Wrath and Love

Wrath and Love Chapter Twelve


After the President's private jet had touched down at the airport, Todd's mind had still been occupied with the view of the flight over as Pepito somehow managed to get him into the heaviest coat that he had ever worn. The cab suddenly felt hot and stuffy. He tugged at the collar of the thick material, but soon found himself pulling the zipper up above his mouth when the hatch was opened to let in the New York air, which proved itself to be below freezing as several gusts of snow meet them on their way to the limo.

He stared with wide eyes out the window at the the frosty scenery, his body shivering even as his arms hugged the large coat closer to himself and the limo blasted all of its passengers with heat. Pepito's reflection was watching him, smiling fondly at his plight, in the glass of the window. The smug man seemed unbothered by the weather conditions.

“Never seen snow before, Amigo?”

“I've seen it...during winter storms...on the mountains....” Todd pouted when Pepito smirked at this, but took solace in the fact that, across from him, Edgar appeared to be just as cold as himself, which made sense because, unlike the Antichrist, neither of them had had more than ten years to adapt. “That time that I came to visit you, it was around ninety-four, wasn't it?”

“Yes, it was, but that was June. That's the beauty of seasonal change.”

“I guess so. It does look pretty, but I don't think I really likes extremes.”

“Does that mean that you don't want to go for a carriage ride with me later? Or ice skating?” Pepito gestured out the window at the park that the limo was currently making its way through, still facing the man beside him, to whom he gave a small frown.

“Well, I guess I could try it.... It does look like fun.” And he would do almost anything to get some quality time outdoors...even if it turned him into a pop sickle....

“Great. What about you, Edgar?”

“What? Me?” The dead-but sort of alive again-man broke himself away from the passing landscape, all but admitting that he had been tuning the two men out during the entire thirty minute ride, not to mention most of the plane ride before that as well. The truth was that they didn't seem to be saying anything that was of consequence to him, and he rather thought that they just liked hearing each other talk.

The odd thing was that they both acted different with each other. Not completely, of course, but Pepito actually made a noticeable effort to come off somewhere in the general vicinity of nice, and he and Todd both seemed to purposefully avoid certain subjects with each other. It didn't seem like they were walking on egg shells exactly. The conversations that they did have no longer seemed forced, but sometimes they would stop abruptly and change subjects completely, usually to something highly uninteresting.

“Do you like ice skating? Have you ever been?”

Edgar took in a deep breath when the Antichrist spoke extra slow as if he was a simpleton who needed such treatment. He took his time in answering the question, probably reinforcing the man's display, because it was most likely a trick. Saying no was a sure way to end up flat on his face in front of hundreds of high profile strangers and possibly having to have his tongue scraped from the ice by paramedics.

He had yet to sign the contract that the devil-spawn had tempted him with, but Pepito had told him that he could “hang onto” the body as long as he remained useful to him, which he suspected was just another way of making himself look better. Ever since then, he had been more reserved in regards to delighting in picking at Edgar's faith like a vulture, but he still had a tendency to treat him as a bit of a social punching bag at times. Still, it was a “living” so to speak. It was better than Hell at any rate, and the body really was more comfortable now that he had gotten a feel for it.

“I've, uh, been a few times in high school,” he finally answered as the limo came to a stop.

“Good. Then you can come tomorrow night.” Pepito smiled at the other man's deflated look. It wasn't as if it had been his idea for Edgar to come along as Todd's chaperon! His mother had apparently taken quite a liking to the damned man over the last couple months, and had insisted that he be there to watch over his friend. Not that he really minded. Edgar was as good as his, and the only power that his mother really had was to bitch at him relentlessly.

Todd stepped hesitantly out of the limo when two servants opened the doors, saying a quick “thanks” as he took in the building just in front of them while the men unloaded the trunk. The Bramford was a ten story, buff-colored fortress-like building with both Gothic and Victorian elements. It was short in comparison with most of the surrounding buildings, but it made up for that easily in elegance.

“Nice, right?”

He started when Pepito's gloved hand found his own, instantly warming his entire body with magic and a small wink. “Very.”

“Father bought it for me when I was just a baby. My parents lived in this building when I was born, until we moved to California.” He started forward, pulling Todd with him and confident that Edgar would follow. “Come on. They'll take the luggage up on the service elevator. This archway was originally for horse-drawn carriages.”

Todd looked up at the archway they were walking through, then at the square court yard and fountain in the middle of the building. There was no denying that it was beautiful, but at the same time, it reminded him a little of the design of Work Camp Thirty-one. There was a small guard station, obviously much newer than the building, set up as they entered the court yard where they had to check in, and he traded his ankle security-bracelet for a wrist one that was a bit more inconspicuous.

“Sorry, Amigo,” Pepito said as they stepped into one of the four elevators on each square of the court yard. “It's not really that I don't trust you, but New York is a big city, and I really don't want to lose you in it.”

Pulling the sleeve of his coat down to hide the contraption, Todd shrugged as if it meant nothing, though that was far from what he felt. Still, he took Pepito's hand back into his own as they shuffled into the hall of the seventh floor.

“Okay, the main things that you need to know...” The half-demon thought to himself for a moment after coming to a stop in front of one of the doors and digging in a pocket of his coat. “Laundry and the gym are in the basement, the main dinning and entertaining rooms are on the first floor, secondary executive offices are on the second, there's a garden on the roof, and everything else is private.”

“Private?” Edgar raised a brow as he took off his glasses to rub away the accumulated dewy moisture with the sleeve of his shirt.

“Yes, private, as in you shouldn't go snooping around there because other individuals live there. Members of my cabinet and the main coven.”

“I see. So, basically, you're saying that, for the next month, we're going to be living in a Satanic coven-house.” Despite Pepito's nonchalance Edgar could see that Todd had visibly tensed at the idea as well. He couldn't really blame Rosemary for wanting someone to keep an eye on him under such conditions, even if there wasn't much he could do besides report back to her as best he could.

“Basically, yes. Do you have a problem with that, Mr. Vargas?”

“...No...I suppose not.”

“Then you'll be wanting these,” Pepito finally took a set of keys from his pocket, “You're 7-E. Todd's going to be staying with me in 7-A down the hall.”

Edgar started to protest, but knew it would do no good. The Antichrist was a suborn bastard, and besides that, it looked as if he would need the jaws life-or death-to pry the two apart. Instead, he only watched as they walked away, returning Todd's wave a little sadly before unlocking his own door, certain that this couldn't end well.

Pepito lead Todd throughout his apartment, pointing out the bathroom, the study, the kitchen, dinning room and finally the living room. The curtains were already drawn back to let the evening light hit the dark wood of the walls and high ceilings.“The Bram was built during the late 1800s, and, unlike most apartments of the day, it was designed to have windows on both sides. On this side you can see 72 street and Central Park, and the other overlooks the court yard. There are a few spare bedrooms on either side, so you can take your pick.”

“Thanks.” He released Pepito's hand, letting him take his winter gear to hang it with his own before heading to do just that. A loud crackling had him turning back around to see that a raging fire had come to life in the living room fireplace, and he shook his head at Pepito's sly smile.

“There's also electric heat, but I prefer the real thing.” He shrugged. “The thermostat is at the end of the hall.”

In the end Todd decided to claim a medium sized bedroom opposite one of the two bathrooms. It was on the side of the apartment that faced the street and the park, only one down from Pepito's. Pulling back the curtains, he smiled softly at the streams of people and cars below. It was kind of nice to be able to watch the real world at work again, even if it wasn't exactly the same one that he remembered. It was odd how little things actually seemed to have changed on the surface.

Across the street he could see bundled people skating, walking dogs, children building a snowman and throwing snow balls at other children at the park where Pepito's official, public birthday party would be held near the end of the month, specifically on the twenty-sixth of March. Todd knew that his actual, real birthday was on the twenty-eighth, which had been Good Friday the year that he was born, but fell on Easter this year. It had become a habit for various reasons when they were younger that the Satanic celebration of his birthday was always held on the day of Jesus' death while his real birthday was more for family and friends.

He wasn't really sure if that had changed in his absence, but this year there were going to be two parties: one public and one private, except that this time the private one was on the twenty-eighth. It might have been a simple switch of the old tradition, or if the secrecy might just not be necessary anymore. It made Todd a little nervous because he was invited to both of them.

A sudden commotion from the living room pulled him out of his thoughts.

“Hey, Todd! Luggage is here!”

“Coming!” The luggage wasn't the only thing that had arrived. When Todd saw that an old couple and a middle-aged woman with short, dark hair and glasses accompanied it, he forced himself to smile instead of sprinting back the way he had come and hoping for the best. “Uh, hi.”

“Todd,” Pepito wrapped an arm around his shoulder, “you remember Minnie and Roman Castevet, right? They came to visit a few times in California?”

“Oh, yeah. It's, uh, nice to meet you again.”

“Well, it sure is nice to see you again too, honey! Roman and me never had any kids of our own, but Adrian here has been just like a grandson to us, hasn't he Roman?”

“That he has, dearest, that he has. He's been good to us, been on many a trip with us too. And he's named after my father, Adrian Marcato, you know. Well, his middle name anyway. His mother, Rosemary wanted-”

“Yeah,” Minnie cut her husband off, “but he's always so busy. Maybe now that you two kids have settled down together, he'll lighten up some, huh? Will you work on him for us?”

“Ummmm...I'll try, but we're not-”

“Really settled in yet!” Pepito pulled Todd closer to distract from the wide-eyed look that the other man was giving him. “In fact, we were just about to consummate our moving in together when you knocked.”

“Oh, dear me! We didn't mean to disturb you, Adrian! We just wanted to welcome you back. Come on Roman, let's let them have some alone time. You remember how it was to be young.” She turned to go, but stopped a few feet before the door. “Are you still planning on cooking dinner tonight, honey? Because I don't mind if you've got other things to do. You two could just come over in a few hours and-”

“No! No, that's fine. Thanks, Minnie, but I've got it covered.” Releasing his grasp on Todd, and pretending that the man wasn't still staring at him in shock, Pepito took the bag of groceries from the other occupant of the room. “This is my home secretary, Tess, by the way, Todd. Oh, Tess, there's a guest in 7E. Could you check up on him for me? See if he needs anything?”

“Of course, Mr. President.” Tess smiled politely, ever eager to please. It wasn't usually her job to see to guests and pick up groceries, but her boss had had most of the android help put in storage for a whole month, and they had yet to replace many of the service positions that they had worked.

“A guest, you say?” Roman raised an apprehensive eyebrow. “I think we'll go along with you, dear, to see that he is properly welcomed.”

“That's a good idea. You boys take care now, and we'll see you in a few hours. I always told Roman that you two make such a cute couple, didn't I Roman?”

“Yes, dear.”

Pepito rolled his eyes as the three of them finally vacated his apartment. At least Edgar would keep them busy for a while.

A few hours later, most of dinner was either ready or almost so. Todd had elected to help because he had nothing better to do, and he could always stand to pick up a few cooking tips from Pepito, who had inherited all his mother's skill at the activity. “So, I've got the regular cake mix ready, and I've added a package of chocolate pudding mix...”

Looking up from the syrupy icing that he was stirring, Pepito leaned over Todd's bowl to eye the mixture appraisingly. “That looks good. Do you remember the rest?”

“Uh,...a cup of oil, four eggs, a half cup of warm water, and...did you say sour cream?” His nose wrinkled toward the end.

“Yes.” He smiled, remembering how Todd reading the ingredient list for even healthy foods was often a bad omen for dinner. “And chocolate chips.”

“Chocolate and sour cream....” Todd left the “eww” unspoken, though by now he had learned to reserve judgment for taste testing. But it still seemed just so...wrong.

“That's right, Amigo.” Pepito took the liberty of scooping a full measuring cup of sour cream into the bowl while Todd beat the eggs, smirking at the face the other made as he finally poured the remaining ingredients on top.

Todd frowned as the mixture became a dark brown blob. Maybe if he pretended that it was whipped cream it would seem less disgusting....

Pepito laughed at him. “You're so untrusting, Todd.”

“Yeah, well, can you blame me? You lied to Minnie and Roman about us being a couple!” Todd huffed childishly. “I still can't believe you did that.”

“I didn't tell them, they assumed. And I've already told you that I just let them think that because it'll keep them out of my hair for a while. If I let them, they would take up all my free time.” He chuckled to himself before giving Todd a mischievous smile. “Actually, I think to clear them out after dinner, I'll tell them that we consummated it on the kitchen table.”

“You're horrible!” Todd raised a full spoon of liquid cake as if aiming for Pepito's head. “Come on, promise me you won't.”

“Oh, Todd, surely you don't want me to tell another lie.” Pepito put his hand to his heart in jest, moving back a few steps when the other moved forward with his unspoken threat in hand. “You wouldn't.”

“I so would.” Todd's eyes narrowed half playfully at Pepito's self-assurance. It really had been too long since anyone had thrown pre-baked goods in his face. “Promise.”

“Alright, Amigo! I promise, okay?” His smile grew when Todd started to put the spoon back to work. “I promise that I'll tell them we cleaned it after!”

“Gah!” Todd's arm shot back up in involuntary outrage, and he hurled a runny, sticky clump of cake mix across the meager feet between them, laughing and then cringing when it managed to spatter Pepito nearly from head to toe. “Hahaha...I...uh, didn't really mean...heh...” He backed up as Pepito took carefully measured steps forward, actually afraid that he might have gone too far.

On his way, the Antichrist picked up the pan that he had set to cool, cornering his prey with an ominous air. “You're going to pay for that.”

“Pep, I'm sorry! I just-”

“No, too late now. You can't just ask forgiveness and make everything better, Todd. You have to live with the consequences of your actions.”

His back hit the wall, and Todd brought his hands up to cover his face as warm, running chocolate was poured on top of his head. He shivered as it dipped down his neck and into his clothes, finally removing the hands to see a smirking, triumphant Pepito. “That...that was...”

“That was some sweet revenge, right?” Pepito laughed at his own cheesiness.

“Yes. Yes, it was.” Todd ducked under his arm, heading for his bowl again. “But we should probably hurry up and finish this because-” As soon as he was close enough he dropped the facade, arming himself with the whole bowl, smiling as Pepito back up again with his hands raised in surrender.

“Come on, Amigo. We're even already, and we still need to finish, right?”

“Promise?”

“That we're even now?”

“That you're not gonna pretend we're a couple anymore!”

“So you do want me to lie?”

“No, I want you to promise and really mean it!”

“But then I'd be lying to Minnie and Roman!”

“What? That doesn't even...ugh...you're impossible!” Todd half threw the entire contents of the bowl at him. “And now you're covered in chocolate! And sour cream!”

“Fuck, that's cold!” Pepito laughed, this time almost doubling over. “Hey, Todd?”

“Yeah?”

“You're my friend.”

“Y-yeah?” His courage seemed to have been lost with most of the cake mix.

“You're my friend, and I love you, so now...now I'm just going to give you a little hug.”

Todd eyes widened further, and he backed up as fast as he dared. “No! That-that's okay! There's no need to-”

“No, no. I insist!” Pepito smiled as the other caught on, lunging forward to chase him half way around the table a few times before finally catching him and making sure that he had his equal share of dessert.

“Ack! Okay! Enough!” Todd struggled against the half-demon's firm grip, finding the cake mix both cold and squishy like goo. “That's horrible! Oh, crap!”

Pepito, already being so close, managed to catch Todd when he slipped in their mess upon finally being set free, only to step on the same spot himself with both of their weight, sending them tumbling to the ground. At least Todd had the advantage of having something to break his fall...namely Pepito. “Oww. Well, this is a fine mess.”

“Heh. Yeah, but you kind of deserve it, Pep.” Todd pushed himself up a little to look down at the other with more sympathy that his words betrayed. “You okay?”

“...I can't feel my legs...”

“ That's probably because I'm sitting on them...sorry.” He had to bring his legs down around the other's waist to get enough leverage to attempt standing on the slick floor, but before he could make such an attempt, he found himself on his back with Pepito on top of him, laughing in his face. “Hey, I thought you couldn't feel your legs!”

“I lied.” Pepito shrugged. “And just so you know, this is a victory for me.” When Todd rolled his eyes and crossed his arms indignantly, he leaned down further to lick some of the aborted cake from his cheek, watching as his composure changed instantly.

“Pepito...did you just...lick me?”

“Mhmm.”

“No. But you licked me.”

“Yeah, Amigo. If you don't want to be licked, you shouldn't be so tasty.”

“...that's disgusting...I'm probably covered in salmonella.”

“You're still so paranoid. And anyway, it was still worth it.” Pepito smiled at him a little too fondly, thinking that he was also still pretty cute when he blushed until Todd started pushing on his shoulder and whispering frantically for him to get up. He pushed himself into a sitting position similar to the one that Todd had been in earlier, turning halfway around to see their dinner guests entering the kitchen. “Uh, could you guys give us just a few more minutes?”

As Minnie and Roman left again, Todd thought that his skin felt so hot that it was probably heating the kitchen floor. Wiggling out from under Pepito, he gave him a little push along the way. “I'm going to take a shower.”

“Do you want me to wipe the table down?” Pepito broke out into another round of laughter after shouting loud enough for the others to hear outside his door, if that was where they happened to be, only laughing harder when Todd returned with an even louder “yes”.

END CH!

Notes:

-The Bramford is from the movie (and I think the booK) Rosemary's Baby. It is based on the real New York luxury apartment building, the Dakota: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dakota

-Minnie and Roman are also from Rosemary's Baby. They belong to Ira Levin and Roman Polanski.

-That cake recipe doesn't belong to me!
Too Much Chocolate Cake: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Too-Much-Chocolate-Cake/Detail.aspx