Chapter 19: Mr. WHAT?!

Lukas was comfortable.

Which was rare as hell.

But right now?

Sitting at the bar, half a glass of whiskey left, a slow warmth in his chest, and for once—no immediate threats to his life?

Yeah.

He could get used to this.

---

Vander looked relaxed too.

Or at least, as close as the guy ever got.

He leaned back against the bar, arms crossed, watching the few patrons scattered around the room.

Lukas swirled the whiskey in his glass.

"So. Be honest."

Vander glanced at him.

"Hm?"

Lukas raised a brow.

"I know this is probably the best thing you've had in your entire life."

Vander huffed a chuckle.

"Cocky little shit."

Lukas smirked, sipping his drink.

"Hey, you keep buying, I keep selling. Simple business."

Vander shook his head, but there was amusement in his eyes.

For once, the bar had a calm atmosphere.

A quiet moment.

A rare thing in the Undercity.

And then—

The door swung open.

And Lukas's peace died instantly.

"Fuck my life, again."

---

These fuckers had been through it.

Vi, Powder, Claggor, and Milo looked like they crawled out of a collapsed building.

And considering they spent the whole day helping the community after the recent mess…

They basically had.

---

Vi stomped in first, looking like she was one bad joke away from committing a homicide.

Her face was smeared with dust, her knuckles were scuffed up.

Claggor followed behind her, rolling his shoulders, looking like he'd just carried half of the undercity on his back.

Milo? He looked done with life.

Absolutely over it.

And then there was Powder.

A walking dust cloud.

Even her bright blue hair was coated in gray powder (hehe), making her look like someone had dumped a sack of flour on her head.

She tugged at her sleeves, visibly uncomfortable.

"Ugh. I feel gross."

Milo groaned.

"Yeah, Powder, that's because you FELL INTO A PILE OF BRICKS."

Powder frowned.

"That wasn't my fault."

Milo immediately pointed at her like a detective solving a crime.

"YES. IT. WAS."

Powder crossed her arms.

"Well… the bricks shouldn't have been in the way."

Milo blinked.

Then threw his hands in the air.

"IT WAS A WALL, POWDER. IT WAS A FUCKING WALL."

Vi groaned, dragging a hand down her face.

"Milo, leave her alone."

"Oh, sure, Vi. I'll leave her alone. Right after she stops getting us ALMOST KILLED EVERY OTHER DAY."

Powder's shoulders tensed slightly.

Her grip on her sleeves tightened.

Claggor, trying to salvage the situation, patted Milo's shoulder.

"At least nobody got hurt."

Milo squinted.

"Yet."

Powder scowled.

"Well, uh... you're ugly!"

Milo smirked.

"And you fall. A lot."

Vi groaned again, rubbing her forehead.

"Both of you, shut up. I need something to drink."

Lukas, meanwhile, just sat back and watched this shitshow like he was witnessing a soap opera.

There was something incredibly entertaining about watching someone else's group dynamics explode into chaos.

For once, he wasn't the one being insulted, hunted, or both.

And that was refreshing.

He took another sip of his whiskey, enjoying the show.

But then—Vi finally turned toward the bar.

She saw Vander.

She saw the whiskey in his hand.

She saw Lukas, sitting right next to him—also drinking whiskey.

Her face twisted into pure, unfiltered confusion.

"Wait."

Her brain short-circuited.

"The fuck?"

She stormed over, pointing between Vander and Lukas like she was trying to connect some insane conspiracy theory.

"No. No, hold the fuck on. Vander, you never let me near your drinks—"

Then she turned on Lukas.

"And YOU, you annoying little shit, what are you even doing here?!"

Lukas didn't even blink.

He took another slow sip.

Then met her gaze.

"Drinking."

Vi's eye twitched.

"Oh, fuck off."

Before Lukas could make it worse—

A blur of blue and dust shot past Vi.

"MR. NUDES!"

Lukas almost dropped his glass.

Powder slammed into the bar next to him, grinning.

Vander blinked.

"…Mr. WHAT?"

Lukas froze.

Powder beamed.

And in that moment—

Lukas felt true, raw fear.

---

Powder, completely oblivious to the sheer amount of damage she was about to cause, continued cheerfully.

"Yeah, that's him! Mr. Nudes!"

Lukas's soul left his body.

Vander turned to look at him.

Slowly.

Like he was processing the worst news of his life.

"…Mr. What?"

Lukas wanted to die.

Powder, meanwhile, was just beaming.

Completely unaware of the catastrophic event she had just triggered.

"Oh! So we met him near the river, right? And he was just standing there—"

She threw her arms out dramatically.

"ASS. NAKED."

Lukas buried his face in his hands.

Milo and Claggor fucking lost it.

VI wheezed.

"Oh my Janna. This is the best moment of my life."

Claggor wiped fake tears.

"This is definitely top three."

Lukas groaned.

"I hope you all choke."

---

Vander just stared at Lukas.

"…Can I ask why?"

Lukas sighed, rubbing his temples.

"My clothes were wet. I was letting them dry."

Milo wiped a fake tear.

"Bro. I mean this with my whole heart—you're never living this down."

Vi leaned in, smirking.

"Damn, Mr.Nudes. You got some BALLS, still being here and not running."

Lukas shot her a look.

"You're really gonna talk about balls right now?"

Vi raised an eyebrow.

"What, you gonna whip 'em out again?"

Lukas groaned.

Milo fell to the floor, laughing.

"HOLY SHIT, SHE GOT YOU."

Powder, still giggling, nudged Lukas's arm.

"So, Mr. Nudes, what are you doing here?"

Lukas shot her a glare.

Vander sighed, rubbing his temples.

"It's rude to give people nicknames like that, Powder."

Powder blinked.

Then realized something.

"Oh! Wait! We don't even know his real name."

Lukas just sighed and said

"Name's Lukas, Lukas Fontaine."

Vi smirked.

"Wait, You some kind of runaway prince? 'Cause Fontaine sounds fancy as hell."

Lukas narrowed his eyes.

"Oh, sorry, mrs. ' EVERY PSYCHOLOGIST'S WET DREAM'. Didn't realize we were talking shit."

Vi snapped her head toward him.

"EXCUSE ME???"

"Yeah, Pink hair explains a lot."

Milo started dying laughing.

Claggor covered his mouth, failing to hide his grin.

Powder straight-up wheezed.

Vi leaned in.

"You wanna say that again, Tiny boy?"

Lukas took a calm sip of whiskey.

Then flashed a shit-eating grin.

"Nah. I'm good."

Vi rolled her eyes and finally let it go, muttering curses under her breath.

Powder, still giggling, nudged Lukas's arm.

"You should visit more."

Vander looked at her.

Then at Lukas.

Then sighed.

"He will."

Lukas raised a brow.

Vander met his gaze.

"If you ever need a warm meal, a place to rest—this door is open."

Lukas blinked.

That…

He didn't know what to say to that.

So he just nodded.

"Appreciate it."

---

Lukas finally stepped out of the bar.

Took a deep breath.

Finally. Peace.

He could put all of that humiliation behind him.

Then—out of the corner of his eye—

He saw a cart.

A busted-up, rusted, piece-of-shit cart, filled with broken bricks and wood scraps.

Lukas scoffed.

"Damn. That's the most depressing piece of shit I've ever seen."

He shook his head and kept walking.

Completely unaware.

That it was his stolen cart.

Fucking Dumbass.