defenderofdesmoines | A Gas Station in the Middle of Nowhere to MM's Apartment

Annie had gotten a call this morning from an unknown number, and while she would have ignored it, it had called back three times. And then it had called collect, which Annie had not even known you could still do.

And once she'd talked to the person on the other end -- well, frankly, she had very nearly hung up the phone upon hearing his voice. And as it was, she had absolutely no intention of having any kind of a conversation while she drove this fuckstick's ass back to the city.

But here she was, pulling up outside of a gas station in the middle of goddamn nowhere. At least she got to drive MM's sweet car.

Hughie	To his credit, Hughie didn't decide he needed to fill the awkward silence for a solid three whole miles. "Thanks for picking me up," he offered hesitantly. "I'm sure you want to tell me to go fuck myself." He wouldn't blame her, honestly.
Annie	"I'm not saying anything," Annie told him, staring ahead and keeping her hands at ten and two. She seriously had nothing to say here. Nothing constructive, and frankly she was too tired of this shit for the destructive things anymore, either.
Hughie	"'Cause if you did want to say that," Hughie offered, "you know. You could." Nothing like being given permission to tell someone to go fuck themselves. Kind of took the wind out of your go-fuck-yourself sails, didn't it?
Annie	"What happened?" Annie finally asked, darting a glance over at Hughie. He had a bruise blooming around his eye, and -- like, she was here, picking him up, and there was no Billy Butcher or Soldier Boy to be seen. Inquiring minds, even if she still wanted him to go fuck himself.
Hughie	"Butcher," Hughie said, like that explained everything. After a second, he elaborated, "Out of nowhere, just knocked me out."
Annie	Interesting timing, there. "Did he tell you?" Annie demanded. She had a guess.
Hughie	"Tell me what?" Hughie wondered, and that right there probably answered her question pretty succinctly.
Annie	Yup, sure did. She'd known he wouldn't. Goddamn it, she should have kept calling. "Temp V is fatal," Annie told him, looking over. "If you'd shot up anymore, you'd probably be dead right now. That asshole --"
Hughie	"Saved my life," Hughie said faintly, staring ahead and slowly digesting what Annie was telling him. "He stopped me from taking more V." When Annie looked unimpressed by this -- perhaps because Butcher had very likely given Hughie a concussion, and also Annie had just had some very constructive talks about allowing your partner to make their own calls about their own wellbeing but maintaining open communication -- he continued, "Have you ever had Pizza Rolls?"
Annie	Holy left field, Tek Knight. "Like...middle school sleepover Pizza Rolls?" she replied, clearly unsure where the hell this was going.
Hughie	"Yeah. My dad bought them in bulk after my mom left," he explained. "Every night, we'd have Pizza Rolls, watch Remington Steele, try not to touch her spot on the couch. And he never fought back for her or anything. Just sat there eating Pizza Rolls. I spent so much time thinking he was...sad, and -- and weak. Just a loser. But you know what? Dad was there. Taking care of me during the worst days of his life, just trying to keep the lights on and a roof above our heads. He wasn't weak. I just -- I didn't know what strength was." Hughie had clearly had a lot of time to think while waiting for this ride. "Annie, I'm so sorry," he added quietly. "I've been an asshole. I'm...I'm going through some shit, and I've been going through some shit, and I never should have put any of this onto you. Or Diego." And now it was time to maybe get a fucking therapist, Hughie.
Annie	Annie thought all of that was fairly regressive and toxic, frankly. And she wasn't sure why a story about Hughie's dad was supposed to make her forgive all of the terrible, stupid, irredeemable shit he'd done and said. All it did was make her feel sorry for Hughie's poor dad. But -- well. At least Hughie seemed to know that he'd been regressive and toxic. "Thank you for saying that," she said after a long moment, sincere. It was not an acceptance of the apology, nor was it forgiveness. But it'd get them through this car ride, at least. Thankfully, Annie's phone started ringing to save them from a little bit of that long, awkward silence that awaited them. And even better, it was good news! "Oh my God -- you're where?"

Diego	Diego had a cell phone long enough to ignore any texts or calls from someone he didn't recognize. However, one addressed to "Starlight's Boyfriend" asking him for his location gave him pause. It might have been stupid to give whoever it was MM's address, but Diego's gut was telling him to do it, so...
Maeve	And within twenty minutes of giving out his address, there came a knock at the door. Followed shortly by, "It's me," delivered in an extremely familiar, extremely unimpressed voice.
Diego	Whew, was Diego glad that hunch was correct. There was a mix of relief and amusement written on his face when he opened the door for Maeve. That outfight though. "You got out." Did they hug? Were they hugging friends? Probably not.
Maeve	They were 'respectful clap on the shoulder as I go looking for your hardest alcohol' friends, and that's what Diego was getting from Maeve as she moved into the apartment. She was, of course, barefoot and wearing a set of extremely touristy I Heart NY pajamas. "I got out," she agreed, shooting a faint smile at him over her shoulder as she headed straight for the kitchen. "Annie deserves the credit. Her hashtag-free-Maeve shit got me my chance."
Diego	"She should be back here any minute," Diego said, happy to have earned a shoulder clap. "Sweet outfit, by the way."
Maeve	That got Diego a little look as Maeve poured herself some Scotch that MM had probably been saving for a special occasion, and headed to put her feet on his coffee table. "I was about twelve floors below you in the tower, for the record." Thanks so much, everyone, for looking for her! Like, Annie, it was great that you'd gone all digital warrior on her behalf, but action there would have been awesome. "Homelander sicc'd Noir on me when I wasn't looking." Just to clear up the mystery there, a little. Though she wasn't yet sure whether she'd share with Diego why Homelander had been keeping her. It was pretty horrifying.
Diego	"I'm sorry," Diego said sincerely. "I know we should have--it's just Soldier Boy was blowing up a lot of shit."
Maeve	Maeve shrugged a shoulder. Fair. And hey, it was the exact lesson she'd been trying to teach Annie since day one, anyway -- try to save yourself, whenever possible. "Glad to see you in one piece, still," she said, equally sincere as she lifted her glass. And considering that Maeve had been there on the rooftop with Supersonic, she did indeed mean that quite literally.
Diego	"Tried to avoid doing anything too stupid," he said with a shrug. "Can I...get you anything?" Food to go with that straight booze?
Maeve	"Aw, I like how you're being a little host," Maeve told him, genuinely kind of affectionate even while being wildly condescending. "I'm good. Whose place is this, anyway?" Not Diego's, she knew that. Also not Butcher's, considering she'd been there...you know, several times. Just a casual number of times.
Diego	"MM's," Diego replied. "So use a coaster unless you want to see a grown man freak out over a coffee table."
Maeve	Maeve simply raised an eyebrow and crossed her disgusting filthy bare ankles before taking another sip. That was probably pairing well with the sedatives from earlier, too.
Annie	A moment later, they were treated to the sounds of someone running up the stairs and down the hallway, before Annie all but Kramer'd her way into the room to see the news for herself. "You're here," she said softly, more of an exhale of relief than an actual sentence.
Hughie	Hughie trailed after her, much more slowly and less enthusiastically as he ducked into MM's apartment and shut the door behind him. He gave Diego a wary look and a little nod -- apologies were owed there, too, but frankly Hughie knew he had earned any kind of reaction Diego wanted to have at him right now. As far as he knew, though, he hadn't pissed off the woman on the couch. "Maeve," he said in greeting. "Good to see you again."
Maeve	"God, every time I see you -- it's like you wear a neon sign that says, 'Raw dog me, I'm a bottom,'" Maeve said, rolling her eyes at Hughie. She also helpfully gestured across her chest where the sign would be, so they could all picture it. So, see, that's how you could tell she liked you, Diego. She did not talk to you like that.
Diego	Diego snorted. That was a pretty good one. And not entirely wrong. He did manage a nod at Hughie, but only after he enjoyed Maeve roasting him.
Maeve	"You tell me a thousand times about your boyfriend sawing off Lamplighter's hand to save you, and you never thought that's where I might be," Maeve continued, looking to Annie and gesturing expansively at Diego, the walking example of how to break into the tower to save someone. "Fuck's sake." Her tone, however, was very gentle, and she was clearly glad to see her friend.