Chapter Text
Dawn was beginning to break, the lake behind the condo was starting to catch the light. Sleep was still something that Eddie didn't always especially get along with. Tonight had been one of those nights. Thanks to the addition of his horns and antlers his sleeping positions were limited. He missed sleeping on his side. Part of him was worried if he slept on his back he would snore through the night and keep Waylon up. Granted his throat muscles weren't so lax that they'd allow for it but the fear was always there. Still, thanks or not to the Nanomachines the lack of sleep didn't seem to slow him down. Which at his age really should have begun to take its toll.
Even if he didn't sleep, he appreciated the ability to be able to watch Waylon sleep. He usually latched onto his side, arm casually draped over his stomach and used his shoulder as a pillow. Granted, he was worried that the recent ache in Waylon's neck was because of his added bulk, but he embraced the changes. Just meant they had to be a little more... careful. Still, he had to give his love points for enthusiasm.
As wonderful as it was to watch Waylon sleep, his stomach wasn't having it. It grumbled loudly and demanded absolutely anything that he could get his hands on. Such was the downside for sleeping only a while. Gently he slipped his arm out from under Waylon and headed for the kitchen. The adjustments to accommodate his size were going well, although from what Tyreek had said when he came over to go through the plans with Eddie they may as well knock down the current place and build another on top of it. Not that either of them really had that sort of money. It was easier on the bank to do it bit by bit. Not that his pieces he sent Waylon off to sell every other weekend didn't fetch a nice price from all the yuppies pretending to be folksie, but if he looked normal then he could do a real job. Not that he knew if he could really be around people after everything. What to even talk about? Did he really have enough in common with people to be making nice with them? Probably not.
He made up a plate of bacon and took it out onto the decking. The morning chill was just enough to cool him off after he'd practically roasted under the covers. Though looking out across the view was enough to make him shrug off the notion of resuming life as a mundane person. He was doing far better for himself than he could have even dreamed of whilst he was trapped under Murkoff. He couldn't complain and wouldn't.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed by the time Waylon appeared on the porch, his head was tilted and humming. Eddie just about managed to spot the phone before Waylon curled up next to him on the bench.
“This is really short notice Lisa, I've got to get cover for my classes--” He paused. Eddie watched as his eyes widened. Something was wrong. “You told us we wouldn't need to-”
“What's wrong?” Eddie grimaced, leaning over to wrap an arm around Waylon.
“Hang on, let me get you on speaker- Yeah there you are.”
“Hey Eddie.” Lisa's voice was slightly tinny thanks to the audio quality, but it wasn't enough to put them off. “I'm sorry to do this to you both, but Murkoff have issued Subpoenas to us. They want to take our case back to court, I think they're going to try to put a stop to everything we've worked for.”
“No.” Eddie barked. The word had been more like an expulsion of disgust rather than having much in the way of enunciation.
“Eddie, you can't ignore subpoenas.” An unfamiliar voice that sounded further away came on the line. He was a smooth talker, oddly calm all things considered. He probably had no idea what he was getting into.
“Yes I can. If the Subpoena comes from another state and it's a civil case.” His brows dipped.
“Good to know you know your stuff, but this isn't a civil case, it's classed as a criminal one. You're on trial and acting as a witness. Murkoff are counter-suing you, Lisa and Waylon for defamation.”
“Who the hell are you?” Eddie growled, even Waylon's hands soothing at his shoulders didn't seem to help.
“My name's Harvey Specter, I'm taking over the case you've made Lisa shoulder for the past two years. I handle things differently.”
“I didn't consent to this.”
“Lisa gave the case to me. She's too close to it and they're slippery. I'm the best chance you've got.”
“When do we need to be there?” Waylon managed to ask.
“You need to be here before Friday, the sooner the better, because we're going to need to brief you on everything you'll need to know.”
“Shit we can't drive there in that time. Even if we left right now.”
“Then we'll have to ask them to push the dates back.” Eddie huffed.
“Get a flight?”
“No.”
“Eddie, do you want to have to keep looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life? You may be able to deal with the militia squads, but like this we can take them out once and for all.”
“I can't- it's not going to work. I don't look-”
“We'll work something out Harvey.” Waylon interjected. “Let me talk to Eddie, we'll be out there as soon as we can.”
Eddie stared at Waylon, practically dumbfounded as he watched him hang up.
Waylon knew how Eddie felt, he knew his issues and yet he'd thrown him under the bus. The hell were they supposed to do? There was a look of betrayal in Eddie's eyes and it made his gut wrench, he couldn't stand having to do this to him, but they needed to. For a long time he'd allowed Eddie to do whatever he wanted. He thought it was giving him space, perhaps it was enabling him into a different kind of downward spiral. Sure he was content to wander the forest all day, but as much as he didn't think of himself as human any more he still was. Isolation was a symptom of depression. But he didn't dare push him away... yet. There was always the risk of him losing himself. Maybe this would pull him out of it.
“We have to. He's right. I don't want him to be right either, but Murkoff aren't going to hold back. And we can't deal with this like we used to. They're doing this above board.” Waylon took hold of Eddie's hands and clasped them firmly, drawing circles on his wrists with his thumbs. “We're going to show them up. We're going to do this with more dignity than they thought us capable of-”
“You mean me.”
He paused, swallowing thickly. “You're more than how you look. You're generous, you're kind, you have such a strong sense of morality and I love you. I fell in love with you and they'll see why.”
Eddie's breath hitched as he looked away, brows dipped as he looked over the lake. “I can't change your mind can I?”
“How long until they came for us here? Lisa's been keeping them off our back, it's time we finished this.”
He got up, awkwardly managing to avoid knocking Waylon from the bench with him. His lips were pursed, eyes darting as he became swept up in an unknown chain of thought. No doubt thinking how he could hide everything.
“I don't suppose the Nanomachines can cloak your appearance?”
“No.” He laughed and shook his head. “I've tried. There's no hiding what I've become.”
“And I guess not hiding everything isn't an option on the flight either?”
“Like they'd let me through.”
“It's not like people don't know who you are..”
“I appreciate the thought darling. You go inside, get what we'll need packed. I'll.. think of something.”
Waylon grimaced, but nodded sadly. If it'd been just him then it'd be fine. Maybe he should have made him get out and about the town, get him used to being around people. Shit, he'd been such an idiot.
An hour or so had passed by the time Waylon heard the first scream. It made his blood curdle, hunch himself up as small as he possibly could. He only knew such pained screams from the asylum, from their hideous torture methods. He rushed to the window and saw it. Eddie was hunched over on the ground, next to him was one of the antlers. It'd been snapped. He clutched his head, fighting through the agony. Spouting from the root of the antler was a steady river of blood. Before Waylon could should out to stop him the second one was wrenched free from his head. It sounded horrendous and must have felt as bad. His tail swished violently and crashed into the wicker chair on the porch.
I have to stop this--
Waylon rushed through the condo to get to the porch. By the time he reached him Eddie had already grabbed a chisel and a mallet to knock through the curved horns. There had to be an easier way to do it than this.
“Eddie! Stop it!” He reached up to grab the other's arms. Eddie met his gaze, his face wet with his tears and blood. It felt like Mt. Massive all over again. His jaw clenched. “Please, you don't have to do it like this- shit you've.. there's an easier way. Let me help if you're so determined.”
“I can hide the tail... I can't hide these..”
“I know, I know. Let's see what we can do.”
It was a laborious process, and Waylon was pretty sure he was going to have to get Eddie a few new dremel heads afterwards, but it did what it needed to. Whilst deer grew their antlers back, it was entirely the wrong time of year for shedding, as for the ram like horns... well they wouldn't grow back. He was sure after a while Eddie would heal over the bumps left. There was no hiding the eyes though. But... it'd do. He looked smaller without the protrusions, but perhaps half of his misery was to be explained by how much he'd hurt himself. Deer antlers bled a lot, and he'd already gathered enough of the velvet when he malted, Eddie's were still attached to the nerve and blood supply. So he returned with bandages and cotton pads to cover the pedicles. Eddie appeared more miserable than anything. But still he allowed him to brush his hair and pull it into a loose ponytail. He looked a sorry sight, but more like he was recovering an operation. They were ready. Mostly. To hide the bump of his tail they found a long wool overcoat that wouldn't make him especially overheat. Despite the sorry state of his appearance, he dressed as smartly as ever. Even if it looked as though he'd pop seams if he so much as flexed the wrong way.
Throughout the journey Waylon grew increasingly aware that Eddie was clutching his head. Pain aside, he heard him mutter that it itched. He hoped it wasn't an infection. He glanced back and forth, constantly checking in on him. On the touch down he was.. fairly sure that the medical pads he'd stuck down on the pedicles were sticking up more than he remembered them doing so...
When they landed in New York it was already dark outside, they were met by Lisa and an unfamiliar face, she introduced herself as Donna, Harvey's assistant. Immediately her gaze was drawn to the bloody patches on Eddie's scalp. It was brief, but it was long enough for Eddie to shift uncomfortably.
“I'm sorry, you're.. taller than we expected. I'm here to help how I can, Harvey may not be the easiest to get along with but he'll look out for you.”
Waylon offered his hand, smiling softly. “Waylon, this is Eddie. Sorry he's a little out of it we.. had to do some things to get him ready to fly.”
Eddie heaved a sigh in response, wincing as he fought the urge to dig at the wound. It was half of what had made his scarring after the Engine so bad the first time around. It was going to be a late night, he'd braced himself for that, somewhat. Though his proverbial spoon drawer was rattling on empty.
The cab ride was fairly short, though already faced with the loud bustling of the city Eddie found himself longing for the national park back home. The air stank. Not that it was really much better in LA, but at least he was near greenery. People rushed, the city was probably gridlocked most of the time. How anyone got anywhere was beyond him. All the buildings were too tall, too encompassing and overbearing. He hated it. He'd barely been in New York for an hour and he was already making a list as long as the damn runway of reasons why he despised it. Waylon, Lisa and Donna continued to make small talk whilst he sat hunched in the front passenger seat. He was sure he caught glimpses of the cabbie stealing terrified glances at him. I thought the people of New York were immune to weird shit.
The Pearson Specter and Litt building was another of the insufferably towering buildings. Although the idea of getting his cardio workout from running up and down the stairs seemed intriguing. After being cooped up for so long it'd do him some good.
“Harvey's office is on floor fifty so it's going to be a couple of changes on the elevator.” Donna smiled pressing the call button. Admittedly there was the concern about Eddie managing to even fit. Sure he was big but he wasn't take up an entire elevator big.
“I'm taking the stairs.” Eddie muttered.
“That'll take a lot of time that we don't really have... Eddie that's like fifty flights of stairs. I'm sure you're in good.. shape but-”
“I've been cramped up on a plane for five hours then put into a cab that was too small for me for another half hour, I need to stretch my legs.”
“But you don't know the way-”
“He'll work it out.” Lisa put her hand on Donna's forearm and gave a sheepish look. “He.. has his ways.”
Donna waited until Eddie stepped through the door to the stairs to speak up again.
“Okay, but we are on a schedule, Harvey's not going to like being made to wait. Eddie's going to be an age.”
“Trust me, it won't be all that long.” Waylon exhaled as the elevator doors opened.
Eddie squinted over the rails as he looked up. He could barely see the top. If he had a problem with heights this would have been a terrible idea, but with his strength and speed he could easily get up two or three steps at a time. Perhaps it would take a while, but he needed time to focus himself. He needed to brace himself for their inevitable stares. Knowing that when he wasn't around they'd talk and whisper, speculate about him. He hated it. He hated everything about it, he was supposed to be allowed to get on with his life after everything but here it was, weighing him down still.
But Waylon needed this as much as he did, so did Lisa. He was being selfish, but he was doing it to try and protect them.
It didn't take him long to get to the upper floors, he certainly wasn't the most light footed as he sprinted, if the stairs hadn't been securely attached to the wall he might have thought twice about putting as much force on them. As he looked up, he noticed someone looking down over the railings. He had a hell of a baby face about him. He couldn't have been much older than Waylon was, but there was no denying the look of sheer terror on his face. Eddie didn't really care enough to give it much thought. His knees were already more than a little displeased with the rigorous form of stretching his legs he'd chosen after spending five hours sat still. In a matter of moments he rushed past the dazed man and carried on upwards. Little did he know he'd be meeting him later on.
As Eddie exited the stairs he gave a deep exhale, catching his breath as best as he could. Waylon, Lisa and Donna were stood by the cubicle office nearby, though by Donna's shocked expression he couldn't have taken nearly as long as she assumed he would.
“Have you considered becoming an athlete?” She glanced to her watch then back to him.
He took the bottle of water Waylon offered as he approached and drained it completely.
“I doubt they'd let me compete.” He wasn't going to lie though, having to run with his tail curled around one of his legs was the most awkward thing he could have done. No doubt he'd be paying for that later.
“Right. Yeah, so, here is Harvey's office.” She gestured to the room. The only thing separating them was tall panels of glass in place of walls, the office itself was adorned with vinyl records, sports memorabilia and book shelves that went to the ceiling. At least he seemed more like a person than a detached voice on the phone.
Harvey himself was stood leaning against the desk, once again flipping through various files. His brows were knit together in deep concentration. Immediately Eddie grimaced. The entire case would potentially pull a great deal of things to everyone's attention he'd long tried to forget about. As they were led into the office, all Eddie could think of was him speaking in an accusatory tone demanding to know why he wasn't informed about who Eddie really was and that he refused to represent him. He could feel his chest beating. With his tail still constricted he felt even more on edge, it couldn't move as it wanted to and only serving to further wind him up.
Harvey looked up from the file as Donna cleared her throat. Eddie couldn't see her expression but his gut told him she was making some sort of expression pertaining to his appearance. Or perhaps that was just the paranoia talking. It was so hard to tell the difference between his own frazzled inner monologue and the jarring chant of the Nanomachines. It didn't however seem to bother Harvey. He looked up and gave a nod of acknowledgement to Lisa and held his hand out for Waylon and Eddie.
“Thanks for getting here so quickly. Lisa told me the nature of your circumstances.” Waylon took his hand first only to give a quick check-up glance to Eddie. He'd just about managed to manoeuvrer himself into the office without shattering the glass. But it was going to have to be something he concentrated on to avoid issue. “How was the flight?”
Harvey made a point to not hide his hands from the tall beast of a man he was faced with. Despite his size and no doubt his ability to rattle people, he was looking around like a animal backed into a corner. Get bigger to avoid confrontation. Shame that only makes people see you as a bigger target. Eddie glanced down at Harvey, his demeanour immediately shifted. His back straightened and squared up his shoulders.
“Five hours too long. You know how I felt on the matter, but we don't always get what we want.” Eddie nodded and offered his hand out.
His hand dwarfed Harvey, and Harvey was by no means a small man. By the looks of him he worked out regularly and his grip was firm. They remained silent for a moment or two, as uncomfortable as it was for the others Harvey seemed to allow Eddie his examination. Sizing him up, working out all the possible ways to kill him should he betray them, the exit points of the office and whether he was to be trusted or not. As impressive as the abilities were the Nanomachines had granted Eddie, they hadn't granted him the ability to read another's mind. Finally he let the other's hand drop. It hadn't been for a particularly long time, but by the collective exhale of relief it had been long enough.
“You're all rattled, that's understandable you all have your own reasons to be wary of Murkoff.” Harvey began and made his way to lean on his desk. “From everything that's been admitted as evidence, this should be in the bag. But, a company like Murkoff will play dirty, I've already had a charming visit from one of their suits. They're smug and not really trying to hide anything. From what I could garner, they're going to try to use the same route with Eddie as they did with the Walker case.” He paused and looked to Eddie as he was settling into a chair. The jacket was off, showing just how thin the fabric had been made to stretch over his impossible form.“They're going to paint you as a danger to society after the methods you took to get out of their facilities.”
“But he's been living peacefully all the times in between. Just look at the past year? Surely that should be enough of a rebuttal?” Waylon shook his head. “I'm fine and I've been assigned as his primary carer.”
“I'm not going to lie to you, the trial that got him put away the first time will be brought up-”
“And I will not lie to you either, Mr. Specter.” Eddie growled. “As far as I am concerned this case shouldn't be going to court. We haven't been granted any dignity by that filth and I would much rather see them all slaughtered than awarded anything in the way of respect. The only thing they understand is a message sent in blood.”
“Whoa, I am, probably ten minutes late to get the context on that...”
Harvey's brow hiked up as his gaze went to the door. Eddie glanced back and saw the baby faced suit he'd barged past on the stairs. There was a split second where the two suits exchanged a silent conversation. The baby faced one closed the door behind him and set down a folder on Harvey's desk, conceding some sort of agreement.
“Sorry for the interruption, this is Mike Ross, he's a Junior Partner, he works with me on big cases like this.” Harvey cleared his throat and set his hands in his pockets, the brow resuming its look of unimpressed sarcasm in Mike's direction. “Anyway. As much as I appreciate your sentiments Eddie, that kind of talk in court is only going to prove their point. And two, the reason they're now deciding to do this above board is they've fought your way and you wiped the floor with them. They're hoping to catch you out of your depths, but they didn't count on fighting against me.”
“I don't need to be defended.” Waylon bit his lip and shifted to try and get closer to Eddie. The static buzz was now audible to the point he was sure he'd noticed Donna and Mike wince at the noise.
“Then what's Lisa been doing for you this whole time? I get it you're pissed and you're disillusioned. But you're going to have to accept the hand you've been dealt and play it, we're as much involved in this as you are-”
“Don't you dare presume you know anything.”
The backlash was purely verbal, though now Eddie's teeth were bared and his grip on the arms of the chair made the wood splinter and shatter. Waylon jolted back, avoiding any shards that flew free. The buzzing was verging on unbearable as the patches stuck to his forehead peeled off. He'd been right, the pedicles had been sharper than when he put the patches on that afternoon. He watched as Harvey stood in front of Donna and Mike as the antlers filled out, this time larger and more impressive than the first set he grew. That wasn't all. The stubs of the curved horns shot out back into their previous form. Behind him on the wall grew the black shadow of Rübezahl. Rapidly it dawned on Waylon how much of a terrible idea it had been to come straight to the office after travelling. This had been far too much stress on Eddie. He could only feel sorry as he realised in Eddie's outburst, it had become apparent just how strained the shirt sleeves were. The seams had ripped. He was also quite sure that the buttons on his waistcoat were threatening to burst off.
The red mist cleared almost as quickly as it arrived as Eddie's pupils narrowed, his vision focusing on everyone else in the room. His hands stung if only for a split second as the skin knitted itself back together, any splinters almost instantaneously fell to the floor. But the chair was ruined. So was perhaps his image to these strangers offering help. Lisa worked with them, yes, but how could he be sure they could be trusted. Lisa could blend with others, the real question was how they would adapt to someone like him. Besides, in his experience lawyers were snakes. How were these three any different?
His outburst must have been louder than he realised as he looked through the panels to see other workers had stopped to stare at him. Don't look at me.
His mouth grew dry as he looked down at his hands. Despite healing the damage they still shook, although that was probably more down to his nerves. I can't be here. I don't belong here. I never did and I never will.
“Eddie..?” Harvey's tone was firm but cautious. It cut through the tension, though it felt more like a hammer than a sharp blade. It said everything. Murkoff didn't need to do anything to prove just what kind of a beast he was, he did that adequately enough on his own.
“I- I'm-” Words failed him. He was a mess and he knew it. He couldn't stand to look at their faces, he knew what expressions of abject horror he'd be met with. He couldn't take it. “My apologies. That was- I need a minute. Please excuse me.”
Before Waylon could speak up, Eddie was out the door and disappearing down the hall.
“Shit..” He groaned, slumping in his chair. “I've gotta go find him..” He shifted, when Harvey shook his head.
“Give him time to clear his head. He's feeling overwhelmed enough otherwise he wouldn't have stormed out, I don't think he's going to need you smothering him.” It perhaps wasn't meant to sound as offhand as it came out, but it was just enough to get on Waylon's nerves.
“I'm all he's got and I know how he works, I think I know him better than you do Harvey.” His brows dipped a hint of venom in his tone. “You're right, he's disillusioned, but being abrupt with him isn't going to help. I'm sure you take great offense to the idea that people don't like the law, but the law hasn't exactly ever helped him and as far as he's concerned when he's as he is now it probably won't either. He's had enough of people poking him just to see how he ticks. As far as we're concerned we only just got them off our backs.”
“The hell is going on in here?” Lisa closed her eyes and sighed.
When she looked to the door she saw Jessica looking at the wrecked chair, Louis was lingering just behind her. No doubt he saw what had happened and went to go fetch 'mother dearest'.
“Nothing that we don't have control over.” Harvey's hands were once again in his pockets. His posture was lax on the surface, that arrogance he radiated to back himself up.
“Then why are you missing a client and have a broken chair?”
“Eddie needed some air. He's stressed and needs time to himself-”
“No, I need to go find him.” Waylon urged, torn between snapping at Harvey and pleading with Jessica.
“Yeah, great Harvey, leave the oversized beast-man to wander the halls and terrify our other clients.” Louis spat.
“Excuse me?” As Waylon got to his feet he felt his fists clench. He wasn't normally one to quickly jump to aggressive behaviour, but there was a line that'd been crossed.
“Enough. All of you.” Jessica's shout pierced loudly, “We are professionals and we're here to take care of all of our clients' needs. It doesn't matter what they look like they're under our care.” She hissed at Louis. “And Harvey, call a damn recess. They may be our guests but we can't have them wandering wherever they like. We may exercise practices to simulate how our opponents will be in court but we inform our clients before we start pushing them. Donna, if you would please go with Waylon to find Eddie, Lisa we need to talk.”
Great.