Love's Great When You're Not In It (vs. Kyle Shane)

[David Hunter]

“I’m facing Kyle Shane? God dammit…” David says.

He looks down at his phone. Flashbacks of his betrayal cross his vision, each accompanied by brief glimpses of everything he’s done.

“I don’t wanna face Kyle Shane…”

Sure it’s in the Icemann. Sure it’s going to be an interesting match-up. But it’s still Kyle Shane! David would be an idiot to ever second guess or underestimate him!

And if that isn’t enough we have Alexa Black over here saying that we underestimate her and that she is a threat. Like…honey ya’ ain’t foolin anybody.

Also, she mentioned beefcake boyfriend…why would I want to bring Razor Blade to fight her? A jewel like him needs to be protected from this world at all costs. If she was referring to Holden than that’s just rude. We’re friends, not lovers. Weirdo.

But Kyle.

Fuckin Kyle.

On the plus side the referee is Tyrone Little Jr. who has done zero favors for either myself or Kyle in the past, so it’s kind of a crapshoot on that front.

But I’m facing Kyle Shane! A reinvigorated Kyle Shane!

A more concerned Kyle—

“David,” Ace’s voice crawls out through his thoughts.

“Say wha’?” David asks.

Ace sighs, leaning back in the wooden chair he has found himself in.

David looks around the room, catching eyes with Mercury, Argit, Nathan, and Ace, finally landing on Mr. Silver, who is too busy actually doing his job at this pawn shop he calls a ‘business.’

“You’re aware why Mr. Silver brought us here…right?” Argit asks.

It’s David turn to sigh. He puts the phone he was reading on back in his pocket.

“Probably,” he says.

“David stop being obtuse,” Nathan says.

“Fine,” David says. “Let’s discuss how horrid my love life is.”

“With pleasure,” Mercury adds-on.

The group of guys glare at Mercury who can only shrug in response.

“So let us start with Wuya,” Nathan says.

“What’s there to discuss with her? She molested me while training me to adapt to The Game. I’m over her and the less I get to see of her the better.”

Nathan looks towards the other three, who all match a look of a raised eyebrow.

“If you’re wondering if there are any traumatic events revolving around that situation, than there aren’t any,” David finishes. “She violated me and I was young enough to think it was a good thing. It wasn’t. I might be able to work with her but that’s the extent of our relationship.”

Argit and Mercury shrug.

Ace takes a few moments of scratching his chin and thinking before nodding his head.

Nathan takes a bit longer and lets out a sigh.

“Alright. Let us talk about Empress Attea,” he says.

David grimaces, scratching the back of his neck.

“I know it’s a shitty spot David,” Argit says. “But we’ve gotta talk about it.”

David sighs, dragging his hand through his hair.

“Attea and I hooked up during my off-time between when I left Ace and met back up with you. It felt natural. I already had enough of an inclination of what she needed because I’ve known Raff for so long and she was usually just…there. It felt natural, us becoming a thing. Despite Eighteight’s desires otherwise, it’d be stupid to say we weren’t a good fit. I kept her sane and from being too busy. She kept me locked in place and not roaming the universe.”

“So…” Mercury starts. “Why’d you leave?”

David exhales.

“I don’t fuckin know. Maybe it was my own hubris or…I guess to cut the bullshit, I just needed to get out. One day I just decided to up and leave. As fucked as it is, the last thing she told me was that ‘can’t wait until I come back’ or something like that. It didn’t hit me until I saw her again how badly I treated her.”

At this point, normally Heather would chime in with a sarcastic remark, but since this is a guy’s thing and I’ve essentially locked her out of the story, she won’t be appearing.

She’s pounding at the window now.

And now she’s flicking me off.

Ha. Bitch.

“Any lingering feelings?” Nathan asks.

“You mean besides feeling like a fucking shitbag?” David asks.

“Yes. Besides that.”

“I mean…maybe. I kind of used her as a means to an ends, but since she…apparently had no problems keeping the crystal hidden or at least not firing Raff, I think we’re okay.”

“You still need to talk to her,” Ace says.

“I still need to talk to her…” David mutters in defeat.

All four of David’s confidantes nod their head.

It’s Nathan who continues.

“We will keep her up front. Let us talk about this…thing…with Master Cyclonis,” he says.

Ace and David both groan simultaneously whilst I laugh my ass off.

I’m sorry but that will never not be funny to me.

“It was a one-time thing,” David says.

“Two-time,” Ace says, his hand covering his face in embarrassment and disgust.

“Two-time thing. Whatever, I’m barely counting only the second time I met her,” David retorts.

“Nevertheless, it is still a thing that is relevant to the conversation,” Nathan says.

David sighs once more.

“I mean…it’s obvious. Something about her just…works,” he says.

“Which is a fancy way of saying you’ve got the hots for the big, bad-ass mistress,” Mercury says.

David winces.

“Specifically when she throws her weight around,” Mercury adds. “There’s no shame in it. Everyone has their stuff.”

David shakes his head, the blush already on his face.

“Is this something you would be willing to entertain?” Nathan asks.

“I doubt it’d even be a relationship. More one-sided if anything,” David says.

“No. It won’t,” Ace says.

The four others look at him. When he notices their glance, he sighs.

“If there’s anything Lark likes it’s mutual affection. Before we made it official and she did anything, there was a lot of back-and-forth. I buy her a gift, she’d buy me a gift. There certainly wasn’t any of this dominatrix shit, but if I know her as well as I think I do, she sees an opportunity there to buck the tradition. Since you’re not a member of the Cyclonian army, you are not at bay to the age old ‘death or desire’ rule. And since I’m fairly certain she isn’t going to die soon and you have a tendency to avoid the concept altogether, she’s interested in making you an exception to the rule, if anything.”

David blocks the entirety of his face, his face as red as Ace’s hair.

“You really shouldn’t knock it. What we did was nice even if it was only once and in the heat of the moment,” Ace says. “And cost me my place in the army…and the planet.”

“Wow…Ace traded his lot-in-life for sex with a mistress,” Argit says. “Major props.”

Argit and Mercury both share a fist bump with Ace who, despite his altogether negative outlook on the situation, is appreciative of the respect amongst his peers.

“Is she a viable choice?” Nathan asks.

“I…I don’t know guys! Attea would be the natural fit, but there’s a lot more recovery time. Cyclonis would be nice…really nice actually,” David says, a stupid grin forming on his face. “But that would require more dedication and staying in one place.”

“For what it’s worth,” Mercury says. “Attea would be more your speed.”

“I’d rather avoid Cyclonis if I could,” Ace says.

“Cyclonis is much more what you’re looking for in a woman though. Despite her lack of experience she’s still been the most open to anything,” Argit adds.

“I would agree with Argit. However…” Nathan says.

He looks eyes with David.

“Here we go…” the latter mutters.

“We have to discuss the proverbial elephant in the room,” Nathan finishes. “Miss Schuyler.”

Behind them, Mr. Silver’s cane is heard hitting the glass. He clears his throat as a crack forms in the display cabinet holding various ‘legally obtained artifacts’.

“Mercury. Nathan. I believe this is a conversation best had between family,” he says.

Nathan nods, reaching his feet. Mercury raises an eyebrow at this.

“Um…what am I missing?” he asks.

“I will tell you the basics on the way. Mr. Silver, than you for allowing us into your business. If you would…?” Nathan asks.

Mr. Silver nods. He grabs his cane and leads Nathan and Mercury through the backdoor. David looks up through the small window. Once they have gone far enough back, he sighs.

“So…let’s talk about Angelica,” Ace says.

Argit winces, but folds his arms across his chest.

“Angelica was…one of the first people I met after I left Wuya. It wasn’t much…just a simple passing. She wasn’t much older than me, but her words are what stuck,” David says. “She said ‘it will always seem dark. You will sometimes want to hide. But never live your life like you’re never satisfied’. That’s what she said to me…”

David chuckles a bit, dragging his hands through his hair.

“As shitty as it sounds it was like an angel sent by God knows what.”

Both Ace and Argit notice the G-word being dropped. They share a brief glance before looking back at David.

“We met again a few years later. She hadn’t changed, but…I had changed so much. We talked about a lot. I talked about Wuya and what I had done. She talked about why she was still here, and…and him.”

David clenches his fist, but altogether stays on task.

“We discussed a lot about relationships. I made it clear where I stood: I was in love. I’m still in love. When I’m nothing but atoms in the air I will still be in love. She is everything I want and everything I want to be. She’s strong. She’d bold. She’s courageous. She’s not afraid to stick up for what she believes in. Even when she was married and held love for someone else, she never stopped believing.”

He shakes his head, the frown forming quickly on his face.

“She never believing in him either. Long after he had cheated on her sister. Long after he broke the one promise he told her father. Long after he let his arrogance get to him. That bastard…she never stopped loving him. And yet…she told me…that if the day would come where she stopped loving him…she would start to love me.”

David stands up, shoving the chair he was sitting in to the floor. Argit and Ace follow suit, with the former just standing on their chair to get near their height.

“And because of that…because of me…none of us will ever be satisfied.”

David shakes his head, snorting once before walking forward towards his brothers. Argit and Ace hold onto David as the tears start falling from his eyes, landing on their shoulders.

--------------------------------------------------------------

After a bout ten minutes and with a more calmed down David returning, the three deliberate on where they stand.

Metaphorically. They’re sitting back down now.

“So…Attea and Cyclonis are tied. The only other person I want to ask is Miss Poppins. Otherwise…I think we can close the book on Angel,” he says.

“That would be the best decision,” Argit says.

“You can keep on loving someone even if you’ve moved on. That doesn’t have to go away just because the option for more isn’t available. And if a day comes where she’s ready…and you’re ready…well…let’s just keep our hopes down,” Ace says.

David nods, wiping a few extra tears from his eyes.

“I want to see her one more time,” he says.

“Understood,” Ace says.

“Now that we have that sorted out…let’s talk about fuckin Kyle Shane,” Argit says.

Ace and David both once again share an audible groan.