Finally, something normal. I've always hated stuffy suits, so nothing beats the feeling of a well-loved leather jacket and some jeans.
Fledge looked at himself in the mirror and sighed.
"Man, when was the last time I had a fucking shower?" Fledge asked, to no one in particular. He gagged as he sniffed his armpit, tears welling in his eyes. He took off the leather coat and hung it on the hook on the back of the bathroom door as he pulled out a stick of deodorant and re-applied.
"Uhh, this morning, I believe. The nurses gave you a bath, as per the doctor's request."
Fledge heard Max's voice come from the other side of the bathroom door as he spoke, the door muffling his voice slightly. Fledge had almost completely forgotten about Max's presence. Despite there being a door there, it seemed Max was waiting for him, and listening carefully.
Yeah right I had a shower at the hospital. I still smell like ass. And what's he waiting for? Me to fall unconscious or something? I'm fi– Oh fuck.
Fledge stepped on a wet spot before slipping back, barely catching himself on the bathroom sink. Regardless, his slip made a lot of noise, and Max tore the door off its hinges, and he tossed it aside, looking around panicked before laying eyes on Fledge, still stuck in that awkward position. Max then stared down at Fledge, a look of disappointment on his face, and a joke loading. His grin slowly grew before he spoke.
"Aww, did the ole peg leg give out on ya, Fledgeling?"
Max shot him a wink as he spoke, clearly trying to underline a double entendre. As he continued to hold himself up, Fledge sighed deeply, letting his disappointment known.
"A little help, Max? My leg's still all kinds of fucked up. And would ya fix the goddamn door? You ripped the thing off its hinges. You know I can't afford another door, especially after what you did to my last one."
"Right, right. Sorry. And hey, that was an accident!"
Max walked in and helped Fledge to his feet, making sure he was balanced before Fledge waved him away.
"I'm not helpless, just in pain. Hand me those meds over there would you? There on the kitchen counter. Sorry if it's a mess, I haven't organized my shit in a few weeks. You know how Carl is."
Max nodded and walked away, fetching the medicine from the kitchen. As he attempted to look for it, Fledge could hear some of the stuff fall to the floor with a pretty loud clatter.
Oh, Max. Helpful one minute, and causing chaos the next. Whatever am I going to do with you?
A moment later, Max came back holding a small, purple pill bottle. Max chuckled as he handed Fledge the bottle.
Oh no.
"Holy shit, Fledge. You could seriously use a woman's touch in here! I mean, I haven't been over in a few weeks, and the place is already a mess!"
"Max?"
"Mhmm?"
"I've had a woman's touch. That's more than you can say."
Fledge had to try his absolute hardest to maintain a straight face, but on the inside, he was roaring with laughter.
Haha! Finally! Took me long enough to get one out, but consider the favor--returned!
Max sighed, before his sigh turned into a chuckle, and it evolved into a great belly laugh, and he bent over, smacking his knees as he laughed.
"It ain't often, but damn, when you make me laugh, you really make me laugh, Fledge. But seriously, you need to clean this dump."
Fledge waved dismissively at Max's remark, and put his watch on. It was a simple silver, still running off of batteries from the age of Olde York. He still had yet to change them out, too. But beyond the silver of the watch, the face was just as simplistic, displaying the numbers in some old language that Fledge never learned. He only knew what numbers they were because Madame Gyra told him.
Fledge remembered the day he had received the watch, as it was his last day seeing Madame Gyra. He had just turned eighteen, and the orphanage was getting ready to toss him out. As Fledge packed his few belongings, he was told Madame Gyra had summoned him. As he opened the door, he took a long look at her, half of him worried for her and the other half for himself. She was bedridden and sickly, her face wrinkled and shrunk more than normal. Despite the fact that she was old, she had never let her situation get her down. But this was the first time Fledge had seen the woman truly sad.
As Fledge had entered the room, she turned to him, her glassy eyes hardly recognizing him.
"Fledge, c'mere," she said weakly between wheezing breaths. Fledge gulped, and anticipated the worst, and stepped forward, not quite ready for anything. As he approached her, Gyra turned her frail head towards him and gave him a half-smile, one he knew meant that she was proud of him. Relieved, he eased up a little, and sat down in a chair next to the bed.
"Fledge, despite your bone headedness, you're a good kid. And you'll make a fine man, too."
She coughed and wheezed as she caught her breath, and Fledge could feel tears beginning to form. A long moment of silence later, Gyra continued.
"Do you know what all real men have, Fledge?"
"C-courage?" Fledge asked, unsure.
"Fuck no, boy. A watch. All men have watches. Here, this was my father's. And since you're the only boy I raised like my own son, I guess that means you've earned it."
She coughed as she rolled over and grabbed the watch before presenting it to him, the sunlight glittering off of the pristine silver.
"I know I've been harsh on you, Fledge, but I'm proud of what you've become, and I'll wait and see what kind of man you become, if I don't die first. Come and see me, okay?"
Fledge nodded, as he felt the hot rush of tears running to his eyes as he took the watch from her and held it in his hands, reveling in the cold, metallic feeling. He sniffed, as Gyra coughed.
"Don't you start crying now, boy. Save 'em for when I'm dead. Now off with you, you've got some adulting to do."
Fledge reluctantly nodded, turned around, and as he walked away, he put on the watch.
"Uhh, Fledge? You good, man?"
Fledge shook his head, his thoughts returning to the present. He finished putting on his watch, and turned to Max, who stared at him with a little more than disappointment in his eyes. Apparently, while Fledge had dissociated, Max had fixed the door, even returning his favorite coat to the hook on the door.
"You zoned out, dude. I know that watch is precious to you, but enough to get you drooling? C'mon man, I know you're not a robophile."
Max elbowed Fledge as if expecting a laugh, but Fledge just sighed. He looked up at himself in the mirror, and sure enough, there was a small line on the corner of his mouth from where he was drooling. Fledge shot Max a dirty look as he wiped it off with his hand.
Fledge grabbed his familiar leather coat off of the back of the bathroom door, and put it on. Despite it being in the middle of summer, Fledge always thought the coat made him look cooler. Besides, it never truly left what was considered 'in style.' Popping the collar, he walked out of the bathroom, and over to the kitchen.
Max held up a bottle, and gave it a gentle shake.
"You lookin' for these? You literally just asked me to get them for you. Here," Max tossed the bottle to Fledge as he finished, Fledge barely catching it between two fingers.
"Guess we know who'll be doing the shooting, huh?" Max joked as he walked over to Fledge, who promptly cocked an eyebrow. Fledge popped open the pill bottle, and downed two pills. He set the bottle back down on the counter with an audible clunk, all while his eyebrow remained raised.
"We both know I'm the better shot, Max. Even when inebriated. And no, the gun you carry doesn't make your bulge look any bigger."
Max's face instantly flushed red, and he covered his crotch with the counter, crouching down slightly to make it work. Max the feigned pain, and chuckled.
"Ooh, you hit right where it hurts, Fledgling. It's too bad your searing comments don't puncture through my confidence," Max said with pride as he stood tall, with his crotch still being hidden behind the counter.
"Alright, c'mon you big oaf, we have a criminal to catch, as a mystery to solve. I'll drive."
Fledge began walking away towards his vehicle, and he patted himself down for a moment before he stopped.
"My… car's not here, is it, Max?"
A moment of silence followed, before Fledge heard Max's voice next to him.
"Nope, it's currently sitting at the impound lot. Apparently your 'we'll only be there an hour' turned into three days."
Fucking hell. And I'm supposed to be the cautious one. My car's impounded because I was too impatient to find a spot at the Gala. Shit, Max was right. Man, I hate it when he's right.
"Well, guess you'll be driving us around till I can scrounge up that money, Max."
Max pumped his fist in excitement.
"Haha! Yes! You won't re–"
"Don't kill us."
Max elbowed Fledge again as he opened the front door. Fledge rubbed the spot instinctively, as Max had elbowed him there at least three times in the past five minutes.
"Don't worry, little Fledgling. I'm a great driver."
"That's what I'm worried about."
Fledge took in the sights in the city as Max drove, squinting his eyes to protect himself from the strong winds that berated his face. Max had always loved a convertible. Unfortunately, with flying cars, that makes things a bit more difficult, especially with the way the weather operates at higher altitudes, specifically in thunderstorms. Fledge had told Max time and again he was going to get struck by lightning if he left his top down. Max would always shrug and call Fledge a pussy. And so, on that day, Fledge vowed never to ride in Max's car. Yet here he was, not even a full year after making that vow, sat in Max's car, praying to some deity who would be pitiful enough to hear his cries.
Luckily, Max had the volume on his stereo turned up loud enough to not only cover Fledge's occasional whimper, but also the sound of the roaring wind as they drove faster than what Fledge was used to.
Max turned to Fledge, who was white knuckling the safety bar. Max yelled over the wind to have his voice heard.
"Shit, Fledge, if it's that bad, you could've walked."
Max then chuckled as he turned his attention back to the road, swerving as he narrowly missed slamming his car into their back end. Fledge tried to tighten his grip on the bar, but he only had so much grip strength.
Thank god it's not raining. Aside from Max's driving, that'd be the only thing that could make this worse.
Fledge closed his eyes, expecting it to suddenly rain, but to Fledge's near disappointment, no rain fell. Fledge opened his eyes back to a squint and tried to sigh, the winds nearly making him choke on his own breath.
"How fuck, Max! How fast're you driving that we can't even breathe?!"
Max turned his head slightly toward Fledge in acknowledgement, and laughed.
"I ain't got a clue! My speedometer is busted! But based off of the other drivers, I'd say 220 knots! We're flying past 'em! Say, the wind's pretty gnarly right now, too!"
Fledge shielded his face and took a deep breath in, trying to catch a breath before he would be resubjected to the high winds. As Fledge's face was covered, he felt Max's hand touch his thigh, and he patted him.
"There, there, little buddy! We're almost there! Like, two more minutes at most, I'd say! See, the Gala building's right there!"
Fucking finally. I don't know how much more of this I can take.
As Fledge uncovered his face, Max came to a very fast stop at a stoplight. Max quickly turned down his heavy metal, and looked at Fledge.
"Man, you look like you've seen a ghost, Fledgling. You okay?"
Fledge fixed his hair and gave Max a look of utter disappointment, and sighed just as heavily.
"I'll take that as a yes," Max said cheerfully as the stoplight turned green. Max turned the car into the lot of the Gala building, where the skydocks had been pulled in, and yellow flashing lights surrounded the building. A neon sign near the front said "GALA CLOSED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE. POLICE INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY."
"Where am I supposed to park if the skydocks are pulled in?" Max asked, moving his head from side to side as if that would assist him in finding a spot to park.
"Just park in front of the building. Since we're here for work-related things, they can't tow us."
Max simply looked at Fledge expressionless aside from a poorly repressed smile. Finally, he broke, and elbowed Fledge in the side. Again.
"Then where's your car, Fledge?"
"Goddammit, Max. Stop elbowing me in the same spot! I'm gonna have a bruise cause of your ass. And haha, very funny. Now park, bitchboy."
Max chuckled and rolled his eyes, but complied with Fledge's request. As they pulled up to the building, a neatly looking officer stood there, smoking a cigarette. His mustache was neatly combed, and his uniform was up to code, and very well ironed. On it lay the symbols of the police insignia, NNYPD. His black boots were shiny as a brand new car, and his dark blue uniform looked like it could put even a military general to shame with its cleanliness. His hair was slicked back with gel beneath his cap, and his cold, green eyes seemed to glow upon seeing them arrive.
As Max and Fledge pulled up to the building, the officer flicked away his cigarette and walked up to the car.
"New New York Police Department, don't try no funny business. Didn't y'all see the sign? Ain't no one s'pposed to be here. They got officers swarmin' the place. Waitaminute, ain'tchu fellers the ones investigating on behalf of the bugle?"
Max nodded, and Fledge responded.
"That'd be us, sir. Reps from the Universal Media Corporation."
The officer nodded slowly, as if still skeptical.
"Alright. Lemme see some proof, though."
"Of course," Fledge and Max said together, as the two of them fished out their work IDs. Fledge pulled his out first and handed it to the officer while Max continued to fish for it.
Eventually, Max found it, and passed it to Fledge, who gave it to the officer. He nodded in thanks, and looked at the IDs closely, as if examining every little detail on the card. He even held it up to the sun as he analysed them. Eventually, after what felt like a solid hour, he handed them back, the two of them putting them away.
"You boys're clear to park here. If any officer gives ya trouble, tell 'em to come see me. Name's Jones. Sergeant Jones."
Officer Jones then retreated back to where he was a moment ago, pulling out a new cigarette from a box in his pocket, lighting it up, and taking a puff. Max and Fledge stepped out of the car, Max climbing over the passenger seat where Fledge was just sitting on his way out. As Fledge patted himself, double checking he had everything, Max looked at Fledge, and shook his head as if he'd forgotten something.
"Fuckin'... aww. You got a camera on you, Fledge?"
Fledge nodded, reached into his coat pocket, taking out a very old camcorder, and shook it to display its existence to Max, who sighed in relief.
"Okay, good. Turns out my camera's in your car, and when I went with you to the hospital, I never grabbed it out of your car. Granted, I was panicking."
Fledge smirked, and nodded sarcastically. Max threw up his hands in defense.
"What? You can't blame me for that one. I thought you were dead, or dying. Ain't my fault I got a little frazzled."
Fledge pushed his hips to one side, and clasped his hands together in a mocking, romantic gesture. Fledge brought his voice up to mimic a woman's as he spoke.
"Aww, you do care about me!"
Max's face turned red, and he turned away, a scowl appearing on his face.
Idiot. We've been friends for years. Ain't nothing to be ashamed of.
Officer Jones glanced at this strange gesture as he continued to smoke. Max looked to him as if begging for support, to which Officer Jones hiked up an eyebrow, and remained unmoving. Defeated, Max turned back to Fledge. Only then did Fledge return to normal, laughing at Max all the while. He then turned and began walking up the steps, waving for Max to follow.
"C'mon, big guy, we've got a job to do."
Max sheepishly followed after Fledge, glancing at officer Jones, whose eyebrow was still arched.
"I know, I know. It's just… There was an officer there. Did ya have to do all that?"
Fledge stopped walking up the stairs and turned to face Max. Despite the fact that Fledge was higher on the staircase than Max, he still had to crouch to be eye level with him.
Fledge then smirked.
"Yes."
Fledge then turned and continued up the steps, taking in that small victory.