Ireneus

“You are my...sunshine...”

The young boy rasps, the rough edge of his voice reflecting only a fraction of what his whole 14 year old body was screaming as he was left behind in the alley with a gaping hole in his side, evidence of his brush with a hand gun at close range.

“My on... ly...sunshine...”

Here he was, 3 years later and waiting for the doctor on duty to come out from behind those ominous double doors of the ER; behind those same doors, his sister lay hooked up to some cold machine after a hit-and-run with an unmarked white van.

“Yo-you make me h...! Happy...!”

A one-sided tearful separation as a psychosis diagnosed 6 years too late is the root cause of his despair, the very thing locking his sister away with the men in white coats. He grips the tiny hand tightly and hugs her to his chest one last time, ignoring the vacant expression she had adopted after a little help with a tiny white pill.

“When skies are gray...”

He whispers into the pillow of this morning's disheveled bed 5 years later; his body and head aching after a rough night with-- The alarm goes off and he rolls off the bed, using the blanket to provide a sense of modesty as he crosses the room to the tiny bathroom for clean up.

“You never know dear, how much I love you.”

As he's re-buttoning yesterday's shirt and rolling up his sleeves, the man cautiously approaches his dresser as if it was a thing that could bite him while he pulled the tiny photo of him and his sister out of it's hiding place under the lamp. He heaves a sigh as the ever constant pull on his heartstrings takes a rather painful wrench. He had felt it last night too, as hard as it seems to believe, even while he tried to lose himself to pleasure at the hand of -- Oh, oh. There goes his phone. Guess it was time to go.

“Please don't take my sunshine away... What a load of bullshit.”

Nico hugs the jacket tighter to himself and slips out into the chill outside world, an eager escape after an uncomfortable visit with Addie; dear Addie, she tried talking him into breaking her out again, bless her... He shivers as the memory of fresh anesthetic continued to haunt him, fishing up visions of those eerily white halls and the nurses in their wrinkled scrubs... The male gladly slips the headphones over his ears and sinks into the notes of one of his favorite pieces that intertwined string and piano. How strange that it fitted his mood perfectly, how the golden leaves spiraled down in time with his music to decorate the light mist hugging the street, how the playful wind tugged at his clothes as the song reached one of the pieces many peaks and-!

“No! Damn it, not today!”

The mercenary gives a startled cry as the envelope he had been clutching to for dear life is tore out of his grasp, nature just taunting him with the white slip of a container by herding it further and further down the deserted street until it finally comes to a light rest in a puddle on the other side of the street. Nico, holding his breath, freezes, intently watching the envelope before hesitantly crossing the street, as if the wind would snatch it away again if he got any closer.

)) By the way!

1: Nico's listening to Havanaise in E Major for Solo String & Piano, Op. 83, in case you're interested. C:

Thank you Cat for the recommendation!

2: His sissies name is Admeta

3: You can't know who he messed around with yeeeettttt~

4: I'm thinking a cold and wet spring like what Treat and I get out here on the coast.((

The long white-haired male waltzes down the very same abandoned street as he hums along with a tune he knew quite well. It was an odd and rare mix here in the human world between old rock such as AC/DC, death metal reminding one of Black Sabbath with some very serious Eminem overtones to top it all off. Ahh the old music from home always brightened hisday- not that it even needed more brightening anyways. Nathaniel was having a very exciting day, having already screwed around with the people at the "base"; too bad his brother wasn't around to make it even better~ Oh well, at least he could flirt with that little twink Nico; maybe he knew where /Valentine/ was. Honestly, how pathetic was it for a grown man to be called Valentine? In Nathaniel's opinion it only proved how much of a wannabe that bastard was.

The idiot wasn't back at the equally idiotic as well as pathetic "base" yet or /his/ boy would have called and the phone was- silent as ever. With a casual wave of his hand a

extremely convient wind appears almost as if on command ((it wasnt)) and rips the water-logged paper from the grasp of the street puddle. Like the voracious carnivore his mannerisms had a habit of syncing with, the wafting paper is wafted out from its dingy path with ease and he heedlessly crosses the street to the equally pathetic human.

"Did someone lose something now?" Nathaniel waggles the paper in front of the male before jerking it out of reach and holding it behind his back with a sadistic laugh, "What is it, a love letter to some whore?"

Having gone through a similar routine when he was a lad, it doesn't surprise him too much as just when he reaches out to grab the envelope, it's snatched away. If Nico really wanted to force an optimistic opinion in this situation, at least it wasn't taking on anymore water damage. The male lowers the volume of the music so he wouldn't have to take off the metaphorical security blanket while talking with his co-worker. His lips press into a rather thin frown as he dips his chin into the high neck of the jacket to hide his frown, further putting up the "I don't want to deal with this" persona.

If he had been much younger, he would've flown off the handle at the whore comment but for now... The mercenary shakes his head wearily and watches the taller male with caution, his voice dead panning as it usually would.

"No... You know Valentine rather dislikes relations on the outside...It's nothing special to you so... please give it back." He ducks his head even lower to shade his eyes; it was a rather common reflex, a defense tactic built by anyone who had always been a ghost in the crowd. As if prompted, he continues to elaborate to banish the thoughts of a love letter. Make it sound boring and he won't break the seal...

"They're just copies..."

'Of Addie's records... Blood tests, psych notes, medication records...Boring stuff... You don't want them... Just hand it over nice and slow...'  Nico finishes in his head, casually dipping his hand into his pocket for the coil of wire and curling said appendage into a fist around it.

Oh look at that. Those hidden ears looked like a prime target, "not

anything for me eh?" he grins and leans in close to slip the

headphones off and grab a fistfull of hair in one fluid movement. Then

he delights himself with licking and nibbling on the exposed flesh, "I

honstly don't care about your whores so tell me where Valentine is if

these papers are so damn important.... I might just give them back you

know." with a laugh he lets Nico go and takes a step back, "That intel

he wanted has been forgotten by a very dense idiot but then again you

dont care do you? Such the blank slate. Would you be so boring if i

squeezed the life out of you?" to emphasize the last statement the

demon starts playing with his colleges neck ever so gently.

"No!" He snaps, rather annoyed as his hair is pulled and his ear, which he secretly did like any attention given to his ears but there was no way in hell was he going to tell this man that, was messed with. Nico gulps down a few shallow breaths of the crisp air to calm his slight temper flare and turns his head away.

"I don't know where he is and I don't care. I'm not his babysitter. And yeah... You're right, I really don't care whether or not the intel he wanted was forgotten or lost or whatever..." He mumbles into the high collar and is about to turn away, having heard enough a long while back. He should've just stayed home today... Skip the visit and work... Just quietly waste the day away in bed... But it was easier said then done.

Maybe he should just go. They were just copies right? So what if this creep got his hands on them? Addie could take care of herself, she didn't even have to wear the Jacket anymore, and V said he wouldn't let anyone touch her. He promised.

But... Who's to say he wasn't lying to him? He could always just "forget" that he was setting up extra protection around the asy- Nico's heart skips a beat as his attention is abruptly refocused on reality. He takes a half step back, one hand gripping onto the wire even tighter. What now? Nathanial was way too close for him not to notice him taking out his weapon and if he accidentally killed him, he was really going to get it later...

"Don't... Don't touch me. You can keep the fucking envelope!" The mercenary growls lightly, keeping his elbows tucked in close to his torso and his knees bent slightly in case a retreat might be in order. What a fine day to leave his gun and knife at home... Thank God he could keep his voice steady under pressure.

"Look, I've got shit to do and I'm sure you do too. Just leave me alone already, I'm tired and I want to go home."

Nathaniel tsks at the males poor protests and ignores them compleatly.

That is... Until they get back onto the topic of the stupid boss of an

idiot.

'That fucking dumbass, wants to be in charge but cant even be there

when i need to talk to him. Fuck this im sick of that bastard and his

damn rules.' Was what went through the males head until the

companion gets jumpy.

"oh woe is me. Always wanting what I'm not supposed to have." with

that he easily tears the envelope in two and drops the discarded paper

to drag Nico close, "so were going back to your place eh? Fine with

me."

The man reclines in his chair with a satisfied sigh, dropping both of his boots on the executive's desk and smearing mud on the stack of documents. With a lazy yawn, he puts both hands behind his head before addressing the small group of people stripped down to their underwear and shivering as the room temperature began to plummet. He nods at the two men with the intimidating guns to back off a little before whipping out his cell.

"You guys cool with me making a quick call? 'No, no, go right ahead!' Oh you guys are great~" Valentine chuckles to himself, enjoying the fact that someone toward the back of the huddled group had started crying. He punches in a rather familiar number and settles back, listening to the dial tone and licking his lips at woman in particularly lacy lingerie, successfully making her blush and hide behind a set of manicured nails. As soon as it connects, he spins the chair around, admiring the view of the city scape and grinning at that timid voice.

"Heya Ni, babe, how're you feeling? Still sore? Haha, hope you're ready for another round later..." Valentine scowls and spins the chair around again, signaling for one of the men to shut the now sobbing mystery person up.

"I've got something for you, info on the latest job. 'Sharp shooter needed' You can handle the big guns, can't you? Meet me up at the usual place in 15 minutes for further instruction. Any later..." He warns before holding the phone away from his ear while making another light waving gesture with two fingers and addressing the hostages one last time.

"Well... Times up and no one's callin'. Ciao, babes."

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

Bang.

The man snaps the cell shut; disconnected.

Nico only bristles slightly as the envelope is torn. Damnit... He was kind of hoping that he wouldn't really damage or take it... He bites his lip as he's dragged close and pushes against his chest, openly expressing his irritation now.

"No way! There is no "we" now leave me al-"  He flinches as his cell phone chimes and reluctantly fishes it out, inching away from his college.

"...Hello? "  Another wince at the statement, "I've got plans tonight. What do you want...?  I'm actually not feeling too well today, could I maybe pass it on to someone- 15 minutes... Great...."  The male sighs, waiting for him to say something else seeing as the boss hadn't hung up yet; it was about a few seconds before he decides he was going to hang up that the sharp bangs drift through the speaker.

Automatically, he counts the gun shots to calm the little nerves he had left that were rattling and takes a deep breath as the connection is lost.

"Guess I have work to do... Goodbye." The mercenary once again rattles off in that dead tone before turning and stiffly walking away, vaguely hoping Nathanial wouldn't follow him but he sort of doubted that would be the case...

"Oh? Lucky you saved by the bell. Nonetheless tell Valentine," he forces the name out of his mouth, "that his 'lead' was dead." Nathaniel smirks at his own little joke and swiftly starts off in the direction he came while musing to himself, "Funny how one bell can condemn one person yet save another. It's a shame that it wasn't the other way around or someone wouldn't have to die." Honestly he didn't give a rat's a** about whether or not someone died; he said all of this to see if the little twink cared. To emphasize his point he pulls out the very real and lethal gun and cocks it—all just for show of course. He had countless other and frankly better ways to take one’s life but it was the best symbol of death to the humans.

“Well forgetful one it seems the Gods hate you.” Another inside joke; he knew there were neither God nor Devil in any of the realms. With a laugh and smoothly pulled trigger the weapon jerks back somewhat and the bullet bites into the other males chest with malice; “bang” echoes down the block to announce the others impending death. The white-haired one scowls however, “Damn, missed and got a lung. But you’ll die anyways; the process will just be much more extended and painful.” Nathaniel wiggles his finger at the gasping victim on the ground in goodbye and starts off, grumbling about a ‘disobedient Bat.’

The bleeding male tries to stop it by putting his hands over his chest, what- what the hell? He coughs up more of the metallic red liquid and lies on his stomach, who was that anyways? As he fights for each lungful seeing as one has gotten a rather large hole in it Grant moans out loud. F*** this wasn’t good yet already his pants felt uncomfortably tight. Ugh. Where was the nearest… uh… healy place again? He didn’t know. He was going to die right here… in the back of a f***ing alleyway and that was that…. Damn.

"...Whatever. You can tell him yourself and maybe he'd use you as a toy instead of me..." The male mutters under his breath and drops to his knees to gather the torn documents, heavily debating whether or not to show up for the boss anyway. Maybe that receptionist was right, maybe he did need a vacation.

His head jerks up at the shot while the rest of his body froze; after following the golden 5 second rule and hearing no other fired rounds, he slowly gets up from his crouch and cautiously makes his way to toward the source. It was habit really, something the mercenary had picked up a long time ago... Essentially it was just sneak a peak, call an ambulance because it's amazing how fast bodies start to reek, and scram. Simple as one, two, three!

Nico sucks in one last deep breath before poking his head around the corner and seeing no one else standing, takes the first step into the shaded area. Well he could certainly smell the blood, now where was the...? Oh there it- Aw crap! The would be corpse was still kicking! He HATED it when they weren't dead yet!  Starting to panic, the mercenary backs up a step, glancing back behind him to check that it was clear.

Looking back down at the gunned man though, he hesitates as that all too familiar guilt starts to act up again. Now didn't this scene look a little familiar? Too much blood leaking from one little hole... Too much blood oozing from one tiny body? He mentally shrugs away the ghost before circling to the side of the body, noting with only the slightest embarrassment the stranger's problem, he'd have to take care of that by himself later, while shrugging off his jacket to tear off one of the sleeves. Thank you thrift store...

"Hey! Can you hear me? Blink twice if nodding hurts too much." Nico rattles off, gaping somewhat at the realization that the wound was a little bigger than he thought it was. He scowls at himself for letting himself get so easily sidetracked before pushing the ripped polyester, probably the most uncomfortable fabric ever, against the hole with both hands. "Do you realize you've been shot? Blink twice for yes." A rather simple shock check really, to be honest, the mercenary wasn't expecting the stranger to even bother replying. Should he call an ambulance now?

Maybe he should... The male pulls one hand away to dig for his phone and places the call once found. "Help's coming, okay? Think you can wait a little longer?"  

'Why am I reassuring this guy again? I don't care, remember me?'

'Yeah... But maybe...'

'But maybe, what?  Are we having some sort of moral draw back or something?'

'Noooooo.... It's just an off day, okay?  And I'm feeling nice. Get off my back, me, now shut up.'

God, he really needed a vacation...

The male gapes, not quite registering that someone else was there even

as he tries to stop the bleeding; instead only internalizing the

bleeding and bringing about more coughing up blood. He tosses and

turns on the pavement, only letting go of the 'tiny' wound when forced

and then clasping down on the shirt sleeve once more. "blood... So

much... Every-" he starts a coughing fit through the gurgled words.

"Will you just shut up? I'm trying to think!" The stressed male hisses and pushes down harder, focusing back to his main problem. Did this guy even have any I.D.? A quick brush of the stranger's pockets turns up nothing to his dismay.

Okay genius, what now? The call's already been made and you don't know how to repair a lung, do you? Well... What about temporarily aquiring the custody of the ambulence? Well you'd have to kill one of the men to prove that you're serious seeing as you left your gun at home.Okay... Okay... Maaayyyybbbeee.... Take this guy home and kidnap a small time doc, pay him off with enough cash that'd keep him settled for a couple years...? Sure that could work.

...But what about that ass of a boss? What if he swung by because I didn't drop in in the next 7 minutes?

He scowls and, with a few more minutes of silent contemplation, pulls the male to his feet and loops one arm around his waist to start dragging him backwards.

"If you f***ing even consider dying on me, you ass, I swear I'm going to dump your body into a lake outside of town. You understand me?" He pauses at another thought, the wailing sirens in the distance steadily growing louder. "If you keep quiet, I'll let you use my headphones." Another pause as if the mercenary was waiting for a reply. "Hope you like classical." Nico takes a quick glance at the pained face before awkwardedly passing the headphones on, which was a failure seeing as they had to be nestled around his neck, who knew it was so hard to put on such a bulky accessory with one hand? With a sigh, he presses 'play' and cranks the volume so he could listen as well before resuming dragging his new found charge home through the back alleyways.

Ordering around someone who was barely even aware of his own surroundings did nothing of course; who was talking to him anyways? Did he know this guy...? Oh, hey he was moving now... buuut, his feet wasn`t moving... Was that person uh... what was it called? Moving him no... Carrying, that was the word! Hrm... maybe he should try to walk if they were going somewhere.... With the coordination of a drunk baby the male attempts to help by walking; despite the fact that one lung was compleatly useless.

Oh! Was he hallucinating or something? He was... it was... was... classic... Almost instantly the shot man grows uncomfortably silent and takes on a rather serene look while his body is left to struggle with this wound. With closed eyes and haggard breathing, the body, which knew more about itself than Grant did, goes into autopilot/survial-mode and turns its focus on healing the rather crucial wound.

It wasn't until they were halfway through a sonata, for Nico found it easier to messure distance through music rather than actually paying attention to the the streets at the end of each alley mouth, that he notices the silence. He stops and lightly slaps his cheek.

"Hey! Stay with me! Do you know how much trouble you'd be causing me if you die?!" He scowls and starts dragging at a much faster rate. Okay that lie was actually semi-true but... Whatever.

--Skip--

"Okay. So, you're sure you can patch him up?"

"Y-yes....!"

"For the price we agreed on. And... Don't even think about pulling a fast one on me."

"Haha! Ha... Oh that's a good one, why would I ever think about cheating you Mr...?"

"No names."

"Ah, of c-c-course,,, Mr. Smith. N-now could you please quit point that g-gun at my head please?"

"Oh of course as long as you make this fast." The man nervously laughs and tugs at his tie, rummaging through the hastily thrown-together medical bag for a syringe and the tiny bottle of liquid morphine. Nico pulls the gun away from the doctor's temple and flops down on his favorite, worn arm chair, angled just so that he could see everything his captive did as this stranger continued to leak blood on his bed. Well... At least he knew how to get the stains out of fabric now, no use in trashing his other only favorite thing in the apartment, the blue fluffy blanket with dog bones decorating the edges.

"What're you giving him?" The mercenary leans forward, eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"M-morphine...?"

"Why the hell are you giving him a sedative? I don't want to keep him here!"

"But how- He needs something for the pain!"

"Tch..."Okay, so freaky stranger guy had to sleep in his bed for a few hours. So what? He didn't care. He could kick him out at any time after he wakes up, no need to let him hang around. So... He shouldn't be caring about this. Right?

"Can I please give my patient mor-"

"Yes for Christ's sake yes, just shut up already! You're pissing me off, alright?!"

Between the moment he recognized the melodious classical piece and when the headphones were finally taken off was all a blank. By the time he had been dragged to the male's flat about a quarter of the external bleeding had stopped and he was all but barely conscious. The only thing really going through Grant's mind was to keep the pressure on his chest and how to make his labored breathing easier. All in all however, he was doing fairly well considering the 9mm chunk of lead in his lung and how long he had gone without medical help.

With the doctors arrival two-thirds of the bleeding had stopped yet he was exhausted. The bed, were he conscious enough to notice, was incredibly comfortable compared to what he was used to and was even snuggle worth if he were not in intense pain. The moment the morphine kicks in he’s unconscious and rather peacefully getting some much needed sleep. The rings under his eyes were not exactly appealing really.

Tick.

Tick.

Tick...

The mercenary pushes deeper into the arm chair, internally chiding himself for dozing off like that. What if the mystery man turned out to be bait and was waiting for him to crash so he could call his buddies to take his flat and weapons?

Well... Now that he thought about it... It was a pretty lousy plan... And bait.

Narrowing his eyes after rubbing the sleep away, he pulls the re-aquired headphones off and reaches over for the sweater precariously hanging from the dresser. Goddamn it got cold fast... And the guy was STILL asleep! Grumbling his complaints to no one in particular, he rolls out of the chair, gun in hand, and approaches the bed. Nico, however, halts in his tracks just at the bed side, studying the sleeper's face with a growing disdain and suddenly stomps off to root around for a spare blanket to wrap around his own shoulders before moving on to complete various chores. Man... He totally ruined that blanket...

In between tasks though, the mercenary finds himself drifting back to the bed side to look down on the man and waste a few precious moments reflecting on the ever familiar why that just wouldn't go away. Why help a stranger? Why was he shot anyway? Why didn't he have some sort of ID? ...Why does it matter in the first place?!

Frustrated now, partially because he only worked himself up, Nice presses the cold barrel to his would-be victim's head, hissing what would have been normally silent dares for him to wake up now. Move. Twitch. Some verbal insult?

"Just need a reason you b######, anything at all to blow your f###ing brains out right now..."

And...

Nothing. No bang. No blood. Clean except for the old stains. He scowls at himself before storming back to his chair, his own gun lightly resting against his temple while the male resolves to continue keeping watch with little regard for anything else.

"Two hours... I can't believe I just wasted all of MY precious time staring at my ceiling just for him to f###ing wake up..." He murmurs to himself with a rather absent expression, feeling rather apathetic about the situation's... Progress... A rumble from his lower abdomen finally causes the male to stir from his slump and crawl his way off of the plush chair. Oh yeah... He had completely spaced eating breakfast... Stupid co-worker and stupid boss... Completely disrupting his routine...

Only partially unsteady on his feet thanks to a head rush, Nico drops the gun back on the recliner, feeling no need to brandish it any longer, and slowly makes his way back to the bed side.

"Hey you... Wake up." 'Ungrateful b######... I shouldn't even bother waking your sorry ass up!' "C'mon get up already! Wake up!" The mercenary shouts, giving the man a rough shake of the shoulder. "I'm hungry damnit, so get up! I don't wanna wait around all day for you!"

((Eh... So short... Sorry, Creator... ^^; )

The male noramlly wouldn't have even stirred at the yelling and shaking, after all, he lived in an utter s***hole but the new opening in his chest made things much more painful. He jerks up with a groan, then screams at having torn his newly healing flesh and falls back down again moaning 'ow' without notice to the change in surroundings so far.

Grant doesn't even open his eyes as he rolls to his side, groaning again with pain while his hand automaticlly moves to his chest to stop the bleeding he imagined was still flowing. After a few minutes of most likely being yelled at  further by his 'generous' host the male opens his eyes and stares rather blankly, "Who are you...? Wai- who am I--do you know who I am? ....and why I was shot?"