Chapter Text
Valk and Shuriken never liked talking about that day. That doesn’t mean that no one knows exactly what had happened either. There were leads on the incident, sure, but that doesn’t mean that it would be getting solved any time soon; not even Banhammer could crack it. I’ll shall be giving the run-down of the day from the very start of the show. Of course, that day is how they ended up in this situation.
Valk and Dom were hosting a show where Dom would ask the phighters questions, and Valk would make jokes and comments about their answers. Shuriken was the one who went first and left the building last. Now, Valk was never one for small talk; that was Dom’s thing, so he left them to talk and clean up while he worked on writing lyrics. He heard Shuriken humming while helping Dom out; they had both stated that they could clean up by themselves, but he insisted that he could help out as a thank-you for letting him onto the show.
“So, what have you been up to, Shuriken?” Dom questioned Shuriken with great interest. “Eh, y’know, just usual life stuff… I mean, Katana hasn’t really talked to me in a bit, but we’re still texting. He barely knows how to type, but he’s learning.” Shuriken added the last part for some razzle-dazzle or whatever. Dom nodded and admitted that contacting older folks was hard, so he understood him. Their conversation was casual but not suffocatingly casual, just right for Shuriken.
Valk couldn’t concentrate on the lyrics he was writing, so he went to help. Dom and Shuriken got most of the work done, but needed help reaching the higher-up props that Valk put so carefully. It was a shame to see them go into a box for storage, but they needed the room for their personal things in the house. Valk offered to help Shuriken figure out their IMPOSSIBLE elevator system (thanks, Dom…), but Shuriken refused until he saw it. One coffee, manic episode, and crying session later, they were on the main floor and leaving together.
When they went outside, it was already dark and rainy. Valk swore it was like Windforce was having her own sob session, but alone and without elevator music taunting her. Shuriken suggested that alleys and back roads were the safest route for them to get him home safely. Valk agreed, knowing that Shuriken probably knew what they were doing. Each step they took sent small splashes of puddles to ripple through.
The walk was long and winding, but it made sense, a celebrity was walking with a phighter late at night. There could be so many things that could go wrong if they get caught… then he heard it. Footsteps, they were being followed. Valk glanced at Shuriken, who kept a relaxed pace, but he was fiddling with something in his pocket. He knew that Shuriken definitely had a plan B to make sure Valk got home alive, even if he didn’t.
The other inphernal stepped from the shadows. Obviously, he had too much to drink, but that didn’t change the fact that he had a knife. Shuriken stepped in front of Valk; obviously, things were about to get messy. The man was yelling about something to do with him and his brother, Dom, supporting bad people? Oh, he’s homophobic… Makes a lot more sense now.
The man slashed Shuriken’s arm with his knife, but only lightly cut his flesh. Valk felt his wings flap slightly like they wanted to take off, but were suddenly too weak even to let him hover off the ground. Valk’s vision started to blur with terror. He couldn’t think straight any longer; he was in danger, and he couldn’t even see straight, let alone think. He heard Shuriken yelling, but he couldn’t make out the words; he knew they were bad. He grabbed the alley wall. Why didn’t he just go home with Dom?
A violent scream shook Valk’s vision back to where he was. Shuriken had stabbed the man with his own knife and was stopping him from standing up. The man coughed up a bit of blood, then more and more. Shuriken backed up as the man’s eyes glossed over, seemingly realizing what he did.
“I just killed that man…” Shuriken stumbled out. “You did, didn’t you? What do we do!? Let’s get to my house, then consider our options before anyone sees us.” Valk suggested that even though his legs were shaking harder than when he heard his parents argue, when Dom thought he was asleep.
Shuriken rushed over to him and picked up, not even questioning anything, and ran fast and hard. Valk remembered how Dom used to carry him wherever they went when they were small enough that they didn’t have to worry about any form of judgment down the street, even if Valk claimed that he could carry himself. Shuriken’s way of holding him was protective and secure. Valk soon felt himself wrapping his arms around Shuriken, even though they were running on pure adrenaline and the fear of cops.
Shuriken stopped at Valk’s and Dom’s front doorstep. He quickly sat down on the ground and huffed as if he’d just run two marathons back-to-back. Valk was glad to be as far away from the dead body as possible, but they would need a good plan on how to hide it. Shuriken was the one who had killed the man after all. Therefore, Valk should be the one to keep Shuriken out of jail for saving their lives this very night.
“Is there a reason you idiots are still outside? Come in. Umbrella says it’s going to rain soon.” Dom stared at the two of them with an exhausted expression. He was obviously worrying about Valk maybe not making it home this time, walking home. Shuriken let Valk lead him inside with a nervous glance at Dom before Valk rushed him up the stairs and into his room.