everyonelives | there's something due any day

We're just starting out.

( He doesn't hide the smile that comes as he eats, until he does, behind that sip of coffee. Does he want to telegraph what he feels? Well, it is how he feels. )

So, tell me about the last guy. Was he another hunter?

No.

[And this is the awkward part where he admits that he and Dean Winchester may have similar rituals when it comes to getting laid.]

He was someone I rescued? But it wasn't exactly a long term thing either.

You were there, he was there. Adrenaline. What did you rescue him from?

( He takes a bite from his gluten free toast, curious. )

Wendigo?

[He takes a moment to think, because prior to William it had been a minute, so he tries to focus on the details of the encounter.]

Yeah, there was camping. I think it was a wendigo. But if you don't already know what that is, we should save it until after we eat.

It's gruesome, isn't it?

( He's heard the myth. Something that bites or scratches and makes another Wendigo? It was in one of the first Charmed series. )

Let's save it, then. Is there anything you want to know? That you may not have Wiki'd or seen on E. I promise. I'm an open book.

[He takes a deep breath, trying to see if there's anything he wanted to know that hasn't come up organically.]

I guess I'm kind of curious what you're looking for in this world. I mean, with your dad it makes a little bit of sense, but there are other ways that you could be a hero.

Yeah. And, I've done most of them, my company is doing everything else. I'm on a sabbatical right now doing what you know I'm doing.

I don't know, ( he totally knows ) I want to better the planet, save it before we lose everything completely. I want the disenfranchised to have a better chance. And I want real, fair justice. I want equity. I want... a lot. Right now, this is how I'm going to be the hero. To help Isaac, help Allison.

I want my sister safe. I want my father to be happy. Mia's mom, she died when we were younger. He - he remarried but, I just want him happy.

I guess I do want a lot. What about you. You got into hunting because it was all you knew? Did you go to school?

Yeah, to high school. I have been on college campuses but I didn't actually go there.

[He always knew where he was going and hitting the books wasn't it.]

But it was the family business. It seemed like a natural fit.

You do - fit it well.

( Everything fits him well. )

Thank you.

[He smirks as he reaches for his coffee.]

And it seems like you're really happy with what you're doing. That has to count for something.

I fell into what I love, easily. Between what my brain wanted and what I clearly saw in front of me. The deterioration of the planet, injustice, where technology needed to be improved - for the better - money just... came with it. And, happiness? That comes from what I do, from my family. What makes you happy? What counts?

( What's his thing? )

[Well, that is a good question. He's never really thought about it. But if you're going to put him on the spot.]

Well, before Monroe got involved it was ... this. Hunting. I might not have been affecting anything on the grand scale the way you or the Winchesters would, but I saved people, in my way.

[He shrugs.]

And then my dad got me pulled in with a group intent on genocide, so ... that's kind of not what it used to be.

Hunting still saved people. It only takes one. It doesn't matter if everyone knows. Or not. I'm guessing hunters prefer people not knowing. Before Monroe.

( His dad hasn't really taken to Slayers and the supernatural. Uncle Constantine seems to be their limit for that. Or, it was. )

We tended to fly under the radar, yeah.

[Coop shrugs.]

I don't know what's coming after this. I can't think about it. Not until Monroe is dealt with.

Are there still other hunters that aren't aligned with her? Out there, somewhere?

( Denying her help, her money, and her tactics. )

Probably. The world of hunting is generally a wide, disparate and disjointed place. We don't really have a central hub of information.

[He hopes when this is all over his life could go back to what it was. But he's not so sure anymore.]

And your dad. How is he doing? How are you?

( He lost his brother. William can't lose sight of that. Maybe he should've asked it first, but their meeting had began officially. )

He's still towing the company line. We're still having disagreements about it.

[But not enough that he thinks his father would be suspicious.]

I mean. Your brother, Cooper.

( He's lost family and friends, too. He has to ask. He should've led with that, but, again. )

Oh.

[Right. His brother. His face flickers and he shakes his head before reaching for his coffee again.]

Yeah, we're not dealing with that. I mean, we buried him and all of that, but talking about it would mean acknowledging that he died pointlessly instead of for the cause, and Dad's not ready to deal with that yet.

And you. If you wanted to talk about it. At all. I'm here.

( For however long. )

I appreciate that.

[But he's not even really sure where to begin to unpack that. It's still not something he's fully processed as happening, finding himself reaching out for a phantom sibling that isn't even there.

And to think, that he died uselessly, it only makes him angry.]

But I need to set this right first. Then I'll worry about grieving.

[It is the hunter way.]

You will. We will, Coop. Cooper. Coop. What do you, what do you like?

( and the check comes, William grabbing for it immediately. )

[He smirks. He also definitely doesn't reach for the check because why use his fake hunter money when your boyfriend is super rich.]

Coop is good.

( boyfriend, brackets?

he sets a card inside and drops the check back down. )

Look, I - really like you. But, when we do go back, when you call Allison, Isaac will be listening in. I want to be transparent.

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