Heroic Villains: Toxic Hero

Headline Eight: The Qualms of Foggy Suspicions

Mave Sanders

Mave wanted to know more about Kieran. The mutilated body found in the alleyway he'd disappeared down couldn't possibly be a coincidence, could it? He had to be Beast, he was tall, had brown hair, was the last to see the victim and was identified at the murder scene, but Mave worried about digging into the subject of Coy's brother too much just yet. But honestly couldn't help himself. So, tried to frame it as casual as possible.

"So, are you and your brother close?" This simple question wiped the light smile from Coy's face and Mave was instantly regretting it until Coy spoke.

"...Yeah, but I guess that's what happens when you raise your little brother."

"Wait, little? How old are you two?" Mave squeaked out in surprise; his caution now thrown to the wind.

"I'm twenty-six; five years older than Kieran."

"I would have never guessed." Mave was truly dumb founded. This did make it less probably that Kieran was Beast.

"Now you," He prompted with a quick smirk.

"Twenty-four," Mave replied while Coy looked at him, running his fingers through his black hair, moving it from in front of his face which let Mave get a good look at those deep green eyes of his. There was something about them that set Mave on edge.

"I would have never guessed," Coy repeated Mave's own words, the playful smirk turned into a genuine smile as he scooted closer and suddenly Mave felt stupid for thinking Coy could be dangerous. It was his brother who was the potential cannibal. But he still had questions to ask no matter how cute Coy was being; he had to stay focused.

"If you raised Kieran, do you still live together?"

"Yeah, he doesn't get paid a lot, so it makes sense."

"That's very kind of you."

"He's all the family I have left and the same for him." There was sadness in those words.

"Papa Coy," Mave smiled a stupid grin to try and keep Clover's mood up.

"You think you've got me all figured out, don't you?" Coy asked all too seriously. Mave frowned thoughtfully, maybe he'd overstepped somewhere.

"I didn't say that I did," He told Coy who stared quietly. Mave half expected an argument of some kind, but instead Coy smiled again.

"Do you want to?"

"...Maybe." Mave wasn't sure what to expect. No way he was about to talk about his cannibal brother on a first date, right?

"My friends call me Clover."

"Clover...?" Mave asked. He knew that name, he'd seen it somewhere before. But not associated with Beast.

"Like the plant."

"Yeah, it's cute." Where did he know that name?

"Says the one with a girl's name."

"Okay one, it's unisex. And two, I happen to like my name." Mave puffed up his chest in pride and Clover laughed.

"No, it's a good name. I like it, especially Magnificent Mave," Clover continued to tease by using the stupid name the reporters give him whenever they're gushing about how cool he is.

"Okay, that one not so much."

"But it's got alliteration," Clover giggled.

"It's silly. I wish the papers would stop using it."

"Not a fan of poetry, got it." Clover nodded and laughed when Mave nudged him.

"It's not that, it's just overused that it's lost all meaning," Mave said.