Chapter Text
Etho was running from the cops. It wasn’t unusual; he had found himself in the same situation fairly frequently, although less often recently as he honed his skills. Now, he just needed an escape route. He scanned the apartment windows as he jumped from building to building across the fire escapes, working with the weight of his backpack to keep his momentum. He spotted an open window in the next building, a floor up. He leapt to the next fire escape, swinging over the railing, and clambered up the steps. He pushed the window open enough for him to slip in and slammed it shut behind him, closing the curtains.
“HELLO? Can I fucking help you?” Etho whipped around to see a half-dressed tan, stocky man standing in the doorway.
“Uh, sorry. I just needed to get off the street.” He heard the sirens start to fade into the distance and peeked out the window.
“Okay? And you just decided to jump through my bedroom window? It’s the fifth floor! How did you even get up here?” The other man crossed the room to stand toe to toe with Etho, looking up into his eyes.
“Yeah, you have a fire escape out there. I just climbed it.”
Etho looked down at the man; he wasn’t that much shorter, but enough that he had to bow his head slightly. He had big brown eyes and thick curly hair, and reminded Etho of nothing more than an annoyed puppy. “I’m Etho, by the way. I’ll be on my way soon enough.”
“Oh yeah, make yourself at home, just waltz in here, no problem.” His voice dripped with sarcasm, rising in volume as he threw his hands up, turning away. Etho had just enough time to appreciate the muscles stretching across his broad shoulders before the other man pulled a hoodie on. “I’ll put on some tea, how about that?”
“Yeah, some tea would be great, actually, if you don’t mind.” Etho flashed his best smile at the other man, forgetting for a moment that he wouldn’t be able to see under his mask.
The other man let out a surprised bark of a laugh, “I don’t actually have tea, but I can offer some soda? Diet Coke?”
Etho smiled, pulling his mask off and tucking it into his pocket, “Diet Coke is perfect. I didn’t catch your name?”
The other man smiled, gesturing for him to follow out of the room, “Bdubs.”
Etho slipped his backpack off, leaving it by the door, and followed him into the main room. It was a tiny apartment, but it was cozy. It was immediately evident that Bdubs had good taste; the furniture was nice, the art was tasteful, and there were plants and books on every flat surface.
“Nice place you got here,” Etho said, looking over the book titles. They were mostly art books, lots of animation reference books, but a few novels were sprinkled in as well. He didn’t recognize many titles, but they all seemed to be literary fiction. Bdubs bumped his arm with a can of soda, which Etho took gratefully, then sat heavily on the couch.
“So, what’s your deal? Running from the cops?”
“Yeah.” Etho sank onto the couch next to him. “Apparently, they don’t like it when you take things that don’t belong to you.”
Bdubs laughed again, this time more full-bodied. “You don’t say. Did you at least get something good?”
“I hope someone thinks so. I haven’t had a good payday in a while, and the bills don’t stop.”
“Yeah, ain’t that the truth. You need some help finding a buyer? I know some guys, I can ask around.”
Etho looked at the other man, trying to discern whether he was being genuine, but his eyes were nothing but earnest. “I’d appreciate that. I think this haul might be a little rich for my usual guy.”
He got up, retrieving his backpack from the bedroom before settling back down on the couch. He unzipped it, pulled out a black case, and passed it over to Bdubs. The other man cracked it open, revealing a pair of crystal figurines nestled in velvet, and let out a low whistle.
“That’s really something.” Bdubs picked one up, wrapping his hand in his hoodie sleeve to avoid smudging the clear crystal, and twisted it to catch the light streaming in through the window. It cast a spray of rainbows across the room, and Etho was momentarily distracted by the way the spots of light scattered across the other man’s awe-filled face.
“You think you can find a buyer?”
Bdubs carefully replaced the figure and closed the case, drumming his fingers along the hard surface. “Yeah, give me like, two weeks. You got somewhere safe to keep these?”
Etho nodded, taking the case as Bdubs passed it to him, and shoving it back into his backpack.
“Give me your phone, I’ll put my number in.” Bdubs held his hand out expectantly. Etho obliged, a small smile playing at his lips.
“Looks like I picked the right apartment to break into,” Etho said as Bdubs passed his phone back. “What are the chances I jump through the window of just the man I need?” He paused, suddenly too aware of the possible meanings of his words, but Bdubs didn’t seem to notice, or at least didn’t care.
“How long do you want to crash here? Sounds like the cops have moved on.” Bdubs stood up, cracking the living room window to listen for sirens.
“I’ll get out of your hair then. I appreciate the soda and your help,” Etho said as he slung his backpack over his shoulder, chugging the rest of his Coke.
“Oh, anytime,” Bdubs laughed, his tone less sarcastic this time around. “I’ll get some tea for next time you break in.”
Etho smiled, pulling his mask back over his face. “I owe you one, Bdubs. Dinner sometime, maybe?”
“Yeah, yeah, it’s a date.” Bdubs opened the front door, nodding at Etho as he left the apartment. He quickly made his way downstairs, his steps sure as he moved with his usual loping pace, but he was thinking of Bdubs.
He’d hopped into open windows a few times before, and most often nobody was home to notice his taking refuge in their apartment. He did get punched once, but as a decent fighter himself, he was able to get out the front door before getting too injured. But this was, surprisingly, the first time he’d met someone from the world he lived in, and definitely the first time he’d been even remotely welcomed. The chance meeting with Bdubs felt more like fate than anything, and Etho didn’t even believe in anything like that. It was something in the way his laughter lit up his whole face, and the easy trust he had shown so quickly. He wasn’t prone to hoping, didn’t like setting himself up for things to go bad, or to trust in things out of his control, but as he stepped out onto the street, he allowed himself to hope that Bdubs would be a recurring figure in his life.