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Her name was Bad Omens and she was fucking bad-ass. She was one of Poison's favorite Killjoys. She pretty much single-handedly controlled the flow of art supplies in the Zones. You wanted paint, brushes, inks, canvas, paper, pencils, anything like that, you went to Bad Omens. And you were polite about it, because she had a fucking fierce right hook and steel caps on her boots; she knew how to take out a kneecap or three.
The other reason you were polite to Bad Omens was because she had a man. Big guy, lean, never said a word. He reminded Poison of ex-military guys, but not the regular military. The special ops dudes, the scary ones. No one knew his name but no one was willing to cross him, either.
Poison knew about the right hook personally, but luckily for him, Bad Omens didn't hold grudges. Didn't tell her man that Poison had disrespected her, either. Just had taken him down a peg or two and then helped him up out of the dust.
He was secretly a little in love with her. And her motherfucking purple raygun.
They met outside of the DJ85, a combination bar, music market and venue smack in the middle of Zone 5. Ghoul wanted some paints for some project he was working on with Show Pony—Poison didn't ask, it was safer that way. And he figured he could get something for Gerard while he was at it.
When Bad Omens showed up, Poison picked her up and hugged her, nodding to her man standing watch behind her. He admired her new tattoos, intricate forearm sleeves done in brilliant colors. They were beautiful and well suited to her. She admired his black eye, which she had to admit went well with his overall disheveled appearance.
They went inside, out of the sun, and he bought her and her man a drink while they discussed what he needed. He let her help him decide what to get for Gerard, asking questions about what kind of art Gerard did and what he had. In the end, they settled on some nice watercolor pencils and a pad of quality paper.
Poison winced a little on the inside at the cost.
"You and Gerard, serious then?" Omens' voice was low and musical and Poison had to lean close to hear her.
"Serious?" Poison lit a cigarette and inhaled deeply. "Well, I like fucking him. Is that serious?"
She just looked at him.
"What?"
Shaking her head, she finished her drink. "You're such an asshole."
Poison grinned. "I know. It's great, isn't it?"
Bad Omens slapped his shoulder and promised to let him know when she got the goods.
Poison gave her another hug, carefully not copping a feel, and nodded respectfully to her dude.
It was a week or so before he met up with Bad Omens again. Her man was there, watching silently, while Poison gave her the c's and the trade goods she'd asked for: batteries, some toys, a cast iron cook pot. She smiled at the toys. "For my kid."
Poison's eyebrows flew up; he'd had no idea she had a kid. It was hard enough surviving in the Dust as an adult, raising a kidling seemed to be an almost impossible challenge. He had nothing but admiration for those who did it. Poison wasn't a parental-type, himself, but he knew that kids were the future. "Awesome, your very own baby Killjoy."
She grinned and held out a box to him. "Ghoul's paints, paper and pencils for Gerard."
He pulled her close into a one-armed hug. "Thanks, sugarbaby." He kissed her forehead. "Take care." He waved to her man and left.
And suddenly, it was like Gerard had disappeared. Not disappeared disappeared, but Poison couldn't manage to be in the same place at the same time as Gerard to save his life. It was like something was conspiring against him.
It wasn't a big deal. Poison was fine with not seeing Gerard; it wasn't like they had something serious going on. He just wanted to unload the paper and pencils that he'd gotten. Ghoul was eying the box suspiciously every time he climbed into the Am.
After a week of "...oh, you just missed him..." and "...he was here a minute ago..." Poison started to get a little suspicious. Because seriously, his timing was sometimes bad, but this was getting ridiculous. Poison went home to the diner to sulk.
"I think the motherfucker is avoiding me."
"No shit." Kobra didn't even look up from the newest issue of Shiny. "You just figured that out?"
Poison felt like a fucking idiot. "You didn't think to tell me?"
Kobra looked up and raised an eyebrow, unfazed. "I thought you knew." He turned the page, frowning at the glossy paper. "I heard it through the network, friend of a friend of a friend, something about you screwing around with a Killjoy and Gerard calling it quits and—" Kobra tilted his head, a little confused. "Something about a feud with Toro?"
"What the fuck?" Poison was well and truly baffled. He and Gerard weren't exclusive or anything but Poison hadn't fucked anyone else in a long time. He frowned, thinking back. A long fucking time.
"Dunno, Poison. I didn't even know the two of you were serious." He shrugged.
"We're not." Poison waffled between anger and confusion. Fuck it. He definitely was going to have a talk with Gerard. Because really, you didn't dump a guy through the rumor mill. That was worse than making a friend do the breaking up for you. "Fucker."
Kobra went back to his magazine with a shrug.
It took a couple of days, because Gerard could be really fucking sneaky when he tried, but Poison was sneakier. He found the band playing at some nameless dive bar, put on his favorite poncho to hide his distinctive hair and wallflowered, watching the audience and the band.
Something must have given him away, because Gerard's eyes passed over him and he stiffened, body language growing angry as he screamed his way through Honey. Fuck, so much for the element of surprise.
Poison bought himself a drink and nursed it through the show, fascinated by the dynamics between the band and their audience. Usually Poison was right in the thick of things, losing himself to the music in the pit, but tonight he could observe.
He'd known, all along, that the band really rocked. But seeing it like this, at a distance, was a surprise. Toro shredded like a motherfucking god, Iero jumped around the stage like a crazy dude, even Mikey, usually so quiet and still, paced the stage like a caged predator. And Gerard, screaming into the mic, taking all the energy from the audience and amplifying it, throwing it back to them...
Poison adjusted himself in his pants, discreetly.
Toward the end of the show, it was obvious that the whole band knew he was there; Toro threw him a glower and Mikey stared daggers at him. That was going to be a problem, because it meant that the band was going to close ranks around Gerard and do their best to keep Poison away.
Poison was devious, and no problem was insurmountable out here in the Zones. He went down the street to another dive bar, told the bouncer he'd heard on the airwaves that Dracs were incoming and watched the news spread like wildfire. By the time he got back to the band, they were frantically carting their equipment to their van.
It was simple to grab Gerard and shove him into a dimly-lit closet when no one was looking.
"Fuck off, Poison, we're trying to split before the Dracs get here." Gerard tried to push past Poison, but Poison blocked the door.
"No worries, prettybaby. It's a false alarm." Poison grinned, sharp enough to cut.
"How do you—you didn't," he breathed, shocked.
"It's funny what a boy's got to do to get a few minutes alone with you."
"You fucker."
Poison shrugged, pushing back the hood on his poncho. "You've been avoiding me. Rumor is that I was fucking around on you and you called us quits. Which, if that's the case, you should at least have the decency to tell me that we're over." He stalked forward, crowding Gerard up against the wall. "And the really ironic thing is that I haven't fucked anyone since I started fucking you." He reached out and pressed his hand against Gerard's crotch, smiling a little at the hardness he felt there.
"Liar," Gerard hissed, pushing against his hand, seeking more pressure. "I saw you with—"
"Saw me with who?" Poison lightened his touch, teasing Gerard. "C'mon, motorbaby, tell me what you think you saw."
Swallowing hard, Gerard rolled his hips a little. Poison dipped his head and licked at the sweat-slick skin of Gerard's neck, pressing a little harder against his cock. Gerard moaned.
"Tell me," Poison whispered in his ear.
Gerard gasped and wrapped his arms around Poison's shoulders, clutching at him. "I saw you with a woman, red hair, rainbow jacket, cargo pants. You were hugging her, you motherfucker."
Poison pulled back in shock. "Bad Omens."
"Well, it certainly wasn't a good omen," Gerard muttered.
"You are a fucking idiot."
Gerard tried to move away, but Poison pinned him to the wall with his body and shifted his thigh to press against Gerard's dick. "Oh, no, baby, we ain't done yet."
Poison kissed him, rough and hungry, pushing his way into Gerard's mouth. "How did you feel when you saw me touching her? Did it make you mad?" He slid his lips across Gerard's jaw, biting at his ear before moving to his neck. "Were you jealous that I was touching her and not you?"
"Fuck you," Gerard growled, rutting against Poison's thigh. "I don't give a fuck about you."
Chuckling, Poison grabbed a handful of Gerard's hair and pulled. "Now who's the liar?" He nuzzled along Gerard's neck before finding a good spot and biting hard, grinning as Gerard cried out. He kissed Gerard again, forcefully. "Tell me the truth, baby, and I might let you come."
"Fuck," he moaned softly. "Please, Poison, just—"
"Tell me."
Gerard closed his eyes and threw his head back. "Yes, I was fucking jealous, okay? You were touching her and I didn't want you touching anyone but me."
The words were fast and angry, and Poison saw the way Gerard bit his lip to hold back other words, words that he'd probably regret saying. Poison could respect that.
He unbuttoned Gerard's pants and reached inside to stroke his cock, gentling his touch and listening to Gerard's breathing grow fast and desperate. "C'mon, baby, don't hold back." Poison added a twist to the upstroke and felt Gerard shudder. "I only touch you like this," he promised quietly.
"Oh." Gerard twitched, eyes fluttering as he came in Poison's hand, wet and warm. Poison used the slickness to stroke Gerard until he cried out, over-sensitive almost to the point of pain.
Poison pulled his hand out of Gerard's pants, wiped his hand off on the wall and kissed Gerard. "I only touch you like this," he repeated, staring into Gerard's eyes, making sure he understood. Gerard nodded and slumped back against the wall.
Backing away, Poison pulled his hood up and grinned. He needed to get out of here before Gerard's boys figured out that something was up. He had no desire to get beat up tonight. "Catch you later, prettybaby. Behave yourself and I still might give you the present I got for you."
Gerard perked up. "Present?"
Poison laughed and blew him a kiss, ducking out of the closet and heading out into the desert night.
-fin-