1.4

It was the sort of night that left Romeo’s heart racing. That was every night with Heathcliff, and all the beautiful, young, rude things about him.

Heathcliff fell asleep quickly in his bed, drooling a little on the pillow while Romeo rested his head on his chest. It was almost hard to believe his past as a dancer. That involved having any amount of grace, but then again, it wasn’t what Romeo was looking for anyways. He could be happy with women and their grace and tender touch. The glimpses of goofiness and humanity that occasionally shone through their beauty. But he craved the raw feelings that came from men. The lack of inhibition. The body hair and big strong hands, of course. Every single trait that Heathcliff showed him.

The thoughts of his house disturbed him a little. It was easy to assume that Heathcliff came from money and would never have to work a day in his life. But there was a glint in his eye reminded him of the other side of his life. The big, darkening eclipse that kept everyone out. Bridgeport was never quiet, and it was never fully human either.

Well, it must have been a coincidence.

The phone call came from Li-Anne at the field office. She spent the whole day at the city’s most famous bathhouse. Its fame kept it away from anything too salacious, except for one suspect setting up headquarters there anyways. Something suspicious was afoot, and the job ascended beyond that of the local police.

That was when Special Agent Romeo Krishnaverma Rake was assigned to Bridgeport three years prior. At first he was angry and unsure; he always wanted to work at the capital instead. And his ex-fiancée moved there for medical school. But soon that was all forgotten. He loved the bright lights and living near his cousin Rohan, who was a city cop himself. The cases also tended to be smaller and easier.

However, the case in his hands then was the hardest job he had yet. It was like everyone involved could disappear into a cloud of smoke.

But finally, the end was in sight after years of dirty runaways and missing people, dilapidated houses, and piles of money that slipped through their fingers. It was finally down to only a handful of suspects within arms’ reach. Of course, the suspects didn’t even seem to have names, but they got a location down. To everyone’s surprise, everything came out of the old hammam.

“Don’t wake up, I’ll be back by dawn,” he whispered to Heathcliff, as he threw on the first clothes he could find.

At least going to the station meant finally being able to put a picture of him and Heathcliff at his desk, which he stuffed in his bag. They took a great one together a few nights before to celebrate a normal date in the city. But it was the private moments with Heathcliff that electrified Romeo. Now he felt ready to explain his boyfriend to anyone who asked.

After all, he was pretty hard to fire.

“You won’t effin’ believe it,” said Li-Anne. She was still dressed in the bathhouse’s white polo shirt and turned on only a few lights in the office. They were deep into one of the research rooms. “I was in the same room as him. He’s probably not even on this planet anymore, but we got ‘em on tape.”

“Alright, I’ll admit it, you might have been right about it being daemonic.” For a while, Romeo didn’t have to have to have an opinion on daemons, but it was being challenged in every direction. He figured he would keep this case a secret from Heathcliff, though. “Do you have the tapes?”

“Tapes, stills, and one juicy informant interview.”

He chuckled. “I knew I picked favorites for a reason.”

“So our main guy is the one being carried,” she said, circling him in red. “He got injured during a massage. I tried to get him to the hospital since we could do the arrest there, but you know, work with daemons and they’ll disappear into a wormhole.” The security footage wasn’t great, but he had two horns curling around his head like a ram’s.

His names–and there were many–were all over the bathhouse and Bridgeport itself. The lived in abandoned properties and shady companies selling rare earth metals. They signed the contracts of daemonic labor that was too cheap to be good. Byron Suns, Byron Pilo, Byron Ironstar, Pilona Ironstar. The first two were known to the police already, and the last two a secret between Li-Anne and the informant until that night.

Now, Heathcliff was not quiet about his last name. He said it made him look important, though Romeo felt like it went over his human head or even an exaggeration. At least he was honest, if oblivious. For a while, Romeo thought it was made-up or taken from a middle name, much like Rake was for him. And there was no point asking where Ironstar even came from. Wasn’t it a song? He swore that Stefania really liked it when they were kids…

Romeo froze seeing a young man in the corner of the footage knowing that.

“So who are the others?” He asked Li-Anne.

“Ignore our informant. The daemon kiddo was called Penama during our interview. I’m putting her under ‘beyond reasonable doubt’ after everything. She’s a mighty accomplice, growing off this dude like a tumor.”

“Is the other man a simple patron, then?” Romeo was hoping for the best. Heathcliff: a young man who couldn’t resist a free massage and ogling at bathing men. But it was already stressing him out, making him sweat under his coat on a cold night.

“Nope, they spoke like family. Heathcliff Ironstar, mostly human and really effin’ stupid if Layton’s right.”

“I’ll take that.”

“We’re getting the warrants for the other two, Layton’s in the tank right now, and…I dunno about this guy. They don’t let anyone else into that room.”

“We’ll sit on that,” he said.

“Person of interest?”

“Whatever’s the easiest.”

Copies of what Layton said in an interview with Li-Anne were left on Romeo’s desk. His good reputation got him an office the moment he transferred to Bridgeport. It was a good place to pour over every other detail of a case, but it took him a while to put on his headphones and press play. Looking at the picture of Heathcliff that he took was much better.

“Uh, so first off, Penama is weird, it’s not really a name but more like a sentence for many daemons we employ. This one committed crimes in our world but of course, we turn a blind eye to what she does here…”

Layton was a very measured daemon, especially because he must have known about his imminent arrest. Penama, a name or not, liked stealing jewelry, watches, and energy drinks. Stuff below Romeo’s department for sure, and the more he could give to city police and forget about, the better. Especially if it was related to Heathcliff, but he wanted to doubt it for the rest of his career.

To no one’s shock, Pilona didn’t follow the nation’s labor laws or anyone’s. Common enough until attached to a criminal themselves. Even Layton was going to find himself prosecuted in two worlds, but wouldn’t divulge his crimes against daemons. It wasn’t like they could do anything about it, though.

Heathcliff was there, and he was Pilona’s nephew of some degree. It was a true biological relationship too. Heathcliff came from a daemonic lineage, and only shut up about it around Romeo. Pilona meanwhile was an ancient pain-in-the-butt for the human world.

“I think Heathcliff would play into Pilona’s game without even knowing it. There’s a lot of history with both sides of his family but that’s going into places you can’t touch…”

“Well fuck you too, that’s just speculation,” Romeo muttered, huddled up in his seat.

“So which sister does he belong to?” asked Romeo’s boss, Chief Special Agent Regina Calhoun. The woman that Romeo wanted to be. She always got to the headquarters early like him, especially for huge drops of evidence like Li-Anne’s newest.

It didn’t take long for someone to notice the new photo. Romeo took a deep breath. Legally, she couldn’t do anything about Romeo’s dating life, especially for someone who still wasn’t an official suspect. And especially not for what he was.

Weren’t daemons a protected class, after all?

“No, we’re…seeing each other. But let’s get this out of the way, he’s not as young as he looks,” said Romeo. “Firmly in his 20’s.”

Regina rolled her eyes. “I’ll be talking to Washington about your early retirement.”

Well she was the one who refused to retire before the feds forced her to. Regina would be forced into it within the next two years as she rapidly approached the magic age of fifty-seven. Romeo wasn’t a young man anymore, but that felt like an unfathomable journey.

He tried not to feel judged for his lonesome life. In fact, no serious partners and no ties to any one city was supposed to be an asset for the feds. He thought the real issue was finding things to love about Bridgeport. It didn’t have to be Heathcliff, but Heathcliff was becoming the best part.

Romeo’s eyes narrowed as Regina left the room. “Just a kid in the wrong place at the wrong time,” he muttered.

---

Romeo’s job sometimes involved the city police. Not recently, but he still would walk into their office at a dead hour, a box of doughnuts in hand. His cousin, the young and rising Rohan Verma, was working the late shift that night.

“Boston creme, as usual,” said Rohan, inspecting the box. “Truly the best use of our federal budget.”

“Tell that one to my car,” said Romeo. He was ready to go, as the bureau made him work late too. Special Agent sounded flashy, but on most days it meant more paperwork than most people could imagine. Especially because old lady Calhoun seemed to place more of it on his desk that week. Maybe she wanted to make a very early retirement for him more appealing after all.

But first, tea. Romeo had a travel mug, and the Bridgeport Police had a water cooler with a hot water spout.

“So, dating a person of interest?” It was William Fangmann, the officer who would never leave the force. Not even when he had his stint as a reality TV star. Him being a vampire didn’t bother Romeo, but William was a big man of mind games, and somehow never got in trouble for doing that to suspects as well. It all came from his dark powers, but the city had a vampire hiring quota and couldn’t do anything about it. The big vampire leaned on the cooler, almost tipping it over onto Romeo.

“No one could have told you, that’s private info,” said Romeo. “And you know they won’t replace another one of these.”

“Yes sir, no more vampire mind games, I get it. And no more glasses of wine with the special agent in charge either.”

Romeo blushed in red-hot embarrassment. Calhoun getting cozy with anyone? That was much wilder than anything Romeo could do with a person of interest. “Love is funny, and he’s not that kind of guy anyways. I think he’ll be cleared within a week, and then I can forget all about this.”

William squinted at him. “Heathcliff?” Loud enough for the whole office to hear, including Rohan. And soon it would be the rest of the Krishnaverma family.

“Can you cut that out? Some of us need private lives,” he said.

“I know that strange man, nothing too scandalous between us. He’s way more annoying than I can be.”

Romeo finally headed for the door once the water cooler was upright again. “I highly doubt that.”

---

The case moved on. Some local charges were dug up against Penama for her thefts, and any jail would keep that pesky imp in one place. And of course, nothing about Heathcliff was found.

Without many more questions about his boyfriend, Romeo tried to live like nothing happened. Though between his work and Heathcliff’s for the governor’s ball, it meant a lot of lonely nights. It would all be worth it for the ball, though. The governor liked to invite his favorite federal agents too. Romeo also hated Governor Cook, but it would be nice to take Heathcliff as a date there. That dirty old man somehow got the best music and canapes every year.

Even in the midst of the Ironstar case, the feds had a lot of other work. There was always some pesky warehouse near the harbor, and opportunities to work with the city police. Of course, it had to be William with them…

“And then you wouldn’t guess what crazy ol’ Calhoun said to us,” said Li-Anne.

“Something homophobic? That I’m not the next J. Edgar Hoover?” He was having his doubts about her intentions ever since William spilled the beans. There were plenty of different ways she wanted to stifle him personally. From “that car’s too flashy, can’t you drive a Honda like everyone else?” to the very first “you know, Rake would be a better surname to use.” He agreed with the last one after all, but it still came out of nowhere.

“No, it’s not always about you,” she said. His phone started to ring.

“Oh god, it’s always about you!”

“Rohan, you animal, aren’t we supposed to have jobs?” Romeo asked his cousin.

“Crazy night out there,” said Rohan. “And do you know a Daemonic interpreter? I understood one word out of her mouth…blame William for that, I’m not judging but you know who will…”

It did not take long between handing Penama’s case to the city and her arrest. She was hardly a sneak, and could never blend into the city as she flitted around in a shimmering gold dress, babbling in a tongue no one understood. And almost every language had a home in Bridgeport.

The little daemon was spotted near a grocery store that night with a stolen watch on her wrist. She was addicted to petty theft and couldn’t even look over her shoulder towards Rohan. His dark uniform meant he blended into the night a little bit, but surely she knew what a police cruiser looked like.

Rohan caught her in the headlights, and yet, she didn’t even run. Penama started to approach the cruiser like she had never seen one before. In fact, she might not have, if she was the scared daemon child flung out of space that everyone wanted to see go to jail.

“You’re under arrest for crimes of theft. You have the right to remain silent, anything you say can be used against you in court…”

“Ai’ha, atasi-tai lotetama’me?”

And then Rohan learned the value of an interpreter. That thing they had trouble procuring even on-site for Daemonic. But the warrant was out and she was frozen in the light.

“You have the right to talk to a lawyer…”

“Fila me olasavazheihelã?” She stopped to gather her thoughts. “Lotetama’me…Heath…cliff?”

At least she was easy to tackle to the ground.

“I knew that name sounded familiar! How’s the boyfriend doing anyways?” Rohan asked.

“We don’t have anything on him,” said Romeo. He stepped outside to look out to the vast Pacific Ocean and wished it would swallow him and his boyfriend too. “As long as you guys don’t either, I’m leaving it at that. And don’t tell the family yet.”

“Man, not even Giulia?” Sometimes the best sister to tell was the worst one. She was the only one of the sisters who wasn’t mad at him all the time, but her voice could be heard across three different continents.

And to think he was worrying about that first, instead of his boyfriend being in the middle of two cases. Oblivious or…devious? He certainly had the eyebrows for it. Big groomed arches not unlike the field shots of Pilona. Suddenly, he didn’t want to stay in his big house again.

“We can put you in contact with an interpreter if you haven’t found one yet,” said Romeo. “Oh, and tell Dipika I said hi.”

“C’mon Ro, you didn’t even have as much workplace drama dating me as you do with that moron.” Li-Anne had crept up behind him.

“Can we forget about all this? Please.”

Two shifts ended shortly after, when night turned to morning. Penama was a new jailbird and finding someone who spoke her mother tongue was someone else’s burden. Rohan wanted to meet for drinks later in the day instead, but Romeo wasn’t feeling it in his stomach. Drinking alone? Sure. He’d need the last of Heathcliff’s gifts to him.

Would it even be right to accept any more of them? His starving artist’s money couldn’t have bought his lifestyle either.

It was time to sleep. He thought that he told Heathcliff to visit but the apartment was empty like his tongue was. And what would he say to him the morning after? The next week? For however long that kid wanted to keep that relationship going?

Romeo couldn’t get up from the bed after that, as if Heathcliff was sitting on his chest.

After two hours of fitful rest, someone knocked on his door. Heathcliff had a key and Romeo must have asked him over for breakfast after all. There the young man was, carrying flowers or coffee or grapefruits for the two of them to enjoy. He was the only person who ever came over, after all. That young man feared nothing, and he could push Romeo around in all the right ways.

His life must have been nice. Funded and framed by crime of course, but also the dream of any bachelor. He had to be innocent in this. Otherwise, Romeo would have to give up the black-and-white thinking that kept him his job or give up the greatest relationship he ever had.

Terrible prospects, the both of them.

“Hey Ro, I got your favorite coffee, heard you had a long night,” said Heathcliff through the door. He could taste the iced coffee on his tongue already, complete with a little bit of hazelnut syrup, but couldn’t find the words. Usually those were easier. “Hey, I’ll just leave these by your door if you’re still drained. I’ll bug you later.”

“Yeah…that’d be nice. Thank you.”

---

An ode to the chapter from hell…the struggle started with what law enforcement department to place Romeo in (he starts out the game at Level 9 in the law enforcement career/special agent branch which should have been my first clue, but I mean, everyone works in the same rabbithole…) and this chapter got a total rewrite when city/state police wasn’t really making sense to me. In general it wasn’t jiving with me. Maybe still isn’t. It got some revisions an hour before release.

Somehow this became the chapter I had to make the most niche CAS content for at this point. Most of it was easy but I spent a whole two minutes inserting an actual picture of Heathcliff and Romeo that didn’t actually show up in the screenshots and for what reason now?

Well at least the FBI jackets weren’t pointless.

Next there was the city police station, which is actually just a room built near Bridgeport City Hall (which is the combined rabbithole for city hall, police, and the military). It was built above the FBI office set (inspired by the recreation of the J. Edgar Hoover building for TS4 by /u/Iridium_rd), and for whatever reason refused to be properly lit. It had overhead lights, windows, etc. but objects and sims would be in complete darkness. With some clever debug lights, I could make it almost passable.

While William looked great (there’s a whole deep dive about the skin overlay given to vampires, genies, and grey sims that should be saved for another day but that probably helped us here) and Romeo and Rohan looked almost alright, there was that nasty bloom on everything. And the sims would be shrouded in darkness again if I moved them (THAT THING YOU DO WHEN POSING). I still don’t know what went wrong.

Oh! And I love the water cooler poses. But they had to be completely redone because I could only get the water cooler to tilt in the opposite direction I originally posed in. It’s complicated stuff about how it’s technically coded as a coffee maker and counter appliance, it’s crazy setting it up as a normal object too, etc.

Sheila’s chapters have been much more forgiving. For next time!