Greg returned to the safe zone early the next morning, slipping under the wall as he remembered Patrick's advice, vaguely noting that he seemed to move slower underground than he did through the air. Which, he supposed, made sense. No matter how weird his smoke was, it was still something, and things didn't travel through the ground as easily as they did air. Most things couldn't travel through the ground at all. The fact that all he did was slow down was still pretty ridiculous. And also rather helpful because by the time he shook himself out of that line of thought, he was practically in the middle of the safe zone. If he'd been going his normal speed, he probably would have overshot it completely.
He slipped into an alley and returned to his human form, groaning slightly as he limped towards Victor's place. He had officially pushed himself too far last night, letting the strain build up to the point where he felt like he was walking through sludge, having to push with everything he had just to take a single step! He'd managed to get by in the city by mostly traveling as smoke, which didn't seem to take any effort at all, letting him recover just enough that he could make one solid blow, then sitting there as the ferals tore at him, waiting until he got the perfect opening to end it, and avoiding any that seemed more intelligent than a four year old so they actually would keep tearing at him. It'd let him take out a full sixteen ferals throughout the entire night, but he wasn't sure he'd be up to do anything anytime soon.
Greg grimaced. The problem was that once he had a target, he literally couldn't stop himself from going after them without a legitimate excuse, and the fact that it would be harder just didn't qualify as one for him. Maybe if the strain made him feel tired it'd be different, but even now, he wasn't exhausted, he was just… limited. Like yeah, he felt like he was walking through molasses, but he still felt… fresh? Like every step was his first, not the indeterminate slog it actually was. Kinda like he was a robot with rusty joints or something. Sure it made everything harder, but he didn't actually care that it was harder. Though maybe he should, considering he had people he needed to protect… There was no way he'd be in any position to do anything if he felt the glass break right now. Well, he could show up at least, but actually stopping anyone would be almost impossible. Which… wasn't good. And that was a legitimate excuse he could use.
Speaking of, he'd continued to monitor the wolf man's location throughout the night, but he was still just randomly circulating through the same area for some reason. He at least seemed less panicked than he had earlier in the night, but he still didn't seem inclined to head to any sort of base any time soon. Still, Greg had hope, idly considering how he'd approach these ‘good ferals’ when he did find them, getting so lost in thought that he didn't even notice the person standing by Victor's door until she was right in front of him. "Hm? Gah! Meredith!" Greg exclaimed, stumbling backwards as he raised his hands defensively, feeling like he should run, but conversely not really wanting to run… bitch or no, the woman was hot, and a not insignificant part of him really hoped she'd give him a good excuse to go for it. Not that he had any idea what a good excuse would be, but he was open to being surprised. He paused as he realized the two of them had just been staring at each other for about half a minute now, coughing awkwardly as he dropped his defensive stance. “Uh… What's up?” He asked cautiously.
"I've been waiting for you." Meredith explained, flushing slightly. "You never responded to my message yesterday… I'm not used to men ignoring me, you know." She joked half-heartedly, but without her usual, flirty demeanor, it just came across as forced. She wasn't wearing her usual outfit either. Instead she'd put on a bulky overshirt which gave her more of a girl next door vibe. Still attractive, but not in your face about it.
"Message? Oh, right! You wanted to talk… uh, sorry, I got sort of caught up in some other stuff and I forgot." Greg explained, scratching his head somewhat sheepishly, which was only half true. He had gotten caught up, particularly with the Fredrick stuff, but he'd really just blown her off because… Well, because he actually did want to talk to her and he knew he shouldn't, so he ignored it.
Meredith shook her head. "It's alright, I understand. You ended up talking with Fredrick, right? That must have been all you could think about. I know how intense he can be."
Greg raised an eyebrow at her. "How'd you know about that?"
Meredith flushed. "I've developed a rather decent information network in the safe zone… Not much escapes my notice."
"Is that how you keep finding me?" Greg asked. Meredith paused for a moment, before nodding nervously. Greg sighed, shaking his head. "No wonder… Why are you being so persistent about all this? I mean, you didn't even know what my ability was before, and you were still hunting me down like a kid chasing a breakfast cereal mascot."
Meredith's flush deepened. "At first, I was just trying to annoy Tessa. I knew you two were close, so stealing you from her would- See, she and I have a small rivalry over who the most desirable woman in the safe zone is… If I could steal you from her, it would prove that I was the more desirable one. It didn't really matter how strong you were. Then once I saw how strong you actually are… I just- I need to be on the same squad as you! If I have someone like you to keep me safe…” She eyed him with an almost hungry look in her eyes as she trailed off, instinctively posing herself a bit more seductively.
Greg frowned. His first thought was that this rivalry of hers had to be largely one sided, because he didn't think Tessa gave two shits about being the most desirable woman in the safe zone. His second thought was why the hell did women keep trying to sleep with him for protection!?! He really didn't need the temptation. Plus, why him? He got it for the ferals, but Meredith had to have better options, right? "What about the high-tiers? I can promise you, if they're all like that Earth Bender guy and Patrick, they're much stronger than I am. Why not join one of their squads?"
Meredith sighed. "High-tiers aren't allowed to join squads because they're too important to the defense of the safe zone. They have to remain here to keep everyone safe.”
Greg paused. "Well… I suppose that makes sense. You don't want your strongest fighters to be god knows where when danger comes knocking. Still though, aren't you one of the most desirable women in the safe zone? Why not rely on one of them?"
Meredith crossed her arms and huffed. "People who can be of use to the safe zone aren't allowed to live in indolence. If Fredrick caught me living easy off one of the high-tiers, he'd throw me out into the city faster than you could blink. He doesn't mind if you're weak, but if you're strong, and you don't do anything with it, he has no use for you."
"Huh… harsh, but I can't say I disagree." Greg muttered. "So… I guess the end of all this is you want to join Unicorn Squad, right?"
Meredith nodded. "You know my ability. I would help keep the rest of the squad safe, while you would keep me safe. None of your members are weak, and with my ability letting you take more risks, I'm sure the squad will shoot to the top of the rankings in no time! It's a win-win scenario! Plus… My offer still stands. Anything you want from me, I'll give you willingly. Eagerly~” She finished, watching him carefully, biting her lip to pull off a cautiously seductive look. Apparently she was still holding on to a bit of hope that she could 'steal' him from Tessa.
Greg groaned. “Okay, look, if you want to be on the squad, then this has to stop, because you are absolutely capable of twisting me around your finger and I'm not putting the squad through that. You're either with me or you're on the squad, not both.”
Meredith frowned. “Why would I want to be with you if I couldn't be on the squad?”
Greg shrugged helplessly. “Because you actually like me?” Meredith just raised an eyebrow at him, like he'd just told a bad joke, causing Greg to deflate slightly. “Yeah, okay, I guess that was a longshot… anyway, my point is, you either get influence over me, or over the squad, not both. I'm sure we'll start to get reliant on your healing, so the others are going to be motivated to give you whatever you want, but as long as I'm not sleeping with you, I don't give a fuck what you want.”
Meredith frowned. “Why would that matter?”
Greg blinked. “Because you're a bitch? I mean, we were just talking about how you tried to ‘steal’ me from Tessa, which is ridiculous in the first place since we aren't even a thing, but it's still absolutely a bitch move. Someone needs to be in a position to tell you to cut that shit out.”
Meredith's eyes widened, her mouth working wordlessly for a moment. “I'm not a bitch!” She hissed angrily.
Greg raised an eyebrow. “Is there a non-bitchy reason to try to steal a man from someone?”
Meredith glared at him. “I was simply letting you know you had options. If that could steal you away, then you weren't really hers in the first place!”
Greg cocked his head. “Fair… but you've already made it clear you don't actually like me, so you were just leading me on, which is still a bitch move. No matter how you cut it, you were trying to hurt at least one of us.”
“I don't have to stand here and be insulted like this!” Meredith huffed.
“I mean… You kinda do? If you want to be on the squad at least. Cause we don't want to have to deal with you being a bitch all the time.” Greg pointed out.
Meredith froze, then turned a predatory look on him, sauntering forward. “What if I took you, twisted you around my finger, and made you join a squad with me?” She asked with a dangerous purr, reaching out to place a hand on his chest. They were both very clear that if she wanted him, she could have him, and once she had him…
Greg shook his head. “Wouldn't work. I'll put myself through a toxic relationship if the benefits are good enough, but no matter what, I'm not putting my friends through that shit, and abandoning them just because my shitty girlfriend wants me too isn't going to happen either. Like, I would really like to sleep with you, but I'm not going to ruin my life over it, you know? Half the reason I’m so tempted is because I honestly don't think I'd care about most of the shit you'd try to pull. It isn't like I love you or anything, I just think your body is freaking bonkers.”
Meredith blinked, not entirely sure how she should take that. “I- see… So I can join the squad?” She asked, sighing as she took a step back.
“I don't think it's really my decision, but I'll put in a good word for you?” Greg offered.
“Very well. I hope to hear from you soon.” Meredith nodded, immediately turning and walking off.
*
"So Meredith does want to join Unicorn Squad, huh?" Victor commented after he woke up and Greg told him the news. "Well I'll be damned."
"Yeah. So what do you think? Should we go for it?" Greg asked.
Victor sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "I don't know. I mean, if she can avoid being her usual Queen Bitch of Hell self, she'd be an amazing asset. But… well, she can be a fucking Queen Bitch of Hell. I mean, I've seen it happen again and again. She comes on real sweet, gets you all wound around her finger, until you're practically addicted to her, and then she turns it around and you can't help but do everything she says cause you need her more than she needs you.”
“That's why I told her she can't be with me if she's on the squad.” Greg pointed out. “I don't need her healing, so she can't hold that over me, and if she isn't sleeping with me, I have no problem putting her in her place if necessary.”
Victor raised an eyebrow. “And she… accepted that?”
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Greg shrugged. “I mean, she didn't seem to appreciate being called a bitch, but yeah? She still wants to join the squad at least.”
“Whoa, whoa, hold on.” Victor held up a hand. “You called her a bitch? To her face? And she still wants to be on the same squad as you?!?”
Greg paused. “Yes?”
Victor just stared at him for a moment. “Shit, maybe this can work.” He muttered.
Greg shrugged. “Maybe. I mean, obviously she's still going to try, because duh, but… well, I'm kinda hoping you guys do let her on the squad, because then she'll be officially off limits and I'll be free.” He sighed wistfully.
Victor snorted. “Or you could just start dating Tessa already.”
Greg rolled his eyes. “Dude, that's not a thing.”
“That's totally a thing, and the fact that you can't see it is hilarious.” Victor snickered.
Greg grimaced. “Okay, look, I get that Tessa is a bit invested in me, but that doesn't mean it's romantic, you know? She probably just feels responsible for me or something.”
Victor nodded. “Sure, sure. But it absolutely is romantic, so… get on that, huh? Or I'm pretty sure she's going to start stabbing me soon, and I don't heal the same. Though if we got Meredith…” He hummed thoughtfully, tapping his chin.
Greg grumbled under his breath, letting the topic drop. It wasn't that he didn't think Tessa could actually be into him, or that he couldn't be into her as well, it was just… he didn't want to fuck things up. And if he was wrong, it would fuck things up. The squad seemed to have enough drama as it was, and if he made Tessa uncomfortable, there might not even be a squad. He didn't want to be the reason everything fell apart. He'd played that role too often already.
*
"Meredith is competing with me?" Tessa asked incredulously. She'd swung by to pick Greg up for training again, and he'd told her about Meredith as they made their way to the training rooms. It'd been a few hours since he got back, so the strain wouldn't get in the way, though it still wasn't completely gone. Maybe halfway there? But more than enough for training, since he didn't really need to push himself for that.
"Yeah, she seems to think you two are rivals for most desirable women in the safe zone." Greg nodded before pausing. "Though, now that I think about it, doesn't Sarah get that title by default? I mean, it's literally her ability."
Tessa rolled her eyes. "Yes, let's just parade Sarah around the safe zone, let all the perverts get a good look at her. That will show Meredith."
"Hey, I wasn't suggesting anything like that. I mean, who cares who's the most desirable in the safe zone? I was just saying it's sort of a pointless debate seeing as Sarah literally has cheats. Unless you wanted to add in women… but then you'd have to count desirable guys as well, so that just makes things even more complicated." Greg rambled, frowning as he went down the rabbit hole.
Tessa sighed. "Greg, not the point! Meredith has been carrying on some sort of imaginary competition with me this entire time! It's insane!"
Greg paused. "Well, the competition isn't exactly imaginary. I mean, just because you don't care, doesn't mean people don't desire you. Though… the fact that you aren't even trying does make it kind of sad for Meredith." Tessa gave Greg a flat, unamused stare. "Uh, anyway, the real point is whether or not we actually want her in our Squad. I think I'll be able to control her, but is it really worth having to control her in the first place?”
Tessa frowned. “You think you can control her? You can barely control yourself!”
“Whoa, hey now. I'm tempted by her because there's no good reason not to be with her. At least, from my standpoint the benefits outweigh the cost. Not by a lot mind you, but… enough. But once she's on the squad, that equation flips because then I'm the one who has to handle her, and I'm not going to be able to do that if I'm sleeping with her.” Greg paused. “Well, no, I might, but definitely not as well… Anyway, what I'm saying is that it isn't like sex makes me lose my mind, I just have a hard time not indulging when I don't see any reason not to.”
Tessa frowned. “Elaborate.”
Greg sighed. "Alright, basically, I have my issues. I know my issues. I'm prone to excess. I sleep too much, I eat too much, I read too much, anything I enjoy, as long as it isn't wrong, I do it as much as I can. I really just can't stop myself. And at its core, sleeping with Meredith isn't wrong, and I'm pretty freaking certain I'd enjoy it. Of course, there are incidentals that make it ill-advised, like the fact that she's a bitch, and all my friends would judge me for it if I actually did it, hell, I would judge myself for it, so I have some measure of resistance, but it's still hard. But if she's in the squad, then sleeping with her would give her power over everyone else, which is wrong, so I wouldn't be tempted to sleep with her anymore! Which would be a huge relief because I don't actually want to sleep with her.”
Tessa scowled. "If you don't want to do it, then don't do it! Why would you want to do something you don't want to do?!?”
Greg grimaced. "Because I do want to do it. It's like… intellectually, I know it's ultimately a bad idea, but I also know it'd be really fun in the moment. And unfortunately, I'm not that great with long-term consequences… I mean, I recognize them, but I'm not the best at caring about them. Like, I can deal with being miserable later as long as I get to enjoy myself right now, you know?”
Tessa threw up her hands in exasperation. "Then just go do it already! Why stop yourself? Go, have fun!"
"No, that's not-" Greg's expression twisted as he tried to figure out how to explain this. "It's- okay, say you're really craving chocolate, but you know you shouldn't have chocolate. It isn't like you're going to go out of your way to buy chocolate, but if there happens to be a chocolate bar right next to you, you're going to have a hard time not eating that chocolate bar, right? Does that make any sense? Plus, it isn't like the consequences are terrible. Maybe you break your diet, but like, you can just do better later. Of course, you never actually do do better later… But a little extra weight isn't the worst thing in the world either. The whole Meredith thing is like that. Sure, if I went for it, there'd be consequences, but they wouldn't be terrible consequences. It isn't like people don't sleep around, and while yeah, relationships based solely on sex aren't great, people still do it, and they at least seem to enjoy it. I don't necessarily want to be that kind of person, but I don't see anything inherently wrong about it.”
Tessa raised an eyebrow at him. "You don't see anything wrong with only using women for sex?" She asked, crossing her arms.
Greg frowned. "Well, it depends on how you do it, doesn't it? If you're tricking women into bed by pretending you have feelings for them, then yeah, that's wrong, but if you're up front about it and everyone involved knows what the deal is and consents, then what's the harm? You use them, they use you, and everyone's happy."
"If that's what you think, then why don't you want to do it?" Tessa asked, looking legitimately confused. She just could not get Greg's reasoning.
Greg sighed. "Because I want to find a real relationship, you know? One based on love and respect. It's hard to find something like that when you spend all your time and energy on shallow flings. I know some people get lucky and turn flings into serious relationships, but… I just don't think it's common enough to depend on. Though… it isn't like I'm finding anyone doing what I'm doing either." Greg paused. “Actually, I seem to be meeting a lot of girls lately… but not many I'd actually consider being with, you know? Especially since most of them are ferals who probably don't even understand what commitment is.” He shook his head. “Honestly, I got nothing on relationships. Not real ones, at least. I've always figured my best chance is that she'll find me. But knowing me, I'd probably overthink it or think I was just imagining things and ignore her anyway.” Tessa blinked, looking at Greg with a mix of exasperation and incredulity. "What?" Greg asked as he noticed her look.
"You-" Tessa began, before sighing in defeat. "Nothing. Come on, we have training to do." She grumbled, stalking off towards the training rooms. Greg watched her go with a confused expression, before shrugging and following. He vaguely felt like he was missing something, but he just couldn't figure out what. Eh, he was probably just imagining it. He had a very active imagination.
*
Casey heard a knock on her door, her eyes widening in surprise as she found Tessa, instead of Emily, who was supposed to show up sometime soon. "Hey, Casey. Can- can I talk to you about something?" Tessa asked, shuffling slightly in an uncharacteristic display of nervousness, increasing Casey's confusion even further.
"Uh… yeah? Yeah! Come on in." Casey shook herself from her daze, stepping aside to let Tessa in, the two taking a seat on Casey's couch, Tessa sitting there quietly for a moment until Casey coughed. "Uh, so… what did you want to talk about?"
Tessa hesitated slightly, before replying. "It's- well- with- with Greg… is- is there something… up with him? Like, what's his deal?" She asked nervously.
"Greg?" Casey responded, eyebrows rising slightly in surprise, before furrowing down into a frown. "Up with him? I- kinda? I guess? I wouldn't know how to describe it though… he's just- well, he's Greg. I think the only person who really understands him is himself. Maybe Victor, but even then, I think it's more that they operate on similar wavelengths, than any true level of understanding." Casey explained thoughtfully, before pausing, her eyes narrowing in suspicion. "Wait, why? What did he do? He didn't bring home another feral, did he?"
"No, he didn't do anything." Tessa groaned. "I just- I don't get why he can get that Meredith-" Tessa spat out her name in a tone of disgust."-is into him, yet when I-" Tessa froze, realizing she'd said more than she meant to, flushing slightly.
Casey's eyebrows shot up. "You- you like Greg?" Tessa hesitated, before nodding stiffly. "That's- that's- that's great!" Casey exclaimed excitedly, jumping to her feet and moving to sit right next to Tessa, grabbing her by the hands. "Since when? What is it you like about him?"
Tessa froze. "I- I- it- I-" She stammered, before taking a deep breath. "I- I think it started after he saved me from that feral, the one who was keeping Sarah captive… he just- it was the first time I saw how… sturdy he can be. He- he has this absolute sense of what's right and what's wrong, and- he just doesn't move from it. He could have left Sarah- he could have left me, but… he didn't. He couldn't. It isn't who he is. And I just see it more and more. With Sarah's ability, with the ferals, with-" Tessa paused. "Well, less with Meredith than I would like, but he at least shows resistance." She grumbled. "Plus… Well, he's kind of a dork, and I like that." She added quickly, flushing lightly.
"Huh…" Casey grunted, cocking her head as she considered Tessa's explanation. "So… Do you think he likes you back?"
"I don't know!" Tessa let out another groan, throwing herself back into the couch. "I'm not even sure he realizes I like him! I mean, I go out of my way to train with him, I take him dancing, we have lunch every day, and- and- nothing! I don't know if he's purposefully ignoring me or if he's really that oblivious!"
"Well, if I had to guess…" Casey sighed. "Greg can be really, really oblivious. Like, it isn't even funny. I once saw a girl go up to him to ask if he wanted to do homework together, and do you want to know what his response was? 'No, I already did it'! And he just walked off, leaving the poor girl just standing there! The worst part? I knew he had a crush on her! At least, he was interested. And it wasn't like he was scared or nervous or anything, he just… the idea that doing homework together was an excuse to hang out never occurred to him."
Tessa frowned. "So what, do I have to start acting like Meredith? Show off three quarters of my tits and plaster myself against him?"
Casey paused, before shaking her head. "As much as I would love to see that, I wouldn't actually recommend it. Honestly, I think your best bet would be to just tell him you like him and see what happens."
Tessa grunted noncommittally, frowning as she considered Casey's suggestion. It wasn't that she couldn't do it, but… the fact that she had to do it just made her uncomfortable. Why could he read Meredith's intentions, but not hers? Why was what she'd already done not enough to get through to him? Her fingers felt itchy as she thought of stabbing Greg again, gritting her teeth in frustration. Finally, she let out a sigh, getting to her feet. "Thank you for talking about this with me. I- I have a lot to think about." She thanked Casey, before leaving the apartment, heading for someplace quiet where she could be alone with her thoughts.