Chapter Text
The sun was high in the sky, it casted its golden rays into the office through the open windows. The sounds of Arthur's fingers tapping against his desk formed a quick, annoyed, rhythm. Said rhythmic tapping is disrupted by the dull thump of his wooden pinky. He had bitten it off after being drugged, the sharp pain still shooting up his hand every now and then, dull but very much present. Arthur grimaced at his own situation, he hadn’t had work in months and bills were piling up. The allegations of him killing his own partner, Peter Yang (or ‘Parker’ as he liked to be called by friends) killing all business. Even if all charges were dropped when the cops found no evidence, not even a murder weapon. Though he figures that last part incriminated him even more, not that he could even testify, that day still a hazy blur. Wasn't helped by the building’s junky of a janitor killed himself in some perverted asphyxiation play while high out of his mind. people blaming him due to the fact they loudly fought the day prior, Arthur having, embarrassingly, lost his temper and struck the man. He could blame no one but himself for that foul rumor. All of this visibly weighed on him, brow furrowing beneath the invisible mass. Soon rubbing his temples in a feeble attempt to stave off the mounting headache, the voice of his daughter doing more for his strained mental state than any drug could. “Daddy! Daddy! Look what I drew!”
He looked up, eyes squinting to better witness the blurry white dot running up to him. Carrying a paper and bringing it to his face, Arthur was saddened to only be able to make out fuzzy pretty colors on the white canvas. Squinting further to maybe see two stick figures before taking the picture and placing it on his desk. Smiling softly to her as he pulled her up into his lap. “It looks beautiful Faroe, just like you” she giggled as he kissed her cheek, the white of her teeth breaking up the beige of her skin, her sandy brown hair and brown eyes all smearing together in one big fuzzy smear. His eyesight has worsened as of late, nearly blind after the accident, the entire day still blurry and hard to remember. But his own screams still pierce through the fog of that day, the pain of his eyes burning after the book still being a dull ache behind them. The same day Parker had died, the circumstances of that day and the fact he can barely remember it only worsened his headache as he tried to piece the fragments together. Faroe started to get worried as her father's face scrunched up in deep thought, tugging on his sleeve hurriedly.
The click of his door brings him out of his thoughts, swiftly giving Faroe her drawing and telling her to run along so he could give the possible customer his full attention. looking up to view the person entering his office, hopefully succeeding in his attempts to not squint at them. They were tall, extremely so, that much he could tell from this distance, but he was just a black blob until they got Closer. Allowing Arthur to better see their features. The person had a black suit on, gold wisps breaking up the black at the sides and chest area, he couldn’t discern the patterns. A golden splotch breaking up the white of his undershirt and neck, possibly a bowtie? Though who wears bowties nowadays? His skin was a darkish brown, pitch black hair atop his head, maybe in a specific style Arthur couldn’t pinpoint. What was most striking about him was his eyes, piercing golden eyes that were clear even with Arthur's poor vision. Those eyes gave a gaze could never forget, a sharp piercing look that made his blood boil. “Ahem, is something the matter Mr. Lester? Do I have something on my face?” Arthur was snapped back to reality for the third time today, having not realized how intently he must have been staring nor how tight he was clenching his jaw “n-no, my apologies, was just spacing out. H-how do you know my name?” He’d cough to remove the dryness in his voice, soothing his mind by affirming this was a different man, a different gaze. Said man cocked an eyebrow at Arthur's odd behavior, or at least he thinks, it's hard to tell from this distance. “It is on the front of your doo- Are you sure you're alright? Need me to come another time?” Arthur jolted up, nearly sending his chair flying “NO!” He couldn’t pass up on any work, no matter how small or big. The man jolted back at the sudden increase in volume, even Faroe looking up startled. Arthur swiftly sat back down as he realized his outburst, coughing and trying to mask the embarrassment that stung his cheeks red. “I-I mean, no. Right now is perfectly fine”
The man seemingly scrunched up his face from what he could make out, eventually, his face relaxed, letting the awkward moment pass. Arthur takes a few breaths to calm down greatly, getting back his usual calm and steely gaze. This made the man slightly chuckle, bringing a small grin to his face. Finally taking his seat across from Arthur “Ah. now that's the cold, calculated demeanor of a man not to be fucked with. You'll be perfect for the job” Arthur was taken aback by that as he finally properly heard his voice. It was deep, far too deep for such a lean man, almost gravely in nature. It reverberated through his mind, almost like a bubbly echo. A somber baritone, It sent shivers down his spine. “*Ahem* Well, now let us get down to business. Tell me, what’s the job you need done? Missing person? Stolen goods? Suspected cheating spouse?” The man’s head made the motions Arthur could discern as ‘no’, an amused small smile formed for a moment that flashed near blinding pearly whites even his eyes could pick apart from the brown smudge of his face, even if it vanished shortly after. “No, no. Nothing so convoluted like all that. I need you to investigate something on a rival family of ours” It was Arthur's turn to quark an intrigued eyebrow, leaning back in his chair as his every loud thoughts started to stir. Latching onto the first distraction they got. “Well now, I think I can manage that. What's your family's connection to each other? And where would I start?” The man seemed to gain a confused look, not that Arthur could really tell. Making vague gestures towards his own suit and face as if that would explain it all, but when all he got was a confused squint from the detective, he sighed. “We're the Kings, the Kings in Yellow to be exact. Or king in yellow if you prefer the official family name.” Upon the mention of the family name, a sour taste formed in Arthur's mouth, his blood pressure speaking just at the thought of them. He already wanted to tell them to get out, having sworn to never do business with that family after the incident he suffered at their youngest’s hands. But at this point he was desperate and had to swallow his pride; no matter how much he hated it. Arthur hoped he hid his disdain well, but whether he showed his true emotions on his face or not. The man didn't seem to notice or just didn’t care. “As for the opposing family, the Nigguraths or Shub-Niggurath as the official family name. And I'm here to ask you to kindly look into a cult they run called the order of the black goats” Arthur sat up a bit straighter as the details rang a bell, he had heard numerous rumors about them running said cult, despite no one ever giving any concrete proof.
“Well, Mr.-?” He tilted his head forward a bit, waiting for a name “Doe, John doe” Arthur nodded, leaning back, crossing a leg over the other “well Mr Doe-” John waved his hand in the air “John is just fine Mr. Lester” Arthur stopped, nodding again, silently taking notes of his wishes “well in that case, Arthur will be fine as well…. John, I don't really know how much I can do. Business with the occult can get.. tricky, especially when they're tied with a powerful figure. Such a job won’t be cheap…” John nodded understandingly, taking a small glance over towards Faroe as she happily doodled away in the corner of the room. “Don't worry, I can promise handsome payment and protection for you and your family” Handsome payment was to be expected by Arthur, especially given his family’s background. But protection as well? That brought the detective’s mind to only one conclusion, he'll want something extra. Which led to Arthur leaning forward once more, giving a stern (or at least he hoped) stern gaze, resting his elbows up on his desk. “Okay then, just give me any leads you may have, any places of interest, and I can get started… unless…you have something more to request of me?” Even with his impaired vision, Arthur could make out the look of hesitation, the following pause of silence only further confirmed his suspicions. After another bead of silence, John gave a relenting sigh. “....I…. I.. I wish to accompany you while you work…” He murmured, embarrassment emanating from his tone. Arthur was about to roll his eyes at the request before it fully registered within his mind, sitting up fully straight with shocked eyes “wait what?! really? Why would you even want to get your hands dirty in such a fashion?” Those were a lot of questions that blasted John with a lot of heat, clearly making him squirm in his chair. Even through Arthur's poor eyes, he could have even sworn he saw a blush breaking up the brown before they’d suddenly turn away. “w-well, yo-you see…um..well…Ijustreallylikedetectiveworkokay!?” That blush was no longer miscible on the man’s face. Spreading from his face all the way up to the tips of his ears; head turned to the side and down as to avoid Arthur’s bewildered gaze. Said detective just stared, dumbfounded at whether this man was either dumb, or just rich and naive. Maybe both. He was about to speak up, but John beat him to it “look! I've just always had an interest in the craft. From sniffing out clues, investigating places, catching the perp, and helping people gain closer. But, I never got a chance to pursue it due to my family, ‘Don’t sully our name wish such crass work’ is what they’d say… hahaha…hhha” Arthur found himself dumbfounded once more, this rich man had such a passion for his work, most didn’t. They’d often find it to be quite slimy and dirty of a job, being a private eye. Arthur sighed heavily, already hating himself for considering accepting as he could feel the future headaches forming. pinching the bridge of his nose, a begrudging sigh of acceptance leaving him before he knew it. He didn't have the patience to deal with some detective fanatic, but he couldn't afford to ignore the commission as it was the first in months. So, with a third final sigh, he agreed to take them along. John springing up like an excited puppy, immediately outstretching his hands and clutching Arthur's in both his own, shaking vigorously with a near blinding grin. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! I promise you won't regret this!” Oh, Arthur highly doubted that….