She was late. She was late and she knew it because it had been her fault. She hated being late because it was her fault and she actually needed to get somewhere. Pulling down the scarf from around her mouth she took a deep breath of cool air before it was whipped away from her mouth. Riding the L train was common for people in the city but riding on top of it wasn’t exactly the common way to do it. Especially as night.
The train took a slow jerking turn and she had to keep a gloved hand against the top of the car. Pressing her teeth together she looked at the skyline watching the lights of apartments flicking on or off. But she was looking for their apartment specifically. Well she called it a house despite the fact that that wasn’t technically what it was.
Another turn and this one almost dislodged her entirely but she held on like an angry flee despite the protest in her shoulder. But she positioned herself properly to stand and after practicing this for the better part of a year leaped. Using the trains momentum, she was flung to the other side and face first to the buildings roof. Rolling and bounding back to her feet she kept going, clearing another building with ease.
One more solid jump with the wind racing through her hair and she landed on their balcony. They had long since gotten rid of most of the plants that had been there before but Echo did have one or two personal projects she was taking care of.
She walked to the large pair of sliding doors and instead of a key she took off her glove and pressed her fingers against the flat handle. It glowed at the five points of where her fingers touched and she danced back and forth on her toes as it read her finger tips. But it finally clicked and she slid the door open. Yanking the scarf down and off her mouth she stepped through the living room.
She rubbed her small nose and wrinkled it at its soreness from the cold. The door closed behind her and she took a moment to stand and just breathe, “Home sweet home.”
Barking sounded quickly and she flinched away but looked down as the rottweiler bounded forward. However, once she got closer to her, she sniffed at her legs and then sat down contently. “Yeah mutt it’s me,” she said rolling her eyes. She scratched the dogs head lightly and then was back on the move.
Not bothering to turn on any of the lights, she ran into the love seat and swore, stepped over the table and headed down the hallway. Her room used to be all the way down the hall on the right but now she was sharing a room second on the left. Stepping inside she walked through the tiny hallway before turning on the light into the room proper.
The bed was messy, the blanket almost on the floor, but sat in the center of the room. The closet was directly to her left as she walked in and against the opposite side of the room was a dresser with more clothes for them. Just the basics at the moment. She went straight to the dresser rifling through the clothes trying to find a tighter pair of jeans and a better top.
“You’re late Yu.”
She let out a soft shout and jumped before turning around raising her fist ready to fight. Instead she was looking at the tired gaze of her boyfriend. His sun brushed bronze skin showed off the Latinx half of his heritage. His curly black hair rested against his face and his noise a defining feature of his face. He looked like he was a frowning hard at her but it didn’t reach those droopy dark eyes of his. He was wearing a simple grey button up shirt, jeans and regular sneakers.
She looked at him and pressed her hands together quickly lowering her head, “I know Shadeow. I got hung up. But I’m here now right. And we can still make the concert. There’s always a head liner right? We’ve got time!”
“Hung up huh? Doing what?”
She looked at herself, dressed in all black like she was on some kind of spy mission and shook her head. “Uh. Nothing. Major. Really. Not important. What is important is that I’m changing clothes and then we can skedaddle right?”
Shade looked at her, arching his eyebrow slowly because he could see a mild level of desperation in her eyes. Walking across their shared bedroom he pulled the scarf from around her neck and tossed it toward the bed and wrapped one arm around her shoulders. Something in her melted slightly and she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him into a tight hug and pressed her nose against his face.
“You smell good,” she mumbled into his neck.
“It’s because I just got dressed.”
She hit his back lightly, “See. You weren’t ready yet either. We’re in the same boat.”
“I had a feeling you were going to be late tonight. Which is why I lied about when the concert starts.” She went still in his arms and he told her. “We’ve got about forty five minutes. So don’t take your time but no hurry either.”
She scoffed looking up at him and the moment she saw that smug grin she shoved him away. His laughter just frustrated her more. “Fuck you Shadeow. Get out. You don’t get to watch me change.”
That only made him laugh harder and he backed away from her. His hands traced down her arms and he managed to take and squeeze her hands but she was still glaring at him. For a second he felt warmth in her palms, a heat a bit hotter than just regular body temperature and he snatched both hands back and rested them behind his back.
“That’s not nice Yu. Last I checked you liked my hands.” Another knowing wink that just made the glare all the fiercer.
Bending forward she took off her shoe and threw at him like a football. Avoiding it deftly he made a move to go outside and close the door partway. Another shoe bounced off the door and he leaned against it laughing more.
Glaring at the door and making sure that it was confirmed closed she turned around to go back to her digging in the dresser but was able to much more readily take her time. She didn’t have that many clothes when she first broke out of the lab with the others. But thanks to Echo that had changed drastically.
As she picked up a black blouse with a star pattern across the right half down to the waist. The fabric thin but she knew from experience that it was warm when coupled with one of Shade’s hoodies. Tossing it toward the bed as well she started to change going down to her underwear and groaning as she popped a bone in her back.
She stretched both arms above her head when her shoulder all but screamed at her. Craning her neck as far back as she could she tried to see any of the damage back there but it was too difficult. Backing up slowly she walked to the closet and stared at the mirror hanging from the door.
A nasty bruise was forming there and she could just vaguely remember the cause of it. A bad fall during the night that she’d bounced back from but it didn’t mean it wouldn’t have words with her later. She needed a shower and a couple of pain killer. But the concert made her excited. She’d seen so many on TV that when Shade told her about this one she nearly tackled him with affection.
Next she dlid into her jeans with some mild struggle. Pulling the shirt over her head finally as well she brushed her hands over her face quickly. Going over to the mirror she looked pulled her hands through her hair and pulled the pony tail out. Black hair cascading to her shoulders in a poufy mess. She worked with it a bit and put both hands on her head.
“Yeah. I look pretty hot.”
“I’d call it a Yu out of ten.”
She rolled her eyes and peaked over her shoulder. Shade was standing around the corner waving at her and blowing a kiss her way. Despite the look she gave him she still smiled and walked past him collecting her shoes, no longer needed as weapons. “Trying to dig you way out of the dog house now?”
“Maybe. Is it working?”
She pulled him close for a slow kiss. His lips were always soft and she loved it. Taking another slow breath of whatever conditioner he used today she slid back and had to fight the urge to kiss him again.
“So is that a yes?” he asked showing that smug grin again.
“No. I just like kissing you,” She took a step away and grabbed his hoodie out of the closet. Throwing it over her shoulders and sliding her arms through she sauntered past him. Their dog was outside the door having heard the majority of the commotion and she regarded the dog passively.
“What do you want dog?” she asked and she yawned in response staring at her.
Going back to the living room she walked to the connected kitchen and pilfered a water bottle from the fridge. Looking up from the bottle she stared at the dog who watched her carefully her tail wagging slowly at the attention.
Shade joined her sliding a jacket over his shoulders and the dog finally followed after him. He turned to look at her and crouched scratching her head and then around her neck and jaw. She leaned her head back tail wagging a bit faster.
“What’s she want?”
Shade looked up at her and then toward the fridge. Beyond the chore wheel that they kept up there, there was a dry erase board that read ‘Has Roxie been fed’. It got marked with a yes twice a day and reset every day and today there was only one mark.
“Guess they didn’t feed her before going out.”
“Lame,” Yumi sighed going toward one of the overhead cabinets to keep out of the reach of the smart dog. She gave her a cup full of dog food and Shade filled her water bowl. The excitement in her face was palpable as she dug into her late dinner. “You got the tickets?”
“On my phone. Also we should take some public transit. If we run we’re going to get our clothes messed up and look worse than normal,” said looking her up and down slowly.
She glanced at him and raised her eyebrow, “That so huh?”
“Unless you’re dying for the exercise.”
“Oh no. I trust your judgement Shadeow.”
Making sure that Roxie was set first they left out the actual door to the apartment and to the elevator outside. They were on around the sixth or seventh floor of the building but at this time of night no one else was using the elevator. Coming down to a sturdy stop at the bottom.
The lobby was a small little hallway, peeling paint on the walls, a mailbox in a pocket of the hallway. There’s used to have a name but with the amount of money they paid and the lack of mail they actually received was just crossed out. Going outside again they shivered together at another cool breeze from a car zipping past.
“Train or you want to call a ride?”
“It’s five minutes from that station and a lot cheaper.”
“Then let’s go.”
Taking his hand they walked toward the train stop seeing a few different cars going back and forth and people hurrying on the streets. It was only a Thursday night so no one was really moving out and about right now. The moment they got to the station their train was already pulling up.
In one fluid move they hopped the turn stiles and slid their way onto the train through the medium crowd. Shade took a spot near the middle and she sat on his lap getting comfortable. He wrapped his arm around her waist and she flinched slightly when he touched her shoulder.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. Just hurt myself while I was out,” she began to shrug and thought better of it, shaking her head. “You know me.”
“Always getting into shit?”
“That’s one word for it,” she started to roll her eyes and sighed. “I need a shower once we get back home.”
Shade looked at her, really looked at her. The way she fidgeted as the train bumped and moved along the tracks. He reached up slowly and brushed aside the hair at her neck to one side. Rubbing her neck gently she moaned softly rolling her shoulders then looked at him. “Stop that.
“Eventually,” he told her and gave her neck a light kiss.
She moaned again and was going to reach back to stop him from pulling away but instead she felt her phone go off. Grabbing it out of her pocket she saw the barrage of text from echo on her phone.
Echo: Hey Yumi!
Echo: Pretty sure you guys have left already.
Echo: Phase and Feint are following a tip from Darren.
Echo: Probably going to be late.
Echo: Thanks for feeding Roxie!
“A tip from Darren she repeated,” raising her eyebrow. “What’s Wiz Kid got for us?”
“Who knows these days. World’s crazy and there’s always something going down,” he looked out the window and watched the lights streaking past them as buildings and local store fronts started to turn a bit more upscale. Snazzier logos and better developed buildings.
He watched from their position above the ground and watched the flash of red and blue lights to pass by them. He counted three cars and made a face somewhere between disgust and exhaustion. Yumi caught that look and shifted slowly until she could face him entirely. But she looked past and saw the cop cars and frowned as well.
Turning his face so that he looked at her, “Don’t let it get to you Shadeow. Concert remember?”
“Yeah concert,” he sighed. “Hard not to be annoyed by it all. Annoyed is an understatement but you get the idea.”
“Trust me. I definitely do,” she looked toward the ground and kicked the chair lightly.
He stroked his fingers across her neck and then her shoulder and she winced again but not as hard. She started to glare at him but he wasn’t looking at her in an accusatory way like she had assumed. “What have you been doing Yu?”
“Helping people.”
“Doing what no one else will?”
“Exactly.”
“This is our stop,” The train did a slow jerk as it pulled into the station and they along with a dozen other people walked off the train. Taking the stairs down to the street it became apparent from the crowds that the music hall that they were going to was definitely a popular attraction.
There wasn’t so much of a line to get in as a crowd that was meandering in front of the front. It was a carpeted area with pictures of famous people who had performed her previously or just general 50s aesthetic items. The small bar and its adjacent tables were the same way. Yumi looked around starry eyed at everything. She pointed with Shade’s hand at everything she could from the rows of hats that lined one archway to the old fashioned cotton candy maker that sat in the corner as a prop and not a tool.
Shade laughed leading her toward the grand stair case but it was locked off with velvet ropes. A younger looking guy stood at a booth with a scanner in hand. A group in front of them presented their tickets. Yumi looked at him intently and then glanced at Shade and she was all but bouncing up and down.
“Man did you have sugar or something?” he asked kissing her forehead.
She scrunched up her nose and smiled wider, “I’m excited Shadeow.” She looked up the stairs and saw the flashing lights and knew that the headliner was going.
Once it was there turn Shade shifted through his phone presenting the QR code for himself and then Yumi’s both went through easily. “Enjoy the show,” he said and both nodded as they climbed the stairs.
Taking them two at a time Yumi pulled Shade along with her until she got into the theatre. It was like a theatre that had been cleaned out of all the chairs. Across both walls were bars with stools and alcohol on the walls but she could smell food from kitchens hidden off somewhere.
In the middle though there were two sections, one right up against the stage where there was a deep throng of people already moving and enjoying the electric music from the DJ. In the middle was a small station setup for things like lights, audio and cameras. Behind that were a bunch of tables sans stairs were people were standing around, talking, eating and drinking. Another thing she noticed was that it was very warm.
“Whoa this is intense,” she said softly. “I’ve never been on this side of a place like this before.”
“First time for everything then,” he said grinning and pointed to a spot just behind the setup. “Over there.”
Stepping and pushing through the people until they got into a spot that was just this side of off the center. Yumi stood in front of Shade moving her head back and forth to see past the shoulders. Shade did the same watching as the crowd in front of them finally settled down. The headliners music died down and they raised their arms to the crowd. He had a thick pair of glasses and in blocky letters ‘Make Some Noise’ flashed across them and the crowd did just that.
“Those glasses. I want those for my mask. Remind me to tell Darren.”
Shade shook his head, “Absolutely not.”
The lights turned off suddenly and both of them looked back toward the stage. A light shot on with a sharp rumble of the music. A man walked out a large deer mask on their face with antlers and a guitar in hand. A sweet whisper of a flute sounded on the opposite end and another deer slid onto the stage. A third appeared behind them all with a keyboard strapped around their neck before setting it into place on a stand.
Finally, through the shadows of them all a girl spun through them, her arms out like a pinwheel as the music crashed and melodied around her. Sliding into the middle of the stage she pumped her arms a bird mask sitting on her face. Dancing back and forth she threw both her hands to the ceiling and everyone cheered.
“Welcome to the wild hunt you beautiful people! Everyone doing good tonight?” the bird shouted and the crowd cheered, Yumi included.
Something washed over Yumi that she had never felt before. She felt an energy, She stamped her feet in time with music that she hadn’t heard before. And woman’s singing voice was like a tiny faerie given life and trying to bespell them. And boy was it working. She pumped her fist in time with the rest of the crowd. Lights flashing, music pumping, the crowd roaring.
She didn’t realize how much time had passed when Shade touched her shoulder. She jumped and looked back at him with sweat across her forehead and her throat a little sore. Looking up at him he had the same marathon ran look. Grabbing his face she leaned up and kissed him hard gasping lightly.
“This is great! Is there more? Tell me there’s more!”
“Yes Yu there’s more. This is only half way through.”
“Holy shit. Cool. Okay. I need to go to the bathroom. Where is it?”
Turning around he pointed with their joined hands toward a back corner, “Right there. Don’t be gone too long.”
“I won’t. I don’t wanna miss anything,”
She darted in the direction he indicated and Shade looked back toward the stage. Two of the members were playing still as if they were battling one another and getting cheered on by the crowd. Sliding away from the crowd he made his way over to the bright on the far right. Picking through the people he pushed his elbows against the bar.
The bartender found his way over to him after a few minutes and Shade noted the haggard look in his eyes. He didn’t envy anyone who had to work something like this but he knew the tips would be incredible. “Two shots of tequila gold. Splash it with lime. And a shot of scotch.”
They nodded flipping two glasses around. Sliding backwards he grabbed the bottle and flipped it around filling each one carefully to just above the brim. Going back to the other side he took a lime wedge, cut it in half and with a pair of pliers dunked both halves in for about 30 seconds before tossing them away. The shot of scotch wasn’t quite so fancy.
Clapping in appreciation Shade found his wallet and slipped him a twenty and made a face once he started to do change. “Keep it. It’s hard out there.”
“Thanks man,” he replied and went to help the next person. Shade picked up the scotch shot and toasted it to the ceiling and took it back in one gulp. Letting out a breath he tilted his head back and looked back towards the other bar and narrowed his eyes. For a second, he saw Yumi, sitting at a stool. Her hair was tied back in a ponytail now and she was watching the group on stage with so much concentration that it was like they’d divulge the secrets of the universe.
Turning around he grabbed the two glasses and started walking toward the other bar. When he got halfway there in front of the station he felt a slight tug on his arm. Looking back he saw Yumi’s hair plastered face and her spotlight of a smile. “Oh, getting shots for us Shadeow? You shouldn’t have.”
He blinked rapidly looking back toward the bar where she just was but was no longer apparently. Looking down at her again he offered her the shot and raised it to her, “You move fast you know that?”
“Hey I only had to pee. Not like I’d do anything more in public,” she said and they tapped their glass together, looped their arms around one another and took them back. The crowd in front of them came to life again and they added their own shouts as the music kicked back into play.
The Harlequin Library 