Love Addict's RPG Vol. 2 Ch. 81

Not too much to say this time around, I'm happy with the results, though. Hope you enjoy!

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There were significant alarm bells when Oliver first met Rebecca. She was still weird now that he'd gotten to know her, but those alarm bells had been completely cleared up. Common sense made Oliver assume the same thing would happen with her father, but when you saw a man dressed in full sci-fi military ensemble to the point where they looked like a member of the space SS, you have trouble not jumping to conclusions.

At least Rebecca limited herself to the hat. This guy had the hat, the coat, the shirt, the boots, a golden skull eyepatch Juan probably would've loved, some kind of chainsaw-looking sword at his hips... everything, really. He was even lighting up a pipe before taking a long, looong drag from it. As cool as it made him look, it wasn't helping the over-the-top villain vibes he projected.

You're judging people before you get to know them again, Oliver reminded himself. Dude's having game night at his house with his friends. They probably all dress up in space Nazi costumes... every weekend... for two days straight...

Oliver was suddenly curious about what their neighbors thought when Rebecca's dad looked up and saw them from the curb, smiled, waved, and approached his car.

Right as Oliver's nervousness spiked, Rebecca's dropped like a rock. Fate seemingly made her choice, and her temptation to keep Oliver around was blown away like her father's pipe smoke trailing away in the wind.

"Would you mind getting out for a second?" She asked. "He'll, um, he'll definitely ask me about why I came home with a boy if you don't, uh..."

"Sure. Wouldn't want there to be any misunderstandings, would we?"

"Y-Yeah, ahaha... don't be worried, though! He's really nice!" She assured him as they left his car, grabbed her bulging backpack, and met with her father on the sidewalk.

Now face-to-face with Rebecca's father, Oliver immediately got the impression she was telling the truth. Some people were so unabashedly forward with who they were that they projected an aura conveying everything you needed to know about them.

Rebecca's dad's vibes communicated crystal-clear that this man is the closest humanity will ever achieve to a living, breathing personification of Santa Claus and that the world will be lesser when he finally leaves it. From his big, bright grin punctuated by deep-set smile lines to his portly frame and salt-and-peppery beard, jolliness and mirth permeated this man like stink lines on a cartoon character.

And then space Nazi Santa stood at attention to give his daughter a legally-distinct version of the Hitler salute.

"Glory to the Vergoldet Uberfuhrer!" He proclaimed in a vaguely British accent.

"Glory to the Vergoldet Uberfuhrer!" Rebecca parroted, salute and all.

Before Oliver could even process how many levels of fucked up this was, the father-daughter duo canceled it out by giving each other the wholesomest of hugs.

"Welcome back, soldier!"

"Thanks, Dad," Rebecca smiled brightly, then kissed his cheek.

"Did everything go all right during your deployment? I thought you said you'd be out till midnight or so."

"There was, um... a little drama... nothing serious, though! Just, uh-" Rebecca idled, trying to think of a way to say it.

Oliver kept quiet until he had a chance to introduce himself- he didn't want to make a bad impression by speaking on Rebecca's behalf in front of her father- but then she looked toward him, clearly asking for help, and he couldn't say no to those pleading eyes of hers.

"Has Rebecca told you anything about Zoe's work situation?"

"I believe so, yes. It was my understanding that my darling daughter's friend was on a long-overdue break, and the purpose of today's get-together was to celebrate, was it not?"

"Something like that. Funny thing, though. She found out a couple of hours ago that she could get back to work whenever she wanted, and that really sucked the life out of the room..."

"Oh, dear. How dreadful! I'm sorry, soldier. I know how much you were looking forward to this." He frowned deeply at his daughter.

"I-It's fine... and at least Zoe didn't just up and bail out on us immediately after the fact..."

"No?"

"We made it through another round of Eternalus Souls before her attention span gave out on her," Oliver said. "Things are a bit rough right now. Zoe's got some issues with her work-life balance that we're trying to figure out as a group."

"So I've heard. How disappointing. My heart goes out to you, soldier, but I can't help feeling sorry for that poor friend of yours, as well! It's no good, I tell you. No good at all. Life is meant to be spent playing games- not drowning yourself in work!"

Guess he doesn't know that Zoe found a way to do both, Oliver cracked a small smile.

"Ah, well. You're all young, and silly drama like this just comes with the territory. I'm certain you'll manage to pull through one way or another." Rebecca's dad took a drag from his pipe and politely exhaled away from their faces. Then, he extended a leather-gloved hand toward Oliver. "James Bergmann."

"Oliver Chase," he said, taking the hand with no small amount of anxiety.

When they actually shook, he realized how silly it was to worry. James gave him the friendliest handshake in the history of handshakes, and when coupled with his warm, heartfelt smile, much of Oliver's social awkwardness melted away.

"Mia's boyfriend, yes? The boxer?"

"Something like that," Oliver chuckled as the handshake ended. "Pleasure to meet you."

"The pleasure is all mine. Rebecca's told me a lot about you. Isn't that right, soldier?"

"W-What? No, I haven't- um- I-I haven't! I mean, I've only known you for a couple of days! I might've said a few things, b-but overall, there's not much to say in the first place!!"

Teasing Rebecca in front of her dad probably wasn't a great idea, but the guy kinda set Oliver up for it. "So what did you say, then? Huh?"

"I... ah... ahaha... you know... j-just that you seemed really nice. And that you gave me those cards. And that you caught me when I almost fell that one time. And that I was excited to see you today. And that-" at that point, Rebecca just looked at the ground and started repeating 'and that' quietly to herself over and over.

James smiled and laughed warmly as he placed a hand on his daughter's shoulder, calming her. "There, there, soldier. You know I'm only happy you've made yourself another friend."

"Nnnngh..."

With Rebecca distracted by her nerves, Oliver expressed his gratitude. "Thanks for getting everyone breakfast this morning, by the way. I've never had Aphrodite's before, and man, did they live up to the hype."

"Not a problem at all!" James laughed heartily and slapped his belly. "Did you eat dinner by any chance? It might be a bit loud, but there's plenty of pizza inside."

Oliver felt put on the spot. Rebecca's dad was so damn nice that it almost made him uncomfortable again. Luckily, he had a convenient excuse. "It wasn't dinner, but we stopped for ice cream on our way back..."

"Did you, now...?"

"Yeah. Sadly, it's spoiled my appetite. Otherwise, you wouldn't catch me dead passing up free pizza."

James smirked. "Fair, fair. I suppose I don't need to ask whose idea ice cream was."

"Well... yeah... Oliver offered to take me somewhere to cheer me up..." Rebecca squeaked. "It, um, it wasn't a big deal, though! Really! Er- w-well, I'm not saying it wasn't nice, I mean, j-just that we were only hanging out!"

James regarded Oliver with a touch more scrutiny. Though still showcasing a huge smile, he rubbed his chin and narrowed his eyes. "Hm. That was very kind of you. I'm afraid I now have to ask something rather serious, however."

"Dad! N-No, come on, please don't make this weird...!"

"Oliver, my boy. Do you consider yourself what some might call a 'nerd', by any chance?"

Oliver stood there feeling silly after not knowing what to expect from the sudden increase in seriousness. He wished he knew what was going on here.

"You could say I'd have a hard time denying the allegation," he nervously quipped, earning him a laugh from James.

"Of what variety, hm? There are as many different types of our kin as stars in the sky, so what about you?"

Another curveball, which Oliver answered with total honesty.

"I'm sure this'll sound pretty damn basic, but I like video games, anime, manga..."

"Anything else?"

"Dad-"

Digging deeper for more obscure answers, Oliver replied, "I played StG when I was a kid. Does that count? Everyone I hung out with grew out of it, though, so I started investing my allowance elsewhere. I've also read a few Western comics in my day. Not a lot, and I definitely don't follow the scene, but there's some good stuff out there. Aside from that, I guess the nerdiest thing about me is that there's a Dice Rolls and Dungeons podcast I'm fairly into?"

Upon hearing that last bit, Rebecca's and her dad's eyes shone a little brighter.

"Oh? Which one?" James asked.

"Domain 20?"

"Ah! I love that one!" The father and daughter duo replied in perfect synchronicity. Everyone looked at each other after the simultaneous outburst and had a laugh, considerably easing Oliver's nerves.

James had trouble keeping up his scrutiny, but the inquisition continued regardless of the smile on his face. "Ahem... I take it you yourself don't actually play?"

"No, sadly not," Oliver chuckled. "And I'm not very familiar with all the tabletop and wargaming stuff your family takes so seriously, either, I'm sorry to say."

"Is that so? That's a pity, my boy. You've no idea what you're missing out on."

"I know I'm missing out on the thousands of dollars I'd need to build one of those plastic armies..."

Another big laugh was had, hopefully earning him more points. Annoying as the popups could be at times, Oliver found he missed them in social situations where he didn't have them.

Rebecca was close to going off on an autistic tangent about the cheapest factions he could look into before James calmed her down so he could continue speaking.

"Apologies for the cross-examination, Oliver. I was only gauging your interests before telling you that any friend of my daughter is a friend of mine. If in the future you find yourself wanting to set out on a DR&D campaign, to play a few hands of Sorcery, or take a stab at commending the armies of the 40th Space Reich- or the Elygium, we don't judge in this house- my doors are always open!"

Although the offer overwhelmed Oliver with kindness, he didn't shy away like usual. He smiled and accepted the unflinching generosity. "That's really nice of you, thanks. Rebecca gave me a 40SR starter kit earlier, so maybe I'll take you up on that sometime?"

James looked at his daughter, who was now blushing and staring at the ground. "You did?"

"Y-Yes? He gave me all those cards, Dad! I had to do something to make things even!"

"Of course, of course. He'll hardly learn the rules if he doesn't have a codex, however. Why don't you run inside and grab one of the spares from my study, soldier?"

Rebecca hesitated to leave Oliver alone with her dad. There was no telling what he might say if she wasn't around, but she also wanted her crush to learn how to play her favorite game. She ultimately conceded and headed inside with her bag to pick up the codex as quickly as possible, promising a swift return.

Oliver had a bad feeling about his current predicament the moment James made his proposal. Sure enough, the man wore a conflicted expression now that it was just them. His mouth smiled, but his eyes displayed concern.

"My daughter seems quite taken with you," he said softly.

"I... uh... don't exactly know how to respond to that, sir...?"

"I already told you it's James," he laughed. "Relax. I know how this looks, but I assure you I am not trying to pull the 'threatening dad' card. Not to someone who I'm told beat the stuffing out of a pair of six-foot-tall thugs."

"Whew," Oliver sighed, then managed a mild smile. "You really had me going there. Mind telling me what this is all about, then?"

"I only wanted to point out my daughter's mild crush on you if you weren't already aware of it,"

"Ah..." Oliver swallowed hard.

"Can I take your stunned silence to mean you know?"

"Mia thought it was possible, yeah. Personally? I didn't want to assume. If her own dad is convinced, though, I guess I should probably take you at face value..."

"You should. I had my suspicions ever since she asked if I'd take her to a boxing gym of all places to cheer on somebody she'd just met, but seeing the way she acts around you cemented it for me. As her father, I hope you understand why I'm so torn up about this."

"One-hundred percent. Tell me what you want me to do, and I'll do it."

"...You're a good kid, Oliver. Responsible. Kind. Patient, too."

"That's an awful lot of assumptions," Oliver blushed and scratched the back of his head.

"On the contrary, I don't believe I've made any. Not everyone has what it takes to tolerate my daughter's company- let alone enjoy it. I wish that wasn't the case, but it is. You either have these traits, or she wouldn't trust you as far as she could throw you."

Oliver remained silent, showing his respect with a silent nod.

Then came the hard part.

James rubbed his eyes, sighed, and said it to him straight. "All I want is for you to let her down softly, and... if possible, please... please do whatever you can to remain friends with her after the fact. She deserves so many more than she's unfortunate enough to have."

The heartfelt emotions coming from Rebecca's dad forced Oliver to mentally take a step back and analyze his current situation. He still didn't know what exactly he wanted to happen with Rebecca. Adding her to his list of heroines by applying pressure was a tempting thought if a selfish one.

He wondered if that would really be what's best for her. Self-doubt had him convinced it was presumptuous to think that even with his powers, her life would dramatically be better off with him being a bigger part of it, but... wouldn't it?

Oliver's head was buzzing too hard to give the man a straightforward answer.

James noted this hesitation but otherwise said nothing while staring with hopeful eyes, watching and waiting.

"Okay. If it ever comes down to that, I'll make sure we stay friends." Oliver said, hoping his response wasn't too vague.

James gave no insight as to whether it was or wasn't. He only smiled and nodded in seeming satisfaction. "Thank you, my boy. Thank you."

The knot in his stomach was overpowering, but Oliver did his best to smile back despite knowing how fake it must've looked. Even Smiling Lv. 1 couldn't help with that.

An unspoken tension hung in the air. It stretched for several agonizing seconds before finally being dispelled when Rebecca stepped out of the house carrying a 40th Space Reich gamebook in her arms.

"S-Sorry," she panted, out of breath from rushing here as fast as she could. "It, um, it took me a minute to remember where dad kept the spares... a-anyway, here you go, Oliver. If you, ah, d-don't understand any of the rules, t-then, um... y-you could always t-t-text me, I-I guess? And I'll try to explain it myself or, ah, you know, find you a video?"

Snapping out of his anxiety and angst, Oliver brightened up by Rebecca's presence and eagerly took the offered book.

"That'd be helpful, thanks. I'll give it a read sometime after I've put together the models you gave me." He said, absorbing it into his inventory.

[Item Acquired! 40th Space Reich 10th Edition Core Codex - This game has so many rules that at least ten entire books are full of them. The thought is intimidating, but it's not so distracting that you don't notice how every space Nazi on the cover is wearing blue armor.]

Rebecca smiled at Oliver's enthusiasm, then gave her father some side-eye. "You, um... y-you didn't say anything weird while I was gone, did you...?"

"Me? Perish the thought!" he guffawed. "Isn't that right, Oliver?"

"Yup. You didn't miss out on much, just a totally normal conversation between a dad and his daughter's friend."

"Okay, good..." Rebecca sighed, taking things at face value. "A girl can never be too sure..."

James took one last drag of his pipe before stashing it away in his breast pocket. He then turned to the door. "All right, soldier. I'm heading back to the frontlines. My army of Neo Soldats won't command themselves, and I'm certain Greg is losing his patience awaiting my next move! Will you be joining us, or were you and Oliver-"

"Ah, I'll be down in the war room right after I freshen up and grab my army! Sorry, I, um-"

"No, by all means. I'll be sure to join you one of these days after I've wrangled up an army and figured out how to play, but until then, have fun in there for me, okay?"

Rebecca blushed while looking into his eyes. She wished he'd come in with her. He could still hang out and watch even if he didn't know how to play. Or maybe she could lend him one of her armies and try to lead him through a tutorial match?

Heck, she'd be happy if all he did was go around and chat with all her dad's friends. So long as he was close by, that would be enough for her.

Which is wrong. Very, very, very wrong. Rebecca bit her lip. You can't keep thinking stupid things like this, soldier! I know it's hard to control since you've never felt like this before, and sure, it's okay to be a little happy that Dad likes him, but anything past that is too far!

Here's an idea- every time you think about Oliver, force yourself to remember Mia.

Yeah... yeah, that'll work! Just imagine how upset she'd feel knowing you were c-c-crushing on her boyfriend... it's the last thing she'd want, and the sooner you come to terms with that, the better!

"Rebecca?"

"Hwah?"

"You spaced out again," Oliver frowned. "Just making sure everything's okay before I take off."

Darn it, why does he have to be so nice...?! Rebecca winced as a glancing blow from an enemy laser nearly decimated another chunk of her protective shell. Shrugging away the pain, she forced herself to see him off with a smile.

"All good, j-just a little lost in my thoughts. Same old, same old, ahaha. T-Thank you, though. For caring. I-I'll, um... well... hopefully you don't need it, b-but... good luck tomorrow with Zoe, okay?"

"Thanks a ton. I'll be sure to let you know how it goes."

After saying his goodbyes and giving one last round of regards to Mr. Bergmann, Oliver returned to his car and ignored the popup menu to recline in his seat. He sighed, staring up at the starless sky as he took a page from Rebecca's book and got lost in his thoughts.

Oliver risked getting carried away, but a polite tap on his window at just the right moment saved him from drifting away. Upon recovering from his slightly startled state, he smiled and rolled down the window to converse.

"HEY, there, [Stranger]! [Penny] for your [Thoughts]? If NOT, I'm willing to go SO far as a [Dime]."

"I'll share them for free if you let me know how the thing went,"

Bradley gave his best bro a radiant thumbs up. "[Hunky Dory], that's HOW! You should be CONTACTED before the NIGHT is up!"

"Awesome. Here's hoping it'll be worth the headache." Oliver unlocked the door. "Come on in, and I'll run you through the stupid crap swimming around in my head, then."

Bradley complied and then provided a suggestion. Rather than chatting while driving, he claimed to know a beach spot a few miles out where they could angst out together and work on Oliver's manpain undisturbed.

Oliver hardly ever visited Vista Venus's beaches, but they had a different appeal at night that appealed to moody introverts like himself. The spot Bradley guided him was especially charming. It was hidden under a hill, and a few big rocks were scattered around, along with evidence of a recent campfire in the shadow of a lonely palm tree.

Together, Oliver and Bradley waded through the dark gray sands to sit on the biggest rock of them all. It offered a pleasant view of the calming, eternal sway of the tides. Always coming and going, always at war with itself...

Oliver felt there might be a metaphor there but dismissed it as soon as his friend again asked for his thoughts once they'd settled down.

"I'm really lucky Mia's built the way she is," he frowned. "I don't think I could be in a relationship with someone who wasn't so open-minded."

"So you're saying THAT things with [Potential Heroine Rebecca Bergmann] went WELL?"

"Extremely. I even met her dad- real nice dude, by the way- but that just kinda bummed me out, too. It's not normal to hang out with a girl for a couple hours and develop a whole-ass crush when you've already got a girlfriend."

"If YOU want someone to [Reassure] you of your [Normalcy], I am NOT the one to ASK!"

Oliver smirked. "Yeah, I guess your metrics might be pretty skewed."

"What I don't understand is WHY you've [Circled Back] on this? I thought you were READY to leave your [Doubts] behind after deciding to [Go for Gold] with [Zoe Myers]."

"Mia was pushing for that herself, so I feel less guilty there. Whatever the heck I'm feeling towards Rebecca is totally unprompted, though. The last few hours have forced me to accept that I'm just..."

"A rampant [Bigamist]?"

"That or an attention whore, supposing there's a difference. I probably wouldn't feel this bad about everything if I hadn't met her dad. He asked me if I'd let her down easy, and I couldn't even bring myself to say 'yes'. I tacked on some vague crap about how I would if it came down to it, because I couldn't bring myself to have retroactively lied to his face if anything ever happens with her. It gets me thinking about how any of this will work long-term."

"What do you MEAN?"

"I mean, like, suppose everything works out, and I'm dating Zoe and Mia at the same time. Do we just... hide that, or what? What would Mia's parents think if they found out? Christ, what would mine?"

Bradley went quiet for a long, long time.

"Just say it," Oliver sighed.

"Not MUCH use if you ALREADY know,"

"No, but I'm sure you're itching to remind me how I could buy skills to fundamentally rewrite reality, normalize polygamy, or some shit to make all of this okay,"

"The only thing I'm [Itching] for IS for my [Best Bud] to cease tormenting himself!"

"You and me both... still... I know I promised I'd stop getting in my own way, but I can't compromise on what I believe in. I don't want to change the way the world works so that I get some kind of all-encompassing harem pass for being an extra special boy, and I don't want to brainwash people to get my way, either."

"So your choice is a [Secret Third Thing]?" Bradley shot him some finger guns and a reassuring grin.

"Yeah. I'll either win people over the hard way or not at all." Oliver clenched his fists. "I don't want to mindfuck Rebecca's dad into accepting me if she really does become a heroine. He's a nice dude who loves his daughter more than anything else in the world, and I'd want him to feel like she'd be in good hands."

"Oliver. Buddy. PAL. Love the [Idealism], but playing [Devil's Advocate] here-"

"As per usual,"

"HAH! Indeed! While this might sound [Rich] coming from ME, you must [Understand] that while your [Exaggerated Reality] is [Exaggerated], it's still [Reality]. Even MY [Inhuman Ass] knows there's NO chance in HELL a [Loving Father] would WILLINGLY allow his [Darling Daughter] to date a MAN who by that point will presumably HAVE two other [Girlfriends]."

"You just assuming Zoe is a foregone conclusion, or what?"

"Should I NOT?"

"Man, I don't even know anymore, Bradley," Oliver groaned as he collapsed flat back onto the rock, losing himself amid the infinite inky void. The angst stirring his heart was so potent you'd be forgiven for thinking he was a rebellious teenager.

"There's too much going on. I want to help Mia. I want to help Zoe. I want to help Rebecca- it's endless at this point, and knowing myself, I'll probably want to help Stacy and Tessa if I get closer to them, too. Hell. After our talk the other day, I'm already starting to feel something towards the boss."

Bradley gave Oliver a lengthy silence, then placed his cold, plasticky hand on his best friend's shoulder. "The world is your [Sandbox]," he said, his voice now strangely comforting. "And how you [Play] in it is entirely up to [You]. As for my advice? If you want something, stop overthinking and [Chase It]."

"...Bit on the nose, there. Don't you think?"

"Perhaps!"

Oliver chuckled a little and sat up again. "You know, for as much as I'm turned off by the idea of changing reality of influencing people's free will, I don't think that's my biggest problem with some of the shadier skills in my tree..."

"Finally FIGURED that OUT, have you?"

"Yeah," he sighed, gazing at the tides. "I don't want people to like me because I magically forced them to. I want them to like me for me."

"How [Curious],"

"Curious how?"

"Ah. Forgive me. I just find your dilemma somewhat [Humorous] is ALL! There just aren't THAT many [Folks] out quite like [You], Oliver."

"People with psychic dating sim powers?"

"People BOLD enough to desire the [World], yet SENSITIVE enough to be [Ashamed] about it," Bradley smirked. "An [Interesting Combination], don't you THINK?"

Oliver hung his head and started blushing while cracking an awkward smile of his own. "Well, when you put it like that, fuck. I really am a trainwreck, aren't I?"

"I wouldn't [Go] THAT [Far], no. Not when the [Way Forward] is SO [Obvious]."

"Let's hear it,"

"You need to TALK to someone who [Understands] what you're [going through] and learn HOW to become more [Shameless], naturally!"

"Yeah, sure, let me just send five easy payments of $59.99 to PickupKing69 and learn from the best," Oliver laughed darkly. "I'm sure his exclusive online course will teach me all I need to know about the art of shamelessness and maybe even something about grifting, too, while he's at it."

"There exists a [Middleground] somewhere between [Sensitive] and [Shameless] that you must LEARN to [Straddle] if you truly desire to continue along your [Current Trajectory], my FRIEND! Otherwise, you WILL continue to [Mentally Fester], as IS your [Default State of Being]."

"Mia and I are working on that," Oliver defended himself with a blush. "Still... you've got a point. Things would be so much easier if I could bring myself to care a little bit less. I just don't see how I'd do that without becoming an asshole, and I'm not sure who you think I should talk to about all this, so..."

Oliver then noticed the leading smile Bradley shot his way. His expression implied he was waiting for him to piece together the answer for himself. He got it pretty much instantly, given that he already knew and was more so being purposefully ignorant.

"Right, right," he sighed. "I'll ask about it after we're done talking about Zoe... speaking of, I still haven't heard anything back from them. Are you sure they're gonna get back to me?"

"It was to MY [Understanding] that YES, they WILL! Perhaps you should head HOME and [Chillax] until then, my [Main Man]?"

As much as Oliver was enjoying bro time on the beach, he was a little tired. It'd been a long day, and something told him it'd feel even longer once his trump cards finally got ahold of him. He decided to go along with Bradley's suggestion and pack it in, but not before thanking him for the lovely therapy session.

The two parted ways for the time being, with Bradley vanishing into the night and Oliver warping across town to his apartment. He started opening his car door after the transition and quickly stopped upon noticing he was about to slam it into a motorcycle with a sidecar. He wasn't sure who it belonged to, but he did know they parked like an absolute jackass.

Now mildly grumpy, Oliver squeezed out of his half-opened door and grumbled while trodding up the stairs to his apartment. He made a startling discovery after taking out his keys and unlocking the door. It was already unlocked.

Oliver closed his and cautiously nudged it open with his foot. His place was as empty and devoid of life as he'd left it, which could mean only one thing. "If you guys are hiding on opposite ends of the door waiting to jump me, come on out. The jig's up."

At first, Oliver only heard the monotonous BGM music he'd grown so accustomed to tuning out. Then, shuffling, followed by that desolate bird screech thing all those old western stand-off songs start with, as two huge Mexican dudes- identical save for an eyepatch on one and a cast on the other- wearing boots and matching leather jackets stepped out into the open.

"The jig's up?" Juan scoffed, laughing like a hyena. "Who the fuck says that shit anymore? You going around solving mysteries in a green fuckin' van, or what? Right, hermano?"

"Shit does sound pretty Scooby Doo," Julio nodded sagely. "But what can you do?"

"Make fun of him?"

"Ain't here for that, estupido," Julio smacked his brother upside the head- only narrowly remembering not to use his injured hand.

"Puta madre, you little-"

"We're here to help."

"The fuck we are. First Mimi, now Zoe? Don't care if her perverted ass is into it, fuck this, man. I ain't helping with shit!"

"We're here," Julio repeated in a cold, chilling tone, refusing to even look at his younger twin as he spoke. "To help."

Despite the drama that consumed half of last week, Oliver wasn't immune to the sacred, time-honored, manly tradition of growing closer to his enemies after trading fists. He was happy to see Mia's brothers. Exhausted, irritated, and reluctant to proceed, maybe, but happiness was in there, too...

Somewhere.

"Lockpicking aside, thanks for showing up. I would've asked Mia for your number, but she's in a rough mood tonight, and I didn't want to potentially make it worse. What all did Bradley say, though?"

Oliver was confident he told Bradley to only pass along his number and tell them he wanted to talk...

"That we were right about you," Juan bared his fangs, amused. And then Julio bopped him on the head again, ignoring his pissy, post-slapstick grumbling.

"He said enough," Julio walked forward, crossed his arms, and his baby sister's boyfriend straight in the eyes. Whatever he saw there made the big man subtly nod in respect after a few seconds, and the next thing Oliver knew, a big, firm hand clasping his shoulder.

"Now how about you tell your hermanos the rest over those drinks you owe us, mn? Come on. Know a good place around here- you'll love it. Might even put some hair on your chest."