Blood Fluke

Iris rubbed at her eyes. It had to be three or four in the morning, and their tab was probably sky-high by now. Most of the other patrons had left and the music had changed from upbeat to slow rock 

Levi was lolling his head a little but there was still a stupid grin on his face.

The barkeep gave a loud clap, startling them all.

“We’re closing in thirty minutes, just to let you all know,” he called out.

Their group nodded along, half of them were completely trashed, a good third were recovering, trying to intake as much water as their upset stomachs would allow, all in a vain attempt to curb the hangover that was sure to come. But a few of them, Iris, Levi and Jaz included, had been controlling themselves.

“Wha’d’you think?” Iris asked. “Should we find somewhere to hang for a while?”

Levi swirled a shirley temple in his hand, trying to mix grenadine and soda water together.

Jaz was holding an ice-cube to her forehead, judging the situation with her calculated gaze. Her eyes were almost coal-black in this lighting, and they scrutinized Levi’s half-drunk haze.

“Are you up for more shenanigans?” she asked him.

He looked up from his drink.

“Well… yeah,” he agreed. “If you guys are up for it, I have a friend we could go meet. He’s usually up at this time, so.”

Iris and Jaz frowned. “A friend?”

“Well yeah, you know.” He lowered his voice. “A civvie.”

Jaz’s expression was complicated but Iris put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly.

“Sure, sounds fun,” she said. “Where do we need to go?”

Levi explained the landmarks to get there. It would be quite a walk, but they were all in good shape.

After a brief discussion it ended up being just the three of them heading over there. Levi actually offered to go by himself but it was late and, while they were all capable in a fight, they weren’t about to leave one person to fend for themselves.

The trip was long on foot, but nobody complained. Levi actually seemed quite happy. He had perked up once they left the bar and was moving at a good pace despite the humid heat.

It was apparent this was the boy that he’d been sneaking short visits with. It was hard to get trashed while under supervision but it was common for some of them to make friends or even enter relationships with the so-called civvies.

Otherwise they’d be completely lost in this outside world.

Levi brought them to a deserted park. The gate was shut but he scaled the fence and turned to keep watch as the others followed. There were no police or security guards so they had the place to themselves, as long as they didn’t draw any attention.

Not long after, they settled on some grass and laid down to look at the one or two stars struggling to wink down at them through the light pollution.

Levi sat up at the sound of footsteps, listening intently. The others froze where they were, waiting for the all-clear. Another dude was approaching them. Iris discerned as much detail as she could in the dark. Colors were difficult but he was definitely pale-skinned with dark hair. He had a very average physique and his gait was casual. Quite a civvie, indeed, she thought and sat up to keep a better eye on him. Levi waited for him to get closer before calling out.

The guy jumped a bit, almost comically and zeroed in on their location in the shadows.

“Hey,” he greeted.

Iris gave him a peace sign with two fingers that he replicated while Levi got to his feet and touched the civvie’s sleeve. It was a simple way they could keep track of where the other was in the darkness. Jaz was still on the ground, but had pulled her feet beneath her so she, too, could observe the newcomer.

“This is John?” Iris asked. She’d heard about this civvie briefly, she remembered now. But Levi was too straight laced to try and sneak a move while under surveillance. It was clear that he was crushing a bit on this young guy, though. He was too anxious for this to be ‘just a friend.’

John held up a paper bag he had cradled against his chest. “I brought some drinks,” he said.

“Hell, yeah,” Iris put in.

John cracked open a tall bottle of cheap vodka and offered it to her. She took a good shot’s worth and handed it over to Levi who sputtered before taking his own, less enthusiastic, swig.

Levi offered it to Jaz but she turned it down. “I’ve got briefings in the morning,” she explained.

John’s face twitched in interest at the statement but he didn’t ask.

It was apparent to Iris that maybe they were already a bit too drunk to be hanging around a civvie like this. But she could keep herself together and gestured for John to sit on the ground with them.

“So,” she started. “Who is this boi that’s been on my friends mind all this time?”

“Iris,” Levi protested. “I told you it’s not like that.”

John kept the drink flowing. He’d brought a sweet-sour smelling wine-cooler for himself and passed on the vodka for the most part, only taking about a half a shot to mix in with the last of his surely-colorful cocktail, though nobody could see in the dark well enough to know.

Important AN:

I woke up with my friend's cat massaging my back today... I just needed everyone to know she was such a sweetheart.