Kev woke early, or perhaps he never truly slept. He lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, the silver suit from the previous day still on, its fine fabric rumpled and constricting. The room was dark, the moon having long since set, leaving only the inky blackness of the pre-dawn hour.
Fang had lunged at him last night. He had thrown Talon through a door, even though Talon seemed unnervingly unbothered by it. Fang had been set off by something... that door in the hallway.
Kev thought of the room. Dusty, painted blue, obviously some sort of bedroom. The TV was strange. There was no electricity. Had that room been untouched since then? They didn't even take the TV out. Was there still a plug in the wall in there? Kev hadn't seen any sort of electrical outlets or switches, not even in the garage. The doors were manual.
He rolled onto his side to watch the sun break over the horizon. A single, thin line of pale gold appeared, slowly bleeding into the darkness, chasing away the shadows. The light crept across the floor, illuminating dust motes dancing in the still air, inching its way up the wall, a silent, inexorable tide. The birds were already singing outside, their cheerful chorus a stark, painful contrast to the awful, heavy feeling that had settled deep in his chest.
Kev had assumed Fang was just a hot-tempered man, that everyone was teasing the wolf about his yelling, more bark than bite. When they told Kev Fang was like a different person around him, he just shrugged it off. They just saw how much Fang enjoyed his company, of course they'd say he was acting different if he was having leisurely meals and going out on the town during work hours.
It was a good thing, though. Even if Kev felt useless for not working, he did understand the significance of Fang leaving the club, of beginning to re-enter society. Three years, or nearly three years, he had been holed up in his fortress until just days after Kev had arrived. Cindy, Horns, Dale, even Reepia would all be so happy that Fang had been given the push to see his old friends and strengthen his community ties. If nothing else, Kev knew that he was Fang's boyfriend. Lanon could call him a pet all he wanted, but Kev had never interviewed for a job. He had never wanted to work at a nightclub. He did, however, want to be with Fang. Maybe not from the moment they met, and maybe not even after the kiss in the backseat of the car, he was still too lost in this new world then to truly appreciate what had happened to him. But now, with his immediate existential dread put aside, he had really fallen for the wolf... the man.
The way he tried to hold himself back and control his tail when Rebecca was bringing their food. The way he cowered from Reepia despite being twice her size. The way he was generous with his staff. The way he laughed when something absurd happened. The way he held Kev close while they were in a crowd. The chivalry... as Sabrina would say.
Even Fang's tempers, his anguish at the park graveyard, his rage at the man who had cut in front of Kev in line during the opera... Fang obviously felt things so very deeply, and Kev wanted to show that he felt that way too.
But what was wrong? The room... or was the room just something that reminded him of something else?
Kev pushed himself out of bed. He didn't want to think about it anymore. He was disgusted with himself for not realizing Fang was in so much pain this whole time. It was the only thing that made sense. Fang had so many episodes out in public that he hid himself away in the club, not wanting to harm the business, his family, by dragging the club's reputation down. It had his name, after all.
How had Kev missed it? It was right in his face the whole time. Everyone had mentioned it in their own ways, and Kev was so blind that Lanon had to spell it out directly for him. Of course Fang's temper was not normal. He hadn't met anyone else here with that kind of unbridled passion over anything so small as a door left ajar. It wasn't just some side effect of this anthropomorphic world; it was something unique to Fang.
And it seemed like something so out of Fang's control. He was hurting, and that made Kev hurt. These "episodes," or whatever they were, were not the real Fang. The real Fang enjoyed laughing with his friend Ralph and getting ribbed by Dale. He would fight tooth and nail for Reepia's food and applaud Asmodeus's concerto for bagpipes... he loved his people. Those movements of rage were the true aberration.
Kev put the kettle on, then showered and wiped down the bathroom. It had been a bit since Vlad had come in and fully scrubbed everything, and it helped distract his mind. He changed into some loose-fitting clothes, a flannel and some jeans. The grunge look. Kev grinned, thinking about how different Talon had looked with just a little outfit change. He walked out to the kitchen and prepared coffee.
He hoped Talon was okay. The eagle was quite stoic and probably did not want to badmouth Fang to Kev. He would have understood though, if Talon was furious. If someone had picked me up and tossed me through a door, Kev thought, I'd probably have been out for the night. But Talon seemed to shrug it off. Beastmen are quite... sturdy. Talon had seemed to be ready to get food with Sabrina, not a real complaint about it. Was he maybe in shock still?
He put the player piano on and opened the windows. After grabbing a cup of coffee and pocketing the pack of matches from the stove, Kev sat and had a smoke. He checked his watch. Horns should be knocking any minute now.
And, he was right. Not even ten minutes later came the routine visit from Horns.
Horns looked a bit tired, or a bit stoned, probably a mixture of the two. However, he didn't come into the room. He stood in the doorway, his massive frame filling the entire space, one hand resting on the jamb. His suit jacket was unbuttoned, his tie slightly loosened, and his antlers seemed to droop just a little with fatigue. He just stood there, a quiet, colossal sentinel.
"You're okay?" Horns asked, his voice a questioning rumble.
"Yeah, of course," Kev laughed nervously. "Do you want to come in?"
"Not today buddy, just wanted to check on you." Horns was eyeing Kev over, his gaze sharp despite his weariness. "Got to head home and get rested up before the big meeting tonight."
"Horns," Kev's bluntness caught the moose by surprise, "what happened with Fang last night? He had an episode while we were heading to bed, and he ran down to see Cindy."
"I guess it was bound to happen eventually," Horns said, his eyes shifting away, down the empty hallway. "He made it downstairs without anyone losing any blood. Nothing too unusual. I just wanted to make sure you didn't get, uh... caught in the crossfire."
"No," Kev shook his head, "but Talon did."
"Really?" Horns's eyes widened, and he looked down the hallway towards Talon's apartment. "Is he alright?"
"Yeah," Kev said. "He seemed like it was... not a big inconvenience."
Horns sighed, the sound a deep, weary rumble. "That's good. I warned him this sort of thing happens."
"You warned him?" Kev asked. "But... you never told me about this sort of thing. I would have liked to know that Fang had some..."
"Issues?" Horns offered.
"There's got to be a better word for it," Kev murmured.
"Yeah, the boss just gets worked up sometimes," Horns nodded. "He's not a bad guy, he's just.... working though some things still, I guess."
"He was doing fine until he saw that door open last night," Kev said. "What's the room across the hall from his bedroom?"
"Oh, that," Horns rubbed the back of his head and thought for a moment before continuing. "That room was already locked off by the time I was hired." The moose looked down, his gaze distant. "I know I told you to be open with me about you being an endangered species and all, but that room..." he looked down the hallway again, "...that's not my story to tell."
"It really set him off," Kev said. "Anything you know might be helpful. I..."
"Look, Kev, you'd have to ask him about it," Horns said, his tone gentle but firm. "If possible, ask away from fragile objects."
"It's really that bad?" Kev asked.
"It's just Fang," Horns said with a shrug of his massive shoulders. "Been like this as long as I've known him. He's doing great, and then he blows up about something, then me or Rex or Dale has to go wrangle him. These past two-ish weeks since you, uh... started dating Fang, it's like he's a new man. Other than yesterday, he hasn't really flipped out at all."
"He sold Pedro at a black market auction," Kev raised an eyebrow.
"Pedro? Who's Pedro?" Horns asked.
"The llama... got sold at the auction?" Kev sighed. "That wasn't Fang having an episode?"
"That?" Horns laughed. "Of course not. He'd fight to the very last man for anyone he considers family."
Kev understood what Horns was trying to say, but he still couldn't come to terms with the idea that people didn't seem worried about the consequences of selling the pool shark. Nor that the bet of a dance was worth the llama's life, just another reason Kev found it hard getting his barring in this alternate world.
"Look, I got to get out of here," Horns patted Kev's shoulder. "Please don't leave Fang over this. He didn't mean to scare you or anything."
"I won't," Kev replied. The thought hadn't even crossed his mind. He was actually more upset that Talon had apparently been briefed on Fang's fragile ability to restrain himself, and Kev hadn't. No one thought he should know that the man he was originally hired to assist was a tad bit... explosive.
"I'm glad you're okay," Horns said with a grin before pulling back his arm to stifle a yawn. "Now I got to get home. Fang said the most important thing was everyone get some sleep before the meeting."
A small smile broke through Kev's melancholy, hearing Fang's order to his staff to prepare for hosting the Mafia. He just hoped that Fang was getting some sleep too now. Even if they didn't spend the night together, Fang needed sleep.
Horns turned, giving a final, weary wave as he shuffled down the carpeted hallway, his broad back disappearing around the corner. Kev waved the mooseman off. He was surprised that Horns didn't seem to want to tell him about the room, if he even knew anything at all. It seemed like a very sensitive subject. Even with the "Top Secret" IT department, Horns had just said to stay away. But the open door across from Fang's room... the moose didn't even want to talk about it. There was definitely something important about that spare bedroom.
Well, Kev thought, I'll ask Cindy about it. She should be coming around with Max on rounds soon. Kev grinned, thinking about how Max would be so happy to have missed out on the excitement of the raid yesterday.
Yet, as Kev waited, the familiar knock from Cindy and Max didn't come. Kev checked his watch and shrugged. There must have been a large to-do list for Max today, considering he'd had the day off yesterday during the enforcer raid. "Sorry, Max, old friend," Kev gave a silent prayer. The fox-man would not be sleeping on the job today.
Kev, bagging up a few breakfast items, looked around his apartment one last time before stepping out into the hallway. Talon should be up by now, and he still had no eggs, so he might want another bagel sandwich. As Kev walked down the hall, he heard something that surprised him: two women yelling at each other.
Kev hurried his pace and could only make out the words as he turned the corner.
"If you cannot conduct yourself with etiquette befitting a Club Fang family member while on-site, then I will need to talk to Fang about your privileges!"
"I'M NOT AN EMPLOYEE IN THIS INTERCOURSE-INSTITUTION, AND YOU'RE NOT MY MOM!"