Vereint Georges

July 8, 2016 1 comment

I hate being poor; ATR-not; Excerpt: The Anomaly

The plans are as follows:
1. Paint the Kid’s room.
2. Grow and eat mung bean sprouts.
3. Get him a BMX bike.
4. Buy him clothes for school.
5. Wrap up all old stories.

* * *

OMAKE

Being a retiree wasn’t so bad. Not when he halfway felt as though everyday they lived like normal people was one more day when he’d kept the world safe.

Warrick would never say anything, but checking up on the things Vereint had gotten up to while he was indisposed and reading a few essays floating around the Internet about the minds of supervillains had really freaked him out. It was obvious that Vereint had gone a bit psycho.

It was somewhat flattering to think that he was the only thing protecting the world from Vereint going full scale SUPERVILLAIN Darkstar. He got to have the love of his life and save the world at the same time. Blue Ice was dead, but Warrick felt like more of a superhero than he had in a long time.

Having Nick manifest his first metabilities was a bit worrying. Warrick didn’t quite know how he was supposed to handle things, but he managed to at least look like he wasn’t throwing hysterical fits so he considered it a win. Vereint wasn’t even trying to cover up the fact that he was freaking out. It made Warrick feel a bit superior to be the controlled one for once.

“Remember, no showing off,” Vereint said with a pointed look at Nick.

“It’s fine, Dad.” Nick rolled his eyes, but didn’t try to move away when Vereint tugged his jacket straight. “I got this.”

A quirky smile curved Vereint’s lips as he looked at Nick. “You’re growing up really fast. Just don’t expect to get your own car until you’re twenty-five.”

Warrick moved in when it looked like Vereint was about to spit on his hand to smooth their son’s hair. “We’re going to be late.”

Vereint let himself be tugged away from Nick. Warrick wrapped his left arm around Vereint’s shoulder, less as a comforting gesture and more to hold him back from his fussing.

“I guess we better get out of here,” Vereint said.

Nick looked proud in his suit and tie, his hair styled to look careless and windswept. He had Vereint’s dark hair and Warrick’s blue eyes and was growing up to be a good looking kid. When he grinned, it was to show off Vereint’s dimples in a charm that no one could deny. “I look good, right?” He stuck his hands in his pockets and spread his jacket wide for a moment.

“Don’t get a big head.” Warrick clapped Nick on the back and nudged him toward the door. Vereint stayed curled against his side, their legs almost tangling when they stepped out on the porch. Warrick refused to let him go.

They walked up the sidewalk as a group, meeting up with others making the journey. Boys and girls dressed in their best clothes, excited younger siblings bounding around, and indulgent parents trailing along. It was like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting, this stream of people all headed toward the country school.

Warrick had never imagined that a child’s graduation between grades was such a big deal, yet here they were. Vereint was beaming with pride and fiddling with the camera hanging around his neck. Nick spotted a couple of his friends and ran up ahead. And suddenly they were taking a romantic stroll.

“Are you going to write about this in your diary?” Warrick asked.

Vereint slanted him a confused glance. “Huh?”

“Never mind. It was stupid. Life is good.”

“It is.” Vereint gave Warrick’s shoulder a squeeze.

Warrick smiled contentedly.

He had a husband he loved and a son graduating the fifth grade. He had sixty-one years of life experience and a thirty-one year old body. There wasn’t much more that he could ask for. Life was good.

/EXCERPT

* * *

They gave him the name Gellar Rembrandt when he was decanted. One more Bottle Baby sent off to the creche. And as soon as he had a mouth full of teeth and could walk and talk, he was bundled off to the Learning Center.

It wasn’t a bad life, being the clone of a clone of a clone. For everything he thought and did, there was a precedence. It gave him a sense of peace to know that he was a stereotypical representative of his genotype. One amongst thousands.

Until the Graduation Exams when he was 20. Until his world was ended with the declaration that he was an Aberration, and Unclean.

He was not the perfect copy he’d always known himself to be. He was an anomaly.

Gellar was taken from the Learning Center in the back of a van. His wrists were shackled together and he was treated like a prisoner, an inevitable threat.

He could see the disgust and disquiet in the faces that looked like his own. (His type is used in the police and military.) Every single one of them was forced to wonder what they would have done if they were him. He was the possibility of failure that any one of them could have been.

He was their worst fear brought to life.

Aberration. Discord. Failure.

/EXCERPT

May 13, 2015 1 comment

CDandHBFH 07 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges]

Title: Caspian Dukes and His Best Friend’s Husband
Author: Harper Kingsley
World: Heroes & Villains
Frame set: Allies & Enemies, “Good Times”
Characters: Caspian Dukes, Vereint Georges, Warrick Tobias, Melissa Kim
Pairings: Vereint Georges/Warrick Tobias
Genre: friendship, superhero, meta
Summary: It’s banana splits all around. (Yes, I will be making a banana split ASAP. *nom nom*)

“I guess she told you,” Caspian said, flopping into an armchair. He nudged the bag toward Vereint with his foot.

“Thanks,” Vereint said, scooping up the bag and carrying his load toward the bedroom.

Warrick rested his elbow on the couch arm and raised an eyebrow at Caspian. “What’s that look on your face? Was the movie a bust or something?”

“Naw, it was as good as I thought it would be.” Caspian sighed, blowing out his cheeks. “Some guy tried to mug us on our way home.”

“Ooh, poor guy. What hospital is he in?” Warrick asked.

“Hah, but no. I didn’t want to shock Vereint so I was actually very gentle with the guy. Considering the amount of paperwork I’m going to be facing, I wish I’d at least gotten to break something on the guy’s face.”

“You know, violence is not the answer,” Warrick said virtuously before laughing. He sobered after a moment and gave Caspian a serious look. “Thank you for protecting Vereint.”

“Protecting me from what?” Vereint asked, coming in with a different shirt on.

“From your mugger,” Warrick said.

“Oh.” Vereint blinked, then grinned. “Caspian’s my new hero. I don’t know what I would have done if he wasn’t there, but it probably wouldn’t have been anywhere near so heroic. Thanks for saving me, man. For that, I’m going to make sure you get an extra scoop of ice cream.”

He patted Caspian’s shoulder on his way past to the kitchen. “It’ll be banana splits all around.”

“You definitely lucked out,” Caspian said after a moment. “Vereint is a keeper.”

“Yeah,” Warrick agreed. “I’m going to spend the rest of my life with him.”

“Probably because he won’t let you get away.”

Warrick flung one of the small pillows from the couch at him. Caspian caught it and launched it back. They passed it back and forth for a moment, before Caspian finally stuck the pillow in the small of his back and slouched comfortably.

“It was a great movie. You really should have come along,” Caspian said.

“Not really my thing.” Warrick leaned forward to take a handful of popcorn out of the bowl. He ate it a piece at a time, the sound like crushing Styrofoam as he chewed. “Besides, me and Melissa had fun watching our show. It was kinda nice without Vereint’s sighs and commentary.”

“Hey now,” Vereint said. He came in carrying a tray with long bowls of ice cream balanced on it. Melissa followed in his wake with a tray of her own. “I wouldn’t make fun of your shows if they weren’t so unbelievable.”

“It’s because you completely lack the gene for romance,” Warrick said. He stood to clear a spot on the coffee table for the trays. “I feel sorry for you.”

“I feel sorry for you too. Being stuck married to me.” Vereint set down his tray and moved aside for Melissa. “Maybe I’ll run away with Caspian. Then what will you do?”

“I’d hunt him across the world and take you back,” Warrick said.

“Uh, I’m not gay, so I’m not looking to run away with anyone here,” Caspian said. “Thank you.” He smiled and accepted the banana split Vereint held out to him. Warrick could clearly see that Caspian had an extra scoop of ice cream framing his banana.

Vereint passed Warrick a bowl before sitting next to him on the couch with his own banana split. Warrick raised his eyebrows on seeing Vereint’s bowl. “That’s a ludicrous amount of maraschino cherries. There’s gotta be at least a dozen there.”

Vereint scooped a cherry up with his spoon and sucked it into his mouth. “You’re lucky I gave you any at all. I could have eaten that whole jar.”

“Thank you for being so generous.” Warrick used his spoon to cut off a chunk of banana, swirling it through the chocolate syrup. “This looks good. I haven’t had one of these for a long time.”

Melissa curled up on the other armchair, her bowl balanced on her thigh. “We should have these everyday.” She shoveled a massive spoonful of strawberry ice cream into her mouth.

The next ten minutes were filled with the sounds of them enjoying their banana splits. Warrick couldn’t even worry about the extra hours of exercise he would have to do to burn off all of the calories.

Vereint was warm beside him and he was eating ice cream drizzled with chocolate and strawberry syrup. His best friend and Melissa were both here with them. He didn’t think there was a way for the night to get much better.

“This is nice,” he finally said.

“It definitely is,” Caspian said. Warrick saw that he had chocolate syrup around his mouth and wondered how long it would take for him to notice. He didn’t feel the need to say anything about it.

“We should do this more often,” Warrick said.

He looked around the room, enjoying having the people he loved in one place. He could see the future stretched out before him–family-style dinners, enjoying every kind of dessert treat they wanted, and retiring to a quiet life with Vereint, the two of them supporting Melissa in her solo superhero career.

He’d never seriously considered hanging up his cape, but the idea was finding a place in his brain. Melissa was growing up fast, and in a few years she would be a strong enough superheroine that she wouldn’t need him looking over her shoulder every minute. He could take a step back from active superheroing, could be there to offer her support when she needed it without having to go out every night and patrol. If it came down to it, he knew that Caspian would always have her back.

Warrick glanced at Vereint out of the corner of his eye and it felt like falling in love all over again.

When it had come down to it, Vereint had given up his old life and chosen Warrick. Could Warrick make the same choice?

Yes.

TBC…

* * *

Check out “Allies & Enemies” at: All Romance Ebooks, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, BookStrand, Goodreads, iTunes, Kobo, Less Than Three Press, Smashwords. — superhero, urban fantasy, mm, drama. Darkstar x Blue Ice.

May 11, 2015 1 comment

CDandHBFH 06 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges]

There were times when Vereint looked around and wondered how this had become his life. Married to the superhero he’d most admired as a teen, and off to see a movie with said superhero’s best friend and fellow League member.

It seemed a bit surreal.

Vereint watched as a police car rolled up to collect the still whining mugger, who was probably cursing his own choices. Out of everyone that he could rob, he chose the worst option possible. It was the criminal equivalent of Darwinism.

Vereint unloaded the rental locker and stuck the key into the return tray. He lifted the shopping bags and started walking toward where Caspian stood arms akimbo. He took his time getting close, timing it so the police were driving away just as he reached Caspian’s side.

“Well, that was interesting,” he said.

Caspian slanted him a smile. “Glad one stupid mugger could provide the entertainment.”

“What?”

“Never mind.” Caspian held out his hand to take a bag. “Let’s get out of here. I’m even more in the mood for ice cream.”

“Yeah, sure.” Vereint gave Caspian one bag but kept the other to carry himself. “Ice cream fixes all ills.”

“Exactly,” Caspian said.

* * *

Warrick knew that Vereint liked the idea of him bonding with Melissa. It was a lucky thing that they could share a love for kdramas. It took any hardship out of the idea of hanging out with her.

He’d never spent much time around kids. If anyone had ever asked him, he would have said that he’d be terrible dealing with anyone under the age of twenty.

Before Melissa, the last time he’d spent any significant amount of time around a kid had been when he was one himself. He was smooth signing autographs, but other than those passing interactions he was uncomfortable around children.

It had taken him years to get to this point in his relationship with Melissa. He didn’t feel so awkward and ashamed that he would mess things up anymore, and that was all thanks to Vereint.

“Why don’t they talk to each other?” Melissa asked, nudging his side with her elbow. “If they just sat down and had a straightforward conversation they could be happy together. It’s so stupid and sad.”

“Communication is key,” Warrick said wisely. He shook his head. “These guys are incapable of talking about anything. It’s ridiculous.”

“They both need a good kick in the pants.” Melissa shoved a fistful of popcorn into her mouth and quickly chewed. She swallowed and pointed at the TV, “That grandma is the worst. Can you put someone in jail for being a jerk?”

“Not in America,” Warrick said. “Unfortunately.”

“So does that mean you belong in jail?” Vereint asked, coming into the room with a rustle of the plastic bags he carried. “You were a jerk when we first met.”

“Thanks, honey,” Warrick drawled sarcastically. “It’s always nice to know what you think about me.”

“Well, you’re not such a jerk now,” Vereint said. “He was horrible when we met though, ” he told Melissa who laughed.

“I can see it,” she said.

“Hey! What’s with all the abuse?” Warrick asked.

“It’s only what you deserve,” Caspian said, coming in with a bag of his own. “Getting married and settling down was the choice that you made. I still can’t believe that Vereint agreed to marry you.” He grinned and winked. “You got lucky.”

Warrick looked at Vereint–black hair a little tousled, blue eyes shining with mirth–and agreed. “I’m the luckiest man in the world.”

“Ah,” Vereint said, “you’re going to make me blush. He held up one bag, shaking it loudly. “We bought ice cream and all the fixings for banana splits.”

“What about M&Ms?” Melissa asked.

“Gross,” Vereint said. “I got you a bag, but I still can’t believe you’re willing to ruin a perfectly good banana split like that.”

“It makes it better,” Melissa said. She set the popcorn bowl on the coffee table and pushed aside the afghan she’d had across her lap. She stood and held out her hands to take the ice cream bag from Vereint. “I’ll get things started.”

He smiled at her, flashing his dimples. “How come you’re never so helpful when I’m cleaning fish or shelling peas?”

She wrinkled her nose. “Because those are disgusting and ice cream is delicious.”

“Well, go make some delicious splits while I put this other stuff away. Leave the maraschino cherries to me.”

“Am I going to catch you drinking the syrup again?” Warrick asked. The idea of someone drinking the syrup was nauseating, except the sight he’d seen had been oddly erotic–Vereint bare-chested in the kitchen, his jeans hanging low on his hips, his head thrown back as he trickled cherry syrup into his mouth. His lips had been stained red and his tongue was sweet when Warrick kissed him. They’d ended up having sex against the counter with maraschino cherries and syrup getting everywhere, their skin sticking together as they’d stumbled to the shower for Round Two.

Seeming to read Warrick’s mind, Vereint’s grin was slightly naughty, but not enough for Melissa to notice anything untoward. “If you’re lucky. Otherwise the cherries will just disappear and you’ll never know what happened. It’ll be like an unsolved murder mystery.”

“‘The Case of the Missing Maraschinos’?” Warrick suggested.

“And on that note, I’m off,” Melissa said. “You guys would keep talking until everything melted.” She headed into the kitchen with a flip of her ponytail.

TBC…

December 23, 2014 2 comments

CDandHBFH 05 [Caspian Dukes and Vereint Georges]

“I’ll have to remember that,” Caspian said.

“Lock it, put it in your pocket. Now we’ve gotta run if we want to make it on time.” Vereint lifted the shopping bags out of the cart with one hand and caught Caspian’s sleeve with the other. “Come on.”

Caspian followed him out onto the street. The movie theater was only a few blocks from the store.

* * *

They were nearly alone in the theater. It was nice not to be packed tight with a bunch of strangers. They were able to enjoy the movie as though they were alone.

“That was a great movie,” Vereint said as they left. He dropped his cup in the garbage with a slosh of melty ice. He shook the last few pieces of popcorn into his mouth before crumpling the bag and throwing it away.

“This was a good idea,” Caspian said agreeably.

“Let’s go pick up that stuff and take a taxi home,” Vereint said. “Unless there’s something else you want to do?”

Caspian shrugged. “I’m good. Maybe we should bring something back for Warrick and the kid?”

Vereint thought. There were some bananas at home and plenty of chocolate sauce. “We could stop off for some ice cream. Banana splits sound really good.”

“Score!” Caspian grinned.

They walked to the locker Vereint had rented. They’d had a good time and Vereint felt like the night had been a success.

Which was when the man with the gun stepped out of the alley. He wore a ballcap low over his eyes and had pulled his scarf up over the lower half of his face. “Gimme all your money,” he growled.

“Really?” Caspian asked.

Vereint looked around. They were the only ones in this corner of the street. He saw a group of laughing people disappear into a restaurant, a slender girl reaching out to touch a Chinese lantern in passing. They were alone with the wannabe mugger.

If they had been two different people this would have been a terrifying situation.

“I said, gimme all your money,” the mugger barked aggressively.

“Do you know who I am?” Caspian asked.

“I don’t give a fuck,” the mugger said. “Give me the money or I start blasting.”

Caspian stepped in front of Vereint, a rather gentlemanly action. “Look, no one wants to get shot tonight, but no one wants to hand over their wallet either. At the same time, I don’t think you would like what would happen if you pulled that trigger.”

“Oh yeah, what are you going to do?” the mugger asked. His finger tightened on the trigger.

Caspian was remarkably graceful as he lunged forward, his hand slapping the mugger’s arm with a deceptive lightness that resulted in the loud crack! of the ulna breaking. Caspian kept moving forward, his right leg twisting around the would-be mugger’s to bring him down to the ground.

The man screamed and clutched his broken arm, which flopped limply. Vereint took one look before grimacing and averting his eyes. That arm looked disturbingly gross.

“You’re hurting me! You’re hurting me!” the man screamed, wriggling in Caspian’s firm grip. “Fuck you, man. You’re hurting me!”

“You tried to shoot me,” Caspian said. “You’re lucky all you got was a broken arm.”

“Fuck you! Fuck you!”

“Real nice,” Caspian said, holding the guy with one hands while pulling his phone out of his pocket with the other. “Good thing there’s no kids around or I might have to break your other arm. Now quiet down before I get testy and really hurt you.”

“You can’t do this to me. I have rights.”

“Shut up.” Caspian held the phone to his ear. “Yeah, hi, hello, this is Caspian Dukes and I’ve got a downed mugger near the corner of Lotus and Sprout Street. Can you come pick him up? Ha, yeah. Thanks.”

Caspian stuck his phone back in his pocket and smirked at the would-be mugger. “And that’s that. Someone will be by to pick you up shortly.” He lightly flicked the back of the man’s head when he started cursing in response.

Vereint glanced at his watch. “About how long is this going to be?”

“They said it would be about eight or ten minutes,” Caspian said. “I usually have priority, but this is just a mugger, not a supervillain. I don’t think they’re going to show up with lights blazing.”

“Right.” Vereint hooked his thumb down the street. “I’m going to go to the locker. That way we can leave as soon as they pick this guy up. That okay with you?”

“Yeah, that’s cool,” Caspian said.

“Okay. Then I’ll be over there,” Vereint said. “Don’t leave without me.”

Caspian waved at him. He was completely comfortably crouching next to the supine mugger. Never mind that he was in civilian clothes, he looked ready to burst into action at any moment. It brought a nostalgic smile to Vereint’s lips–back when he’d been a superhero fanboy, pictures of Caspian Dukes had been on his collectible list. To get a picture of Caspian dressed like a normal guy hovering over a baddie would have blown teenaged Vereint’s mind. He would have framed the print and hung it on his bedroom wall.

Even though he was an adult, there was a part of him that would always be a product of that boy’s life. And Caspian had been one of young-Vereint’s heroes.

TBC…

And for your enjoyment:

“2NE1: Can’t Nobody”