((lmao i had been eating dinner and was gonna get to this))
She took a deep breath, turning fully in her seat and pulling her legs up to make it more comfortable, so she could face him. "The world is kickin' your ass 'cause you're lettin' it." It wasn't very nice, and didn't quite make as much sense as it should have, but it was something perfectly in character for her to say, and coming from her, did make some sense. "But tha's somethin' I can do. I can help ya, because some days it feels like that was the only thing I was ever good at. I'll be right there next game, and I'll kick the world's ass before it can get to you. That's what I do."
"It helps that you're getting paid over a million dollars to do that, too," he mumbled, smiling slightly at her response. It was so expectable but still so soothing at the same time. He pulled off the brake and began driving again, returning his eyes to the road.
"So that's a yes?" Raymond asked.
"That's a plus, yeah." She agreed, lips quirking just slightly. Like a smile was attempting to break free, but couldn't quite make it past the ice of her face. "And yeah. Okay, I'll come stay with you. Ya sure Rico can come with? He's been itchin' t' get the fuck outta dodge after his breakup. Really did think he and Xavier were gonna get hitched."
"I could just pay for them to have a nicer apartment somewhere else," he pointed out as he turned onto her street, his face reverting back to his normal stony gaze. "I have over 200,000 dollars just resting in my bank account after last game. All my bills are paid, I have a fully stocked fridge and everything."
"Ya'd really just pay t' get Rico an apartment?" She asked, confusion flickering in her eyes at that. It really was so hard to imagine people doing nice things for friends. "And holy shit. I've never even seen that kinda money. I make a habit o' not checkin' my savin's, just in case." Savings, as in the box under her floorboards.
"Yeah, I would. Rico literally saved me from getting killed junior year," Raymond said, pulling over in front of the apartment.
He referred to one instance when a few Panther's had cornered Raymond after a game for his friendship with Khione. One of them had pulled a knife and nearly stuck it into his stomach before Rico had came up behind him and smashed a brick over the gang member's head. The others, understandably, ran off, and Rico walked Raymond the rest of the way home.
"He's pretty good at that, ain't he." She commented, slipping out of the car and stretching her arms up as high as she could, a small yawn slipping out despite her attempts to muffle it by biting her bottom lip. "Shows up outta nowhere. Never actually has a fuckin' weapon. I'm glad he showed up when I wasn' there though." He'd told Khione about the incident. She and Rico had shared almost everything, and he'd taken to protecting Raymond when she couldn't.
He got out of the car after her, locking the door nearly immediately. This neighborhood isn't a good one for nice cars and he knew it.
"Which apartment is your's?" Raymond asked, following her inside.
"Top floor, fire escape into the alley." Khione said, as though it should have been obvious she'd pick the one hardest to get to, with the best possible escape route. "No elevator though. I won't take 'em, after-" She shook her head, heading for the stairwell and leaving that as that.
"I hate it when you do that, he said, pulling a face as he walked after her. "You like to say vague, interesting things and then not finish the sentence."
“D’you really wanna hear about the time Constanza cornered me in the elevator and pulled the emergency break?” She asked, nonchalantly raising an eyebrow over her shoulder at him.
"Second thought," he said, that look he had when he threw the man across the bar for a moment, "Let's leave it at that."
The stairs were no problem for him, taking them two steps at a time because just taking them one would be uncomfortable for him.
"Figured. Costanza is one of the biggest problems this side o' the tracks, ans he still ain't dead, somehow." She said as she led the way up the stairs, moving quickly so that she wouldn't trip him. Jeremy had been a Panther when she was still an adopted Reaper, and he'd taken it upon himself to go after the weakest link he could find. And that was her. He was part of the reason she'd had to grow up so fast, had to become the strongest member of the Reapers at such a young age. And yet, she still hadn't been able to kill him.
Because he still scared her.
"I'd rather not talk about him," he admitted when they reached the top floor. "I don't like the look you get when he gets brought up. Something different that I never see."
She shrugged a shoulder, fiddling with her locket again as she led the way down the hall. "Don' know what ya mean, but a'ight." She pulled her keys from her jacket pocket, unlocking the door at the far end of the hall, not even sparing the bullet holes in the wood a second glass. "Rico! Ray's back!"
Raymond ducked his head to fit inside of the doorframe and walked inside, slipping his hands into his pockets. It had been forever since he'd seen Rico. How would he even react to him?
"Oh my Eilene, Khione, if you're shitting me I'm going to beat-" A voice called from somewhere in the apartment, Rico's thick street-Cuban accent familiar as ever. He cut off just as he poked his head out a doorway, eyes widening. "Holy fuck. Oh Santa Maria, little Raymond is back! And he ain't so little!"
A small smile graced his lips. Being called "little" wasn't something he was used to, even in the NBA. It was something he missed, for sure.
"Hey," he said awkwardly, glad Rico wasn't mad at him for being gone for so long.
"Dude, dude dude dude, can I give you a fucking hug?" Rico asked excitedly, practically bouncing out of the kitchen. He was wearing sweatpants and a Kiss The Cook apron, suspiciously lacking a shirt, a sight that had Khione rolling her eyes as she passed him to check out the window.
"As soon as you put a shirt on, yeah," he said, taking a step back. The smell of Rico's cooking made is grin grow to the size of a normal person's, which was so rare for him it was shocking.
"Aw, man. You know I can't cook in a shirt!" He complained, slipping off the apron and balling it up to toss at Khione in response to her dry snort. "Fine, but I want my hug. Soon as I find my shirt."
"That should take a while," he mumbled, turning back to Khione. "Should I take him with us tonight, or will he be able to survive a night without supervision?"
"Rico? Absolutely not. He'll live though." She said, gathering up a few items and shoving them into a duffel bag. She paused in one spot, standing there for a bit too long, as though considering something, before continuing on.
"Hasn't changed a bit," he mumbled, looking around the apartment. It was as run down as he imagined. It made him feel all the more guilty. Here he was getting paid millions of dollars to play a game in front of cameras and the were slaving away to stay in an apartment that looked like the second deck of an 18th century ship.
"He really hasn't. Neither of us have, come t' think about it. We really are glad you got to though." She said, glancing over at him for a moment. "You alright? Y'know ya can sit down, right? The rats ain't in the couch, they're in the walls."
