Hawk Helman’s eye was twitching so bad, anyone would have thought he was having a stroke. He gritted his teeth and tried his damndest not to let the full breadth of his irritation show as he stared at the freezer doors and the disheveled contents within. His coworker stood behind him, hand to forehead as he shook his head.

“Third time this week,” he muttered, not for the first time. “How many times do we have to tell these guys not to overstock and to put the shit where it actually goes?”

“Apparently every damn day,” Hawk grumbled, his jaw aching from how hard his teeth were clenched. 

“This is becoming a living hell, I swear,” Jordan Franks groaned as he turned away, heading to the front of the store to grab a shopping cart. 

No, Hawk thought to himself, Hell would be preferable to this. Lucifer himself is kinder than the management who force us to deal with these idiots. 

Jordan walked up a moment later with the cart and they both began pulling out bag after bag of frozen vegetables, restocking as they went, grumbling the entire time. It was around that time, Hawk down at the bottom on his knees and Jordan standing on the freezer case itself to reach the top shelf, that Charlotte Graves, their department lead, walked by. She paused mid-step and stared at them. They stared back, telling her everything she needed to know with their eyes. She shook her head and walked on. The two men exchanged a glance and went back to work.

Later, the frozen vegetable section restocked and organized, they moved on to continue their primary task of working the new load with the rest of their department. Hawk worked automatically, emptying box after box, stocking the freezer shelves quickly and efficiently, and moving on to the next section without thought or hesitation. The earbud in his right ear filled his head with music as he worked, distracting him from the near mindless work he had become accustomed to over the last six years.

He didn’t hate the work, especially since he worked nights and didn’t have to deal with people as much; he just hated how incredibly boring it was compared to his previous life. A life he did his best not to think about as much as possible. 

He almost didn’t notice when Jordan had moved to another aisle, leaving him completely alone. He paused, looking from one end to the other. Taking a deep breath, he reached out with his senses and grinned. He really was alone for once. Maintaining complete awareness of his surroundings, he took a step back, removed his gloves, raised both hands to about his hips and opened them, palms up. Making sure what he was doing would make the least amount of noise, he mentally dipped into the well of power at his core and pulled out just a tiny bit. He could feel the familiar warmth as it rushed through his body, down his arms and out from his hands. 

The boxes on the floor opened all at once, the contents lifting from within them as though they were being pulled by strings. One by one, each TV dinner flew into the freezer case, filling the shelves quickly and quietly. He gave himself one full minute to get as much in as he could before he risked being seen. Not only that, the amount of power he allowed himself to use wasn’t going to last that long, anyway, especially with his core not completely under control yet. It would drain away quickly before his babysitter knew what he had done and he would be back to stocking manually once again, just like every other mortal in the store.

He focused on drawing the energy back and closed his palms, the power dissipating, the boxes he emptied lying flat and still on the floor beside the pallet he was working from. He ran a hand through his short, choppy, dark blood red hair and took a deep breath, calming his body and restabilizing his core. Even just the tiny amount he used was enough to make him want to pull forth even more, to bathe in the delicious heat and exhilaration that power once gave him. He turned his hands up and down, watching as the last dregs of magic left them. No marks. 

He sighed as he pulled his gloves back on, the constant weight of his situation once again shackling itself around his neck. He reached for the pallet jack and pulled it further down the aisle to continue stocking by hand. With his hair in his eyes and his lips set in a line, he resumed the mundane task just as another stocker from the dry side of the store walked past.

Great timing.

Alerik Albright glared at Hawk as he passed, but Hawk didn’t bother to even glance his way. The two did not like each other and did their best to avoid one another as much as possible. There were times, however, when Hawk thought Alerik made it a point to walk past him, just to remind Hawk he still existed. Hawk just kept his head down and ignored him. 

“Something on your mind?” 

Hawk didn’t even flinch at the sound of Charlotte’s voice suddenly in his ear. He may have tuned down his awareness, but he always knew when she was around.

“Nothing worth talking about,” Hawk said, breaking open another box with relative ease. 

Charlotte watched him work, his amber eyes focused on what was in front of him and not on her. “How much is left?” she asked, referring to the number of new pallets that needed to be worked.

Hawk shrugged. “Shouldn’t you know that?”

“I do know that, I’m asking you.”

He rolled his eyes and shook his head once. “I don’t know, like two pallets or something. There’s more than just me here, you know.”

“Exactly.”

His arm froze midway between case and shelf, the box of frozen lasagna gripped tightly in his hand. His eyes slid down toward her.

She stared back, face blank, a knowing look in her own amber eyes. “Just making sure you were aware of that.” She looked at the time on her phone and turned away. “You still have a pallet of backstock yet to do before you leave so hurry it up.”

He narrowed his eyes as he watched her walk away, wishing, not for the first time, that she would just drop dead and leave him alone.

He turned back to his task, and quickly forgot about the world around him once again. 

-*-

Hawk and Jordan walked across the parking lot together, Hawk’s hands shoved deep into his hoodie pocket, his bag slung haphazardly over one shoulder. Jordan had his fingers laced behind his head as he stared up into the starlit sky.

“I heard we’re getting some new people soon,” he said in his usual optimistic way.

“This is news?” Hawk replied. “We’re always getting new people. Retail is a revolving door, dude.”

“True, but we’re allegedly getting good new people.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Pessimist,” Jordan said, sticking out his tongue.

“Realist, Jordan, there’s a difference,” Hawk said. “We get told all the time we’re getting good people, but in the end they all end up shitty and worthless.”

“Yeah, I’ll admit the last batch we got in wasn’t too great,” Jordan sighed, “but that doesn’t mean the next ones won’t be. Have faith, my good man, we will conquer this understaffing problem yet!”

Hawk rolled his eyes and grinned. He liked Jordan, thought him to be a pretty good person, despite all he’d gone through in his life. No matter what, he always seemed to be laughing or smiling. He was definitely fun to be around, too. He didn’t usually turn down an invitation to hang out when Jordan asked. He was Hawk’s best friend; really, his only friend.

“What are your plans for the rest of the night?” Hawk asked. 

Jordan shrugged as he pulled his keys from his pocket. “Not sure yet. You?”

Hawk’s truck was parked next to Jordan’s own Chevy Silverado. He unlocked it and opened the door, standing on the retractable step and leaning his arms on the door and the roof of the supersized vehicle. “Not sure yet, either, actually.” He glanced off in the distance, toward the edge of town where there was a lot of open and unused land. It was the kind of place people with offroad and supercharged vehicles went to play. His amber eyes drifted to Jordan and the corner of his mouth lifted in a grin, his teeth glinting in the moonlight.

Jordan threw his head back and laughed. They both climbed into their separate vehicles and tore the quiet night asunder with their loud, roaring engines. Hawk led the way out of the parking lot and sped through town, Jordan hot on his tail. Once they were out of city limits, they flew off the road, into the fields, their large tires tearing up the ground without losing traction. They spun and raced around each other, throwing up dirt and rocks, revving their engines and digging their tires in, going as fast and hard as they could. 

Hawk had a lot of fun playing like this. It was a great way to blow off steam after work, to forget his problems for a few minutes, to get away from everything and everyone that reminded him of what he now was. He was sure he was going to hear about it from Toji later, but for now he just allowed himself a bit of freedom and fun with his friend. 

Twenty minutes later, Jordan pulled up alongside him, both of them laughing and covered in dirt since they had left all their windows down. Jordan shook his head, his brown hair flinging dust and pebbles everywhere, a couple hitting Hawk in the arm. He extended his arm, hand in a fist. 

“Thanks for inviting me out, man, I needed that,” he said.

Hawk reached out and fist-bumped Jordan. “Same. I’ll see you tomorrow, yeah?”

Jordan nodded. Before he took off, he said, “Try and have an open mind about these new people coming in, Hawk. We really do need the help.”

“It isn’t that my mind is closed to the idea, Jordan,” Hawk said. “I gave you a chance, remember?”

Jordan laughed. “Dude, we came in at the same time, remember?”

“I was hired three days before you were, that makes me your senior.”

“Six years and you still use that line?” 

Hawk grinned, his fingers resting lightly on the steering wheel, his amber eyes bright with laughter behind his hair. “You still let me.”

Jordan had to give him that. “Maybe we’ll finally get that third person we’ve been missing, you think?” There was a hint of sadness behind his smile and Hawk sighed.

“Maybe even a fourth.”

“Maybe we’ll get a really hot girl in our department this time.”

Hawk couldn’t help but laugh. “Really, dude, I thought you just wanted good workers?”

“I’m a young man who’s lonely. I’m allowed to dream, dammit.”

“Fair enough.”

“Who knows, maybe there will be a sweet someone coming in for you, too.”

“Ha! No thanks, dude, I’m good.” 

“Oh, come on, Hawk, when was the last time you were in a serious relationship?”

Hawk shrugged. “Not something I’ve ever wanted so I couldn’t tell you.”

“Watch, you’ll meet someone and that’ll change. I’ll even bet on it.”

“Yeah? How much?”

Jordan thought for a second. “Hundred bucks and a gift card to Texas Roadhouse.”

Hawk gave a near devilish grin. “Prepare to lose, my man. ‘Cause it’ll never happen.” They reached out and shook hands to seal the deal. “You’ll find someone long before I will.” 

“God, I hope so!” Jordan said, his head hitting his headrest.

Trust me, he doesn’t care one way or the other. Hawk rolled his eyes. “Get home safe, dude. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Same,” Jordan said, grinning at his friend. “And get a fucking haircut, my guy, it’s getting insane.”

If only you knew how long it took to get it to this point in the first place. 

Hawk laughed and watched as Jordan drove off back to town. Left alone in the dark, his smile disappeared and his eyes darkened. He reached up and tugged on a lock of his hair. “It’s not even that long,” he muttered. All this time, and it only reached the nape of his neck, covering his ears and hung in his face in layers. When he pushed it back off his face, it looked choppy and messy. Combined with his amber eyes, sharp teeth, and smooth features, he wasn’t surprised that most people found him incredibly good looking. 

One woman he had bedded had called him “devilish.” Another called him “sexy as hell.” One man even called him a sin in human form.

He’d been called a lot of things over the centuries, good and bad. But not one of them ever called him boyfriend, husband, partner, or even lover. He made it a point to avoid those terms at all costs. What would be the point, anyway? He didn’t stick around long enough, and they all died in the end. 

A serious relationship? That was a joke. His face darkened and he rested his head back, staring out his open door window over the dark and destroyed field. He had absolutely nothing to offer anyone and he knew it. Besides, once they found out who and what he truly was, if they ever found out, they’d run screaming. 

He had tempted fate by just making, and ultimately keeping, a friend in Jordan and that sometimes felt like too much. He didn’t want to watch someone he cared about grow old and die. He’d seen it way too much and he was sick of it. He’d nearly lost his mind half a dozen times because of it. 

He had laughed in Lucifer’s face when he was exiled…

“You really think you’re punishing me? This is going to be the most fun I’ll have throughout my entire fucking existence!”

Hawk sighed and slowly turned his truck back on to the road and toward home. “I hope you’re ready to lose some money, Jordan Franks,” he said out loud. “No one is going to want to be with someone who can’t love them back.”

If he had bothered to look in his rearview mirror as he drove away, he would have seen two falling stars streak across the sky before blinking out of sight.

-*-