[Bob the hobo] A Celestial Wars Spin-Off Part 1263

PART TWELVE-HUNDRED-AND-SIXTY-THREE

[Previous Chapter] [The Beginning]

Thursday

“I really don’t want to talk about him,” Boyd said, tensing as if to stand.

Robbie reached for his knee and gave it a squeeze. “For me?” he asked, knowing exactly what to say to slip past the big guy’s defences.  “I’m the only one here, man. No one else is here listening in.” He could only hope that was true. Or if they were there, they’d take this huge hint to leave.

Boyd eyed him suspiciously, then gave in and slumped down in the seat, his neck catching on the headrest as his feet stretched out over the coffee table. He hadn’t gone as far as to cross them at the ankle or fold his arms with a huff, but it was a really close thing.

Robbie settled low enough to rest his head on Boyd’s huge shoulder. “He’s wrong,” he said, slowly threading his arms through Boyd’s to stop him from going anywhere. “We all know he’s wrong.”

“Buuuuut…” Boyd drawled stubbornly.

Honestly, how did someone go from being his pillar of strength one moment to a petulant child in the equation the next? “Buuuuut,” Robbie repeated, ending the word on an up note instead of the hard stop that Boyd had used. “He’s your best friend outside this apartment. I mean, with the way we all treat each other like extended family, he’s probably your best friend, period.”

“Not anymore.”

“You know you’d be exactly the same if your roles were reversed.”

Boyd’s grunt and the way he looked at the wall away from Robbie were almost comical.

“Seriously. He was one hundred percent wrong in his approach, but he only did it because you mean the world to him. Six months ago, you would’ve defended him if someone on the job site was picking on him, wouldn’t you?”

“I wouldn’t have done what he did.”

“Because he’d have pushed back and probably come out on top in those fights. But what if he hadn’t? What if he was just a regular guy hanging out with a couple of other regular guys, and half the night crew attacked them for being gay? Where one was killed, one ended up in ICU, and the only reason Larry got out with minor scrapes was because you got there in time to stop them from really hurting him.”

He saw Boyd’s jaw twitch along with the muscle in his arm, telling him the picture wasn’t sitting well with him.

“Now picture him insisting on going back to work on that same night shift, because the main troublemakers were fired. Not all of them. Say the biggest four were fired. That still leaves all the others—waiting for an opportunity to finish what they started.”

Robbie lifted his head to meet Boyd’s eyes. “Are you going to sit there and tell me that you wouldn’t become his permanent shadow from then on? Or panic the second you realise he’s not where he’s supposed to be—because what if they’ve already pitched him off the fiftieth floor?”

Boyd rubbed his bare feet together uncomfortably. “He has to pull back. I can’t be around him if he’s going to hover over me like that.”

“What if I have a word with him? Get him to agree to a sit-down with you. One where I’ll act as mediator. We’ll talk instead of yelling. Are you willing to do that if I ask him?”

* * *

Say yes…please, please say yes. Lar’ee mentally begged from where he clung to the ceiling above them as a harmless housefly. His ‘date’ with Eva had been wonderful, but she was still an elderly lady, so their trip down memory lane had been briefer than he would’ve liked. Still, it had worked out in the end—Robbie had chosen tonight to go on an international shopping trip, and Lar’ee followed him into every store.

Which explained why Sam’s pair had snickered when Robbie mentioned the unlikelihood of international ICE sitting around the next corner—because it wouldn’t have mattered with Lar’ee shadowing him.

Of course, he had to keep ducking back to check on Boyd since no one else was keeping an eye on him. Not by being in the same room as he had last night, though. After giving Robbie his word that he would stay away from Boyd, he had remained in the hallway outside the apartment, shifted his vision to thermal and relaxed when Boyd was still exactly where he was supposed to be.

Fortunately, the other true gryps gave no indication of his presence beyond a light jab or two from Rubin about being whipped. They were too young to understand. Kulon now came the closest, but even he hadn’t crossed the threshold into why things were so knotted up in Lar’ee’s mind … not for the lack of trying. Mason was smart enough to not go there.

Lar’ee held his breath as Boyd’s jaw worked for furious seconds. He promised them both he’d try to do things differently from now on if the big guy agreed to this sit down. Yes, he’d embarrassed Boyd with those police officers, but that had never been his intent. He’d just received the biggest fright of his life, and he’d reacted on instinct—like any warrior would, when faced with that kind of fear.

“Fine, but this is the last straw. I mean it, Robbie. If he doesn’t get his head out of his ass and truly change, we’re done.”

“Wait here. I’ll see if he’s got a minute.”

Lar’ee realm-stepped into his apartment downstairs and threw on whatever clothes he could find. Jeans. T-shirt. Done. His phone rang just as he zipped up his jeans and launched himself at the charging cradle. “Yeah?” he asked, determined to keep the excitement from his voice.

“Boyd’s willing to talk, but please, hear me when I say this is your last hail Mary of a chance. He’s really on the brink of ending his friendship with you.”

“Do you want me to come upstairs?” he asked, pretending he hadn’t heard every word they’d said. “I’m in our apartment at the moment.”

“Yeah, come up to the hallway. We’ll go in together. Keep me between you. And don’t lose your temper again—no matter what he says. Not even a little.”

“Thanks, Robbie.”

“You both need each other, man. Don’t mess this up.” Robbie hung up, and Lar’ee pocketed his phone and realm-stepped into the hallway outside Boyd’s studio. Robbie was already waiting for him. He scanned Robbie’s face and realised he must have run himself through a demonic stimulation wave in the few seconds he was away. Everything from his hair to his complexion was flawless—no trace of the red, puffy eyes or dishevelled hair from a few moments ago.

“I can hear your heart beating from here,” Robbie said with a half-grin.

Lar’ee appreciated the attempted levity, even if it did fall a bit flat. “Are you sure he’s good to go?” he asked.

“He’s promised to hear you out on the condition you use your inside voice for the duration of this chat. No shouting, or it’s all over. Okay?” His eyebrow arched, in case the warning wasn’t clear enough already.

Lar’ee nodded, nervously dragging his lower lip through his teeth.

“Alrighty-then. If it gets too much, start a mental mantra of ‘last chance’. It’ll remind you of what’s at stake.”

Lastchancelastchancelastchance…

Robbie led the way into the studio, and as per their agreement, Lar’ee stayed behind him, choosing the seat in the reception area that left Robbie between him and Boyd.

As he expected, the big guy’s eyes bounced between him and the door, like he’d rather be anywhere but in the same room with him.

Robbie saw it too, for his hand went to Boyd’s thigh in a calming gesture.

“You have to stop,” Boyd finally said.

Lastchancelastchancelastchance…

“I’m scared for you,” Lar’ee replied, after Robbie gave him a look that said it was his turn to respond. “You’ve been my best friend for over ten years. And the pryde won’t let me go out and slay all your demons for you.”

“I don’t need you to slay anything for me. Robbie’s the one who needs that level of protection from you. Not me.”

Lastchancelastchancelastchance…

Eechee, please! Let me tell him!

I am sorry, sweetheart. It is still not our place.

Tears welled in Lar’ee’s eyes, and he wasn’t ashamed to admit it. He was caught between two worlds, with the pressure taking him to the breaking point. Boyd would never understand if he wasn’t allowed to know. “You mean just as much to me as Robbie does,” he said instead, for that was as close as he was permitted to go. “And it would kill me even more than Mason’s loss would destroy Kulon if anything happened to you.”

“And I can’t live my life under the shadow of your umbrella. I won’t waste the mental energy I don’t have, wondering ‘What would Larry want me to do?’.”

“The problem is, you don’t blend into the crowd, Boyd. Any crowd. If these people want to clean house or capture someone with the intent to flush Mason out, you can’t suddenly disappear inside a population. Less than point one percent of Americans are your height, and globally, it’s a tenth of that.” He rolled his hand palm-up toward Boyd. “You’re not just tall, Boyd—you’re impossible to miss. Not even hunching down will hide you.” Come on, big guy—connect the dots here and put us both out of our misery!

“I can’t help the way I was born,” Boyd snapped, low and bitter. “And I’m not going to apologise for it either.”

Lastchancelastchancelastchance…

* * *

((All comments welcome. Good or bad, I’d love to hear your thoughts 🥰🤗))

I made a family tree/diagram of the Mystallian family that can be found here

For more of my work, including WPs: r/Angel466 or an index of previous WPS here.

FULL INDEX OF BOB THE HOBO TO DATE CAN BE FOUND HERE!!