Never even rattled

[Dominic Bolton]

This whole conversation was so bizarre. As hunters, Dom and Gregg have talked about a lot of weird stuff. Once they tried to figure out the best way to shove a blade through a vampire's jaw. There was no reason. The topic just came up. But this... the romance between a hunter and werewolf. Somehow it didn't feel wrong. Maybe because it was the two of them. Or maybe Dominic had seen too many weird things to be concerned by something like this.

That being said, there was a strange vibe coming off Gregg. Dom wasn't sure how to take it. The things he was saying weren't getting to his friend the way he intended. After all, Dom was trying to help here. Too much, to be fair. He was trying to make up for his absence. He didn't think if Gregg wanted to hear this or not. Harsh truth and all that.

Dominic nodded, "Yeah. You should learn to make a proper cup of tea. It'll give you more cultural versatility. Don't get me wrong – it works on you. You make it work. You're almost brooding. Maybe if you wore more black leather." Dom never minded Gregg withdrawn personality. It helped if they ever needed to play good cop, bad cop. And underneath, there was a good person. So, what if he had a bit of bite? Everyone does, Gregg just wasn't afraid to show it.

"True, you have me," Dom replied. "But it's different. Your werewolf and I are completely different kinds of special."

Dominic was envious of Gregg. His friend met someone he connected with on an emotional and physical level. It's never happened to Dom. Physical connections, sure. Lots of them. But they never turned into anything else. Somehow he had become just a hookup. Nothing else.

And here Gregg was and he couldn't commit. Not that Dom blamed his friend. Gregg's reason was sound. Yet, Dominic replied with a resolute statement, "Quit."

"What the fuck has hunting ever given us but grief and pain and suffering?" This wasn't just about Gregg. It was about Dom and every other hunter. "It's not a good life and you know it. It's just a noose around our necks waiting for us to slip. So I guess your choice is between that and someone who's truly important to you."

Dominic didn't notice his hand reached for the sword. He tightened his fingers around the hilt. "If any of the other hunters have something to say about it I have enough pent-up anger to deal with them. And a sword that cuts through everything." Dom wasn't sure what he was mad at. It just crept up, light a signal flare in the dark. Maybe it was Gregg making bad decisions. Maybe it was hunters ruining the lives of their own. Maybe it was the werewolf who but his friend in this predicament. Maybe it was Dom for not being there from the start. It didn't matter. It was all just anger now.

[Greggory Lennox]

"Tch."

Gregg could make a cup of tea--it wasn't hard. Maybe it wouldn't be fantastic but in his estimation, a bowl of steamed leaves hardly constituted the higher art of culinary cuisine. As for black leather... Well. He had a jacket like that somewhere but if Dom wanted him to wear a whole domination suit or something, he wasn't going to see it while Gregg was alive.

"Yeah, I know." Gregg was being a shit saying that Dom was already somebody special. They both knew that wasn't what Dom meant. They were different kinds of special, all right. Dom, the best friend. Aldon, the lover. Gregg had never allowed himself to be vulnerable enough to have an actual lover. If he needed sex, it was just a matter of paying off a prostitute. He wasn't that fussy about it. Most of the time, he could take care of his needs on his own, though.

But physical needs were different when combined with emotional needs. Gregg hadn't even realized he needed somebody like Aldon in his life until he was there. Sometimes, he was sure he hated it. But they had a connection. A deeper connection. Something primal, sure. But something natural.

Quit.

It would be a lie to say he hadn't thought about it. Gregg used to be a good hunter, even a great one. But the price was this: becoming so reticent and so introverted. He cut off a part of himself so that he would never feel the way he did when he was small and vulnerable. That side of him was opening back up, though, as if Aldon had healed it or was in the process of doing so. Gregg ran a hand down his leg and then looked over at Dom.

"Yeah," he agreed. It had caused them a lot of hurt. The supernaturals had caused a lot of hurt, too, though. But the more they hunted, the easier it was to come across the ones who weren't as vile and evil as the ones that prompted them into this line of work in the first place.

"Honestly, Dom... I have to quit." He cracked his knuckles and stared out into space. "I can't be a hunter anymore, the way I am now. But the others..." He could see them now, especially, Jem, the default leader. "Are you sure you'd want to kill the ones who come after me next?"

[Dominic Bolton]

Dominic hated the sword. Even as he held it, he wanted nothing more than to toss it aside into the abyss. Yet it whispered like a siren on a cliff, beckoning him towards doom.  Part of Dom was here in the forest, listening to Gregg and his worries. At the same time, his mind wandered back into the past, to the hunts they shared – Gregg in the front, taking the brunt of the horrors of the night, and Dom in the back sending a bullet or a bolt towards any dangers too close to his friend.

Up there, in the front, it would have been too tempting. One drop of blood. Why not another? And another? That's how it starts. Soon all Dominic can see is red. Once you start, you can't stop. That's what the sword told Dom.

"Want?" Dominic scoffed... but it wasn't far from the truth. Killing had become second nature to the Templar. He rarely thought twice about it. Just another body on the pile. Even if their faces were familiar. It wouldn't be the first time. Probably not the last time. But he couldn't say that.

"Listen, it's not that about any of that," Dominic fought off the pull of the sword and released his grip on it. The echoes faded just a little. "I have your back. I'm quitting with you. That goes without saying. If they decide to come after you, they'll have to deal with me. I'm not just going to shoot them on sight. I have some patience, you know."

Dominic grabbed a soda. He needed something in his hand to keep it away from the sword. "No hunter signed up for a life of killing. You have every right to stop. If they have a problem with you finding love, then those assholes can keep it to themselves."

"You know, you can always crash at my place," the Templar added with a smile. "My mom will have your back too. You know the guys are too scared to come near her." That way Dominic wouldn't have to kill anyone. And Prudence has been missing for a chance to try out her long-range shotgun techniques.

[Greggory Lennox]

"Isn't that exactly what we signed up for?" Gregg asked, thinking of all those that had died by his hand. Hunter was just another word for murderer, although Gregg preferred to think of himself as a protector. He protected lives. When he thought of the people that were still alive because he had taken one life, it made each of those deaths mean something. But there were some in that pile of dead bodies that probably didn't deserve it. There were those who died just because of something they were born with, no will over it. Gregg hadn't given it much thought before this. Before becoming one of Them.

Now it was all he could think about. Which ones deserved what had befallen them and which ones didn't? How could he tell? He told himself it didn't matter--the past was now in the past--but it still haunted him at night. At least when he tried to sleep, he could curl around Aldon. Despite knowing exactly what Gregg was, Aldon didn't look at him any differently. There was no fear, disgust, or disdain in his eyes.

Gregg's gaze followed Dom's hand as it went for the soda. He didn't follow suit but he leaned back slightly, more relaxed with the knowledge that Dom had his back. The thought had been daunting, meeting him out here and talking about what happened but he had forgotten that this was Dom. This wasn't one of the others. Even if Dom loved the work, he wouldn't turn his back on Gregg. He felt somewhat foolish for thinking it in the first place.

"I might have to," he said. Jem and the others knew where he lived and once they learned what had happened, they would be knocking on his door next. No sympathy. Just the way Gregg had done it before. They would regard him as a cancer that needed to be cut out and removed. Gregg shifted his shoulders uncomfortably.

"What about Aldon?" he asked. "He's been staying with me."

[Dominic Bolton]

"Maybe," Dom pondered for a moment. "More likely we were lured in because we are a weak bunch of men. We can't handle our emotions so we freak the fuck out when it happens to us." Dominic sighed as he took the sword and slid it back into his chest. It looked weird but he was used to it. "That's how we end up like this, too afraid to talk to our friends about our lives."

This was a maddening situation. If Dominic had learned anything from his strange life, it's to embrace the madness. Hunting was out. Helping the supernatural dating scene was in. "Listen, if Aldon's good to you, I'm all for it."

Dom took out his keyring. There where more keys there than he needed but they were there just in case he ever needed to stab someone and remain inconspicuous. "Here," Dominic took a key and passed it to Gregg. "This is for the house. The guest room is big enough for you two and it has its own bathroom to boot. No rent either. You'll probably be roped into dinners... and breakfasts. I don't know why I'm trying to sell you this. It's the best offer you'll ever get, man."

The Templar got off the back of his truck. "You want me to drop you off anywhere? Or are we sneaking around now? I'm not sure how this works. I'll follow your lead."

Suddenly Dominic started laughing. "You know, this is exactly how I ended up as a hunter – following your lead. And now I'm following you out of it. Nice balance, don't you think?"

[Greggory Lennox]

Well... Dom wasn't wrong. They had spent their lives stamping out any semblance of feeling and emotion. Now when it came down to talking it out, they were ill equipped to properly expel the correct words. At least, Gregg had a difficult time with it. Even when he spoke to Aldon, he never knew what quite to say. Had he always been a person of few words? As a child... Yeah, he used to be boisterous. Energetic. Something changed in him. Time warped and twisted him into this person that couldn't form the words to say he cared for the people he cared for.

He was learning, though. It wasn't as hard as he thought it was. Once the words were unleashed for the first time, it was freeing.

"He is. He is good to me." Gregg idly ran a hand over his own elbow, gaze far away. Aldon had always been good to him from day one. He had no idea what Gregg did in the past and he still helped him. And when he learned the truth, somehow he still had it in him to be close to him and to love him.

Gregg looked down at the keys that had been passed to him. A place to stay. It had to be better than running away on a bus. But... he still wanted to be as far as possible. As far as possible. But would they look for him there? It's a place to start.

"Thanks," Gregg said. "I appreciate it. And... yeah. Sorry I keep dragging you around like this. You know if you don't want to quit..."

[Dominic Bolton]

This morning Dominic had felt pressure and darkness in the air. An evil omen. There was a lot riding on his meeting with Gregg – a long and important friendship. But reality doesn't always follow portents. Often it shows them the middle finger and does what it wants. That's why Dom didn't figure out what he'd do if things had gone badly.

Dom didn't hesitate to finish Gregg's thought, "Nah, I'm good. I know I'm coming off flippant but honestly, if I stayed we may end up on different sides of the fight. I don't want that. I don't want to kick your ass." He punctuated that with his stupid grin. They had enough of a serious talk already. "So, yeah – I've made up my mind. I'm no longer a hunter."

There was power in that sentence that Dominic didn't expect. A lightness in his soul. And an unseen force patting him on the head like he was a good dog. Dom spotted the dark shadow from the corner of his eye. He ignored the instinct to look. It was never a pleasant experience to the see half a face of a primordial being.

"Listen, I'm glad we got to talk," Dominic said. "I've kept a lot of this inside and it's good to know that I've got you as a friend, Gregg. Know that I have your back. Just give me a call and I'm there. And if you ever want to work out at the gym for free, I've got that too."

Dom stretched out his arms and smiled, "Wanna finish this up with a hug?"

[Greggory Lennox]

At least Dom understood. Gregg couldn't imagine Jem being nearly so understanding but that was why they weren't friends. Jem was a driven force with a real hatred towards those he hunted. If Jem hadn't been raised a hunter, Gregg got the feeling he would have found his way towards murder anyway. There was just something about him, his energy, that fed into it. Gregg was about work, it was true, but if he was honest, the heart and soul were never into it.

Dom was a kindred spirit with a similar mindset, it seemed. And Gregg trusted him with this information. He only hoped it didn't end up biting him in the ass later on. He also hated that after so long, they had to part ways yet again. But it had to be. Gregg didn't want to drag Dom down even further down with him.

"Yeah..." Gregg said. "Same."

It was good to get things off their chests after holding them in for so long. Dom had his sword thing going on. Gregg had his... wolf thing going on. But he had the feeling Dom had been holding his secret for far longer. Gregg was new to this whole thing and he half felt as if he was starting a new life. No, no. Not just half. He really was. He was disappearing and something new was unfurling from the shreds of his past. If one wanted to be poetic about it.

He was a damned butterfly.

At the gym remark, he cracked a half smile. Gregg was kind of a gym monkey. A free offer was like a Christmas present. Too bad he wouldn't be in the area for a while. But... maybe when he came back. After a moment, he took in a breath and then he moved forward and wrapped his arms around Dom. Friends did hug and Gregg, he had come a long way from the silent coatrack the old team thought he was. Giving Dom's back a couple of friendly man slaps, he said, "Call if you need me, too."