Harlow snorted. “Yes, sleeping beauty, it’s time to go.”
Foxx sniffed, rubbed at his eyes, and shook his head once before slipping out of bed. Harlow eyed the man’s clothes. He was wearing a bright yellow baggy sweater with white stars on it and baggy blue jeans. The fact Foxx had changed into this outfit before they had left, drew many questions in Harlow’s mind. “Do you really not have anything darker? You will…stand out.”
“I put it on because it has a bleach stain. See.” He plucked at the bottom of the sweater and held it up. Harlow narrowed his eyes at it, and saw there was a speckling of white on the yellow…barely noticeable. “I figured it was best to wear something that I don’t care about in case I get dirty.”
“That’s not the point. You will literally glow in the dark,” he snapped.
“But—”
“We are getting you darker clothes. It doesn’t even have to be black. But we are getting you something darker.”
Foxx narrowed his eyes at him. “If it’s vampires, they will hear you anyway. And if they are young, I’ll be able to hide my presence from them. As for humans, they are human. I don’t really care if they notice me or not.” The vampire crossed his arms. “I will not change how I dress. Not for you, or anyone for that matter. There is no dress code with this job. I would know. I checked. And another thing, I am getting tired of you trying to boss me around. We are partners. Equals. You may be the senior hunter here, but I am not a child, and you cannot order me about, especially not on what I wear.”
Oh, Harlow wanted to argue. But Foxx was mostly right. Except… “As I am the senior hunter, I am in charge. You don’t have the hours of experience to lead this team.”
Though, this information did tell him that Foxx was at least three-hundred-years-old. Because as far as he knew, vampires had to be at least that old to be able to trick the mind of another vampire.
Foxx glared. “That doesn’t give you the right to snap and growl at me, while also trying to control what I wear.”
“You like my growling.”
“I-I.” Foxx’s freckled cheeks flushed—got him.
Harlow smirked smugly. “But you are right. I can’t dictate what you wear. So, junior hunter, what weapons did you bring? You did bring some, right?”
Foxx's eyes brightened, cheeks still a bit flushed, as he snagged his colorful duffle bag off the floor and sat it on the bed. The vampire hummed as he dug inside it. Harlow’s left eye twitched at what the man pulled out.
Foxx flashed him a wide smile, holding up a pair of Barbie pink and highlighter blue water guns. They mimicked guns well enough. And there was even a chest holster that went with them, but they were definitely not real, and…very pink.
“You have to be messing with me,” Harlow growled in disbelief.
Foxx’s smile fell. “What? I’m not…I still need to pass my arms test. It’s scheduled, but it's not until the end of the month. So, until then, this is what I've got.”
Harlow stood there trying to contain his horror and anger at the stupid toys. “They are sending you in with me with water pistols?!”
“Well, they are filled with holy water. So, they are still useful, you know,” Foxx grumbled. “Besides, I’ll probably not even use them much.”
“Just don’t spray yourself by accident.”
Foxx snorted. “I’m not incompetent, thank you very much.”
“If you say so.”
Foxx hissed at him. “I’m not!”
“I can’t believe they didn’t make you get your license before approving you as a hunter.”
“I mean, the first law passed, and then they had to rush the weapons law through. So there really wasn’t time. It created a backlog of hunters and law enforcement that needed to get tested.”
Harlow sighed. “Government and their shitty planning. Did they have to be pink?”
“I like pink. Besides, they are blue, too.”
He shook his head in exasperation.
* * *
What waswith Harlow and his hatred of color? First, his clothes, then his guns. Foxx glared before sighing and asking, “So, since you asked about weapons, I’m guessing it’s not humans.”
