine rack, laden with fine wines, but the fridge was empty of anything edible that wasn't take-away leftovers or milk. The pantry was full of cans, mostly soup, Chef Boyardee(zevergross) and tuna. It was clean though, at least in the hygienic sense. The man had learned how to use a toilet brush and mop. Gambi did say that for a rich kid who'd had pretty much everything done for him by servants, he was doing pretty well.
Rich kid. That had come as a surprise. With the whole Robin Hood concept, James had figured the kid for an upper-class rebel, somebody who knew the value of a dollar, not from the cream eschelons, who were usually so far out of touch with reality it was, aheh, unreal. But then everything about Piper had come as a surprise, including how James felt about him. Well, he had always just rolled with his impulses.
He finished mixing the crepe batter and went back to the bedroom to check on Piper. He'd rolled onto his belly, with one leg drawn up, and James saw that he still had his goofy cap on. (There was a trail of clothes from the window to the bed -- well, they did get a bit amorous after last night's caper...) Looking so soft and feminine, with tousled coppery hair in his face, salmon pink lips slightly parted, strawberry eyelashes resting on lightly freckled peach cheeks, the silly stocking cap draped over one shoulder... He was still the prettiest girl James had ever seen, the fact that he was a man notwithstanding. The fact that he was a man was jusssssst apparent, if one were looking at the right angle... James grinned, endeared, and grabbed his camera. Then he went back to the kitchen to make coffee.
A few minutes later IT technician Chase Williams stumbled out, yawning and scratching his head, wearing a pair of Giovanni's sweatpants. He walked up behind James and nuzzled his neck with a little sound, reaching around to fondle beneath James's apron. "Good morning," James chuckled. Hartley mumbled indistinctly, muffled by James's shoulder. He had his arms wrapped around James's waist now and was half-leaning, half-hanging off of him. "Here, have some coffee and wake up, Sleepyhead," James passed him a mug and steered him into a chair at the kitchen table.
Piper sipped in silence for a few minutes. "Thank you for protecting my sister," he said finally.
"No problem," James smiled, "Your sister's a sweetheart."
"And you are the best boyfriend ever."
"Back at you, Hartley -- that was fun."
Piper took another swig of his coffee and shook his head, "I knew he'd try to claim the donation to try to save face. I went to make sure he couldn't do that. I didn't expect to have to blow Jerrie's cover as well."
"Glad you did though. That Wayne fellow is weird. Everything he does seems fake, over the top; he's hiding something. So's his kid, his 'ward,'" James mimed quotes, "The kid's circus. I'm not sure what to think about that. Something's off."
"He struck me as familiar but I can't think why. He seemed trustworthy though. And I'm positive the kid with him was Speedy."
James nodded, "The kid seemed good... I was more worried about what Wayne's keeping him for."
"He's over the age of consent."
"He wasn't when he got there. The Graysons took their last flight on the trapeze some eight years ago now. It bothers me a bit -- kid's family goes and I could see the charitable 'pay for him to take a place at one of those boarding schools, look good in the papers' things but he takes this flexible little acrobat boy and locks him up at that mansion of his, bringing him out for parties."
Piper arched an eyebrow, "Not everyone who's gay is a pedophile, you know."
"I never said he was gay but we had those kinds, rich men or women looking to buy the pretty circus children from their poor parents, offering a 'good environment.'" There were the quotes again. "They wanted the kids for sex. The parents knew, the kids knew and those people with their deep pockets and 'charity' knew too." James was rolling the crepes around the ricotta cheese filling and didn't notice Piper's expression. "Wayne grabbed himself a freebie and an acrobat -- next to the girls who do ballet on the backs of elephants or horses, they're the favourites."
Piper was listening and hearing far more than James was saying. "You're speaking from experience, aren't you."
"Mama and Papa, they didn't raise a fool. I slipped off the first night and caught up with the troupe before they did anything other than talk. Then we had their money and left the bastards shit outta luck."
Piper sipped his coffee in silence, wondering what to make of that. He wondered if he should have a word with Kid Flash. He knew people in Gotham, namely Robin, who might be able to do some under-the-surface checking. If nothing else, it would put James's mind at ease.
"We got distracted while we were discussing our covers," James said, setting a plate of blintzes drizzled in fruit compote in front of Hartley, "Now, shall we say you are my lackluster apprentice I picked up in Ireland? Or we could tell them of our torrid love affair beget by fine wine and delicate pasta on the French Riviera?"
"I like that one," Piper giggled.
James slapped his knee, laughing, "Great! Now, do you remember what we ate?"
"Besides each other?"
"...because I will be recreating it with ingredients from the farmer's market, to celebrate our anniversary at my place. That will keep most of the rubber-neckers from coming around hoping for a culinary display from Chef Ricardo."
"Ahhhh," said Piper, whose mind was still stuck on 'eating each other' and hadn't made it to the pasta part yet.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before James noticed Piper's slightly glazed expression, "Hey, Piper, what's going on in there?" Piper gazed at him for a moment, then he moved into James's lap, kissing him and slipping his fruit-flavoured tongue between his lips. Oh.
* * * *
"Hiya, Piper. What's up?"
"Thanks for coming, KF."
"No problem, you got me curious. I mean, it's not every day a Rogue rings up a Flash, heh.."
"Yes, I seem to remember thinking the same thing once," Piper grinned.
"So what's up?"
"Actually, I have a bit of a favour to ask," Piper said. He described the events of the Rathaway gala, while Kid Flash tried not to grin or crack up laughing. It's not funny! - okay yes it is, but he tried not to indicate that he'd already heard all of this from both Robin and Speedy. It was easier to stay not-laughing when Piper got to the part about Trickster's concern for Jerrie and then for "the kid with Wayne." It was very easy to stay not-laughing when Piper repeated Trickster's explanation for his concern. Sure, it's ridiculous but if it was anyone other than Dick, Wally would completely share the concern.
"You think R-err Richard Grayson needs to be saved from Ba-..rrruce Wayne?" Aqualad said. Kid Flash tried not to wince.
"No. I would like to ensure that there's nothing to be saved from," Piper says, a trifle testily, then looked at Kid Flash again, "Since you work with Robin and Wayne is pretty prominant in Gotham, I was wondering if I could ask you to nose around a little. Just to put Trickster's mind at ease."
Aqualad nodded and put a hand on Piper's shoulder, "You can trust us to take care of Dick. He's a real example to his peers. Should we have an alert on your sister? If it'd help keep you from returning to high villainy we'd love to help."
Kid Flash smacked his forehead, "You see what I have to deal with."
"He's not as bad at it as Captain Boomerang is," Piper smirked.
Kid Flash glared at the fishboy and shook his head then looked back at Piper the not-really-a-villain, "Sounds like Trickster knows about this kind of thing?"
Piper chose his words carefully, "Reading between the lines, yes I believe he does, if you catch my drift."
Kid Flash winced, "Um. Ew. This all tells me a lot about Trickster."
"Yes," Piper sighed, tossing his hair. He noticed Aqualad looking at him oddly, "What?"
"What's that mark on your neck?" he asked innocently, then looked puzzled when Piper blushed deeply.
Kid Flash grinned widely, "Henna again?"
"Nnn...nooo...." Piper tugged down the collar of his cloak to reveal a walnut-sized hickey on his throat. Both boys broke up laughing.
Piper grinned and patted his cloak back into place, then glanced at the time, "I should go."
Kid Flash nodded, "Okay. I'll talk to Robin. Thanks for telling me though. It gives me a lot to think about."
* * * *
The clatter of keys drew James's attention. He wandered out of the kitchen and went to stand beside Hartley, "Whatcha doing?"
"My accounting."
James looked over his shoulder, curious; what he didn't give back, he usually let rest a while then disappear into Giovanni's accounts. He watched Hartley for a while, his puzzled frown growing by the minute.
It appeared that Hartley had a complete breakdown of everything his parents ever bought for him: Hearing operations, education, bribes for degrees and corporate positions, bail, ransoms, clothes, food -- everything, literally everything he could find figures for. From the totals, he subtracted the totals from each of the Pied Piper's heists and leaving the balances, onto which were added other debts as his parents continued to bribe and bail. He was adding the total costs of the housing project, how much in donations to the homeless society, cost of moving people, and so on.
James couldn't understand how such debt could be accrued. "I could help too, y'know or do gifts not factor into this?"
"This is personal," Hartley said absently, fingers clattering rapidly over the keyboard.
"Yeah, from reading these subheadings, you make your life into some form of retribution for actions of others, stuff you couldn't control -- why?"
"So I can get control."
"There are healthier and more interesting ways of accomplishing that," James said, still staring at the numbers, "Look at Catwoman and her dominatrix get-up -- same difference."
"Uh no, not that kind of control," Piper chuckled, "I mean control over me."
James frowned, "Shouldn't that be more internal though? This is putting a price-tag on your life. It's following in the footsteps of people who believed your life could be bought in the first place. It makes you a commodity, man."
Piper nodded, "Exactly. It's the only language they understand. I'm buying myself free."
"How the hell does that make sense? What do you think of yourself to be doing something like this? You're tacitly agreeing with them by doing this shit, you're stooping to their level!"
Hartley glanced up at him, "James... You've seen how my parents talk to me. You've seen how they throw every 'Rathaway dollar' they've ever spent on me, back in my face to try to guilt-trip me." He gestured at the screen, "This makes them aware of what they've done."
James knew. He'd heard the phone messages, heard the voices berating Hartley, citing how much they'd spent bailing him out this time or, yes, how much his operations had cost them. And they called him an ungrateful wretch because he wouldn't be the corporate topdog they wanted him to be. He thought of the degrees on the wall at Hartley's apartment, degrees in acoustics engineering that he'd felt he had to sneak, because his father felt it was wasting money on a worthless hobby... James did his best to school his face into a neutral expression and avoid shaking Piper at the entire thing, "And what is it doing to you in the process?"
"I told you - I'm buying my freedom. Once I've bought my life back, I'll probably quit and figure out something to do with it."
"Quit, what, just this or everything associated with it? Pied Piper too?" James asked, eyes now transfixed on the numbers.
"I don't know yet. I'll make that decision when I come to it. As you see, I've still got a long way to go."
"Yeah," James mumbled. He'd wanted Piper to get over all this as fast as possible but now he was worried -- would Piper paying off his 'debt' mean that, when that day came, he'd be done with James as well? "Well you go on with crunching the numbers. I'm going to check up on our equipment make sure all the bits and bolts are in their right places." The Trickster never cared about the future before, why start now?
James went into the workshop and slumped into his chair. That was the problem -- he'd never done a lot of these things before. Never cared about the future, never planned so far ahead... never cared so much. He'd always run from relationships. The showing-off was fun but he'd never wanted the responsibility. Piper was the perfect audience, the perfect straight-man partner for his pranks, he was having more fun than ever. And inside Hartley was a stubborn little boy who was drawing out James's protective side. He didn't even know he had a protective side and suddenly he's acting like every stereotype of an Italian mama! And to his surprise, he loved it.
Rats peered up at James and started to climb his legs, their little claws digging in the fabric of his pants. The clatter of keyboard keys echoed from the other room. That was it, that's what was so special about Piper. James was a conman, he could read people like books; he was nearly impossible to surprise. Yet he'd misread Piper repeatedly and the ways he was feeling and behaving about the pretty redhead...
He pet the rats and tickled them. He had his special earplug on, so he could hear them laughing. Rats laugh, another surprise. "Can you guys keep a secret?" he whispered. The rats squeaked encouragingly and he shushed them, cuddling the ones who'd crawled up into his arms. "Anyhow, you know that silly running tally of your buddy there? That whole self-flagellation bullshit. I- When he is done with it all, with me... what do I do? I like this a lot and if he's just out to finish some stupid vendetta... When he does, I may never see him again and you guys have to promise to keep him in line because when he leaves me... I still want that ridiculous redhead to take care of himself and that means food, real food and doing stuff for him, not..." he sighed, "I dunno. I'm being stupid aren't I? You guys are good though - oh and girls, sorry."
Piper's eyes snapped open. What made James think he was going to leave him? Shyeah like he ever leaves his boyfriends? - other way around, they leave him! Why would James think that?
"Hey, how long do you think it'll take Piper to pay off all that stuff and get his 'freedom'? You ratlets have seen the numbers move longer than I have...years right? Oh that is not what I want to hear. He said he'd quit all this after and ... yeah."
Why was he talking like this? Piper wondered. What did paying off his parents have to do with his relationship with James? Where'd he get the idea that Piper was going to dump him when he'd finished paying off his parents? He got up and walked quietly into the workshop. "Did I do something wrong? You seem upset." James turned around, startled, and one of the rats fell off of him as he tilted precariously in the chair. Piper caught her and put her up on his shoulder, stroking her fur.
"What's her name again?" James asked.
"Rune," Piper replied.
"Because the patch on her shoulder looks kinda like a rune."
"Yes," Piper noticed the dodge. As usual, he does something to torque people off and they never tell him what, and when they do it's usually something he can't help anyways. Same old same-old, nothing new there. This is where it starts and he knows where it'll end. It's just a matter of time. But he really liked James - a lot. A lot. "So you won't tell me what's wrong?"
"I- but you know. I thought you did?" James said, bewildered, "Your accounting thingy... You're going to leave and be free and have this bright new life when you're done and I don't see myself as being any different than I am now, so... You're going to leave and I only just learned I like this and you. You deserve to be happy but I am selfish enough to want it to be with me," he finished plaintively.
"Where'd you get the idea I was going to leave you?" Hartley asked, surprised.
"I asked you!"
Hartley looked very puzzled, thinking back over the conversation, trying to spot where this came from. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you that impression. I'm not going to leave you just because I quit being a Rogue."
"But- what if I am still doing this stuff and you aren't, then you become an accomplice after the fact and that isn't right."
Piper just shrugged and smiled, "I don't mind. I just said I might go straight - for a given value of straight," he added conscientiously, "I didn't say I was going into law enforcement or anything."
"But you aren't a villain. Not really. You're a hero playing at being bad."
Piper sat down beside James and immediately the rats swarmed up over him. "You're sweet. I've followed your record too -- you're not a Bad Guy either. You're fun."
"I don't lie to myself," James shook his head, "What I'm doing, what I continue to do -- it's not heroic and maybe it's not villainous but it is selfish."
"Yeah? And?" Piper laughed, "If that was a crime, the cops'd run out of tickets. Show me a single person in the world who isn't selfish, including holding a mirror in front of Yours Truly." He grinned and leaned over to kiss James, "I'm not gonna leave you, James. It'd take a hell of a lot to make me leave you. Accessory to murder, maybe; grand theft yo-yo, definitely not."
James kissed him, relieved, then leaned his forehead against Piper's, "Yeah well... I've heard from more than a few women I am a hell of a lot to handle."
Piper laughed, "Dude, so am I, why do you think I'm single?"
"I just assumed you were selective or something."
"Well yes, that too."
James grinned, "Uh-huh, so why me?"
Hartley chuckled and stroked his rats. After a few moments, he replied in a soft voice, "Because you were totally hitting on me even after you realized I wasn't a girl. You wanted me. My parents wanted a perfect heir, the Rogues wanted the guy with the super-hearing and the hypnosis..." He sighed sadly, "And a number of men wanted to date the Rathaway heir or the Pied Piper, in the hopes of rubbing shoulders with riches or fame or notoriety." He nuzzled the rat in his arms, "No one's ever wanted me for me, before."
James slipped his arm around Hartley and drew him near, nuzzling his coppery hair. "Then they're all idiots because you are the most delightful person I've ever met," he murmured, then grinned brightly, "Lucky for us both, I'm smart!"
Title: Past Tense
Author: Katzedecimal
Rating: T
Characters: Giovanni Ricardo, Chase Williams, brief appearances by Kid Flash, Aqualad
Summary: What makes people tick
Morning. Blond lashes fluttered over blue eyes; Giovanni awoke feeling warm and confined. He glanced down at the same time as he heard a soft snore behind him -- Chase was spooned against him, one arm slipped beneath his neck, the other wrapped around his waist, caging him. Giovanni smiled; it was lovely and snug but he needed to go to the bathroom. He slooooooowwwwwly rolled Chase back and scootched out, then he smooched his boyfriend's cheek and went out to the can.
The house owned by world-travelling chef Giovanni Ricardo was a reasonably modest bungalow in a suburban gated community near the outskirts of Central City. The decor was much more sedate than the Trickster's apartment, as befitted its status as one of his hideouts. As luck would have it, his favorite colours had been all the rage in interior decorating a few years ago, so it was painted with a soft, pale orange and carpeted in blue. It was really too large for one person but would suit two just fine and the workshop could easily accomodate two eccentric geniuses creating gizmos.
Piper's apartment was easily the biggest mess James had ever witnessed. A one-room studio flat, nearly all of it was workshop, and not very well organised workshop either. Bits and pieces and equipment had lain everywhere, with something resembling a path cleared among them. There were scorch marks on the walls and carpet. There was a bed shoved into the corner, almost as an afterthought.
The kitchen was an even bigger disaster, at least in James's opinion. It boasted a substantial wine rack, laden with fine wines, but the fridge was empty of anything edible that wasn't take-away leftovers or milk. The pantry was full of cans, mostly soup, Chef Boyardee(zevergross) and tuna. It was clean though, at least in the hygienic sense. The man had learned how to use a toilet brush and mop. Gambi did say that for a rich kid who'd had pretty much everything done for him by servants, he was doing pretty well.
Rich kid. That had come as a surprise. With the whole Robin Hood concept, James had figured the kid for an upper-class rebel, somebody who knew the value of a dollar, not from the cream eschelons, who were usually so far out of touch with reality it was, aheh, unreal. But then everything about Piper had come as a surprise, including how James felt about him. Well, he had always just rolled with his impulses.
He finished mixing the crepe batter and went back to the bedroom to check on Piper. He'd rolled onto his belly, with one leg drawn up, and James saw that he still had his goofy cap on. (There was a trail of clothes from the window to the bed -- well, they did get a bit amorous after last night's caper...) Looking so soft and feminine, with tousled coppery hair in his face, salmon pink lips slightly parted, strawberry eyelashes resting on lightly freckled peach cheeks, the silly stocking cap draped over one shoulder... He was still the prettiest girl James had ever seen, the fact that he was a man notwithstanding. The fact that he was a man was jusssssst apparent, if one were looking at the right angle... James grinned, endeared, and grabbed his camera. Then he went back to the kitchen to make coffee.
A few minutes later IT technician Chase Williams stumbled out, yawning and scratching his head, wearing a pair of Giovanni's sweatpants. He walked up behind James and nuzzled his neck with a little sound, reaching around to fondle beneath James's apron. "Good morning," James chuckled. Hartley mumbled indistinctly, muffled by James's shoulder. He had his arms wrapped around James's waist now and was half-leaning, half-hanging off of him. "Here, have some coffee and wake up, Sleepyhead," James passed him a mug and steered him into a chair at the kitchen table.
Piper sipped in silence for a few minutes. "Thank you for protecting my sister," he said finally.
"No problem," James smiled, "Your sister's a sweetheart."
"And you are the best boyfriend ever."
"Back at you, Hartley -- that was fun."
Piper took another swig of his coffee and shook his head, "I knew he'd try to claim the donation to try to save face. I went to make sure he couldn't do that. I didn't expect to have to blow Jerrie's cover as well."
"Glad you did though. That Wayne fellow is weird. Everything he does seems fake, over the top; he's hiding something. So's his kid, his 'ward,'" James mimed quotes, "The kid's circus. I'm not sure what to think about that. Something's off."
"He struck me as familiar but I can't think why. He seemed trustworthy though. And I'm positive the kid with him was Speedy."
James nodded, "The kid seemed good... I was more worried about what Wayne's keeping him for."
"He's over the age of consent."
"He wasn't when he got there. The Graysons took their last flight on the trapeze some eight years ago now. It bothers me a bit -- kid's family goes and I could see the charitable 'pay for him to take a place at one of those boarding schools, look good in the papers' things but he takes this flexible little acrobat boy and locks him up at that mansion of his, bringing him out for parties."
Piper arched an eyebrow, "Not everyone who's gay is a pedophile, you know."
"I never said he was gay but we had those kinds, rich men or women looking to buy the pretty circus children from their poor parents, offering a 'good environment.'" There were the quotes again. "They wanted the kids for sex. The parents knew, the kids knew and those people with their deep pockets and 'charity' knew too." James was rolling the crepes around the ricotta cheese filling and didn't notice Piper's expression. "Wayne grabbed himself a freebie and an acrobat -- next to the girls who do ballet on the backs of elephants or horses, they're the favourites."
Piper was listening and hearing far more than James was saying. "You're speaking from experience, aren't you."
"Mama and Papa, they didn't raise a fool. I slipped off the first night and caught up with the troupe before they did anything other than talk. Then we had their money and left the bastards shit outta luck."
Piper sipped his coffee in silence, wondering what to make of that. He wondered if he should have a word with Kid Flash. He knew people in Gotham, namely Robin, who might be able to do some under-the-surface checking. If nothing else, it would put James's mind at ease.
"We got distracted while we were discussing our covers," James said, setting a plate of blintzes drizzled in fruit compote in front of Hartley, "Now, shall we say you are my lackluster apprentice I picked up in Ireland? Or we could tell them of our torrid love affair beget by fine wine and delicate pasta on the French Riviera?"
"I like that one," Piper giggled.
James slapped his knee, laughing, "Great! Now, do you remember what we ate?"
"Besides each other?"
"...because I will be recreating it with ingredients from the farmer's market, to celebrate our anniversary at my place. That will keep most of the rubber-neckers from coming around hoping for a culinary display from Chef Ricardo."
"Ahhhh," said Piper, whose mind was still stuck on 'eating each other' and hadn't made it to the pasta part yet.
They ate in silence for a few minutes before James noticed Piper's slightly glazed expression, "Hey, Piper, what's going on in there?" Piper gazed at him for a moment, then he moved into James's lap, kissing him and slipping his fruit-flavoured tongue between his lips. Oh.
* * * *
"Hiya, Piper. What's up?"
"Thanks for coming, KF."
"No problem, you got me curious. I mean, it's not every day a Rogue rings up a Flash, heh.."
"Yes, I seem to remember thinking the same thing once," Piper grinned.
"So what's up?"
"Actually, I have a bit of a favour to ask," Piper said. He described the events of the Rathaway gala, while Kid Flash tried not to grin or crack up laughing. It's not funny! - okay yes it is, but he tried not to indicate that he'd already heard all of this from both Robin and Speedy. It was easier to stay not-laughing when Piper got to the part about Trickster's concern for Jerrie and then for "the kid with Wayne." It was very easy to stay not-laughing when Piper repeated Trickster's explanation for his concern. Sure, it's ridiculous but if it was anyone other than Dick, Wally would completely share the concern.
"You think R-err Richard Grayson needs to be saved from Ba-..rrruce Wayne?" Aqualad said. Kid Flash tried not to wince.
"No. I would like to ensure that there's nothing to be saved from," Piper says, a trifle testily, then looked at Kid Flash again, "Since you work with Robin and Wayne is pretty prominant in Gotham, I was wondering if I could ask you to nose around a little. Just to put Trickster's mind at ease."
Aqualad nodded and put a hand on Piper's shoulder, "You can trust us to take care of Dick. He's a real example to his peers. Should we have an alert on your sister? If it'd help keep you from returning to high villainy we'd love to help."
Kid Flash smacked his forehead, "You see what I have to deal with."
"He's not as bad at it as Captain Boomerang is," Piper smirked.
Kid Flash glared at the fishboy and shook his head then looked back at Piper the not-really-a-villain, "Sounds like Trickster knows about this kind of thing?"
Piper chose his words carefully, "Reading between the lines, yes I believe he does, if you catch my drift."
Kid Flash winced, "Um. Ew. This all tells me a lot about Trickster."
"Yes," Piper sighed, tossing his hair. He noticed Aqualad looking at him oddly, "What?"
"What's that mark on your neck?" he asked innocently, then looked puzzled when Piper blushed deeply.
Kid Flash grinned widely, "Henna again?"
"Nnn...nooo...." Piper tugged down the collar of his cloak to reveal a walnut-sized hickey on his throat. Both boys broke up laughing.
Piper grinned and patted his cloak back into place, then glanced at the time, "I should go."
Kid Flash nodded, "Okay. I'll talk to Robin. Thanks for telling me though. It gives me a lot to think about."
* * * *
The clatter of keys drew James's attention. He wandered out of the kitchen and went to stand beside Hartley, "Whatcha doing?"
"My accounting."
James looked over his shoulder, curious; what he didn't give back, he usually let rest a while then disappear into Giovanni's accounts. He watched Hartley for a while, his puzzled frown growing by the minute.
It appeared that Hartley had a complete breakdown of everything his parents ever bought for him: Hearing operations, education, bribes for degrees and corporate positions, bail, ransoms, clothes, food -- everything, literally everything he could find figures for. From the totals, he subtracted the totals from each of the Pied Piper's heists and leaving the balances, onto which were added other debts as his parents continued to bribe and bail. He was adding the total costs of the housing project, how much in donations to the homeless society, cost of moving people, and so on.
James couldn't understand how such debt could be accrued. "I could help too, y'know or do gifts not factor into this?"
"This is personal," Hartley said absently, fingers clattering rapidly over the keyboard.
"Yeah, from reading these subheadings, you make your life into some form of retribution for actions of others, stuff you couldn't control -- why?"
"So I can get control."
"There are healthier and more interesting ways of accomplishing that," James said, still staring at the numbers, "Look at Catwoman and her dominatrix get-up -- same difference."
"Uh no, not that kind of control," Piper chuckled, "I mean control over me."
James frowned, "Shouldn't that be more internal though? This is putting a price-tag on your life. It's following in the footsteps of people who believed your life could be bought in the first place. It makes you a commodity, man."
Piper nodded, "Exactly. It's the only language they understand. I'm buying myself free."
"How the hell does that make sense? What do you think of yourself to be doing something like this? You're tacitly agreeing with them by doing this shit, you're stooping to their level!"
Hartley glanced up at him, "James... You've seen how my parents talk to me. You've seen how they throw every 'Rathaway dollar' they've ever spent on me, back in my face to try to guilt-trip me." He gestured at the screen, "This makes them aware of what they've done."
James knew. He'd heard the phone messages, heard the voices berating Hartley, citing how much they'd spent bailing him out this time or, yes, how much his operations had cost them. And they called him an ungrateful wretch because he wouldn't be the corporate topdog they wanted him to be. He thought of the degrees on the wall at Hartley's apartment, degrees in acoustics engineering that he'd felt he had to sneak, because his father felt it was wasting money on a worthless hobby... James did his best to school his face into a neutral expression and avoid shaking Piper at the entire thing, "And what is it doing to you in the process?"
"I told you - I'm buying my freedom. Once I've bought my life back, I'll probably quit and figure out something to do with it."
"Quit, what, just this or everything associated with it? Pied Piper too?" James asked, eyes now transfixed on the numbers.
"I don't know yet. I'll make that decision when I come to it. As you see, I've still got a long way to go."
"Yeah," James mumbled. He'd wanted Piper to get over all this as fast as possible but now he was worried -- would Piper paying off his 'debt' mean that, when that day came, he'd be done with James as well? "Well you go on with crunching the numbers. I'm going to check up on our equipment make sure all the bits and bolts are in their right places." The Trickster never cared about the future before, why start now?
James went into the workshop and slumped into his chair. That was the problem -- he'd never done a lot of these things before. Never cared about the future, never planned so far ahead... never cared so much. He'd always run from relationships. The showing-off was fun but he'd never wanted the responsibility. Piper was the perfect audience, the perfect straight-man partner for his pranks, he was having more fun than ever. And inside Hartley was a stubborn little boy who was drawing out James's protective side. He didn't even know he had a protective side and suddenly he's acting like every stereotype of an Italian mama! And to his surprise, he loved it.
Rats peered up at James and started to climb his legs, their little claws digging in the fabric of his pants. The clatter of keyboard keys echoed from the other room. That was it, that's what was so special about Piper. James was a conman, he could read people like books; he was nearly impossible to surprise. Yet he'd misread Piper repeatedly and the ways he was feeling and behaving about the pretty redhead...
He pet the rats and tickled them. He had his special earplug on, so he could hear them laughing. Rats laugh, another surprise. "Can you guys keep a secret?" he whispered. The rats squeaked encouragingly and he shushed them, cuddling the ones who'd crawled up into his arms. "Anyhow, you know that silly running tally of your buddy there? That whole self-flagellation bullshit. I- When he is done with it all, with me... what do I do? I like this a lot and if he's just out to finish some stupid vendetta... When he does, I may never see him again and you guys have to promise to keep him in line because when he leaves me... I still want that ridiculous redhead to take care of himself and that means food, real food and doing stuff for him, not..." he sighed, "I dunno. I'm being stupid aren't I? You guys are good though - oh and girls, sorry."
Piper's eyes snapped open. What made James think he was going to leave him? Shyeah like he ever leaves his boyfriends? - other way around, they leave him! Why would James think that?
"Hey, how long do you think it'll take Piper to pay off all that stuff and get his 'freedom'? You ratlets have seen the numbers move longer than I have...years right? Oh that is not what I want to hear. He said he'd quit all this after and ... yeah."
Why was he talking like this? Piper wondered. What did paying off his parents have to do with his relationship with James? Where'd he get the idea that Piper was going to dump him when he'd finished paying off his parents? He got up and walked quietly into the workshop. "Did I do something wrong? You seem upset." James turned around, startled, and one of the rats fell off of him as he tilted precariously in the chair. Piper caught her and put her up on his shoulder, stroking her fur.
"What's her name again?" James asked.
"Rune," Piper replied.
"Because the patch on her shoulder looks kinda like a rune."
"Yes," Piper noticed the dodge. As usual, he does something to torque people off and they never tell him what, and when they do it's usually something he can't help anyways. Same old same-old, nothing new there. This is where it starts and he knows where it'll end. It's just a matter of time. But he really liked James - a lot. A lot. "So you won't tell me what's wrong?"
"I- but you know. I thought you did?" James said, bewildered, "Your accounting thingy... You're going to leave and be free and have this bright new life when you're done and I don't see myself as being any different than I am now, so... You're going to leave and I only just learned I like this and you. You deserve to be happy but I am selfish enough to want it to be with me," he finished plaintively.
"Where'd you get the idea I was going to leave you?" Hartley asked, surprised.
"I asked you!"
Hartley looked very puzzled, thinking back over the conversation, trying to spot where this came from. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to give you that impression. I'm not going to leave you just because I quit being a Rogue."
"But- what if I am still doing this stuff and you aren't, then you become an accomplice after the fact and that isn't right."
Piper just shrugged and smiled, "I don't mind. I just said I might go straight - for a given value of straight," he added conscientiously, "I didn't say I was going into law enforcement or anything."
"But you aren't a villain. Not really. You're a hero playing at being bad."
Piper sat down beside James and immediately the rats swarmed up over him. "You're sweet. I've followed your record too -- you're not a Bad Guy either. You're fun."
"I don't lie to myself," James shook his head, "What I'm doing, what I continue to do -- it's not heroic and maybe it's not villainous but it is selfish."
"Yeah? And?" Piper laughed, "If that was a crime, the cops'd run out of tickets. Show me a single person in the world who isn't selfish, including holding a mirror in front of Yours Truly." He grinned and leaned over to kiss James, "I'm not gonna leave you, James. It'd take a hell of a lot to make me leave you. Accessory to murder, maybe; grand theft yo-yo, definitely not."
James kissed him, relieved, then leaned his forehead against Piper's, "Yeah well... I've heard from more than a few women I am a hell of a lot to handle."
Piper laughed, "Dude, so am I, why do you think I'm single?"
"I just assumed you were selective or something."
"Well yes, that too."
James grinned, "Uh-huh, so why me?"
Hartley chuckled and stroked his rats. After a few moments, he replied in a soft voice, "Because you were totally hitting on me even after you realized I wasn't a girl. You wanted me. My parents wanted a perfect heir, the Rogues wanted the guy with the super-hearing and the hypnosis..." He sighed sadly, "And a number of men wanted to date the Rathaway heir or the Pied Piper, in the hopes of rubbing shoulders with riches or fame or notoriety." He nuzzled the rat in his arms, "No one's ever wanted me for me, before."
James slipped his arm around Hartley and drew him near, nuzzling his coppery hair. "Then they're all idiots because you are the most delightful person I've ever met," he murmured, then grinned brightly, "Lucky for us both, I'm smart!"