forum las vegas lights // oxo // closed

Started January 22, 2022 by @larcenistarsonist group

tune

Felix catches Damian's reaction to the pet name out of the corner of his eye, causing a smirk to crawl across Felix's face. Oh, the detective better get used to the nicknames quickly. Felix is relentless with them. The gambler has had his fair share of objects thrown at his head from agitated victims of "doll", "darling", and "sweetheart". Luckily, his lightning-quick reflexes always helped guide him to safety. He hasn't been sent to the ER yet, and if anybody's gonna do that to Felix, it outta be himself.

"Nope, I think that'll be all," Felix chimes, keeping his tone agitatingly musical. He slips out of the car and closes the door, offering the detective a two fingered salute before waltzing over to his own car. Felix's long fingers slip over the handle and pull. And then pull again. And again. Felix's eyebrows knit together. "What-" He pats his pockets for his keys… "What?"

Sitting inside of his car with his keys between its teeth is Jackpot the ferret. "You have to be kidding me," Felix groans, the smirk falling off of his face as he smacks his head on the roof of his car.

"Thank God…." He whispered to himself as the car door was shut. As if the moment where Herrera would leave could not have come any sooner. He must relish in the moments since he probably won't ever experience relaxation or satisfaction for awhile.

Damian sat in the car for a few minutes, texting his mother in law as well as the chief too. When his mood changed from wanting McDonald's to something else, he looked up places nearby. He hasn't eaten anything since six in the morning and it's well almost five or so now.

By the time he made up his mind, he noticed that Herrera was standing by his car. What made this fact more interesting was the head hitting part. "Ahhh ssi-bal….." Reluctantly, Damian got out of car and walked over to the gambler.

He didn't have to say anything to figure out what was going on. The furry noddle was sitting in the car seat, proudly holding the car kegs while Herrera stands there in defeat. While he had the urge to laugh, Damian just pulled out his phone to take a picture of the ferret. He briefly gazes over at his trunk, but asks, "Want me to call Triple A?"

Oh, of course, the detective couldn't let Felix wallow alone in his misery. This must be payback. Felix knew his actions would catch up with him eventually but this is just so soon. "Por qué yo?" Felix mutters under his breath as he tries the car door handle another time. Of course, it doesn't budge. Jackpot continues to taunt the gambler. "Bastardo peludo, tráeme mis llaves!" His voice raises slightly. Jackpot continues to stare at Felix with those black beady eyes.

"Don't call Triple A," Felix sighs eventually. "I'm not a member and I couldn't sign up if I tried." He runs a hand over his face and faces the detective. "I have a spare key at my apartment. It's not too far, I'll just walk or something."

With his hands stuffed inside his pockets, he stood a few feet away, enjoying the scene of frustration unfold in front of him. Damian had to bit down on his bottom lip to supress the laughter, although his shoulders were lightly bouncing. Understanding what Herrera slight shouting made it worse, but enjoyable. Maybe the rodent isn't so bad after all.

"You'll walk? And leave the funny one in the car in Nevada weather? How smart….." He glanced over at his trunk then groaned while dragging his feet. If he didn't have any compassion, he would've just left already, but here he is pulling out a wedge and hook for these kind of idiotic scenarios.

Trudging back over, he stood beside Herrera. "Move so I can get this over with. Okay?"

Felix's jaw sets, his eyes trained on the weasel in the car. Within the pockets of his trench coat, Felix's hands ball into fists. Of all the days Jackpot decides to be a little shit, it had to be in the presence of the detective. Yeah, great timing pal, Felix huffs.

"Hey! I am highly intelligent!" Felix quickly jumps to defend himself, but his protestations die out when he realizes the detective is leaving for his car. His mouth falls open and his eyebrows furrow. "En serio te vas? Oh-" His temporary rage quickly falls away as he watches the detective come back with the necessary supplies to fish his keys out of the car from the ferret. With a heavy sigh, Felix steps out of the way.

"Sure…." He stepped up to the car door. Wrapping his fingers around the handle, he pulled it as far back as possible then shoved the wedge in at the top corner. "I always tell my kids to check their pockets and everything before leaving a place. They're only four but they always check their pockets now. You should do the same." There was a small pump attached to the wedge which lead it to inflate to a certain extent. Although tired, he did he best to get it inflated appropriately then got the hook ready.

"I don't know if it likes to jump, but be ready to catch it." Damian fished the hook through, thankfully getting it inside the car. Slowly, but surely, he got it far enough to reach for the lock. He stared at the furry noodle, hoping it doesn't mistake it for a toy. Once he had it around the lock, he pulled it until hearing the car unlocked.

He slightly opened the door in order to get both the wedge and hook out. Somehow he was crazy enough to have the energy to retrieve the keys from the furry noddle then hand them to Herrera. "There. Happy now?"

Felix supposes he should've been delighted to hear about Mae's personal life, but all he can feel is the irritation flaring within. "Well, I guess we all can't be like your perfect toddlers, can we?" He mutters under his breath, folding his arms over his chest. Felix watches Jackpot with a pointed stare, using every ounce of his brainpower to telepathically scream at the furry noodle to stay put. Jackpot, thanks to whatever mercy the deities above granted, allows Mae to unlock the car with the hook. Jackpot's frustratingly adorable nose twitches.

Jackpot sniffs Mae's fingers as the detective plucks the keys from the rodent's grabby little hands.

Felix huffs as the detective drops the keys into his hand. "Insatiably," He mumbles. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get home to eat ice cream straight from the carton and scream at Carmen in La Playa Dorada del Atardecer. Her twin sister is back and about to steal her husband, but Carmen's already having her own affair with both of the lifeguards at la Casa de Playa." Felix shrugs, the playful smirk back on his face as if it had never left. "I can fill you in before my next game if you want."

"They're only perfect because their mom was," He added. Why he's mentioning his wife and kids, he doesn't know, but the mentions of of made him bleakly smile for a second. Turning to gaze over at the furry noddle, he gently scratched its head. Maybe the rodent is not so bad after all; he just needs to check his pockets from now on. "But the lesson here, is to check your pockets and leave that thing at home."

He walked backed over to his trunk. Cracks rose as he rolled his neck. Setting the tools in the back of the trunk, he shut it then went back to his previous spot. Damian stood with his thumbs in his pockets, listening to Herrera with a nonchalant expression cascading his face.

"Oh please do." Making his way back over to his car, he yawned. "I hope Carmen does not get caught by a relative then the secret gets spilled out a party." Laughing to himself, he got into his car. First putting in his seatbelt, he connected his phone with the aux and pressed play on whatever playlist came up first. This time it was some 90s alternative rock that he made a while back.

As he pulled out of the parking spot, he rolled down his window to speak to Herrera. "Don't get too carried with the ice cream now. We have a lot of work to do." Damian rolled up his window then drove out of the parking lot.

Felix's face falls. "I swear to god, if you just spoiled La Playa Dorada del Atardecer, I will find where you leave and force feed you my tie." But by the time the threat leaves Felix's lips, Mae is already in his car and starting up music. Felix recognizes the song, but doesn't know any of the words. He huffs through his nose and clambers into the car, tossing Jackpot into the passenger seat without gentleness. Just as he's about to close his door and back out, he hears Mae's voice.

Felix slicks his head out of the open door with a raised eyebrow to hear what the detective has to offer. A smile flashes on his face. "Don't worry, doll! Nothing I can't handle!"

Damian laughed to himself after hearing Felix's threat. He's never watched La Playa Dorada del Atardecer, but after watching a bunch of Korean dramas, telenovelas, and being an avid reader, he could only assume what could happen next; which is why he always stays silent while watching something with others, 9/10 times he knows what happens after. Oh, if only he could be the same with the cases he deals with. If only….if only….

At least half an hour later, he was back in the office again. With his food set on the left corner of his desk, he had his notebook out in front of him while his laptop was on the right. He really did not need to write a full blown report until he gets a suspect or some critical piece of information. His eyes scanned over every little thing that he scribbled down about a thousand times. Eventually he found himself getting sleepy, but had no energy to fight against it. Within twenty minutes, he fell asleep at his desk.

An hour later, with the latest episode of La Playa Dorada del Atardecer's credits rolling across the screen and tears rolling down his face, Felix is fuming. As it turns out, Carmen was found out by her older brother (who they all thought was dead), and her brother exposed her in front of her grandmother right at the family reading of her grandfather's will and Carmen's grandmother had a heart attack right then and there. Not to mention, both of the men Carmen had been having an affair with are actually in a relationship of their own and Carmen's sister swept in and stole Carmen's husband from right under her nose. Just as Mae predicted.

Disasterous.

In an ice cream and tequila induced rage, Felix grabs his phone off of the coffee table and calls the first contact he sees. Damian, followed by quite an amount of emojis.

A dreamless sleep. Probably one of the better ones he's had in a long time. That is the one positive of working endlessly in a detective office for forty-five plus hours a week. Even if he had only been asleep for an hour, it felt like an eternity to him by the time his phone sang a little tune, alerting him of a phone call.

Everything looks blurry. His eyes are too lethargic to focus on whatever name is popping up on the screen. Although, for the last two years, it is either his mother in law, the chief, or his therapist. Sometimes his older brother or cousin, but that never really happens. Either way, Damian yawned as he picked up the call and pressed the phone to his left ear.

"Hello, Damian speaking…."

"Te odio, hijo de puta!" Are the first words out of Felix's mouth. Hell, he knows he's not speaking English but there's no time for translating his thoughts. By no means is Felix actually quiet. If his roommate has a problem with his telenovelas, then she can go live on the street for all Felix cares. "Cómo te atreves a hacerme esto? Carmen fue descubierta por su hermano y el giro - LO PREDIJISTE - me dejó vacío y jodidamente molesto! Dónde vives Damián? Tengo mi corbata lista y quiero empujarla por tu garganta!"

His roommate screams something from her room. Felix shouts a long-winded insult in true rapid-fire Mexican Mother fashion. If his sisters were around, they'd tell him he only needed a chanclas to complete a perfect replication of their mother.

Sudden shouting caused him to jump and sit up in his chair. His eyes were shot wide despite the sleepiness still hanging onto him. Damian half understood what was being yelled at him. Naturally, he would ignore, but his brain went on and translated everything anyways.

Groaning, he reluctantly got up from his chair. His phone vibrated against the side of his ear. Damian put the call on speaker while he responded to a text from his mother in law. "Te dije….Te dije…" He yawned, turning his laptop off.

As Felix kept shouting at him through the phone, he started to close up shop. Jokingly, he texted Felix his address. "Ven a buscarme entonces si realmente estás tan enojado. Dame quince minutos."

In a brief moment of shock, Felix forgets his rage. Felix had been speaking in Spanish. Mae had responded in Spanish. Heavily accented but fluent. And Mae is practically inviting Felix over to his house. Tossing aside his anger and leftover sadness from the episode, Felix stares at the address, a smile already crawling across his face.

Maybe this detective isn't that bad after all. "Te vas a arrepentir de esto, muñeca," Felix says quietly before hanging up. "Jackpot! Come!" He shouts. His roommate's seeing-eye dog lifts his head from where he's resting in the dog bed as the weasel wiggles his way out from under the German Shepard's body. The dog toy in Jackpot's mouth jingles as he skitters over to Felix's lowered arm. Jackpot drops the small, clambers up Felix's arm and curls around his neck.

"Rhyda, I'm off to bother a detective!" Felix shouts as he grabs his keys from the counter.

"I swear to god, Felix, if you bring back another guy-" Rhyda threatens from her room.

"I won't!" Felix cuts her off. "Unless-" He wiggles his eyebrows even though his roommate is in another room and blind. Rhyda screams, hearing the intent in his voice and tells Felix repeatedly to fuck off and never come back. Felix cackles and exits through the front door.

For Damian, being sleepy is only one step below of what it is like when he's drunk. The only thing is he quickly realizes what happens the moment after something happens when he finally wakes up. And holy shit, why did he send Herrera his address? Why did he think that was funny? Why is he as much of an idiot as the poker player? Why? His eyes were wide with realization until his normal frustrated disappointed self returned. "Ya me arrepiento de muchas cosas, gilipollas."

Zooming out of the office with his backpack, he said goodbye to Alfaro then hopped into his car. His mother in law texted asking when he would pick the kids up, and he responded with "I'll pick them up in 10" which is very much true. Somehow he struck out when moving to Las Vegas with his wife. They lived ten minutes away from his mother in law, and only five more from his work. Even in scenarios where he accidentally sends his address to a crazy poker guy who he's forced to work with, it all ends up working out.

As expected, traffic on the way there was terrible, but better given it being a weekday. And as expected, his son, Adonis, was still sound asleep by the time he arrived. Mina, his daughter, was like Damian, a bit groggy but awake nevertheless. Usually the kids were up and very talkative, but they had a later nap than usual. They were quiet up until he rolled into the driveway; also known as the moment he told them about a visitor coming to their home.

"A visitor? Who?" Mina asks while Damian unbuckles her. "Shrek? Donkey?"

Gently lifting her, setting her on the ground with her purple backpack, he chuckled. "No, it would be cool if it was Shrek or Donkey. I would have planned to make waffles and not dino nuggies."

"I want dino nuggies," Adonis yawned, rubbing his right eye. Looking up at his dad, he held his arms up. "Pleaseeeee"

Damian knelt down so Mina could get on his back, then he carefully picked up Adonis. "Don't worry, Adonnie, you'll get your dino nuggies soon," He cooed, while opening the door.

Felix is ninety percent sure there's been at least three murders in his apartment building since the 90s. Everything about it fits the bill. From the pothole ridden parking lot, the sketchy elderly neighbors, the chipped and sun-bleached stucco walls. Not to mention his asshole landlord that likes to raise the rent every few months. It's nothing Felix can't handle, but he's heard plenty of his fellow residents grumbling about it by the mailboxes.

Felix gets into his car, tossing Jackpot into the backseat. The weasel listlessly flops against the cushion before turning upright and scuttling up to the middle console. Felix starts the car and inputs Mae's address into his GPS app.

Seventeen and a half minutes later, with the sun just barely touching the horizon, Felix pulls up to a modest home. He purses his lips. What a perfectly fitting house for the detective. "Alright Jackpot-" Felix turns to his furry companion. "We got a detective to bother." Scooping Jackpot up by the stomach and ensuring his keys are in his pockets, Felix exits the car and travels to the doorstep.

Everything in his home was just as one can imagine it. Neat and clean, except for a few toys scattered on the floor. Pictures of the family, individuals, places, and things hung up on the walls. There are even artworks from the twins framed up along with the university degrees of him and his wife's. Most of the house looked nice thanks to his wife having a good eye for interior decorating; he didn't bother changing any of it in the almost three years. He can't.

Adonis and Mina sat at the table near the kitchen eating. As mentioned before, the main entree is dinosaur nuggets. Damian also made some small side dishes of cucumber salad, braised potatoes, and, Mina's favorite, tuna pancakes. Adonis tilted his head left and right while humming as he ate. Mina bit on the edge of her rubber cup before looking over her shoulder at the window. "Cha…" She sang before picking up a potato and pretend to feed her bat plushie with it.

Damian walked out of the bathroom, adjusting his sleeves. "Cha?" He asked, holding his fists and motioning a steering wheel. He wore a white long sleeve Boston University shirt and black shorts. His lips curled back, watching as his daughter nodded. As he walked to the door, he kissed the top of her head.

It really is no surprise that Herrera showed up. While he regrets his actions, he found himself giggling as he opened the door. "Of course he brings the furry noddle," He murmurs underneath his breath. "Great….just great…"

Felix raises an eyebrow at Mae's unexpected somewhat-lighter mood. "Of course I'm bringing Jackpot with me, didn't I tell you he's my emotional support ferret?" He purses his lips and puts on his best baby voice. "Isn't that right, Jackpot?" The weasel isn't there. "Jackpot?" The baby voice is gone.

Felix leans to the side, looking past Mae and into his house. Sure enough, Jackpot is scurrying across the floor, going deeper and deeper into the house. "Ese maldito fideo." He mutters before inviting himself inside.

Damian started to look around for the furry noodle just about the same time the poker player did. Biting the inside of his cheek, he tried not to laugh at the man's baby voice. Given the whereabouts of the rodent, it is funny. From the door, he could hear Mina giggling while Adonis asked, "What's that?" Turning around, he saw the infamous noodle zooming around the floor. An short exhausted sigh flew from his lips.

He turned around and shouted at Herrera, "Ay! Quitarse los zapatos, pendejo! Ahora!" With his left hand, he closed the door. The twins still sat at the table, but they curiously watched the weasel while eating. They didn't even acknowledge the guest or the fact that their dad wasn't talking in English or Korean; they just tilted their heads and giggled at the funny thing on the floor. Adonis was less welcoming of it compared to his sister.

His current demeanor is half calm but also half strung up as usual. At home is not as straitlaced as people see him, he just doesn't want to be like that around his kids. When Adonis tilted his head to look at him, he smiled. "What is it, my little beast?"

"Did it drive here?" Adonis asked.

Walking over to his son, he kissed the top of his head then stole a dinosaur nugget. "Mhm" He hummed.

"But I thought you said animals can't drive."

He smirked then looked over at Herrera, "That one does a lot of things. It can take keys and lock doors. He's a friend, I guess."

Felix laughs at Mae's lecture, using the wall for balance as he toes off his shoes. "Suenas como mi hermana." After finishing his task, Felix finds himself standing somewhere in between the dining room and the entry way. Jackpot had skittered over to the table, already climbing one of the chairs to get a closet look at the children. They're probably a strange sight for the weasel to behold. Jackpot's used to sweaty adults with money stacks in their pockets and expensive watches on their wrists. Not children in a neat suburban home.

Watching Mae with his kids seems almost sickeningly domestic. Felix has been on his own ever since he left his parents' Texan ranch when he was 16. Even when he was living with his family, they never offered Dino Nuggets and sweet nicknames. It's… odd to say the least.

He bristles when Mae makes a jab at his unfortunate incident earlier in the day. "Hey!" He barks, pointing at Mae. "That is the only time Jackpit has ever done anything like that! Jackpot don't eat those-" He then points at the weasel who had climbed on the table and sniffed one of the kid's food.

He could only help but snicker at the comment. "I just want the carpet to be clean, that's all," Damian shrugged. After he finished did he notice that Adonis had hunched shoulders and was hugging himself. "Here, let me with you Adonnie," He cooed. Picking up the kid, he sat down in the chair then made sure that his son was sitting comfortably on his lap. The kid sat facing the wall and away from the ferret. Damian patted Adonis on the back then finished eating the nugget he stole.

Mina held her red plastic fork with a dino nugget on it. She held over to the ferret. "Mina," She heard her dad call out. "You heard what Mister Herrera said. Don't feed the furry noodle your food, okay? Maybe next time when you have permission." She glanced up at the new guest, but this time, offered the dino nugget to him.

Damian laughed. "I should've introduced you guys first….Herrera, meet Mina and Adonis. Mina and Adonis, meet Mister Herrera and his furry friend, Jackpot." The twins gave Herrera a small wave. "Do you want something to eat Herrera, or are you still full from the ice cream and Carmen's drama?"

"The goblin's happy to eat whatever you'll give him, I just don't want to have to perform CPR on a rodent again." Felix slightly shudders at the memory as he makes his way into the dining room, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest. "Kids, performing CPR on a ferret is much harder than it sounds." He raises an eyebrow when the child extends a nugget towards him. He smiles and shakes his head. "I'm good, darlin'."

It takes no time at all to place the names to the faces. Now that he knows their names, he's never going to forget them. Just another thing Felix picked up from his days playing poker against criminals and cheapskates. Learn the names of the bad ones and stay very far away from those tables. "You can call me Felix," He quickly inputs. He has no qualms against his last name, it's just awkward when kids use it and mispronounce it. You're supposed to roll the 'r's for god's sake.

"And thank you for reminding my why I'm here." Felix beams and snaps his fingers. He opens his trenchcoat with one arm, extending it all the way to showcase the interior of the jacket. To say the least, it's loaded with various, hideous ties and watches that are clearly not Felix's "Pick any tie you want." He waves his other arm in front of the ties. "Except the green one-" He points to a fluorescent green tie with bright yellow stripes. "That one's my favorite."

Mina nodded, "If you say so, Felix." Eating the nugget, she sat her fork down. "We have more anyways. It's okay." There was nothing else on her plate so she took her bat plushie and got off her seat. She turned to look up at Felix, then pointed over towards the kitchen. "The dino nuggies are there. Bye!"

Damian smiled, giving his daughter a little wave, watching her scurry off to her room. His son went back to focusing on his food and stayed silent. It was only a few minutes later till he finished his food then did the same as Mina. After getting down, he gave Herrera a wave then ran off.

"Oh boy…." Damian frowned. All the ties, including Herrera's favorite, are ugly to him. Whether it be out of prejudice or what, they all are, but oh my God, they all look funny to him. What's even more funny is the fact that Herrera has a trench coat full of them. Covering his mouth the back of his hand, he looked at some of them. "I get to pick one?" He asked. "Oh you are too kind. How about that red one there?"

Mina and Adonis remind Felix of his own nephews. Except the triplets (Andre, Ishmael and Diego) like to assault Felix with their grubby five-year-old fists whenever they see him. At least Mae's kids seem somewhat civilized.

Felix can't help but laugh at Mae's reaction to his extensive tie collection. It's… different than his ones from earlier, one without the arrogant and malicious bite to it. "The red one?" He repeats, raising an eyebrow and pulling it from the pocket it's half-dangling from. "You see, this one I received from my sister. It was April Fool's day and she thought she was being funny by sending me this monstrosity." Felix folds the bright red tie decorated in various penny-sized clowns all the way out, holding it taught and straight armed in front of him. His trench coat falls shut, the watches slightly clanking against each other from within.

"My sister wasn't aware that I collect these fashionable accessories and you could probably imagine her face when I showed up to her twenty-first birthday wearing it." His nose scrunches fondly at the memory.