Miscalculations

[Alvaro Castellano]

An easy grin spread across his face. Alvaro ran a hand through his hair as he laughed, just imagining the kind of face his mother would make at the super cop, coming to the rescue.

"Right, you're a cop," he said. He kept forgetting that interesting little tidbit. It was strange to think of this man being a cop. When he looked at him, Alvaro thought he could see him doing something... well, sexier. Even under his clothing, it was obvious that he had a nice body. His smile was a killer one. Great hair. All around, an attention getter. To think he was a cop? Well, it was weird. Had they met somewhere else, say a night club, Alvaro would have pegged him for something more exotic. A dancer, an artist, a free wheeling type.

But under his appearance, Ash seemed to have a serious streak. That must have what led him to the cop thing. No, no. It was something else. It had to be. Family thing? Pressure? Some goal he was pursuing? Strong sense of justice? Maybe his looks had something to do with his current position. Like even the cops who'd hired him on didn't take him seriously. What could a man do about that, though?

Throwing the thoughts away for the time being, he lightly ran a thumb over Ash's hand. The way he spoke so tersely and held his hand so tightly, Alvaro got the distinct impression that Ash was nervous.

"Relax," he whispered in the vicinity of Ash's ear. "She's not gonna eat you." His gaze darted around as he spoke, looking for his mother. There she was. Despite her age, his mother's shiny black hair was still all natural, although the gentle waves she'd created for the date weren't. But for the small lines at the edge of her eyes, she might have been mistaken for a much younger woman.

"There she is." He gestured discreetly toward her so that Ash could get a look at her before he finally put up his free hand. "Mama~! Look who's here!"

[Ashley Yeo]

"It's not that!" Ash whispered back, trying not to react to the puff of warm breath by his ear. "I just don't want to ruin her night!"

This wasn't a date, it was a... sham of a date. A pretend-date. No point getting worked up though! He did sneak a glance over--just out of the corner of his eyes--and his glance lingered. If this had been a year ago, when Ash was single and didn't have his heart in pieces... maybe. Maybe he would've been tempted to turn this into a real date.

For now, though, he was simply doing Alvaro a favor. Ash smiled at the gentle glide against his hand and willed himself to relax. He breathed out, a quick sigh, as they approached a table with a pretty-looking dark-haired woman and a blond-haired man. Putting on his biggest, brightest smile, Ash ducked his head politely to her. "Hi," he said--unoriginally--as they stepped up to the table, allowing himself to be scrutinized.

By the flash of surprise on Alvaro's mother's face, she hadn't been expecting him. Ash felt his cheeks growing warm and cleared his throat. "I'm Ash. It's nice to finally meet you! Alvaro's told me so much about you!"

[Alvaro Castellano]

Alvaro shook his head slightly. "You won't," he assured Ash as they moved forward. His mother definitely looked surprised, though. There was no getting around that. Even the name--Ashley--sounded like a girl's name but when he showed up with another man, she couldn't hide that look of momentary shock. God bless his mother, though. She didn't make a fuss. She acted as if it was something that normally occurred (although Alvaro was certain he was going to get an earful about it later.) It was all okay, though. He and Ash, they weren't really dating and if they ended up "breaking up," she'd probably be somewhat relieved.

It turned out that the man she was dating was a white man, blond as blond could be, with white, white teeth and an extremely... ah. Well, Alvaro thought he must have been quite charming to his mother but Alvaro didn't feel fooled. The man was up to something. Was he looking for money? No. No, he looked like he had money of his own. Was he a lot younger, too? He looked a lot younger. Frankly, if anybody was going to get an earful, he thought it was his mother... but then he had to remember how happy this guy made his mother.

Still, he was somewhat unsettled by the end of the evening and more than happy to take his leave as they all stood up afterward in order to head outside. Alvaro gave one last look to the man--his name was Edward--and he slid his hand into Ash's and pulled him along. Once he said his goodbyes and good evenings to his mother and her new boyfriend, he was relieved to part ways with them.

Outside, he could breathe again... once his mother and Edward were out of sight. He saw them head around the corner, towards the back parking lot. Alvaro wished he could get a look at his car. What did he drive. One could tell a lot about a man by what they drove and how they treated it. Mentally slapping himself, he turned his attention back to Ash.

"Well," he said, now that they were alone again. "I guess Mama wasn't the only one surprised tonight."

[Ashley Yeo]

The pretend-date date wasn't as awkward as Ash had anticipated, perhaps because he tended to be a chatterbox when he was nervous or anxious. At least they weren't stuck for conversation. Ash could've sworn that Edward looked somewhat unnerved when he revealed that he was a policeman--conveniently leaving out the part that he was a meager traffic cop. Then again most people tended to look a little guilty when they discovered that they were dining with a policeman, even if they hadn't done anything worse than run a red light.

He, too, looked over his shoulder at Edward as he left with Alvaro's mother. That was not a human, despite how hard he tried to appear so. Maybe it was the smile. The teeth, and how white and perfect they were. The only people Ash knew with that kind of sparkling pearly whites were... well. He frowned and turned away. Wouldn't hurt to check up on Alvaro's mother later on, just to be safe.

She had been gracious the entire night, despite her surprise, and Ash appreciated that. He liked her; she didn't seem to hate him. No, it probably wouldn't hurt to stop by (he could find where she lived in the directory) and make sure she was all right.

"That went better than expected!" Ash laughed--now that he could laugh again. "But if you're talking about your mom's date... Yeah. He seemed... nice." Another little glance over his shoulder, then eyes back on Alvaro again. "I got a weird vibe from him, did you?"

[Alvaro Castellano]

"Yeah..." His voice was faint as he tried to get one last glimpse of his mother and that... guy. Edward, he called himself. Wouldn't it be funny if he ended up being a sparkly vampire? Not... not so much, actually. Alvaro frowned slightly to himself as he tried to remember any details his mother had said about the man before Alvaro met him tonight. Anything? Any big red signs? He was pulled from his reverie when Ash seemed to agree with him, though. Quickly, Alvaro turned toward Ash, eyes widening slightly as he took a step forward.

"So you got the same feeling?" he asked, almost excitedly. It meant he wasn't just making things up because he was weirded out. Honestly, he didn't think that was it, anyway. The idea of his beloved Mama dating after so long didn't unnerve him so much as it elated him. It had been a long time since Alvaro's Papa died and it was about time his mother moved on. Just... not with some toothy, smiley guy who seemed way too pleasant the whole time.

"I mean..." He softened his voice somewhat, trying not to lose his cool. "He was nice. Perfectly civil, but... man, was it just me or did it seem like he was a muppet pretending to be human the whole time?"

[Ashley Yeo]

"Kinda..." Ash frowned, perturbed. So both of them cottoned on to the fact that something wasn't right with Edward, but he wasn't sure how much Alvaro knew about the--ahem--special citizens of Hazleton. If Edward was a vampire, it was grounds for concern but that didn't mean that all vampires were terrible. Some of them were okay. Not most of them, but some of them were okay.

"Tell you what," he said finally, with another look over his shoulder, "I'll drop in on your mom a little later tonight and see if she's okay. I'm on the night shift anyway, and I have to patrol around the residential areas so..." It wouldn't look too suspicious; he could even play it off like he was just 'in the neighborhood.' Besides, what kind of cop would he be if he didn't follow those hunches--and look after the innocent citizens in this town?

Ash snuck a peek at his wrist; it wasn't too late to stop by and see Monroe, though! He wouldn't have as much time as he would've liked but it was better than nothing.

[Alvaro Castellano]

"Traffic cop working at night, huh?" Alvaro mused. "They must really not like you. That or you're new."

It wasn't meant as an insult but he realized after he said it that it might have come across that way. He reached over and lightly patted Ash's shoulder. He almost went for the knee but maybe that was inappropriate at this point. Hard to tell; their date had only been a sham, anyway. (Although Alvaro wouldn't have been disappointed if they made a real one after this.)

But then he saw the way Ash was looking at the time and he figured ah... well, maybe not. He should let him alone. After all, he'd already dragged Ash from whatever plans he might have had to go on this fake date with him. If anybody owed anybody anything here, it was Alvaro who owed Ash something.

"Thanks," he said, in reference to Ash dropping in on his mother. He gave him the address, because otherwise, how would he do it? And if something weird was going on, he better be let in on it. There was no way Alvaro wouldn't bust in a head if he had to in order to protect his mother. He thought it over again. Did she seem weird at all? Not really. Other than the surprise and the grace she exercised upon seeing her son with a man for the first time... nothing else really seemed all that out of place.

"Do you want me to drop you off back at the cafe?" he asked. "Is your car back there? Or do you need a ride somewhere else?"

[Ashley Yeo]

Ash groaned and put his face into his palms for a few moments. "Traffic cop and nighttime patrolman, okay? I'm just a rookie, I work nights and weekends."

That was the way the cookie crumbled, unfortunately, and it did not crumble in Ash's favor. But it was a small price to pay to be doing something that he loved. It had always been his dream, to become a policeman--to protect people, supernatural or not, and to stop them from being bullied and assaulted and beaten up. Being a smallish guy himself all his life, Ash came in for his fair share of harassment. That was partly why he decided to do this: to prove that he wasn't just a victim, and to protect others.

He lifted his head, however, and was quick to smile at Alvaro. "No problem, any time!" Well, maybe not any time but he didn't mind doing someone a favor. And... well, he got to do something nice for a handsome man, so he wasn't exactly coming out on the losing end of things. If this elevated him in Alvaro's eyes, so much the better!

"Drop me off at the diner? I have to grab a dozen donuts first." Ash grinned to himself; he was so taking a bite out of every single rainbow sprinkle donut. "And don't even go there with the cop-donut jokes!" He put up a hand to forestall the inevitable, with a mock-serious look, before his lips twitched and gave the game away. "I'm buying them for a friend, not for myself."

[Alvaro Castellano]

"It's all right, man."

Now he reached over to gently pat Ash's back at a red light, just to reassure him. Things were okay. It was fine that Ash was pretty low on the chain right now. He seemed pretty loyal and diligent so it wouldn't be long before he climbed the ladder. Now that he thought about it, it would be nice to have a cop friend in the know. As a hunter, it took all kinds of help and a cop's help would be more than a little welcome.

But that was a question for another time. Alvaro already felt slightly bad for dragging the poor man to a date with his mother and Mr. Tooth.

Maybe he's the tooth fairy! Maybe it's real, too!

He almost laughed at his own stupid thought. That was definitely the thought of a childish five year old right there. Then he cocked a brow at the mention of donuts. A dozen donuts, huh? The joke that surfaced must have been plainly readable on his face because Ash immediately cut him off before the words could even properly form. Alvaro adopted his best innocent expression.

"I wasn't even gonna go there, thank you very much!" But he had been and he had a feeling they both knew better. His grin did widen a tiny bit in mischief as he glanced over at Ash. "Is your friend a cop, too?"

He couldn't help it! Ash left himself wide open! And sadly, just like that, he could see the diner up ahead. Too bad; he really would have liked to spend a little more time in Ash's company.

[Ashley Yeo]

"Yeah right! Everybody goes there!" Nope, Ash didn't believe Alvaro's innocent lil' face one bit! But he grinned, too, and lowered his head to laugh when Alvaro asked about his friend. "Hey, hey, he's a real guy! He's an innocent hot dog stand guy all right?" Or soon-to-be one anyway--if Ash didn't come around handing out tickets to all his customers.

His subsequent amused smile lasted until they pulled up to the diner, and then it faded a little bit. Ash glanced sideways at Alvaro. Despite his insistence that he was over this whole dating thing... He had to admit, even going on a mock-date felt pretty good. It was nice to just... get out there once in a while, see a different face and get to know someone from the beginning. He missed the thrill of the unknown and the mystery, as much as he hated to admit it.

Alvaro was handsome, charming--oh, so charming--and easy to get along with. That made his decision pretty easy. "Hey..." Ash reached into his pocket. "Let's exchange numbers. If you ever need somebody to pretend to be your date again..." He grinned. Hell, why not? He was single! Alvaro was single! This was his moment; he had to take the chance!

"Or if you ever want a real date..."

[Alvaro Castellano]

Alvaro laughed. Poor Ash. He probably got so many donut cop jokes that he could barely stand it at this point. If it were Alvaro, he'd probably karate chop the other person in the neck for bringing it up. Alvaro threw his hands up in defense to Ash's defensiveness.

"I believe you!"

He just wondered if the donut love was a mutual cop friend thing. The comment about the innocent hot dog stand guy was kinda weird, though. Weird funny. Alvaro cracked a laugh at that, not sure if it was truth or not. A cop and a hot dog stand guy, huh? Did the hot dog guy get into some trouble with the law? Park his hot dog stand in the wrong place? Don't ask that, he willed himself.

"Deal." He went ahead and exchanged numbers because... why the hell not? Ash was cute and funny--and he hadn't sent Alvaro's mother into cardiac arrest so... Yeah, why not? Once he had the number saved, he tucked his phone away and regarded ash for a moment. Then he decided since they parting ways and it had been a date--fake or not--he should just go for it, too. He leaned in and kissed Ash, albeit only on the cheek for now.

"Goodnight, Ash."

[Ashley Yeo]

"Oh... heh..." Surprised by the kiss, Ash put a hand up to where Alvaro's lips touched. He smiled, lowered his head, thought about going in for a return kiss and then thought better of it. Not that it wasn't tempting... but maybe he shouldn't come across too forward. Still, before he left, he reached over and squeezed Alvaro's hand and murmured a "Good night, Alvaro," before hopping out onto the curb. Ash cast a fond look over his shoulder, then entered the diner to order his dozen donuts.

He took them to his car, cheek still a little warm from the unexpected kiss, and sat in the driver's seat for a long moment in a half-daze. "Monroe!" Ash shook his head like a dog to clear his head of Alvaro. Then he put on the seatbelt and drove off, after consulting his text messages to make sure he had Monroe's address.

It was a ten-minute drive but as he got closer, Ash's heart started racing, harder and harder, pounding painfully in his chest. After so long, he was finally reuniting with his best friend. One of his best friends... but he always did feel closer to Monroe than to Aldon. Although, Aldon never tried to kiss him, that was for damn sure. Ash wasn't sure if he appreciated that or was offended by it.

Sighing, he glanced out the window, as his car sat parked innocently outside. Ash was a bundle of nerves but it was the good kind of nervous. The kind before something really good happened, the happy anticipation of a long-overdue reunion. He grabbed the box of donuts--sprinkle donuts intact--and headed up to the door, knocking smartly with his knuckles.

[Monroe Huang]

Of all the nerve!

Ash was hot and he was cold! First he was coming, then he wasn't. Roe was showered, clean, ready to go! He would have stomped outside in a towel if Ash had shown up in that moment, when he was fiercely texting with his wet fingers and water dripping into his eyes from his hair as he tried to argue. He wasn't totally cool with Ash disappearing on him and pushing him away for something else but... It ran in the family, all right? The Huangs liked to be Number One and being pushed back on the schedule was no good.

Plus. PLUS! Ash was the one who contacted Roe first! And then proceeded to make fun of his nickname. Ash was admittedly a better nickname than Roe. But Roe would rather be Monroe than Ashley.

As he ran the towel over his wet hair, letting it wildly stick out in strange places, Roe leaned in closer to the mirror. He made a slight face at himself, remembering how he thought Ashley was a girl when they first met. While Ashley was a little round, she--he--was still pretty. Roe liked round faces, anyway. Ugh. He couldn't believe what an idiot he made of himself back then! And on the phone! And JUST IN GENERAL! Tossing the towel haphazardly on the towel rack, Roe finally left his bathroom so he could get dressed.

It was weird caring too much what he wore but he did. He didn't want to look like a slob in front of Ash when it had been so long. Once he was satisfied, he ambled around the apartment, feeling sick to his stomach and jumpy. When was he coming? It was taking forever! Or was it just him? Maybe he should try cooking something. Roe stood in the kitchen, contemplating it. Then he idly started rummaging through the fridge. He was just thinking that maybe he could put something together with bell peppers, spinach, and eggs when he heard it--the knock on his door. He almost went straight for the bathroom, his anticipatory anxiety had risen so high.

Was it too late to hide in there? Too late to pretend he was asleep? Gone? And if his roommate came back? Yikes. Roe finally took one last peek at himself in the toaster, fixed a stray hair, and then went to the front door. He stood as tall as he could, self conscious of his height.

And...

And there he was. It was Ash. In his shock, he hadn't really given much thought to the fact that they would be standing opposite one another again. For some stupid reason, Roe actually reached out to touch Ash's chest like some weirdo. Trying to recover, he slid it up to Ash's shoulder, as if to greet him there with a squeeze... which was a total old man thing to do.

"Hey! You finally made it. I was starting to think you were standing me up."

[Ashley Yeo]

So here they were, face-to-face.

Only one of them was not groping the other one, though.

Ash's gaze slowly dropped down to the hand at his chest, then he followed its progress up his shoulder.

Yeah because groping a man on the chest was a great way to start off a ten-year reunion!

"I should have!" He said--a little more vehemently than he meant to. "If I knew you were gonna grope me I would've worn full riot gear!"

He knew what the chest-touching was about! Monroe was still thinking of him as that little kid--a little girl--who used to follow him around everywhere, letting him play white knight. Well, Ash was the knight now! He wasn't a girl, either! (Obviously, since he didn't have the kind of soft breasts that Monroe was probably hoping to cop a feel of, that perv!)

"Hands up punk! I'm arresting you for indecent... for... just being a perv!"

Forgetting that he wasn't in uniform, Ash reached behind for the handcuffs and came away with... nothing.

[Monroe Huang]

"Wh-what?"

He blinked, genuinely taken aback by the vehement retort. Like it was on fire, he pulled his hand back. Was a squeeze on the shoulder groping now? He'd barely even touched Ash's chest. It wasn't like he was reaching out to honk a breast or something! God, he wasn't that immature! Still, he could feel his face heat up in embarrassment. Even if he wasn't guilty, he sort of felt ashamed, like a dog that had been shouted at without fully realizing why.

While he did indeed put his hands up, it was more to show that he wasn't going to attempt touching Ash again. He was just on overly affectionate person, all right? His family just naturally grew up that way! When Ash said he was going to arrest him, Roe cracked a confused half grin that disappeared when it looked like Ash was actually going for handcuffs. Immediately, he leapt forward to grab at Ash's hands, despite his earlier promise to himself that he wasn't going to touch him again.

"Hey, hey! I'm not--I didn't do anything for you to arrest me over! I wasn't even trying to grope you! That was an accident!"