louder than sirens

[pageofwands]

[➠and Death came to town ➠Best Laid Plans ➠Friends like these ➠there's a drumming sound]

It had taken Felix an eternity, but sleep had finally come for him. It was almost noon when he woke to the smell of cooked meat and coffee and stumbled into the living room where Brutus was taking several take-out packages from a delivery person at his door. He looked up as Felix shambled into the main room, flashing him a small smile.

"Ah, good, saves me the trouble from waking you. Here, eat something," Brutus ordered, setting the boxes out on the coffee table instead of in the actual kitchen. He was feeling generous, which usually meant something had gone right for him. At least something went right for one of them. Felix remained quiet until he'd shoved six pieces of bacon, an eggs benedict with salmon as well as ham and four slices of thick sourdough toast into his stomach along with several things of Brutus' nice coffee.

"When did you wake up?" he asked, rubbing at his face and wincing as he caught on some of the edges of the bruises that came from a broken nose.

"Early. I did some of my own recon, you seemed to need the sleep," Brutus said warmly as he ate at more of a sedate pace. He was a big man overall, so any lingering food insecurity he carried with him was less obvious on him than it was on Felix.

"Guess I did. Still, I could have-"

Brutus cut any protest off with a wave, shaking his head.

"You've been my boots on the ground dealing with this, the least I can do is let you get some rest and find your next move for you," Brutus said smoothly. "I found out where he's staying. The Death Icon."

Felix didn't think that was hard, he hadn't hid his presence much…His dubiousness must have shown, because Brutus smiled and continued.

"Floor and room number, several independent confirmations. As well as … that he hasn't returned to it yet."

The meaning was clear. It was open to vulnerabilities. Nobody was better at a break-in than Felix was. He shoved the piece of toast he was working on in his mouth and stood to get some spare clothing he kept at Brutus' place without a word.

"Fi! One more thing - gift for you by your door, don't forget it," Brutus called. Felix did not forget it - sleek suitcases were Brutus' style now, but he'd rustled up a nondescript backpack just for Felix. Inside it was crammed almost to bursting with plastic explosives.

"You get me the nicest things," Felix said with a grin.



Breaking in was easy. Felix had broken into several other rooms in this hotel before. It was one he liked, shame he'd have to explode some of it. Oh well. He watched long enough to make sure Death hadn't returned to it before slipping in, neatly cracking the lock in such a way it didn't leave damage and would still work. The point was to give no outward signs he had been here. Not until the time was right.

So of course, he set the bag down just inside the door and began to snoop.

Some hired men treated the job like something sterile, and their hotel rooms were the same. Clothes for the job, maybe a toothbrush, necessities. Nothing remotely personal. That there were signs of a person here was surprising for Felix, and he couldn't resist going through them. It looked almost touristy, some of it. Souvenirs of the city, which included a damn snowglobe of the skyline. Felix shook it to make sure it was even real, checked that it wasn't hiding drugs or something. Two silver coins - old - the old thief in Felix thought they might be worth something and he instinctively pocketed them for a moment before cursing and putting them back. No. This wasn't about petty theft.

He made his way back to the door, not wanting to waste more time, but his eye caught on a photo. Old. Death, and someone else - it took Felix a moment to place the sight of it. Judgment, he finally realized. A power broker who handled money for people with too much of it to do it themselves. That was more Brutus' area, and Felix was pretty sure he'd seen Brutus coming out of some fancy building and parting ways with the man before. It was hard to miss an icon.

If they were tight then there was no problem replacing a little bit of damaged property. It was practically a victimless crime.

Grabbing his bag again, Felix started to set up the explosives around the door.

Comments

[deathisacard]

This was Todd's life. There was no job to finish, no home to return to. All the things he kept to keep himself grounded were in that room--arranged in a way that made sense to him. If Felix had taken the time, he may have noticed that the coins were strange. However, there was a job to do, and it was one that Felix was exceptionally good at. Maybe he would come back to them, or not.


Like Felix, Todd had woken up late in the morning. He sprawled under the covers and tried to let himself simply exist, but his mind was cluttered with sharp edges and tension. Getting up he was reminded that the only scrap of clothing he had was the robe. If there was anyone in the penthouse to scandalize, it wouldn't be his fault, he reasoned.

He only found Mikael, who was sitting at the kitchen island eating tiny sandwiches and staring intently at his laptop screen. Of course Mikael would have technological luxuries. He was dressed impeccably in a sleek suit, for all the world, looking like a piece of art. Seeing Todd, he smiled with his eyes and his mouth. "There you are."

Todd's mouth flickered a smile in response, but that made his face ache. "Good morning?" he said.

"Not anymore. Technically," Mikael said and shut the laptop.

"Don't let me interrupt," Todd said and looked at the sandwiches, trying to decide if he was hungry.

Mikael slid off the stool and closed the distance between them. Without preamble he tugged Todd's robe open and looked him over critically. "You look better. The sleep did you good," he said and pressed his lips to Todd's

Todd had meant to return the kiss as simply as it had been offered, but he was wound so tightly around his edges that with barely a thought he pushed for something deeper. Mikael responded eagerly, even sliding his hand down between them. Before whatever part of Todd was longing for someone else could assert itself, Mikael pulled away with a smile that Todd could feel on his lips.

"Go kill or fuck your royal, Than," Mikael said.

"He called me a maggot," Todd said, thinking that surely meant his options were more limited than Mikael was suggesting.

"Well, you are awfully pale," Mikael said.

"Not all of us get domains that give us a nice rosy complexion," Todd said.

"Thank you," Mikael practically purred. His expression turned serious and he said, "Promise me something."

Todd leaned back to increase the space between them slightly, suspicious. "What is it?"

"Whatever you do, do it because you want to. Do it for you. Shake off what the Hierophant wants," he quickly put a finger to Todd's lips, sensing the objection that was starting to form, "you don't have to, Than. Fuck the magic. Magic is about change. He never realized what he had in you. Which is a stubborn asshole."

Todd could not remember seeing such intense sincerity from Mikael. "I promise, Miska," he said. How could he say anything else in the face of what looked like someone who actually cared for him?

"Good," Mikael said, and his features thankfully took on their usual cast. "I've got your clothes here. You should visit your tailor. Seems like you should get yourself at least another set."

Before he let Todd out into the city again, Mikael made him sit and eat. He had been hungry after all and devoured the large plate of tiny sandwiches while Mikael worked. Todd did put in an order for more clothing from Nine in Time. It was as good an excuse to update his wardrobe as anything.

Then he let himself get carried in the flow to the city, hoping in vain that an extended walk would resolve the questions that squirmed around his head.

[pageofwands]

Felix lined the door with careful precision, weighing out to feel how much he'd need for the boom he wanted. The focus would be on Death - he didn't want big enough to harm a bystander if he could help it. Not right now. He used about a third of the bag, setting it to go off at a minimum trigger from the door being opened.

He had space in his bag. In went the coins, the photo (maybe Brutus could do something) the snow globe, and the contents of the minibar.

Like food insecurity, some habits were hard to unlearn.

Then he was cracking a window and swinging out to the fire escape, running like the devil to get to the roof he'd been watching from before to wait for Death to return.

[deathisacard]

The sun was starting to set by the time Death returned to the hotel. Felix could pick him out by the way the people moved around him. People could sense the predator among them.

Todd was so lost in his thoughts that he should have had a most unfortunate accident. However, he was so tightly wound that he felt he might come apart at any moment. That tension grabbed him as he started to open the door and registered a second click. He was barely able to fling himself to the side before the explosion pushed him even farther.

When the stunned feeling started to leave his body, Todd did a quick inventory and found that he had come through with only a new host of bruises. Maybe a little internal bleeding. "Felix," he cursed with half a breath. There was no other answer that made sense. Hauling on the electric tension in himself, he hauled himself up and ran for the stairs.

He was nearly at the roof when his hearing finally cleared enough that he could hear the fire alarm. Bursting out onto the rooftop he looked around wildly, verifying he was alone. It did not seem like Felix, however, to have set up this particular trap and leave. Despite everything he had just put his body through he was able to get a strong lungful of air and yell, "COME GET YOUR GUN, ASSHOLE!"

He would not make it easy. He leaned into the wild energy that shuddered and spiked through him and sprinted across the rooftop to make the dizzying leap to the next. Felix would have to chase him down or outmaneuver him.

[pageofwands]

He had meant to set up the trap and leave. To only stay long enough to ensure it went off, to assess what if any damage was done to Death, then go report back to Brutus. But he waited in his observation spot as he chain smoked cigarette after cigarette and waited, waited, until-

He should go get Brutus anyway. No one could shake him once he was behind the wheel. Brutus had said this was a problem we would deal with and icon or not when Brutus and Felix joined forces there was nothing that had stopped them yet.

But he didn't. Death had asked if Felix wanted to be his personal problem, and Felix could rationalize away not wanting to distract Brutus more but the fact was Death was right. Felix wanted to be his personal problem, wanted the icon's full attention on him and him alone until one of them didn't come out the other side of it.

He had city knowledge on his side. Was able to judge where Death might be headed and take shortcuts, swing by one of his bolt holes and drop his bag off there so he wasn't dragging plastic explosives with him everywhere. Not that it mattered, not when Felix was the explosive like this. In his wake were panic, riots, stampedes, pushing himself to follow after until he was close enough to pull out a slim rifle that was not special to him and take a pot-shot at Todd from across a street.

[deathisacard]

The city changed between the times that Todd was there, and it was not the city that he had been born in. He had to relearn it every time he returned. Trying to sense Felix in the rising hum of chaos was like trying to see through a heavy fog--things did not become clear until they were far too close.

He did not see the bullet until it was too late to get completely clear. It only winged him, but the momentum spun him around and he dropped to his knees. But now he knew where Felix was.

Holding onto the confines of his humanity was how Todd kept his all too human body from great harm. What he was would endure, and had endured, past the limits of his flesh and bone. He let go.

He sprinted for the edge of the roof toward Felix and leapt into the open air. The darkness clung to him like something liquid and alive, for a brief moment giving him the appearance of great black wings that merged into the darkening sky. The moment his feet landed on the opposite roof, he drew a long blade. He was the inevitable and necessary end to all things, and he bore down on where he thought Felix was. Giving chase if the object of his attention had bolted again.

[pageofwands]

Felix knew it would give him away, that Death might come to him should he do that or lead him somewhere else. Come to him was it, apparently... and now the gloves were off.

Felix had, maybe, fucked up.

He should have kept the explosives.

Bringing the rifle up to block the blade, his eyes widened as the blade cut halfway through it before even starting to slow and shoved it aside to scramble back. He heeded his gun, but all he had were normal ones. Things that could be purchased, traded, not ones with a soul to them. Not ones with a connection to his soul. He drew another, smaller, shot several times at Death less to actually hit and more to give cover fire as he tried to move back and disengage to start another run.

[deathisacard]

Todd wrenched away as Felix opened fire with the small, sleek gun. He deflected the few more shots that had the potential to strike home. It gave Felix the room he was looking for. Todd lunged after him with a downward strike, but with the distance he was overextended. The blade only caught fabric and Felix was steps ahead before he got his feet under him.

[pageofwands]

The back of his shirt and jacket were shredded, barely avoiding flesh as he booked it. He just needed some space, more room to maneuver, he needed his goddamn gun back...

A running leap and he landed hard on the next building over across a narrow alleyway, needing to tuck and roll as momentum kept him going, only to come up short as he realized he'd miscalculated and all the nearby buildings were taller than this one. Trapped.

[deathisacard]

The roof cracked where Todd landed. He felt the inevitably of some kind of end close in on them--it felt like an embrace. He shook out the arm that had been clipped earlier. It felt tight. To relieve that he unbuttoned his jacket as he stalked toward Felix.

Holding his blade in a defensive pose he closed the distance between them.

[pageofwands]

The knife Felix pulled from his boot was only half the length of his forearm, nothing compared to Todd's keen blade, but like an animal backed into a corner he would fight until there was nothing left to him. This was what he wanted, and Felix had been fighting like a trapped animal all his life.

"Give me back my fucking gun!" He yelled, bringing his own blade to bear and rushing Todd.

[deathisacard]

They met with bone jarring force. Edges slid across each other, preventing Felix's knife from meeting the same fate as the rifle. In the exchange Todd's jacket became the first casualty. "What does it feel like?" Todd snapped. This could be his only chance to ask.

[pageofwands]

"Fucking cold, you piece of shit!" Felix yelled as the knife caught Todd's jacket and tore at seams instead of his body. His own jacket - worn and leather as contrast to Todd's neatly tailored suit jacket - had already taken damage, and the keen edge of Todd's blade caught more of it up. "It feels like there's a fucking shard of ice between my ribs and I can't ignore it, I can't stop thinking about it-"

For all Felix had made himself into Todd's personal problem, Todd had done the same to him when he took the gun, and Felix kept up on the raging attack as he yelled.

[deathisacard]

Todd had never had a personal problem like this. He had never let one get this close. Finding his blade getting caught up he let go of the hilt and the it winked back to it's home in the Void. "That is how it feels," he agreed. With a quick twisting motion he slipped out of his jacket, pulled Felix's knife with it, and jammed an elbow into Felix's ribs.

[pageofwands]

One second the knife was in his hands and the next it was gone - torn away thanks to clever trick by Todd rather than him throwing that one in the void too, but if he had Felix wouldn't have felt it. Not like his own gun. He wind was knocked out of him with the elbow to his ribs, feeling a bruise and if not a crack than something right up against it.

He stumbled back a step, but only a step, coming up with a solid punch to Todd's stomach on the return as he cursed at him.

"'That's how it feels' you fucking horseshit rodhumping rumpusfuck-!"

[deathisacard]

The wind was knocked out of Todd, he had not even tried to avoid the blow. His bones would put up with more, but he felt the immediate ache of a bruise. Good was not how Todd would describe how he felt. He was caught in the maelstrom that was Felix, in serious danger of being torn to pieces, and yet he felt free for the first time in his long life. He needed this, needed Felix with the wild and sharp desire that lay between the points of 'fight' and 'fuck.' A desire he could smash himself to pieces on.

He came back with his own punch to Felix's stomach. Give as good as you get. "Yes! That's how it feels when someone tears a piece of your soul out, you self-centered piece of shit!"

[pageofwands]

Felix practically existed at the intersection of those two options. Before he ascended to his position as a Royal, he didn't expect to live to full adulthood. Not with how he burned bright and hot, the kind of fire that took out everything and then itself. No hope of survival for anyone who got too close, least of all Felix himself.

Even with a frozen core, he burned.

The hit landed, he spit blood on Todd's face, came in with another swing higher this time.

"That why you're such a cockhole, got your soul ripped out? I'll rip your fucking face out next!"

[deathisacard]

Todd knew that even the cold could burn. It burned differently but was just as all-consuming.

His head snapped back from the impact, his blood joining Felix's, spattered on his cheek. Coming back, he reached and wrapped his fingers around the handle of Felix's gun. With a smooth motion, he drew it and pressed the barrel of it to Felix's bare stomach. His finger on the trigger was as light as a caress. "Who did this to you?" he yelled, with a feral edge to his voice.

[pageofwands]

Felix felt it. The gun to his stomach, but Todd's hand on it too, and even with it pressed against him it was a flood of relief to feel it again against his skin where it belonged even with the overlay of wrongness of someone else wielding it. It was a part of him, a part of his soul, and Todd bringing it to bear was more intimate than anything Felix had ever done with another person in bed.

He's become backed against the shed-like structure that housed the roof access stairway for this building, no where to go.

"You did," he hissed between gritted teeth.

[deathisacard]

Todd could feel the heartbeat-like hum of the gun as he held it and was struck by the intimacy of it. It felt different than when he had first taken it out of vicious curiosity. What he had done had marked both of them in a way they could never come back from.

"I took it from you. I've kept it from you. I still hold it," Todd growled, "Who gave it to you?"

[pageofwands]

The muscles in his stomach jumped at the press of the barrel, but not out of fear.

"Nobody gave it to me, sweetheart, it's always been mine," Felix replied snidely. It wasn't exactly true, it wasn't like he was born holding the gun. But he had it even before he was the Princess of Wands - it was just his lucky gun once upon a time, a beauty from a pawnshop he'd laid eyes on and fallen in love with for it's ostentatious flashiness. He'd saved up everything he could for it, and even then Brutus had paid for half as a birthday present. After that he was never parted with it, and when he ascended it became part of him.

[deathisacard]

This close, Felix could tell that Todd's eyes had pupils and irises, in the right light you could see the little ridges of the muscles and sometimes the edge of where iris ended and where what would be white in a normal person began. His eyes ran searchingly over Felix's face, weighing the words and their contents.

Todd snatched Felix's hand and, in a seamless motion turned the gun and put Felix's hand on the handle. His hands lingered over Felix's and the cool metal. Felix could try to shoot him and maybe his hands being there would interfere, but that was not why he lingered.

"Then it was always me," Todd said.

Todd was a thing of magic, rudely shoved into a shell of flesh and blood. His words carried the weight of magic. Something about who he and Felix were, what they were going to be ended. Todd felt it like a cracking of glacial ice. An ending was also a beginning. Where Todd lacked the power to create, Felix was a maelstrom of it. Something raw and hot enough to burn down the world rose to make something new.

He felt a heat inside him, like fire trapped in ice. Todd had, maybe, fucked up.

[pageofwands]

Felix wasn't sure he understood, but that was something that was becoming more and more apparent with every moment that passed. Understanding was not Felix's forte. Doing, sure. Understanding?

He didn't even understand what he was half the time.

He knew it felt right to have his gun back in his hand though. Even better than pressed against him, in his hand, his again, a part of him returned and that shard of ice finally starting to thaw.

Gun in hand, his other went up to Todd's hair to drag him down and into a kiss.

[deathisacard]

Todd's kiss in return was hard and edged with teeth. The taste of Felix and blood on his tongue sent a shiver of want through him. One hand grabbed Felix's hips to pull him close even as he pushed into the kiss. His other hand wound around Felix's hand and the gun--it was all Felix.

Todd could not remember wanting, needing, someone so keenly. The shiver in him resolved into a growl deep in his chest.

[pageofwands]

Felix had not been sure he was going to kiss Todd until he'd done it. That was how Felix rolled, though, so to speak. He just did, and consequences followed in his wake, rarely getting close enough to even touch him.

He shoved the gun into the waistband of his pants so he could grab on to Todd with both hands, close as they could be, teeth catching on recent injury that added more blood to their mouths.

The taste of blood in his mouth did always get Felix going, and he shamelessly grinded his hips against Todd's to make that clear.

[deathisacard]

That was probably a good thing since Todd had been told that he sometimes tasted like blood, even without any present. A quirk of his icon nature.

Violence was what always got Todd going, and there had been plenty leading to this moment. He grabbed Felix with both hands in return to grind his hips in return. The heat he felt rising in him was so much hotter than he had known.

[pageofwands]

This had been the missing piece, what he had wanted when he'd been with Brutus and felt like it wasn't quite enough. Maybe it was the violence, maybe it was the book, the way his heart was racing a mile a minute - maybe it was all that come together and the smell of the plastic explosives still clinging to the both of them.

Felix's pulse was always faster than normal, but now it was a stampede, and he dragged Todd down to the cement floor of the roofing with him to easier kiss him. Back in the direction of the hotel there were still more sirens of arriving emergency vehicles.

[deathisacard]

This was what Todd had wanted. Mikael yielded to him and could survive anything he brought to bear between them. Felix met him with the wild abandon of someone seeking oblivion but was still going to fight the whole way down. The way he could feel Felix's heartbeat through his skin and that his heart lept to match it. The sound of sirens. The way that Felix smelled like every kind of violence. Everything came together into an intoxicating whole.

Todd half let himself be pulled down, and half pushed Felix down, pressing him down to the cement. Balancing between his knees and the pressure of his mouth on Felix's, he stripped off his shirt impatiently. The night air was cool but not enough to ease the warmth in him. Slotting their legs together, he ground his hips into Felix as he slid back to remove what space had been between them and kissed Felix as if he was drowning and Felix was air.

[pageofwands]

Felix shoved his hands across Todd's shoulders, his arms, helping him shed what was left of his shirt and struggling out of anything left on his own torso before he went lower. His movements were the frantic desperation of someone who needed something or would die trying, how he went at everything really.

"Fuck," he swore against Todd's mouth when he had to breathe, voice strangled from it, ducking down to press a savagely biting kiss to Todd's neck with the intent to leave a mark.

[deathisacard]

Felix already had experience with leaving a mark on Todd with his teeth--Todd's flesh was about as durable as a Royal's, and he recovered similarly. "Ah- fuck," he hissed through his teeth. One hand tangled into Felix's hair, pulling at him encouragingly. The other he pressed unerringly to where he had thrust his elbow into Felix's ribs and dug his thumb in. The change in position had the added benefit of letting Felix's hands freedom to work lower.

[pageofwands]

The shot of pain from Todd digging his thumb in was bright and hot, just like he wanted it to be. Only his teeth against Todd's neck muffled the curse that came out - yet again some six syllable compound word since nothing as simple as fuck could get across the exact depth of his feeling.

He grasped at Todd's belt, tugging at it and managing to undo the claps while working by touch alone, quickly pushing it aside and his trousers open and down next.

[deathisacard]

Putting more of his weight on the hand that was digging into Felix's ribs, Todd shifted to half kneel between Felix's legs. He dragged his nails down Felix's bare sides and reached to fully free his cock. Grabbing Felix's hips with both hands he lifted Felix up with a promise for more, but for now only sliding their cocks together in a press of hot flesh to flesh. The motion jerked Felix's teeth against him, the pain mingling perfectly with the pleasure. "My personal problem," he gasped between ragged breaths and dug his fingers in with bruising force.

[pageofwands]

Todd's personal problem - it had been a threat that was also a promise back then, and it was doubly so one now. Trousers out of the way, Felix moved his hands to dig in to Todd's short dark hair, letting go with his teeth only to bite lower, to leave another fresh mark against Todd's pale skin as he rested his weight against him.

[deathisacard]

Todd's pale skin was an excellent canvas for making injury artistry. Felix's first mark stood out even in the poor light of the rooftop. The blood could have been drawn by Felix's teeth or from lips that had been made bloody. Todd wanted Felix to draw blood, to fight all the way down, like the problem he was. Todd's problem. His. Like any good problem, he should get fucked.

Todd flicked one hand out to draw a mean little blade. The way that Todd ran the edge down Felix's side was to draw blood painfully. Enough blood to slick his fingers with it. Getting his hand around to slide a couple blood slick fingers into Felix was not the most elegant of positions with Felix latched onto his neck, but elegance was not what the frantic need in him demanded.

"Are you the kind of problem that should get fucked?" he asked low and guttural, curled his fingers.

[pageofwands]

Felix hissed as the blade drew against his side, sharp edge raw against skin rather than so keen it couldn't be felt. A blade made to hurt, ramping up Felix's desire rather than dampening it in the least. He let out a shout as blood-slick fingers breached him, needing to let go of Todd's neck to make the sound, breath ragged as his eyes practically rolled back with the mix of pleasure-pain that came with that.

"Yes," he growled, spreading his thighs, fingers tightening on Todd's scalp.

[deathisacard]

Pain, violence, and blood all heightened Todd's desire. These were things he knew about himself. Felix's growled agreement was something new, and he realized it threaded back to making Felix admit what Todd had done to him, and the moment later when he had (foolishly) chosen Felix in some way he still did not understand.

"Good," he breathed against Felix's neck and gave a return bite with intent to mark. With quick motions, Todd removed his fingers to catch up more of Felix's blood to slick his cock with. He pressed the head of it to Felix's hole. A moment of gentle pressure long enough to release Felix's neck and say, "Because I need to fuck you." Then he thrust himself into Felix with a relentless pressure and confidence that Felix could take all of him or die trying.

Felix gasped out wordlessly, his fingers tightening in Todd’s hair, the pressure of his grip limiting how much Todd could move his head. Felix’s eyes glazed over and with Todd holding his hips up was free to hook his heels behind Todd’s thighs.

Todd’s hips came to rest against Felix and the heat of Felix’s body around him called out to the fire that had lodged in his chest. He realized that he had been cold for so long he had lost all awareness of it. The thawing ache of it easing pulled a louder gasp from him than had been building in his chest from the pleasure of being inside Felix.

Felix’s eyes focused on Todd’s. “Is that all you’ve got?” he growled.

“It’s hardly my fault you’re such a slut I could fit my whole arm up there,” Todd shot back. Testing the limits of Felix’s hold on his hair he sunk his teeth around Felix’s collarbone and rocked his hips to find the angle that Felix responded to best. He was going to fuck Felix to completion before he let himself come undone.