Chapter Text
It was not hard for Watcher to find where the kid was hiding. All he had to do was enter the apartment and the sounds of panicked crying, which he could hear even over the blaring alarm overhead, led him right to the closet they were hiding in. Opening the door to retrieve the kid seemed to prove more of problem though as, upon seeing him in the doorway, the child began to scream louder and scoot his way deeper into the mess of clothes.
Watcher was, unfortunately, used to this type of reaction. Maybe not hiding in a closet necessarily, but the unease and mistrust for sure. And not just from kids.
It had been a few months now, but still some people, mostly the younger kids but not exclusively, were slow to believe him to be a heroic figure. Never mind the fact that he'd already spent a little over two years as a beloved vigilante in the city. All it took was a costume and moniker change and he had to once again prove himself trustworthy to the people of Hermiton. Granted Gem had probably been right in saying that maybe his new look was a lot less welcoming than the cutesy pink getup he used to wear.
Crouching down to the kid's level, he tried to speak in a soft voice but wasn't sure how successful he was considering he was also fighting to be heard over two loud wailing noises. "Hey, its okay buddy. I'm just here to help." The kid just kept on crying and Watcher tired not to get annoyed at them. "This building is on fire, we've got to get you out of here. If you'd just come with me-"
He reached out for the kid who just shrank back and screeched "Stranger danger!" Watcher let out a low growl of frustration that, thankfully, went unnoticed by the kid. He really did not have time for this right now.
"Hey," he spoke a bit louder and reached again, this time to the dark purple mask covering the lower half of his face. It fell down easily with a small tug and he did his best to give a friendly smile, mindful of the natural sharpness of his teeth and the usual reaction he'd get from those not expecting it. He decided against also pulling back his hood, not wanting to wrestle with getting his ear-wings through the holes and back, especially being on the timer he was. "I'm not going to hurt you, okay? My name is Watcher, but I used to be called Cuteguy. You remember him?"
They nodded, their crying slowly coming to an end. "You don't look like Cuteguy though," The kid sniffed.
Watcher just let out a sigh, reaching a hand out for them again. "I've just got a different outfit on is all. My wings look the same don't they?" To prove his point he swept his wings forward from where he'd been holding them tight to his back, the sandy tans that faded to a dusty rose at the tips of his flight feathers blocking the doorway for a brief moment as he showed them off. "I just changed my clothes and have the hood and mask now instead of those silly goggles I used to wear. But it's still me, 'm still here to help. So what do you say we get you out of here and safely away from the fire? Maybe find your parent or responsible adult?"
The kid nodded and shuffled himself forward while Watcher once again raised his mask. Soon he had them in his arms and began to make their way back through the apartment to the window he'd entered through. The kid, however, sill had questions for him it seemed as they let themself be carried out. "Why did you change your name? Did you get de-vorced? 'Cause that is why my Mommy changed her name. Her and my daddy broke up and she said that that is why she changed her name."
Watcher tried to shove down his gut reaction to the kids question. Snapping at a kid he was supposed to be saving was not a good look for a vigilante trying to stay in the public's favor after a major and unexpected re-branding. "Yeah, um, something like that."
It only took a minute for them to be climbing out the window and gliding down gently to the street below where a woman ran up to them and began checking over the kid while thanking Watcher for getting them out. He passed off the child to their mother and turned to make his way back to the fire chief, who was running the scene, when he heard the kid's parting call. "Good luck with your de-vorce mister Watcher!"
He pointedly ignored the looks of anyone else around as he gave a flap of his wings and propelled himself forward towards the chief. It only took him a second to get there and the fire chief was turning around to face him, hair shifting in the breeze stirred up from Watcher's wings. "How's it looking Chief?"
"My men 've just finished clearing the two lower floors and we've got the fire 40% contained." The chief's gruff voice gave the report and Watcher nodded.
"That kid was the last person on the top floor. And Hotguy is supposed to be clearing the third floor." As if on cue, an arrow lodged itself in the concrete a couple feet from where they stood, a cabled rope attached to the end of it. Watcher and the chief both looked to the other end of the line where Hotguy was anchoring it to the building and slinging his bow over it. It was only another second before he was sliding down the cord with a woman clinging tight to his side.
When they hit the ground, Hotguy gently pulled the woman off of him before leaning down to place a kiss against the back of her hand. "Safe and sound ma'am." Watcher tried not to roll his eyes at the flirtatious wink Hotguy gave her or the woman's flushed face. He did his best to school his features into stoic professionalism as Hotguy finally turned to where he and the chief were standing. "Third floor all clear. You fellas need some help with the rest of the building?"
The biting response was out of Watcher's mouth before he could stop himself. "Nope. The rest of us finished our job already. It’s a lot faster when you don't slow down to flirt with every person you're pulling from a burning building." He only felt a bit bad about it though, not waiting to see the look on Hotguy's face before he was turning away. "If you've got it from here I think I'll take my leave Chief." The man nodded and, without turning back, Watcher stepped away before leaping into the air with a strong beat of his wings. He climbed easily through the air and was above the skyline within moments, the people he left behind merely ants on the ground from this height.
It lightly eased the tightness that had settled in his chest upon arriving to the fire and seeing the other vigilante. Several months now and seeing him didn't get any easier, but there was no way to avoid him. It was a big city, but there were only two people stupid enough to run around in a costume and fight crime. The worst part was, he wasn't even sure he'd want to avoid him if he could.
Not that he would ever say that out loud. It typically didn't go over well to admit to complicated and lingering feelings after breaking up with someone.
He kept climbing through the air until the cold bite of the wind began to cut through his coat and hood. The early spring chill had yet to thaw and even if it didn't necessarily feel bad after the radiating heat of a building on fire, his bare midriff, one of the carryovers from his former costume, did him no favors now. Sighing he let his wings spread to their full length and catch the wind, slowly gliding on the the air currents as he tried to push his ex from his mind. Which was difficult when closing his eyes just brought back memories of Hotguy's smile, directed at him after a long night patrolling, stopping muggings and other criminal activities. It was a smile different than the others, it had been one just for him as they climbed into their bed to finally rest for the night. The vision brought back the tightness pulling at his chest, and it only increased as the vision's smile twisted until it reflected all the hurt from that final night.
Snapping his eyes open, Watcher reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone. It took him only a few seconds of scrolling through his contacts before he found the one he'd been looking for and shot off a quick text message. He changed his trajectory with a tilt of his wings and waited for a response. It came soon enough, his phone buzzing lightly as the screen lit up with the new notification. Reading over the text, he angled his wings more, this time downward, and gained just a bit of speed as he careened back towards the run down apartment building he now called home. Only out of practicality though. He wasn't sure the cramped apartment with its uneven flooring and short supply of hot water on a good day would ever be truly a home. He'd given up the one place he actually felt at home in and couldn't go back. He'd lost that right when he hurt the person he had shared it with.
It was with practiced precision that he dove through the small window he'd left open, wings tucked in tightly to not clip the frame before snapping out to stop his forward momentum. Once his feet here firmly on the floor he turned back to close the window and set to kicking off his shoes and going about the process of sliding his ear-wings out from their slots in his hood. The clothing removal process continued as he made his way through the empty room to the door of his bedroom, jacket, hooded cropped shirt,fingerless gloves, mask, supply belts, and plain khaki pants all carefully collected and dropped into a bin pulled out from beneath his bed. He pointedly ignored the pink cropped jacket and aviator goggles at the bottom of the bin, both parts from his former look that he'd not been able to dye and re-purpose.
He considered a shower briefly before opting to just splash some water on his face instead and grabbed an ill fitting shirt and some athletic shorts to change into. Moving back to the main living space, he had just enough time to roll out the mat across the floor of the empty room and pour two glasses of water before there was a knock on the door. He gave a shout of "Open" as he pushed himself away from the counter and listened to the hinges creak as his guest pushed open the door.
With a small gym bag hanging off of her shoulder, Gem was dressed in a tank top and joggers that hung low on her hips thanks to the bushy tail hanging out the back. Her fiery red hair was tied up in twin braids hanging over her shoulders with orange fur covered ears poking out from the curly bangs on her forehead. She walked in casually, dropping her bag right by the door as she leaned down to pull something out of it before throwing it at him. "Catch."
He does, the familiar hand wraps soft in his grip as Gem pulls out another set and starts winding them around her palms and Grian does the same. "Almost forgot I left these at your apartment, thanks."
"I'm more surprised that’s all you left." She scoffed. "Though looking around here it seems you didn't have much stuff to leave behind."
"Hey! I just moved in a week and a half ago and it’s the first time I've lived by myself in nearly four years. First time ever really I guess since I did technically have a roommate back in freshman year, even if he was never actually home. Cut me some slack will you?" He finished with the wraps and stepped forward onto the mat.
Gem stepped forward as well, finished with her own wraps, and lifted her hands. "No injuries from the fire earlier, right? No smoke inhalation or any of that?"
Grian lifter his own hands, loose fists mirroring hers. "Nope, fire was contained to the lower floors and I was evacuating the top. Didn't even see any smoke to inhale."
"Fantastic." And Gem punched him, her hand darting quickly to his gut where it landed and briefly had him doubling over before he could recover.
"Hey, no fair! You always count us in before we start!" He wheezed only a bit, taking a step back as they began to circle each other on the mat. "Cheater."
Gem just rolled her eyes. "You think some back alley mugger is going to count you in before taking a shot at you? And you've been doing this for how long now?" She took a step forward, aiming another blow at his right shoulder.
He was ready for it though and turned his body letting her own momentum cause her to stumble forward. "I expect the people Watcher fights to play dirty, I don't expect it from you. My so-called 'friend'." As she stepped past him, he aimed a kick at the back of her right leg. She expected this somehow though, and slid her foot forward, just out of his reach before bracing on it and bringing her other up to kick back at him. It was an easy enough blow to block with his arms though and soon they were back to circling each other.
They continued to spar for a bit, trading blows back and forth, and only pulling some of their punches. By the time they were done, both were breathing heavily and laying face up on the mat.
Grian was the first to stand up, the discomfort of his wings trapped beneath him overruling his desire to just lay there and recover. Once he was firmly on his feet again, he offered out a hand to help Gem up which she took with a kind smile. Soon they were both standing and wordlessly making their way over to the counter where the two glasses of water he had poured earlier still stood, the cups wet with condensation. The room stayed silent as they each drank their glass and refilled them before downing a second.
Finally, the light clank of the glass hitting the counter broke the silence in the room as Gem finally spoke. "We have got to find you a better coping mechanism, I don't think my poor skin can handle all the bruises if you need to spar after every time you see him." She rubbed her hip, where Grian had landed a particularly hard elbow.
"Oh don't act like you weren't also working out your own frustrations. I'm going to have to wear a jacket tomorrow or explain to my potential new employer why I've got bruises all down my arms." Grian refilled his own glass once more, sipping at instead of chugging the water this time. "Wedding planning going well then I take it?"
Gem let out a groan and dropped her head to the counter. "It is the worst Grian. Why do people expect big elaborate weddings? Why can't I just sign a paper instead of sampling twenty different flavors of cake? I didn't even know there were twenty different flavors of cake! I used to like cake."
He did his best not to laugh at her forlorn expression and the sudden image of a hundred cake slices lined up for her to try. "You could just elope you know? I really don't think Pearl would mind."
"That's part of the problem! That's exactly what Pearl suggests every time I complain about it." Grian didn't quite see the problem but figured saying so would be a quick path to her punching him again and just let her continue. "I've always dreamed of a fantastical wedding and all my friends and family being there." Gem's eyebrows furrow a bit as she looks up at him again. "She keeps trying to solve the problem instead of just commiserating with me about how awful the wedding planning is! I'm starting to think she enjoys it. The wedding planning I mean, not my misery. Though maybe she enjoys that too. My dad always said wives are nothing but demons that make you miserable to feed their own appetites." A sigh. "Rotten bastard. But enough about that, you've got an interview tomorrow?"
"Oh, yeah. Its, uh, an assistant position for some independent tech product or something. I think? Not quite my forte, but the hours are supposedly super irregular and the schedule is lax, implied make-your-own for the most part if I read it right, so it shouldn't interfere with my… other activities."
"You're in your own home idiot. You don't have to call your larping as a superhero 'other activities'." Grian stuck out his tongue at her and she just laughed at him. "How did you even get an interview for a tech position? I'm pretty sure any references you could have possibly put down on your application would have warned heavily against letting you near any kind of important technology."
"I take offense to that, all of my technologies professors in college loved me. I'm a lovable guy! Its not my fault things just tend to stop working right around me."
"Yeah, it probably has nothing you do with your inability to leave a button un-pushed."
"You're right, it has nothing to do with that at all. Anyways, I may have fibbed a bit on the application in order to get the interview. Once they meet me though, they'll have to hire me." Grian gave her a grin and batted his eyelashes. "Who could say no to my charming personality."
Gem scoffed and shoved his shoulder lightly. "Probably the last four bosses you've had that have fired you within two weeks of you starting the job."
"They did not all fire me I'll have you know. I quit the pizza shop."
"Because you're boss caught you trying to sneak out the back and said if you left he'd take it as your resignation."
"Crime doesn't operate on a nine to five schedule Gem. That's why this job should be perfect. Even if I have to slip away while on the clock you know these kind of people have no sense of time when working. How many times did you have to pull Etho or Impulse away from a project because they hadn't eaten, or even moved, in hours and they didn't even realize it?"
"Too many to count." She frowned at the memory of their college days, where she and Skizz had been the sole reason some of their friends remembered to take care of themselves instead of just studying or writing essays. Especially during finals week. "Maybe this job will actually work out. You know you've always got a room with me and Pearl if it doesn't though. Don't get me wrong, we're glad you managed to save enough for the apartment but," She looked around at the empty room, "Remember you've got people who love you if it goes wrong, okay?"
"Yeah yeah okay mom." Gem gave him a shove but they both laughed. "I'd invite you to stay for dinner but-"
"But you have no table or even a couch to eat at? Don't worry about it, we've got a double date with Lizzie and Joel in an hour that I should probably go home and shower before."
Grian nodded and followed her to the door where she retrieved her bag. "Give Lizzie a hug for me. And Joel a flick to the back of the head."
"Will do," she rolled her eyes. "Good luck at that interview tomorrow, call me or Pearl and let us know how it goes okay?"
"I imagine one or both of you would hunt me down if I didn't. Bye Gem." She left with a wave and he closed the door behind her. He took just a moment to breathe before getting to work, wiping down the sweat off the mat, thankful it was just sweat and no blood today, and rolling it up to go back in the corner. After that he just had to shower himself off and pop a ramen cup in the microwave, hopping up to sit on his counter and look out the window at the city as he waited for it to cook. Tomorrow he would get a job, then maybe he would buy a table, or a couch. Something that was his, bought with his own funds.
Something he wouldn't loose next time he went about ruining his own relationship.