Date: Sat, 23 Sep 2023 04:50:12 -0500 From: Fang Saito Subject: Welcome to Avernus - Chapter 18 This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to any real people or places is purely coincidental. This story is the property of the author and is protected under copyright laws. The author retains all rights. No reproduction is allowed without the author's consent. Conversations and feedback are appreciated to Greyson B. via email at hokkaidohotel86it@gmail.com. I love hearing from readers. As always, special thanks to Johnny Kape for the excellent editing assistance he always provides me. If you enjoy this story, please support the Nifty archives today with a thoughtful donation by visiting https://donate.nifty.org/. Two chapters in a row that have been heavily delayed. Unfortunately, things are getting slowly worse. If you can find an opportunity to help out a favored author, it would be appreciated. https://www.buymeacoffee.com/GreysonB. You can find my other Nifty stories at: https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/adult-youth/cadence/ https://www.nifty.org/nifty/gay/highschool/a-ghost-finds-a-body/ I have begun a mailing list to notify people when a new chapter is posted. If you would like to be added, feel free to write and let me know to add you. Welcome to Avernus Chapter 18 I didn't want to give Wren a chance to do much, either with me or Boots, so I texted Wren, telling him the front door would be unlocked when he got here, and to come meet me upstairs when he got here. Meanwhile, I settled in at the painting table in the loft outside my bedroom upstairs. If I got up and went over to the stairs, I could look down and see the front door. I opened my latest box and started assembling my new Collective tank. I wanted to be excited about the model, since the only other vehicle I owned so far was a transport. But with everything going on, it was impossible for me to think of anything going on except for my Vampyre problems. It was another fifteen minutes before the front door opened. I quickly went over to the stairs and saw Wren let himself in. He looked up and I waved him up to join me. I double checked, and my bedroom door was definitely, purposefully closed. I had no intention of letting him distract me with his stupid, aggravating, sexy, desirable Succubus powers. Oh god, the closer he got up the stairs, the more excited my body was getting, and the less I was thinking about things with my brain. I quickly went back over to the desk to try and distract myself. "Babe, are you okay?" Wren asked as soon as he joined me in the loft. "Why?" I asked, trying to play it cool. "What's wrong?" He laughed a little. "You seemed to have mangled your CX-85." "I, what?" I looked down, and saw that I had glued the last few pieces completely out of position, and the entire tank was completely lopsided. "Fuck," I muttered, setting the whole mess down. "Here, babe," said Wren. He sat down in the other chair, carefully setting Boots' Cosmos Emptor models back out of the way, and taking the model from my table to over in front of himself. He picked up a hobby knife and a few other tools, and started performing surgery on the tank. Tonight's outfit was straight out of an Anime, with thicker, tight leggings that went all the way up until they were lost under a miniskirt. Skimpy shoes fit with the tights, and a shaggy sweater gave a sexy, top-heavy feet to the whole outfit. The black outfit made his pale hands and face stand out even more. I was a bit distracted when Wren spoke. "Now, what's going on?" He asked, concentrating on the model and not looking at me. "What has you so on edge? And why have you been avoiding me for the last few weeks?" I sat in silence for a minute, watching him work at salvaging my model. I had to admit that him not looking at me seemed to take some of the pressure off. Still, I wasn't sure how to answer him. I really didn't know what to say. So I decided to tell him the truth, or at least a part of it. "Would you believe me if I said I wasn't entirely sure?" "Sure," he replied with a grin, still focusing on the model. "But you still might want to elaborate. Something made you decide the best course of action was to dodge me, even if you weren't sure why." "You won't like it." "Oh, of that I'm sure," Wren laughed, leaning over to bump shoulders. "If it ran you off, of course I'm not going to like it. But I still need to hear it." The move was familiar, intimate. But bumping shoulders with me wasn't Wren's move. It was something Boots would do. It didn't make me feel comforted, instead it felt like my personal space was being intruded on. "It's a couple of little things that all add up to one big thing," I said tentatively. When he nodded but didn't interrupt, I elaborated. "First there's the fact that when I asked you," I almost said Mr. Tsui, but I corrected myself, "and Dom a few questions, I got a lot of the same answers, some of them almost word for word." "Okay," he said hesitantly. "Do you remember which questions?" "Yeah, one was about your supposed rivalry, and yet still working together." "I told you-" "I know what you told me, and his answer was almost word for word the same. It was creepy. I also asked him why you were working with me, supposedly at the request of the council, when he has his own assistant that could have been doing it for him." "Well, I don't know what the situation is with-" "Let me finish, please," I interrupted again, "unless you don't want to hear the rest." Wherever that came from, I was obviously more pissed about this than I realized. But he nodded and gestured for me to continue. "I very clearly remember asking you if there were any downsides I didn't know about, to becoming," again there was a pause while I corrected the name in my head, "Dom's Assecla. I can't believe that you `just forgot' the tiny detail of me dying if he dies. You just accidentally forget something like my death?" We sat in silence for a moment, I think waiting for the other to speak. After a minute, Wren said, "Is there anything else? I mean, those are legit, but did you have anything else you need to add before I say anything?" "Yeah, there's something else, but it's a lot more personal. Let's talk about this first." "Wow, alright," he said. "I'm guessing this has been bubbling inside you for a while. Well, first, I'm sorry I've given you a reason to distrust me. As far as Dom and I giving some of the same answers, you need to remember that we attend all the same meetings. And you have to understand that Dom's attempts at getting you up here have been discussed for more than a year now. If the wordings is the same, it's because we have been kind of limited in what we could say, especially earlier in speaking with you." Wren reached over and set the corrected model in front of me. He was showing his talent, because it looked as if I had never screwed it up. "Here you go. Now, as for the trouble with you being an Assecla, you need to understand that Dom is the first time I have ever dealt with the whole idea of this. I've never met an Assecla before, so I apologize if I forgot something, even if it was something important." "Uh huh," I deadpanned. "Interesting that it's all, `I need to understand', and `I need to remember'. I trusted you. You asked me to trust you and let you help me out with learning about the Vampyre." "I know. I'm sorry." "And I did! I trusted you too much." I got a bit quieter when I added, "I even trusted you enough that I gave you my cherry." "What do you mean?" asked Wren, surprised. "We haven't even done that. Yet or otherwise." "I mean oral, you ass," I yelled in frustration, smacking him on the shoulder. "Before you, I've never done more than second base with someone before. And you barely asked! You just got me horned up and went for it." "You were perfectly fine with it at the time," said Wren, and I could tell he was getting annoyed. "And all the times we messed around," he added. "And now you are getting buyer's remorse?" "I spend this whole weekend away with Dom fucking with my mind! And I mean real mind-fucking. Like, blacking out and woken up raped. And I've been realizing that it's the same with you." My voice was getting kind of loud, but fuck it. There wasn't anyone to hear. "I've been realizing that I feel very different about you when you are here in front of me, than when I'm alone and can actually think!" I sat there and caught my breath, while Wren just sat there and looked at me like I had slapped him. Seriously, he looked like he was halfway to crying. "So this entire time," he said softly, "you have been worried I was taking advantage of you. Maybe even mentally raping you." He didn't seem angry. Instead, he seemed worried. "Oh, babe. I'm so sorry. I think I forgot for a time just how young you are." "Fuck you! This isn't about me being too young! This is about you using your fucking powers on me." "No, no! I didn't mean it like that." Wren seemed to be struggling to keep his voice steady, probably trying to calm my ass down. "Maybe young wasn't the right word. Inexperienced, maybe. You're getting thrown into a new high stress scene, a new situation of having to learn about the mesmir and how to overcome it, and then your first real sexual relationship all at once. I should have known better, and waited." "Maybe," I mumbled. "After all, I was just some fun for you, someone who you just found intriguing." I couldn't look at him. "I mean, to you I'm just a novelty, right?" "That was cruel of me. I'm sure you were hoping for more." "Yeah, but that's not my problem," I said, trying to skirt that little issue. "It's more about feeling like I can't trust myself around you." "Can't trust yourself?" Wren grinned. "What, am I really that irresistible?" The grin disappeared when I answered, "I don't trust that you aren't mind manipulating me." "Is this about you being pissed that I won't `go steady' or whatever." He even made air quotes at me. "Jeez, Jason, grow up already." "It's like you aren't even listening!" I was about to lose it, for real. "You tell me to `grow up'," I did the air quotes right back, "and yet you don't even hear what I just said." I punctuated my words, jabbing my finger into the top of the desk with each word. "I... am... scared... you... are... using... mesmir... on... me...." Silence reigned. We stared at each other as I tried to figure out what was going through his mind. Then... he laughed. "Babe," he said, still with a bit of a laugh that was seriously pissing me off, "you've already proved that you can throw off mesmir when you want to. Why would I use it on you, even if I wanted to?" "Again, asshole, like I just told you, I just spent the weekend watching Dom mess with my brain all weekend. You want to laugh, go for it, But go ahead, don't take me seriously." The laugh was gone. "You're just going to keep comparing me to Dom?" "When I see something that compares, yes!" "Fucking Dom," Wren muttered. "I guess when when you think he was using mesmir with you, you think he was feeding?" "One of the times I know it was feeding, but I also think he took advantage of me, because I had been undressed and redressed while I was unconscious. But most of the time he was fucking with my head, he was making me forget questions I wanted to ask, and making me think better about him. I'd be pissed at him, and then he'd walk into the room, and I couldn't think a bad thought about him. I even have to go out of my way to call him Dom, instead of Mr. Tsui." "Damn," said Wren. "And you are absolutely convinced that I am doing the same thing to you? Just running with it, no doubt in your mind?" "I didn't say, `no doubts'. I said that I worry about similarities I've noticed. I can't seem to think the same when you're around." Wren just stared at me. "And the fact you've already admitted you have the hots for me, can't account for that? Have you ever been pissed at me, or had a question for me, and had your head flipped like you say Dom did to you this weekend?" "Well, not exactly, no." "And have you caught me in a lie, or had anyone else give you contradictory information about me?" "Well, I-" "Aside for your thing about similar answers to stuff?" Well," I hated to admit it, because now I was starting to feel like shit. "No, I haven't," I mumbled. "But you still worry that I used mind powers to make you get horny and have sex you didn't want to have?" He didn't need to even ask that. He had me, and he knew it. I sighed, "No, Wren. I seem to be giving you a programming error." "Huh? What do you mean?" "You know, an `I.D. Ten -- T' error?" He thought about it for half a second. "Oh, ha ha. ID10T? Idiot? There's a reason you're so interesting, babe." Wren put his arm around me. "Are we good?" "Yeah, I guess we are," I sighed. "But what am I going to do about Dom? He's using his powers against me, he's got his enemies breaking into his house. The same ones he is talking to otherwise, as if they are friends, mind you." Squeezing my shoulder, Wren asked, "What's your worst case thought here?" "You mean aside from you being on his side against me?" I asked with a wry chuckle. "Yeah, that aside," he laughed back. "Well, I guess that aside from I've been trapped into a situation where it is the entire Vampyre community against me due to some elaborate ruse-" "Which we are going have faith in me that it isn't true," he interrupted. "Yeah, that. I guess it's that it will come down to me vs the kung fu council, and you'll side with them over me." "This is really a fear you have?" Wren asked. "That this entire fight is a ruse to, I don't know, get you to do something?" "Dude, there's a fucking hidden door in my basement, and every time I try to do something about it, I randomly forget about it until it's too late at the moment to do anything about it. If I walked down to the basement right now, I would forget all about it on the stairs down." I looked up and caught his eye. "I've been conditioned, dude. I've been fighting this for damn near a month." Wren made a move as if to get up. "Shall we go down right now and test it? I mean, if it's bothering you that bad." "Naw," I relented. "I've got company down there right now." "Oh? Are you hiding them, or is this another dodge not to do something about the door?" I decided to throw his own dodge back at him. "It is what it is." "Mysterious, nice," he said with a grin. "Maybe a rival for my affections?" "Hey, you don't get to pull that bullshit," I snapped back. "You're the one that didn't want to date. You're the one that just wanted an interesting fuck buddy. You don't get to play the jealous boyfriend now." "So it is a romantic rival." "I never said yes or no," I countered. "You assumed that." Wren laughed. "Now who's the dodgeball ninja?" I had to admit, it took a minute to remember the conversation and that reference. "I guess because of the council, you are still working with Dom? I guess that's kind of a permanent thing?" "You're really pissed at Dom right now, aren't you?" Wren saw I was about to say something so before I could, he put up a hand to stop me and said, "Yes, Dom's going to stay a co-council member for quite some time. That's not something I can change. However, do I need to bring up to the council what he did on the trip?" "Would it do any good?" I asked with a huff. "I mean, it would be the word of a council member against that of his battery." "Damn, alright." Wren was obviously trying to downplay my mood, but I wasn't having it. "Here's one for you," I said. After all, I was determined to take advantage of the conversation while I could. "What happened with our flight back from Alabama? It was pretty obvious that someone either tried to stall me coming back, or tried to stop me entirely. I refuse to believe your council didn't pull some strings and look into it. And who was it that got us on the plane the next day? Because one of the goons referred to themselves as `Special Agent'. So somebody did some manipulation to override someone else's manipulation." Wren gave me a good, hard look. When I just stared back expectantly, he reluctantly asked, "Are you really going to make me answer that?" "The first time we met, you tried playing some games and I started walking away, before you called me back. I should have fucking kept walking." "Babe, come on," Wren pleaded. "My hands are tied. Some stuff isn't mine to tell." "Get out." I was done. I really should have walked away that first night. "You're kicking me to the curb? Seriously?" He looked shocked. "I need someone that's on my side. Unless I can entertain you or feed you, you don't give a shit about me." Now he was mad. "You're really throwing away your only ally? Unbelievable." "I've got allies, Wren. Dom's an ally. Your sister's an ally. Hell, Montgomery's an ally. What I need is a friend." "And I guess you've decided I'm not your friend," he said as he stood up. His voice was now as cold as his skin. There was nothing in his tone that implied we had ever been close. "That's a shame, Jason. I could have been your friend. We could have helped each other. You'll regret making me your enemy." "And that's it? Now I'm an enemy?" I was stunned at Wren's all or nothing, black or white declaration. "We're either best of friends or deadliest enemies? Glad I'm finding this out now." Just before Wren started down the stairs, Wren turned back and looked at me. Then he shook his head and angrily said, "Fucking Dom. Got greedy and ruined you. What a waste." Then he was gone. I jumped up, but by the time I could even get over to the top of the stairs, the front door was already closing. He must have used his super speed or whatever. I needed to act fast, before Wren could do anything. I pulled out my phone and dialed the number I had for Dom. It was Montgomery that answered, but I suppose that was good enough. "I need to talk to Mr. Tsui. Tonight," I said as soon as I understood who I was talking to. "Can you please find out when and where?" Montgomery seemed taken aback at my aggressiveness, but recovered quickly. "I'll set something up and text you back in a few minutes." "Just try to make it quick. Please, Montgomery. Wren just went off at me, and started talking like I'm his enemy or something. I don't know what's going on." "Damn, alright," he said. He didn't sound offended, more surprised "Just hold tight, and I'll message you right back once I talk to Dom." He hung up and I practically ran down to the basement. I thanked whatever gods might be out there, but Boots was still downstairs, safe and un-messed with. He looked up in concern when I came storming through the door and down the stairs. "You good?" he asked as soon as he got a good look at me. "Not particularly," I muttered. "I think Wren just declared me an enemy." Boots' jaw dropped and he took a step back. "Really? I thought he liked you. Guess there's a longer story there? Don't worry. You don't have to tell me details if you don't want to." "Thanks. I don't mind telling you, I guess. You've been pretty good about this stuff so far." I took a few minutes and filled him in on the overall details of what went on upstairs. Then, trying to change the subject, I asked if he found anything down here. "Oh, yeah!" He stepped over to the wall and started pointing out different things. "Here's that peephole you said was here. I put this little sticker here, and found a marker to darken it up. But this way, it's covered, but you can always remove it if you decide to go insane and let somebody see us." He laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "I also think I found the door. Here, look." Boots was able to show how he was able to slip an index card into a practically invisible line in the wall. Once he slipped in the card, it was pretty apparent to me that he had found the edge of the door. "The only thing is, I can't find a way to open it from this side," Boots said. "And without getting it open, I can't think how to seal it, without either making it obvious from this side to the gang, or moving something in front of it." "Which would leave us tripping over whatever it was, when going up and down the stairs," I said, finishing his thought. "Exactly," he said. "So what do you want to do about it? It looks like they did too good a job setting up this door." "I guess this is the best we are going to get for the moment," I replied back. "Now I've got to figure out what to do about this Vampyre problem. I'm tempted to be as stupid as I was before, and get right up in their faces again." I explained about going to the hotel after my dad was killed, confronting Dom, and the fallout from all that. "So it was completely stupid and dangerous, you were almost killed, and then you found out everything you had wanted to know?" Boots sat there, a bit stunned and in awe. "So if this were a movie, this would be the part where the hero and the plucky sidekick grab flashlights and go exploring the spooky evil tunnels." I laughed, for real, and he joined me. After I calmed down, I answered, "Well, we don't need flashlights. The tunnels are all lit up, most of them with motion sensor lights. They aren't exactly caves. They're fully dug tunnels, with concrete and paint. They even have these mini golf carts to ride around on." "Damn, so less `Dracula', and more `Dr. Evil'." "Exactly. All that's missing is the volcano and the frikkin' sharks with frikkin' lasers on their frikkin' heads," I said, quoting the aforementioned movie. "Wait a minute. How would you seal the door, if we could open it? Like, how would that help?" "Easiest way would be to caulk the whole thing in the door jamb, then shut it," he answered. "After 24 hours, it would be better than superglue." Thinking about it, I mused, "I'd probably deal with it better if the door went both ways, and it was useful for me." "I guess," said Boots. "Though if it was my basement, I think the creep factor would override any usefulness I might get out of it." "Speaking of, dude, there are three other bedrooms in this giant-ass house. Take one so you can quit crashing in the basement when you don't have to." Boots looked a bit guilty, muttering, "I don't want to impose." Chuckling, I said, "So you'd rather let me worry about you and this damned door?" He started to say something else, so before he could, I added, "And don't say you just won't come around as much." When he looked surprised, I explained, "Dude, I was the same way with my friend, Alen. I crashed over at his house all the time, when my folks were fighting, or my dad got too drunk. I really need you to get comfortable living here, dude." He paused, as if trying to process what I said, before saying, "Living... here? Not just crashing here occasionally?" "Yes, dude. Go check in with your parental units whenever you have to, but get your shit, bring it over here, and pick a bedroom to put it in." He thought about it for a second, then with a sly smile said, "That's pretty fast, considering we haven't even had our first date." I laughed and punched Boots in the shoulder. "Shut the fuck up with that, or I'll kiss you!" We both got a good laugh, especially when Boots started blushing. I'm pretty sure I hit a button with that one. In the most epic level of "saved by the bell", my phone went off with a text message. I took the out and pulled out my phone, and saw it was Dom's number. --Come to the hotel any time in the next few hours. Tell the desk that you need to go upstairs for a meeting. Message me if this is a problem.-- I showed Boots the message and his shoulders slumped. "I wish I could go with you." "Oh yeah? So come." "Yeah," he chuckled. "And how are you going to explain bringing a normie with you? I'm not supposed to know anything, right? Besides, you remember what happened to me the last time I went near the hotel." He shuddered, and I remembered that creepy feeling, like something was watching me, or more like stalking me. "Pretty much everyone from town feels that whenever they go near the place." "That's weird," I said. "I've only felt it a couple of times. That one time with you, once alone out behind the hotel, and another time inside my hotel room. Though that one was weaker and might have been something else. Know what it was?" "Hey, you're the one with all the inside knowledge, my guy. So what are we doing?" "I guess I'm going to go meet Dom and try to get a few answers," I said with a shrug. "Answers, or protections?" I matched his shrug, trying to sound braver than I felt. "More like trying to find out if Dom is fucking around with me as bad a Wren is. So... answers?" "I still can't believe Wren went off on you like that. I was sure he was into you." "Yeah, well, he seemed to think that if I wasn't a hundred and fifty percent fawning over him, then I obviously hated him," I grumbled. "Wish I knew which version was the `real' Wren. Maybe someone is fucking with him right now, and the sunshine version is him for real. But somehow I don't think so. I think me ghosting him for a couple of weeks really got in his head for some reason." "Jeez. Sensitive much?" "And he teased about it, but I got the feeling having someone else staying here in the house annoyed him also." "Dude, you would think he would have thicker skin." "I know, right?" I said with a laugh. "I mean, I am definitely not worth losing your shit over." Boots muttered something quiet that I couldn't catch. "What's that?" I had to ask him. He blushed, but he raised his head and did this thing where he spoke clearly, but he kept his eyes closed, as if by not looking at me, it wouldn't be as impactful or personal or whatever. "I said, you've got enough going on to be worth getting upset over." Even with his eyes closed, he was embarrassed enough to be turning pretty pink in the face. Meanwhile I was left torn in two directions. I mean, I wanted to dig into what he found fascinating enough to say that about me. But flip side, I wanted to skip the "why"s, and just jump straight into figuring out if Boots really was saying he was interested in me. I guess in the end, I was somebody that needed answers too badly. "You're gonna need to take a step back, my guy," I said, even as I sat back down on the couch next to him. "If you're into dudes, that's cool. You already know I am. But what's this shit about me being worth getting upset over, or whatever? What's possibly so special about me?" "Dude, you walked right up to Taki and Liam literally your first day in town, and made yourself right at home with our crew. You're brave enough to just straight into everything handed to you by the town spooks, even when you thought they were the mafia." For whatever reason, I just saw those as standard, what anyone would probably do. But then he kept on going. "Then there's the fact that you've been super nice to me, whether you had to or not. Then how you've kind of hinted a few times you might be into me, but haven't made me feel weird about it at any point. Add to all that, that you are all fit and well put together." "I mean, I wasn't exactly going to be a dick to you or anything. And yeah, your really cute. My mom even thought so." "And," he continued, as if trying to info-dump all his points, "speaking of your mom, you were cool about her. First, wanting her to not be controlled, then when that wasn't possible here, sending her away to be safe." "I don't think I really had a choice about that. Not if I wasn't going to be a complete dick." "See what I mean?" he asked. "And now you have this giant, amazing house all to yourself, with no parents, and nobody to fuck with you. And the first thing you do is insist that I come over and stay the fuck out of my shithole of a house." Um, wow. That was a lot of opinion to take in. So what do I say? Thank you? Naw, that would be too silly. Instead I laughed and said, "Are you trying to say you want to fuck?"