[FIN] Happy Suffergiving

[BlackFireKitsune]

The trip with Alyssa had been awful - which was the world's biggest understatement at the moment - and Abel had been infinitely glad to get home after the long trip, made even longer by the sole fact he had felt so terribly lonely. But he was home now, so he would be fine, right?

Wrong. Of course Alyssa had to 'stop by' that afternoon. Why wouldn't she? What did she even want this time? ...maybe it would behoove him to actually listen.

As he tuned back in, his gaze drifted to the redhead seated comfortably in one of the chairs at his meager dining table - across from the one he sat in, chin resting on his palm and his elbow on the table - with that characteristic, horrid smile on her face. "You really should be thankful, you know," she said.

"I'd be thankful if you left," he replied rather listlessly, his gaze drifting away again. Poor Taavi had to suffer through her pointless visit too... Ugh. This was all his fault.

Alyssa shot him a brief look, but her demeanor brightened again almost immediately. "That's not what I meant and you know it. I meant that you should be thankful for all the things you have, all the people in your life - since it's thanksgiving soon - that's all."

"You mean all the things I don't have," he pointed out.

Alyssa just waved a hand dismissively. "Taavi understands what I mean. Don't you, Taavi?" An expectant face turned towards him.  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi looked up from his paperwork briefly. He fixed Alyssa with a dark expression. "Eat my d**k, b***h, and be thankful for that." He was sick and tired of her and all of this crap. "And a happy new year right?" he added bitterly as he turned back to his work.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Alyssa's demeanor cooled almost immediately, though her smile remained. "I know you understand the need to be thankful for things though, of course you do. Like that nice new job you've got," she pointed out before she let the sentence hang in a heavy, deliberate pause, her eyes glittering with malice as she grinned over at him. "I'm sure it's a wonderful job. It's with the KSO, right?"  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi glanced up, his mouth still forming a thin flat line. "It is. And you know? I bet you'd be amazed at the background of some of the other officers. You could tell them anything about me and...."

But what about Abel?

He didn't know what might be held over his friend, there was some s**t going on but- "And whatever, forget it," Taavi shrugged at Alyssa, "do you have anything else to say?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Would I, now?" Alyssa asked, her eyes glittering as she watched Taavi with a lazy grin. "And I'm sure they do. Are any of them criminals though?"

"Could you just stop?" Abel interrupted, frowning at her severely. Seriously though, why couldn't she just leave Taavi alone? Better yet, why not leave both of them alone? She wouldn't though, she never would. Not ever.

As if to demonstrate that point, the redhead rounded on the blond instead, her grin broadening. "You have the most to be thankful for, you know! All of your Pokemon, your family... How long has it been since you've seen them, anyway? Two years? I bet your nieces miss you something awful," she finished with a coy smile.

Abel's frown deepened and one of his knuckles cracked as his fingers flexed.  

[TawnyAngel]

No, probably they weren't. Taavi clenched his jaw and looked back down at his work. What would happen if he hit her or something? It would feel really, really good and he almost didn't care about the consequences. Almost.

When Alyssa mentioned Abel's family Taavi looked up again abruptly with a fresh surge of anger bringing a flush to his cheeks and making him tense up even more. Was she threatening them? She was, wasn't she?

"Okay, we're thankful, was there actually something you wanted today?" Taavi snapped. "Because I really need to get on with this, and you're making it pretty hard to concentrate." Not that he really thought that would make her leave but maybe she'd get distracted from the line she was taking right now?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Want? Of course there's something I want, there's always something I want. Like money," she said with a shrug as she fixed Taavi with an expectant look. "I'll be quiet if you want to pay me early, but since you don't get paid for a few days yet I'm going to guess the answer is a reluctant 'no.' In which case," she wrinkled her nose up at him and grinned, "you can cut the shitty attitude now or I might have to have a nice chat with some of your coworkers like you suggested."  

[TawnyAngel]

Ugh.

Taavi gave Alyssa a poisonous look. "Fine." Not like he had a lot of choice. Maybe nothing bad would happen if she told somebody but that was too big a maybe, no matter how angry and reckless he was feeling he couldn't take the risk. When was this ******** nightmare going to end? Perhaps it wasn't, it had been nearly a year but it already felt like he'd had her breathing down his neck all his life. If he hadn't lost his old job, lost his apartment, and come to stay here with Abel for 'just a couple of days' none of this would have happened and maybe he wouldn't have lost Valour either.

On the other hand he probably wouldn't have met a lot of his partners - Scully and Mulder from Peppermint Island, and then they'd found Kielo - and he wouldn't be anywhere near as close with Abel as he was. Also he'd probably still be working at Meat Palace. Those thoughts didn't make him feel all that much better but they were something and in the end he wouldn't swap Abel for having Alyssa vanish, he was like family. He always had wanted a brother.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Alyssa smiled sweetly at Taavi - almost sickeningly so - before turning back to Abel. "Alright, now where was I... Oh, yes, your family! Really, you should be thankful for all of them," the redhead said as she studied her perfectly manicured fingernails.

If looks could kill, Abel would've melted holes in his table by now as he stared at it, waiting for her to get to the point. She wanted to get under his skin, he knew that - she always did after all, that was her thing - but he didn't like the route she was taking to get there. He never did, but he especially didn't like this. Why couldn't she bring up literally anything else?

"I'm sure you are though, how could you not be? And I bet they're all thankful to still have all of their family too, of course. Or almost all of it," she added with a sideways glance at the blond.

It was a rather innocuous statement - especially in a family where the children had moved away and couldn't visit often, like him - even with the odd word choice, unless of course one knew what heartache his family had been through when they lost one of their children permanently. It wasn't something he talked about much unless the subject came up, but Alyssa knew all about it - because of course she did - and rather than comment verbally, he merely glared daggers at her and clenched his jaw shut.  

[TawnyAngel]

Taavi didn't look up again but he did stop reading. Almost all? For a moment he assumed the dig was aimed at him but no she was definitely talking to Abel. He didn't know Abel had lost anyone unexpectedly but his friend could be pretty secretive sometimes. Maybe she was the reason why, he wasn't all that clear on how long she'd been tormenting Abel but he was pretty sure it was longer than he'd know him well. ********, why was she so awful?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Completely ignoring Taavi now, Alyssa beamed and scooted her chair closer to Abel. "Oh please, there's no need to look so angry," she chastised, though she looked and sounded thoroughly pleased to see him so.

"Of course there is; you're here," he spat.

The redhead tutted, not paying the interjection any mind. "All I'm saying is they're probably thankful for their family. At this time of year, especially." After a pause that could have been purposeful or accidental (it was purposeful, of course it was purposeful), she added, "It is nearly Thanksgiving, after all."

Of course. Of course she was bringing that up. Why wouldn't she? Ugh. Ugh.

"Or maybe," she went on in thoughtful tones, "they spend the holiday reminiscing? I'll bet your mother does, for sure. How long ago was it now? Ten years?"

"Alyssa."

Tense and lined with venom, the word was a warning; a warning she might seem to heed - unless one knew the details - as she waved her hand airily and switched tracks. "I wonder how your sister would feel... How old are your nieces again? Aren't they six years old too?"

The insinuation struck him like a slap in the face and his body reacted first; his teeth gritted together and pure anger burned bright and hot in his face. One hand pressed itself against the table to push him upwards while his other first darted out, swinging into the side of Alyssa's face and knocking her completely off her chair. She made a rather unbecoming squealing noise as she fell and landed with an abrupt, dull thud on the floor -- or mostly on the floor. One of her legs still rested on the chair.

The realization of what he'd just done hit him next, but for the following few seconds all he could do was stay half-standing, his furious expression replaced with one of complete and utter surprise. Alyssa's expression matched his for the moment as well.  

[TawnyAngel]

What. The. ******** didn't know what Alyssa was saying but he knew her enough to know she was saying something. Even if he hadn't Abel ******** punching her would have been a clue.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Time seemed to slow down as the seconds ticked by, both Alyssa and Abel staring at each other, sharing the same dumbfounded expression as their brains struggled to process what just happened. The blond reacted first, due in large part to the fact his reaction necessitated little thought. "...s**t. I'm sorry," he said hesitantly, just for want of something to say to placate the anger he knew would shortly come his way.

And it did: Alyssa's face darkened considerably, her expression twisting in uncharacteristic anger. "You hit me." It wasn't a question, it was a statement - an accusation - and she repeated it as she removed her leg from the chair and pushed herself up, immediately closing the distance between them to jab an accusing finger at his chest, "You ******** hit me you worthless piece of s**t. How dare you, you--"

Abel's brain finally caught up with the situation and he warred with himself both internally and externally for a few more seconds, as hesitance and anger battled for dominance in his mind and in his expression. Anger won but hesitance remained in the background, peeking out when possible; he swatted her hand away and glared right back at her. "What the ******** were you expecting would happen? You just keep poking and poking at s**t you have no business poking at, trying to rub salt in wounds just to see what someone'll do, to see what sort of reactions you can get out of them. Well you got one, are you happy now?"

"No I'm not happy, why the hell would I be happy that you hit me?! Ugh, I can't ******** believe you--"

"You were trying to get a reaction and you got one, Alyssa, don't--"

"No - no - that is it, Abel," the redhead spat angrily as she turned on her heel, grabbed her purse and headed for the door. "Putting off that favor for this long is bad enough, but this? Nope, that's it; that is it. I'm done with your s**t."

"No, come on -- I'm sorry," he began entreatingly, his anger evaporating, replaced by hesitance, uncertainty and the beginning of fear in the face of what would surely come now. s**t. s**t, why had he done that? "Please Alyssa, don't--"

"I might," she interrupted, her voice forceful and full of malice, of spite, as she whipped around to face him, though her hand found the doorknob first. "I might just wrap up everything and send it as a gift to whoever would love to see it most -- or I might not. If I don't then you'll wish I had, you can be damn sure of that. Just wait," she said as she pulled the door open, a spiteful smile splitting her otherwise furious, malicious expression, "just you ******** wait." And with that Parthian shot, she slipped out and slammed the door shut behind her, leaving Abel staring at the door with a mixture of startled surprise, nervousness and traces of fear.  

[TawnyAngel]

Oh ******** was Alyssa talking about, what favour? And if Abel didn't do it she'd send whatever she was holding on him to- who? His family? The police? What had Abel done for her to be able to get her claws into him this badly? But she might send it anyway, but Abel would wish she had? How bad was this favour she wanted done?

Taavi tore his eyes away from the closed door to look at Abel and he tried to think of something to say but what could he say that would make this any better? After a few moments he put down his paperwork, got to his feet, and crossed the room cautiously to stand next to Abel. Seeing Alyssa get hit had been satisfying, really satisfying, but not worth it for... Well for whatever the ******** was happening now.

"Uh... Hey." Taavi said hesitantly and reached across the table to touch Abel's arm. "She'll...." 'Calm down'? Not likely. "What does she want Abel? Do you know? I... Is there anything I can do?" Also not likely but he had to ask.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

For a few long moments, all Abel could do was stare at the door. His fingers flexed and his hand lifted a bit as if to open it, but his feet refused to move from their spot, refused to carry him the rest of the way to the threshold to open it. Both hands lifted to his face as he inhaled deeply before letting out a shuddering breath. "s**t." The actions, the word itself seemed to open the floodgates; anxious fear chased away any other emotion on his face, in his countenance, as his fingers pushed themselves through his hair. "s**t. ********. Ohh my ********, what did I do? Why did I just..." Except he knew why, he knew exactly why, and yet he'd done it anyway, had done it without even thinking about it.

And now this was it, he was dead. Even if no one sought his head themselves, he wouldn't be able to live with the fact his family would know everything he'd done. There was no way. And what about--

The touch at his arm yanked his attention back to the present and he flinched from it, turned a vaguely startled but mostly distressed look at his friend. Taavi. What would Taavi think? "I don't..." What was he going to do? He couldn't run away this time, there was no where to run, no way to escape this. He was trapped in a corner with no way out. His expression turned entreating, almost pleading, as if Taavi could help him solve this so everything worked out okay and nothing bad would happen, "What do I do?"