goldenheartgirl1

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.17-It's Just 25 Cents TWST Mafia AU

Ruggie was a lot of things, a scammer, penny pincher, good shot, vice leader to Leona, a helpful soul, and an outgoing cunning guy. Being 18, working with a gang, and now almost finished with homeschooling, things felt so rosy to him. He wasn’t concerned with the future, he liked to live in the present and focus on his family. He was heading to the gang base after helping his grandmother with a few chores, listening to his headphones while riding his motorcycle in and parking it right outside. The loud laughter and crashes of the members were muted by Ruggie’s music, he happily went upstairs to greet Leona and opened the door briefly but closed it quickly in time for a glass to shatter against the wood. He chuckled, taking off his headphones and opening the door again. “A little grouchy this morning boss?”

“Fuck off, Ruggie. I’m trying to take care of some expenses.”

“Oh boy, money problems?” Ruggie replied, stepping into the bedroom, where Leona was sitting at the small desk and looking over some papers. “Is it related to the gang?”

“No it’s related to the fairy galla,” Leona replied sarcastically and then snapped back. “Yes, it’s related to the gang! We don’t have a lot of money to begin with even with my connections, and Vil is not going to spare money unless it’s an emergency. And those idiots downstairs are mooching a little too much.”

“You can’t really blame them, this place is becoming more like a fraternity since I’m always gone on missions you don’t want to do.” Ruggie replied, smirking as Leona glared at him. “Hey, I’m not lying. But what do you want to do? We can’t exactly take out a loan.”

Leona thought for a moment then got an idea, feeling himself relax in his seat and spoke calmly. “I have an idea..I want you to see if you can get some of them jobs in parts of the Golden Sands, Pyroxene, and possibly in the Rose district. The more we have working the more money we save, and it gets us closer to areas of concern if that damn mafia tries anything.”

“Huh!? Why do I have to find them jobs?” Ruggie demanded, his body tensing up as Leona glared at him again.

“Because, you can smoothly talk people into accepting the gang members. Just spin tales about how looks aren’t everything, even throw in sob stories if you need to.”

“And..what if Vil or Riddle catch onto this?”

“Don’t give a shit. And don’t say a word to Vil, I get enough of his lazy talk crap as it is. Just go around each district for the next few days.”

Ruggie bit the inside of his cheek for a second, almost tempted to argue but then smirked and said. “Okay, buuuut, I might need some money for the expense of gas and food-”

Leona stood up abruptly, making Ruggie chuckle, and took out his wallet before handing him 500 thaumarks. “Here, now shut up and go do it.”

“Pleasure doing business!” Ruggie said and quickly took the money before racing out of there before Leona could change his mind.

Ruggie gave a brief warning to the boys that they were getting jobs before speeding out of the house and jumping onto his motorcycle. He revved it up and chuckled to himself while thinking about places that might be able to overlook the boy’s ruggedness. It’s not as if Ruggie wasn’t going to take the job seriously, but he had some doubts of how easy it would be to smooth talk some of the stores in the Pyroxene district and the Golden Sands. But he raced over to the Rose district first in the belief that he’d have better luck there first. The day was warm but beginning to chill from the fall weather, making the beauty of the Rose district change from its vibrant greens to its colors of gold, brown, and red. He knew the Rose district was perfect for community jobs, cleaning up the parks, keeping roads paved, and other labor jobs that could use the guys.

Ruggie’s charm was always one of his greatest qualities, the young man was intelligent when it came to work ethic as well since he worked a lot of odd jobs since he was much younger. He visited each of the job locations that were hiring and buttering them up with compliments and words of confidence in the gang members he was considering for each task. There was a small sense of satisfaction with the way employers turned from confused to flustered with the compliments and words of praise. Ruggie left the fourth building he visited and happily walked to one of the nearby parks to just relax, putting his hands on the back of his head and humming to himself while walking. While walking he stopped when he saw three kids, two boys and one girl, trying to climb a tree, each of them trying with their might but barely able to make it up more than a couple feet.

“Hey kids, what are you doing?” Ruggie called out and dropped his hands as he walked over. One of the boys, with scruffy brown hair, looked at Ruggie sadly and pointed up at the rabbit kite stuck in the tree.

“We can’t get the kite down..”

Ruggie smirked and popped his knuckles. “Don’t worry, I got it~” He started to climb the oak tree with ease, climbing up the trunk before carefully stepping on the branches as he made it to the kite and carefully set it free from the leaves and branches.

The gang member dropped down and smiled as he handed the kite over to one of the children. “Here you go kids~”

“Thanks mister!” The girl shouted with happiness and gratitude, her bright hazel eyes glimmering happily while running off with the boys to presumably go fly the kite again.

Ruggie, feeling even better now, kept walking until he got back to where he locked up his motorcycle and hopped onto it. Just as he was putting on his helmet, his eyes caught a glimmer of something and he got up for a moment and walked over to see a quarter on the ground. “Oh hello~ free change.”

Picking up the quarter, Ruggie was going to turn to leave but noticed three guys walking his way, all dressed in the casino colors. He didn’t panic, instead he waved and tossed the coin up before catching it. “Hello fellas! What a fine day isn’t it?”

One of the guys, with dark eyes and hair a dark lavender color, raised a brow at Ruggie and demanded curtly. “What are you doing in our territory, claw member?”

“Oh ouch, so mean. Come on you guys, even I need a break from my work. Can’t a guy enjoy a lovely day?”

“It’s kind of suspicious to only see one of you around here.” The guy hissed back and took a step forward. “There’s always more of you somewhere.”

“Wow, so hostile.” Ruggie replied with a shrug and continued to flip the coin as he said. “Let’s not make this ugly guys, just let me go and let’s all enjoy the day separately.”

“How about we just take you to see Riddle and let him decide-”

Before the guy could reach out to grab Ruggie, the gang member flicked the coin right into the guy’s left eye and caught the quarter while the guy reeled back with a pained groan. The other two guys ran at Ruggie, to which the young man smirked and caught one of them by the arm and twisted it while tripping the other casino guy. He wasted no time stepping on the fallen guy’s back and knocked his open palm into the struggling casino member’s nose to make him drop as well. The lavender haired guy looked at Ruggie with shock but hurried to help his friends while Ruggie ran off and jumped onto his motorcycle, backing up and then turned around and sped off up one of the roads in the direction of the Golden Sands.

Ruggie cackled to himself and slowed down while entering into the busy district, by now everyone was out at work or guests were going through and shopping. He slowed down in front of Kalim’s bank and locked his cycle around a bike rest before walking down the street. The Golden district was always beautiful and lively, filled with peace due to the agreement of the two opposing forces. Ruggie enjoyed exploring the businesses hiring but knew that it would be hard to get a job in this area since a lot of the places required people with degrees in college and not just high school boys. However, that didn’t stop Ruggie from looking around and eating some of the delicious cuisine.

While on his walk he heard a familiar voice call out. “Hello, little imp!”

Ruggie paused and looked around before setting his eyes on Sam, who was sitting at a table in front of a cafe, and chuckled. “Sam! Long time no see! How have you been?”

“Good little imp, and yourself?” Sam asked politely with a big grin and took a sip of his coffee, his eyes watching Ruggie as the young gang member sat across from him.

“Hanging in there, it’s just been such a pain lately. All these responsibilities Leona keeps shoving onto me, managing the gang members from doing something stupid, and trying to save money.”

“Oh? How is your grandmother?”

“She’s well, bull-headed and tough as always!” Ruggie replied cheerfully before thinking and then asked. “Sam, what do you think the best way to earn money is?”

“Hmm, that is a tough answer to obtain.” Sam mused out and set his cup down, his head leaned onto his left hand, his right hand's fingers curling in the air in a mysterious gesture like he was trying to pluck something from the air. “That depends on what you’re willing to give to receive such a thing.”

“Well, it’s complicated. Vil doesn’t want to give the gang money, there are gang members using up funds, and Leona doesn’t want to dip too much into his family’s money. I’m supposed to be finding jobs for the members of the gang, but something tells me a lot of them won’t be able to get work due to their..current situations.” Ruggie complained, his fingers dragging at the skin of his cheeks, his eyes fluttering in agitation before releasing his own face and stated. “Plus, I don’t want them to be in danger from the goons of the Coin.”

Sam listened, taking another sip of his coffee before he grinned and suggested. “You know, I think I have an idea. I always need little strays to run around and collect things for me, and I will happily pay those that wish to work for me that can keep secrets.”

“Wait really? That’s great! How many of them can work for you?”

Well I certainly need at least five, but they must be able to keep quiet. Allow me to also warn you that this arrangement won’t last forever. Let me show you something, Ruggie.”

Ruggie leaned forward in his seat while Sam pulled out a deck of cards with royal purple and black backs and started to shuffle them, under and over the bridge, weaving the cards and rifle shuffling them before sliding them in an arch on the table. All of the cards face down for a moment before he scooped them back up into his hand and fanned them out. Knowing the game that Sam was playing at, Ruggie pulled three cards but didn’t look at the front. Sam grinned and put the other cards away, taking the three from Ruggies hands and laying them out.

“Here’s the deal Ruggie, you already have your troubles as it is,” Sam commented, turning the first card over to show a desolate and old town, it eerily reminded Ruggie of his home town on the outskirts where homes were left to rot and plants were sparse. “You have many worries of protecting your home, and helping the kin that are struggling to make ends meet. Money is the blood of your home and district, without it everything will wither.”

Ruggie listened, his eyes narrowing as the second card was turned to show a shield with a lion's head and a peacock's feathers fanned out behind the shield. He looked up at Sam with confusion while Sam continued to explain. “You have a protective group that will do what they can to help, and while you have security, funds will be needed. And those boys need to learn how to balance reality with their fantasy, to live their lives without sacrificing their futures.”

Slowly, the blue eyes peered at the third card and Ruggie felt a sinking feeling in his gut. “So, you can allow some to work for you to get paid for us, but for a short time. What’s the problem? I can warn them that it’ll be a short job.”

“Well, there’s something coming little imp, something that could be critical to your future. While there will be wealth, there will be loss, that is the price of desiring something.” Sam flipped the last card, which showed a discarded and bloody looking bandana, the background was dark with shadows as well. “To receive you must give.”

The air around them was bitter and chilly despite the sunny day, Ruggie feeling a shudder rolling down his spine as his and Sam’s eyes met. They stared for a moment before Ruggie questioned. “Anything we can do to prevent severe loss.”

Sam smirked and took his cards back. “The only way to stop a great war is a wave of peace. But that’s not for us to decide.”

Ruggie thought for a moment, feeling conflicted but tried to shake it off and stood up with a gleeful smile. “Well! Nice talking with you! I’ll find a few volunteers to help serve you and have them meet you-”

“Hey! There he is!”

Both Ruggie and Sam looked over in surprise as the three casino men that Ruggie saw before were heading their way. Ruggie jolted and gave a shy grin as he yelled back. “Hey guys! You’re not still mad about the quarter are you?”

Sam noticed how the three just looked angrier at Ruggie, one of them even had a bandage on their nose, and he playfully said. “Better run little imp.”

“Agreed, bye Sam!” Ruggie replied and raced off, running in the opposite direction of the casino boys and quickly slipping past all the civilians he approached.

Ruggie wasted no time heading in the direction of Kalim’s bank and was just about to run up the steps but ran into Jamil before even reaching the first step. The two both fell to the ground, Jamil dropping a briefcase in the process and his charcoal eyes narrowed at the sight of Ruggie. “Ruggie! For heaven’s sake, look where you are going-”

“Sorry Jamil, having a bit of trouble with some persistent casino boys.” Ruggie replied with a cheeky smile and stood up, offering his hand to Jamil and assisting the banker up.

“Casino goons? Don’t they know the rules of the Golden Sands?” Jamil grumbled while grabbing his briefcase.

“Guess not~” Ruggie replied and looked towards the goons as they slowed to a stop a few feet away. “Hello boys, this is my friend Jamil!”

Jamil glared at Ruggie and muttered. “Friends are a stretch..” His attention then turned to the three and his tone changed to frustration and sternness. “As for you three! The Golden Sands District is a place of no dispute between the groups. You should go back and stop making a fuss over nothing!”

“It’s not nothing! That pest broke my nose!” The brunette shouted while the lavender haired goon stepped forward.

“He has to pay for also nearly taking my eye out!”

“Oh come on you guys, you attacked first.” Ruggie pouted a bit with annoyance but stayed back while Jamil took a step forward as well.

“I said, leave this be.” Jamil replied sharply, setting down his briefcase for a second as the lavender haired teen still approached.

The goon tried to shove Jamil but the banker grabbed his arm and with a quick motion he slammed his knee into the goon’s stomach and shoved him back on the ground. The young man coughed and looked up in surprise but Jamil just glared and repeated. “Leave this be. Or I will get the authorities involved..and I’m sure you wouldn’t want Riddle to know about this.”

The mention of Riddle made the three freeze up with terror but then they quickly left after Jamil’s warning. He picked up his briefcase and fixed his outfit while Ruggie smirked and walked closer and said. “Nicely done! Thank you Jamil.”

“Don’t thank me, this is your fault too.” Jamil said coldly before starting to walk again, heading to a nearby cafe. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m on a break.”

“Hold it, Jamil! I have a question for you.” Ruggie quickly followed after him and stated. “Look, I had a word with Sam and something he said really put things into perspective. I need to find some of our guys jobs that they can earn money and really live for! Gain valuable experience and make a life for themselves.”

“What about businesses in your district? Aren’t they always looking for workers?” Jamil questioned as he got in line at a cafe.

“The big companies are looking for people to help renovate the city rather than help and preserve it.” Ruggie exasperated, and continued to plead his case. “Come on Jamil, don’t you guys need more guards at the bank? Messengers? Other purposes like that?”

“Sure we do, but the fact that they are part of a gang can be troublesome, especially since the Pride and Coin both do business in this region.” Jamil stated sternly and looked at his phone with an angered sigh. “Great…now Kalim is having a problem. I can’t get one moment away from the office..”

Ruggie pursed his lips for a moment, thinking of a scheme and suggesting. “You know, if I give you some of our guys, they could learn a few tricks from you, so that way they could watch Kalim and you can take a proper break.”

“And what makes you think I’d trust any of your men? Most of them are probably looking to rob the bank rather than help it.”

“I’m offended Jamil! I’m looking for honest work for the guys, and you insinuate that they can’t change?”

Jamil sighed from Ruggies faux hurt, putting his buzzing phone into his bag to ignore it while rubbing his forehead. “And you think you have one that can manage to hold a job with us?”

Ruggie smirked, knowing he found a way in. “Yes of course! All of them are eager for a real job and to provide for their futures. Even if you pay them on nickels and dimes they would be pleased.”

“Don’t insult me, Ruggie. We pay our employees normal fees.” Jamil replied and took a step forward as they approached the counter to order. “Besides, I doubt anyone can live on nickels and dimes.”

“My family did. No matter how you look at it, money is money-” Ruggie replied, taking out the quarter he obtained and twirled it around his fingers. “Even a little quarter, if saved properly, can get you great things. How about I buy you a drink, what’ll you have?”

Jamil was about to retort but then growled as his phone started ringing with calls and turned his frustration to the phone and took it out to silence it. “I’ll take poison!”

“Oh good choice, I’ll have my poison with a little club soda.” Ruggie joked but then nudged Jamil as they got to the counter, the poor barista looking confused at their poison comment. “No seriously, what do you want?”

Jamil’s face flushed a bit with embarrassment and he cleared his throat to obtain his composure. “Uh, an Al-Dari coffee please, 12 ounce size. And..” Jamil’s eyes glanced at Ruggie, sighing as he gestured for Ruggie to take the spotlight.

“Oh, I’ll just have a bacon and cheese breakfast sandwich!” Ruggie chimed in and then took out some of the thaumarks Leona gave him, giving them to the barista and taking his change.

The two stepped out of the line and Jamil contemplated for a moment before asking in a serious tone. “Do you really have people willing to actually work and learn?”

“Yep! Besides, those kids need to start thinking about their futures. The gang life is fun but I still hear about their parents' grievances through the grapevine.”

Jamil pinched the bridge of his nose for a moment before finally conceding. “Fine, find me someone that can protect Kalim and actually has some brains. If he can listen to orders and actually learn, then I’ll consider hiring him. As for other job opportunities I’ll reach out and ask around.”

“You’re wonderful Jamil! I’ll repay you another time.” Ruggie replied with a smile and felt relief wash over him.

“Well, I figured if you’re pursuing this so vehemently then Leona must have put you up to this.” Jamil replied, noting how Ruggie was taken aback by his words. “Don’t be so shocked, whenever the Pride needs something they always pursue it for personal reasons.”

“Wow, aren’t we bitter?” Ruggie pouted before patting Jamil’s shoulder and saying. “Best of luck Jamil! I have to head home.”

Before Jamil could reply, Ruggie grabbed his sandwich and walked off, leaving Jamil to grab his coffee and pray he didn’t just make a mistake. But before he could take a sip he noticed someone heading in Ruggie’s direction and his brows furrowed with concern.

Ruggie happily walked down the street and started eating his food, letting out a groan of delight at the delicious taste and satisfying his hunger as well. He decided to take a quick walk around and went off the sidewalk and past the buildings towards the park and residential regions of Golden Sands. The district may not be large in width on a map, but it almost entirely cuts the districts apart, almost like a river that starts up in Thorn Valley and melts all the way to Ernte. To get to Pyroxene, Afterglow, Coral, or the Rose district in a timely manner, anyone would have to drive through Golden Sands. Otherwise, you’d have to drive up through the mountain pass of the Thorn Valley or down the farm lands of Ernte to avoid Golden Sands entirely.

As Ruggie enjoyed the children running around and playing in the fields, with the neatly cut grass and perfectly trimmed trees, he finished his sandwich and tossed the wrapping in a garbage bin. He felt something off and was about to turn to look but felt a hand on his shoulder and something cold pressed to his back. Ruggie, although inside was a bit worried, outside he grinned and chuckled. “Ah, an assassin..I should have guessed one of you was skulking around here.”

The Dorniger Drache agent was taller than Ruggie and certainly stronger, wearing casual clothes and a brown trench coat, but black gloves on his hands and wore a black trilby hat to hide his face. “What was the conversation you had with Samuel?”

A chuckle slipped out of Ruggie before he could stop himself. “Oh of course..it’s stupid of me to think that you were actually looking for me. Although I didn’t think the agency was getting so desperate for information on Sam..by the way, how is your search for his residence going?”

Ruggie flinched as the gun to his back was pressed more into his spine, making him quiet as the agent hissed. “Don’t test me filthy mutt..Now what is it you both were talking about?”

“Careful friend..there’s a lot of families around here.”

“Oh..my mistake.” The man hissed and started leading Ruggie back towards the business buildings, but Ruggie knew that he would be cornered there. “Let’s talk over here then.”

The gang member allowed himself to be led, only because he didn’t want to scare the families nearby, but spoke up while they walked. “You realize this area is a treaty of peace.”

“You think that we haven't killed in the Golden Sands before? I assure you Ruggie, every district has blood somewhere that we’ve spilt on.” The man growled quietly and continued to lead on.

His heart raced in his chest, adrenaline beginning to spike and Ruggie slowly moved his right hand down to his appendix. “Well I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all we talked about was money.”

They made it to the back of one of the service buildings, but before the agent could inquire more from Ruggie, the gang member elbowed the man and hissed in pain as his elbow made contact with a bullet proof vest. That didn’t deter Ruggie however, and pulled out a small .380 pistol from his waistband holster and turned to shoot the man in the leg, but his arm was seized and the agent grip twisted Ruggies arm to an uncomfortable and frightening angle. The gang member managed to spin out of the uncomfortable angle and turned to face the agent, kicking his leg into the man’s calf but was shocked by the muscle that was concealed by the man’s pants. The guy didn’t even flinch and instead squeezed on Ruggie’s wrist to make him release the small pistol. The gun was aimed at Ruggies gut and when the trigger was pulled Ruggie just barely managed to twist again to yank the agent off balance and narrowly escape the bullet. Ruggie felt something pop painfully in his shoulder, knowing that he pulled his arm out of socket with his desperate attempt to get free and avoid being shot.

The agent let out an annoyed grunt while Ruggie had to bite his lip to avoid yelling in pain, the man then backhanded Ruggie with the pistol still in his hand, making the gang member tear into his lip a bit and his head was forced back from the impact. Ruggie felt his left leg getting kicked, causing him to fall over as he gasped in pain and blood pooled on his bottom lip, his right cheek stung and was surly bleeding from how the hand and the rough texture of the gun's slide hit his cheek. He attempted to get up but froze as the silencer on the end of the agent’s gun was pressed to his head.

“That was foolish and a waste of time.” The man snarled back and asked with a cold tone. “Now what did you and Sam talk about?”

Ruggie was about to snap back but the man suddenly wrench bach and shot another round at the person racing over to them. But the shot missed as Ruggie’s savior moved quickly before proceeding to kick the gun out of the man’s hand and elbow him right in the face. the blue eyes peered over in surprise to see Jamil standing there, the banker was much faster but not as strong as the man, but that didn’t matter as Jamil took the snake pin off his shirt and jammed it into the assassin's neck. For a moment, it seemed like a normal pin, but the man started to convulse and fell over with short spasms, but he was still making noise meaning that he wasn’t dead.

Jamil walked over to Ruggie, noting the state of the gang member and sighing as he grabbed Ruggie’s right arm and quickly shoved the arm back into place. Ruggie let out a groan of pain but instant relief as the arm’s ache was fading. He rubbed his shoulder for a moment and asked. “What did you do to that guy?”

“Just a homemade tranquilizing fluid, it’s in all my pins.” Jamil stated before helping Ruggie up and then retrieving his pin from the agent’s neck, double checked that the man was still breathing before muttering. “I better not see you harassing others here again..”

Jamil got up and walked off with Ruggie, the two staying silent for a moment before Ruggie spoke up. “Thanks for the assist. How did you know I was in trouble?”

“I’ve been noticing a lot of strange activity, specifically with the spies and assassins roaming around trying to find Sam’s hideout. Just because he’s here often doesn’t mean he lives here though.”

“Do you know where he lives?” Ruggie asked curiously, his right brow raising. Jamil just shook his head and replied while checking his phone.

“No, I doubt anyone does. But because of all this stress, it has Kalim worried that they might start bothering our employees too.”

The gang member nodded in understanding before saying. “Sam mentioned something about..something bad coming. Do you think there’s something more serious going on?”

“If there is then I’m not sure..I’ll ask Kalim about it, he’s friends with practically everyone.” Jamil replied and then asked. “Are you able to get home safely?”

“Oh sure, now that my arm is back in place I can ride my motorcycle.” Ruggie brushed off with a smirk and then waved to Jamil a bit while walking faster ahead of him. “Catch you later, and thanks for the help!”

“Just stay out of trouble!” Jamil shouted back as Ruggie started to flee, burying his concern with annoyance.

Ruggie’s smirk faded as he ran to his motorcycle and hurried to get on and drive straight home. He was really fed up with how the day went, even if some good did come from it. Getting home while enjoying the wind was a moment of peace, letting his mind wander and his body acted on getting him home safely. Ruggie pushed his worries aside as he returned to his grandmother's home, a small one story home that had busted shingles and needed to have the yard mowed and weeded. Plastering on a smile while entering the house, Rugged called out. “Grandma! I’m home!”

His grandmother, a shorter and older version of himself came over and scolded him. “Ruggie! What did you do this time? Your lip is bleeding!”

“Oh I just bit my lip while deep in through grandma, nothing special.”

“I swear, you always come back with such injuries..” she grumbled and lightly ordered him. “Go clean up, dinner will be done soon. And wash your hands! They look dry and dirty!”

Ruggie didn’t argue and only went to the bathroom to clean up, the room was just recently cleaned but there were still stains on the old tile floor and the tub still had an ancient ring around it from years of use. He washed his hands before cleaning up his lip a little then proceeded to go to his bedroom to change into a lazy shirt and sweatpants. While his home may be old and shabby, it was still home to him and his grandma. As he entered the kitchen, he helped his grandma set up the small dining table that was next to the open kitchen and took in her words about him needing to help with the yard work in the morning.

It wasn’t a glamorous life, but it was something nonetheless, and Ruggie added the quarter he found to the jar in the kitchen that was labeled “house repair funds” which he was happy to see was already almost full. He relaxed in his chair and joked with his grandma about her needing to slow down, but he just smiled as she said she was still young. This kind of family was small, and Ruggie liked it that way, a true and honest family that he loved.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.16- These Lands are Ours TWST Mafia AU

Vil always trusted Rook and his team with their information, certainly there were some more qualified for specific jobs but everyone in his system had a part to play. Those with great family connections were a wonderful and deep source of information or to spread word. However, then there was Epel. Epel was a simple college student with a farmers heart and came from a small town where only the farmers knew each other, but that was no need to be discouraged. Vil knew that the Ernte territory was ripe for mafia operations, it was rumored that the fertile lands were half hard work and half dead bodies.

The model and leader of the informants finished up some paperwork and stood up from his chair, checking himself in the mirror to make sure his hair was perfect before leaving the office. He smiled elegantly while walking through his makeup shop, Vil’s steps confident as his dress shoes clacked on the ground. Quietly he listened to his sales people, proud of those that were enthusiastic with their products, but slowed down as he heard a familiar troublemaker's voice. Vil’s glossed lips fell a bit and he repressed a sigh of agitation, trying to remained composed and hear out the situation.

“Which brush is better for a halo eye?” A customer inquired to Epel, the young lady looking perplexed at Epel and the bright blue eyed employee was just as bewildered by her question.

“A-ah yes a halo eye?” Epel repeated back and looked at the brushes briefly before picking one and saying with an uncertain smile. “This should do just fine.”

“Oh, thank you. I’ll try it out tonight. I’m also looking for a skin lightener, something to make me look even younger!”

Epel raised a brow at her comment, the girl was barely 23, she was already young looking. But he didn’t argue and took her to the serums and lightener’s section, unaware Vil was listening and observing nearby. He and the girl looked at the products, but he was sort of clueless of what to suggest. When she suddenly grabbed one she said happily. “Oh i’ve heard of this brand! It’s inexpensive and shows real improvements! I think i’ll do this one.”

A brief glimpse at the bottle and Epel quickly snatched it. “I don’t think you should do this one,”

Vil felt himself cringe, ready to step in but he stopped and his eyes widened a little in surprise as Epel continued to speak. “See how it has Hydroquinone in it? It acts as a skin depigmentation agent by inhibiting melanin synthesis. That’s not good for you at all, it can actually cause respiratory tract irritation and in some dangerous cases even organ failure.”

The young lady gasped and Vil was equally embarrassed that such an item had been accepted in his store. He would need to check inventory and shipment reports later. But for now, Vil actually smiled, impressed with Epel’s chemical knowledge. After Epel recommended a safer product, the young lady thanked him and walked to the cashiers happily. Vil decided to step out from around the display he was hiding behind and walked over. “Well done Epel.”

Vil’s voice made Epel jolt, a small squeak of surprise escaping him and his blue eyes stared wide at Vil. “O-oh i didn’t-How long were you there?”

“Long enough. Epel, I have a question for you. I plan to make a trip to the Ernte district and I was having some trouble finding hotels to stay in any of the small town locations.”

“Oh? That ain-is not a surprise.” Epel replied, catching himself with his accent slipping. “There’s only two major towns there, but most visitors from out of town either book a hotel in the Golden Sands district or in the Rose district.”

Vil sighed a bit, not really happy with the answer but not upset with Epel. “How troublesome, I was hoping to spend time in the town.”

“What do you want to go there for anyways?”

“Some information I need, and I have heard from Rook that your hometown might have some homemade products that could be quite beneficial and all natural. I wanted to see everything and decide if I wanted to do business with them.”

Epel’s eyes lit up from the information, a sort of excitement that Vil had never seen before and the model didn’t say a word before Epel happily suggested. “Why don’t I contact my folks? Maybe they can let you and I stay for a night there. I have a break from school coming up, fall holidays coming up and I won’t be able to make it there for winter due to how bad it can get down there.”

Vil considered the offer, it would save him money while also giving him time to look around and gather information on the rumors. Yet, it also sounded like a great chance to rest and get away from the city for a bit as well. The corners of his lips quirked up a bit and he spoke with a decisive tone. “Why not make it three nights? That way we have a couple of days for you to see your family properly. It’s only about a four hour drive down anyway.”

Epel nodded and took out his phone, immediately hitting the call button and saying to Vil quickly. “Perfect! Clear your schedule from October 4th to the 8th just in case! And a-oh-hello memaw I have a question-”

The model chuckled softly and walked off back to his office for now, letting Epel have his time to arrange things with his family. As he sat back down in his leather chair, he double checked to see if his dates were available and decided to turn in his chair to the filing cabinet. He opened it and took a file out, looking over the hold that the mafia had over Ernte and the location he also wanted to visit. Ernte was a simple land of grasslands, mountains, and forests. There was an old map showing a drop off, where Ernte’s territory drops into a steep valley before turning into barren grasslands. Vil sighed as he closed the file and muttered a bit. “I need to know if that’s where it is..”

After another week, it was time for Vil and Epel to travel, both decided it would be easier just to take one of Vil’s cars. Although Vil did want to arrive in style, he also knew he had to keep a lower profile and not take a really nice car to the farmlands, opting to take a simple four seater small car that was perfect for a long drive in comfort. The two were packed and dressed for comfort and casual, with Epel wearing some baggy shirts and jeans while Vil packed some fall themed clothes that were both casual but professional. The beginning of their drive was quiet since it was around 6 in the morning when they left, with Vil picking Epel up from the apartment, but about two hours in there was an uncomfortable tension of silence. Vil did not care if they had a conversation, but Epel squirmed in the passenger seat, as if trying to find something to say. The informant boss decided to break the ice, not wanting to let Epel remain uncomfortable.

“So, Epel, why did you decide to go to college to learn about agriculture chemistry? Why not just learn agriculture in your hometown?”

“Oh well, the schools are okay but not the greatest, plus there’s a lot of older folks there that just..don’t accept how good certain chemicals are to help yield vast amounts of produce without actually hurting the plants. Or better ways to irrigate the crops and tend to pests in the gardens.”

“Well, there is nothing wrong with upholding the traditional ways without pesticides and other chemicals. But I can understand it if you’ve seen these troublesome times with your own eyes. Is your family open to new people? Are there any traditions or things I should be aware of?”

Epel thought to himself, a devious smirk crossing his lips which made Vil pause for a second. “Just be prepared for some good ol’ country speech. They ain’t going to be fancy talkin’ people. But no, there’s nothing else to worry about. My parents will actually be out of town since they’re making a delivery to the town over the hill, but memaw will be at the house.”

“Memaw?”

“Oh, it’s another way of saying grandma.”

Vil nodded a bit and then went quiet as he focused on the road, the silence returning but this time not as tense. The sun has been shining and their drive through the Golden Sands was peaceful, thankfully missing most traffic as they finally reached the beginning signs of the older roads leading into Ernte territory. Epel piped up once more as he asked. “Since it’s just..us right now. Did you become an informant because of your family?”

Epel flinched as the wisteria eyes glanced at him with suspicion. “And why would you want to know that?”

“I’m just curious, I don’t know much about you besides your outward appearance to the public. Besides, it’s not like I’ll tell anyone.”

Vil contemplated telling Epel, but decided to explain in his own way. “My family was never directly involved with my choices to build the informant agency. If you can even call it that. In comparison to the Thorn agency, we’re rather unequipped and we try to stay away from direct contact or battles. The only reason I chose a side is because of my own reasons.”

Epel looked at Vil curiously, tilting his head a bit before leaning back in his seat. “Well, we’re close to Leona and have a good relationship with Kalim..why do you have a vendetta with Riddle and Azul.”

“I actually have no problems with Riddle, he’s a promising young man and follows the rules to the T most of the time, but it’s a natural consequence when he made a partnership with Azul. But I have a fairly civil relationship with everyone.”

“You’re avoiding the question.”

“I would like to wait on explaining further for now, I am trying to focus on driving.” Vil deflected calmly, making Epel pout a bit and mumble to himself. “In the meantime, is there a specific reason you wanted to pick these dates for your family visit?”

“It matches my break from classes, and also it’s time for a lot of the goods to be harvested. Many delicious apples, roots, squashes, certain berries, and many other things too. It’s also when we get a lot of tourists coming by since early October is the peak for most of our produce.” Epel answered with a bit of a smile. “An’ I sure miss everyone, I’ve been so busy so this is something I have been looking forward to.”

The two continued their small talk throughout the ride, but Epel was still unsatisfied with how Vil didn’t answer his question from earlier. Once they arrived at Harveston, Vil admired the cute homes and all the signs made up of hand carved craftsmanship, and Epel looked ready to jump out of the car in excitement. They stopped at an older house that had a very steep roof, completely made of wood with a few windows, a barn behind the home, and a stone chimney. Vil parked where it was convenient and stepped out of the vehicle, seeing an older woman that had similar hair and eyes to Epel, who he assumed was Epel’s grandma. Epel quickly got out of the car and ran over to the older woman, hugging her and the two greeted each other happily.

“Memaw! It’s so good to see you!”

“And it’s good to see you youngn’, and who is this lovely peach?” The older woman smiled at Vil and politely introduced herself. “I am Marja, you must be Epel’s boss at that fancy makeup place.”

Vil smiled and nodded, bowing politely and replying. “Yes, I am. You may call me Vil, it’s a pleasure to meet you Marja. Thank you for your hospitality for letting me stay.”

“Oh it ain’t no trouble at all. Epel, why don’t you show yer friend around and I’ll get the bags upstairs.”

“Ya sure memaw? I don’t want ya hurt-”

“Oh hush now, I can take care of myself.” Marja replied quickly with a small snap in her tone, then hurried to get the bags and take them inside.

Epel smiled and started to lead the way towards the town square, both sides of the road were surrounded by apple trees but also a fair amount of other produce as well. Their drive-in had some of the larger orchards and farms, but the center of Harveston was almost purely apples. Vil could feel the crisp fall air filling his lungs, the cooling freshness was intoxicating with how soothing it felt, a far cry from the stuffy air of the city and similar to the floral smells of the garden parks. The entire square was buzzing with energy as many stores and stands were setting up for customers. Vil was thankful they arrived before it was too busy and started to wander around with Epel, as the hometown boy was greeting people and showing Vil some of their products. Homemade food, drinks, clocks, toys, soaps, and many other items that each had a touch of love and patience in them.

“Here Vil!” Epel called out, buying a drink of a spiced apple cider and offering the cup to Vil. “Try this, you’ll never find any better apple products than here.”

Vil took the cup and took a sip, immediately caught off guard by how fresh the drink tasted with the crispy but sweet flavor, with the undertones of cinnamon and other spices. “My, my, what a refreshing taste. Thank you, but let’s not get too carried away with foods and drinks. I’m more interested in beauty products.”

“Ah right, here come on.” Epel responded and continued to lead the way, but then added. “Now, don’t be too surprised about our stuff. Afterall, we made what was necessary for hard workin’ farmers, they ain’t exactly beauticians.”

“Even so, lotions, chapstick, and other products as such are always appreciated to those that care about their body.”

“For generations our town has been very good about cleanliness, since hospitals are a good couple hours away we never wanted to risk any outbreaks, especially during winter time.” Epel explained proudly and stopped at one of the shops nearby. The shelves were filled with handmade soaps, bath bombs, lotions, scrubs, and many more items. Vil actually felt delighted at the options and started looking at the ingredients of each thing.

When Epel was chatting with some of the store owners, Vil couldn’t help but comment. “I never realized you were so popular here, Epel.”

“Oh, well I was the first child in a long time born in Harveston. I’m pretty much the only one my age here. I had to go to school in the next town over.” Epel replied with a smile but looked a bit embarrassed. “So I was always doted on by the others.”

“How fortunate that you had such support.” Vil replied with a smile, then he focused on the soaps and said. “I’ll be in here for a while if you want to go reconnect with others.”

“Are you sure you’ll be alright?”

“Epel, I’m a grown man, I can take care of myself.” Vil joked before insisting. “Now go on, I’ll text you if I need help and I’ll see you later.”

Epel smiled and nodded before hurrying out of the store, his excitement to see family was palpable. After some time and many questions, Vil collected cards from the stores he was most interested in for future purchases, but then walked to a nearby stand for a small snack. While waiting in line at a food stand for a small slice of apple pie, his eyes narrowed seeing a very suspicious character at another stand. He paid for his slice and sat on one of the benches nearby to eat, his wisteria eyes subtly watching the person that gave him an eerie feeling. The man didn’t fit into the hometown vibe, he was wearing a tailored tan jacket with a white shirt beneath it, wearing light wash jeans, and had some muddy brown boots on. It was like the man was trying to fit in but making it obvious he had money to be fancy. His dark hair was combed back and the man had a light stubble growing, his complexion a light honey tone that showed either his heritage or how often he spent in the sun.

Vil was still on edge as the man happily interacted with people, his demeanor charismatic to the hometown folks, full of smiles and politeness. Vil cautiously finished his food before walking around one of the stands to avoid being seen, then watched the man walk off before Vil went to one of the vendors and asked politely. “Excuse me, who was that man?”

“Him? That’s James Silver. He’s a businessman from the big Coral city, he’s here all the time to visit and partake in some of the local traditions. A nice man, and always has his friends stopping by to buy some of the local vendors' wares.”

“I see, thank you.” Vil replied with a polite smile but then started walking quickly to Epel’s house. He knew that the man was too out of place, he must have been part of the Coin. Once arriving at the place, Vil had decided tonight he would need to drive out to the valley, but for now he took a deep breath and threw on his composure to mingle with Epel’s family.

That home thankfully wasn’t full of its usual owners, it was just Marja, Epel, and Vil. But Epel had said that normally his grandmother, mother, father, and some close cousins would stay in this small place. Vil was gracious with his compliments to Marja’s cooking and listened to her stories of the famous sled races and stories of Epel, he was even stunned to see a picture of Marja when she was younger and Epel truly shared her looks. When Epel returned after visiting people in town he sat and ate his food while engaging with them, then took Vil to the room he would be staying in. The room was small, probably for one of the cousins, and Epel questioned while Vil was settling in. “Did you find anything in town that you liked?”

“Oh absolutely, I will be making contact with a few of them for some of their soaps and other cosmetics. I think there will be a good spot in the store for naturally made items.” Vil explained and then smiled at Epel. “Also, I was wondering something. I heard rumors of a nearby valley, is it a popular tour spot?”

Epel looked stunned and shook his head. “No way at all. That valley might be pretty but it’s very dangerous. We have professional guides for those that might want to hike it, but with the amount of rocks that roll down and the constant wetness from the waterfalls and snow, it’s just risky. People have always gotten injured there so most of the locals avoid it, especially during winter when avalanches are common. Why do you ask?”

“Oh nothing, I was simply wondering if it was worth my time to visit while I am here.” Vil explained and then sat down on the bed while saying. “I think I'll turn in early. It’s been a long day.”

The college student reasoned that it was almost 10pm and Vil liked to get a full night's sleep, so it wasn’t an odd thing to say. “Alright, well, good night and sleep well.”

Vil did take his rest, but had his alarm wake him up around 4am for him to be dressed and ready to go. He wore some flexible pants and a long sleeve black top for warmth, pairing it all with some hiking boots and quietly left the house with only a small camel pack of water and some emergency supplies. He took his car and followed the GPS directions to the valley, which he was only able to make part way until he had to park and go the rest of the way on foot. The morning was dark and bitterly cold, but Vil’s eyes adjusted to the dark and he brought a flashlight with him for such an emergency. The morning was quiet, almost peacefully so as he took in the cold air and the occasional sounds of owls and bugs chirping. As he reached a part of the valley, Vil’s eyes and flashlight scanned the valley sides, which were indeed covered in wet rocks which would make the climb down risky.

However, Vil’s determination was undeterred as he looked for a safe way down, heading down an unmarked path slowly to avoid slipping on anything. It was after about 20 minutes that he noticed a strange path, it wasn’t marked but it was treaded on frequently, and rocks lined the path as if an invisible railing was there. He slowly started to follow it, realizing there was a light trail of gravel purposefully set there for steadier walking, turning his flashlight onto a lower setting to just light his path. The path was small but very curvy, making Vil walk slowly to avoid slipping on the wet ground, yet as time went on Vil found himself reaching the bottom of the valley where the small river connected the hills. The informant scanned the area, then narrowed his eyes as he noticed a small oxbow river, cut off from the larger river but still deep enough for a person or two to sit in. He cautiously walked over and noticed something odd about the water, it seemed to be darker and less clean then the river but not in a normal way as most lakes were.

Setting down his pack, Vil took out some heavy duty gloves and carefully dipped his hand in to feel around, but jolted as he felt something large in there. He shuddered and slowly grabbed at what he could and started to pull up, his body growing icy despite his heart thudding harder in his chest. An arm, and a body attached to it, he wanted to throw up but just decided to divert his attention to the fabric the body was wearing. It was nothing classy, a common jacket but it had a brass insignia that came strictly from the Afterglow savanna area. He makes it a point to learn all about the different styles of clothes, their makers, their quirks, to know exactly what district they come from. Vil slowly set the arm down and moved to take a picture on his phone stopped when he heard footsteps. Quickly, Vil shined the light up at the sound and there stood James, the man grunting from the sudden stun of the light and Vil quickly got up into his defensive position.

“I knew I heard a slimy crustacean.” Vil huffed and glared at James, who had to raise his hand to make the light less blinding for his eyes. “So, the mafia now takes business in drowning people in tiny towns?”

James just chuckled and spoke nonchalantly. “No one goes over here, it’s not polluting large ecosystems, I don’t see a problem with it.”

“The problem is the murder, you disgusting disgrace of a human.” Vil replied sharply and raised a brow as James just laughed, but his eyes were still sharp as he noticed James start to move his hands to his jacket. “If you try anything I won’t hesitate to break your arm.”

The man’s dark brown eyes looked amused, and he smirked as he spoke calmly and kept his hands to his sides. “There’s no need for that. Look, I’m just doing as I’m told, if you have a problem with it you can talk to my boss.”

“Ernte was told to be left alone, all the bosses agreed to that.”

“Actually, my boss said there was no legal document for those words..”

“Regardless! You’ve made a grave error!” Vil said coldly and took a slow step forward, only stopping when James quickly put his hand in his jacket pocket.

“Ah~ now let’s not get too out of hand, Vil.” James sneered before chuckling. “You know, I might actually get a good promotion for this..showing your bloody face on the news and to your beloved partner. It’s like a reward-”

James’s words were cut off as a figure suddenly rammed into his back, a gunshot going off and the round shot straight into the ground from the jolt and angle tilt. Vil took this opportunity to kick James straight in the face, feeling his foot make contact with James's jaw and sending the man to the rocky ground. Vil’s eyes widened seeing Epel standing there, breathing heavily and looking at James with anger as he shouted. “Get yer’ fucking hands up, ya lily-livered varmint! I outta hang you upside down the nearest tree and let the wolves eat ya!”

Vil shook out of his surprise and kicked James again when the man turned around to try and shoot Epel, knocking the gun out of his hand and Epel quickly seized it and aimed it at James. The mafia man glared at the two, his mouth bleeding and his cheek bruised from where Vil kicked him, but he also had a cut on his head from landing on the rocks. “Well what now? If you two shoot me you’ll have to explain it to the others..and if you take me in, you’ll have to explain why Vil is dressed like a crook.”

Vil thought about a witty comeback, but to his surprise Epel chuckled and smirked back at the man. “Oh don’t ya worry your pretty head..I made a call to the mayor. Said that Vil was taken while on a trip to the valley and I told him about the suspicious vehicle I saw while arriving to meet him for a leisurely hike..”

Jame’s eyes widened as the information sunk in, and Vil was just as equally shocked but proud as well. No later than a couple minutes, there was a whole search party coming down the valley path. Epel quickly handed the gun to the local police and they cuffed James, Epel displayed a wonderful scared act of how terrified he was thinking Vil could’ve been killed by his recommendation for a hike. And Vil had spun a story of wanting to get to the valley early to film the serene beauty of the waterfall and the sunrise, then was forcefully brought to the waterside and nearby drowned by James in the same small lake that the body was in, claiming self defense when he had kicked James. It took a while for the cops to clear everything out, Vil was especially careful to have the gloves hidden back in his bag, and both he and Epel were carefully escorted back up to the top of the valley.

At the top, Vil and Epel sat down on a relatively dry and large rock, the two quietly watching the valley with distant skies becoming a lighter pink. The police took James away and then Vil couldn’t help but chuckle as he spoke after everyone left. “The golden boy of the town..you planned this well.”

“Yeah well, i sure got a scoldin’ from my memaw for suggesting a hike in such a dangerous place, but it was worth telling.” Epel replied with a proud but tired smile.

“But how did you know I was here?”

Epel shot Vil an agitated look and replied bluntly. “You just happen to mention the curiosity to the valley, and I heard your damn alarm. At first I thought you were just going on a jog but then I heard the car start. I wasn’t going to follow but then I heard another car shortly after yours and got worried, so I planned a story and tearfully went to the police after convincing memaw that I was going to meet you here and was worried.”

Vil smiled and nodded as he accepted the brief and annoyed retelling. “I see..I am sorry for keeping you in the dark. I saw the man earlier yesterday and knew he had connection for what I was seeking..”

“And what is that exactly? You weren’t just comin’ to see the local soaps.”

“No..Leona actually asked me to do some digging because some of the guys he sends here go missing. Obviously we’re going to have a huge problem dealing with a legal contract with Azul when we get back. They’ve been using a little lake to drown the people they wish to make disappear, using the water to degrade DNA before taking the bodies elsewhere to dispose of in the Ernte territory.”

“I see..well, I think folks around here will be a little more cautious for now on newcomers, I hope it doesn’t hurt the tourism..”

“I doubt it will Epel, your people are wonderful.” Vil confidently spoke, then went back to a comfortable silence while the sun started to rise. He gasped softly at the beauty of the sky, how it was painted in pinks and orange over the valley, and how the waterfall appeared to turn to gold from the sun’s gorgeous rays. Epel smiled happily at the familiar sight and sighed as he spoke.

“Ya know, my parents loved takin’ me here as a kid. We used to bring some warm cider and sit out here to watch the sun and eat some apples with cheese and crackers. But as I got older it was harder to do, but my parents always told me that the best place to feel at peace is the place that makes you smile out of habit.” Epel paused before looking at Vil and saying. “Do you have a place like that?”

Vil looked at Epel briefly, then his eyes gazed back at the valley and he smiled a bit to himself. “Yes..i do have a place like that..the first place that I even considered being an informant.”

Epel waited patiently, waiting for the story which only began after Vil sighed and took out a bottle of water from his bag to take a sip. “My father always took me to the gardens that had famous people everywhere, it was a public garden but it was well loved and cared for. It was during one of the parties I overheard someone talking about using my dad’s money to enhance their business. It scared me and I started crying to my father shortly after, but he held me and just told me that..sometimes there are greedy people, but the people you know you can trust are the ones that are there for you in a pinch. It was then that I vowed to help expose people who tried to hurt others for selfish gain, but it still took a while to get as good as I am now.”

The two went quiet but there was a silent understanding, and they sat there happily watching the sunrise over the valley. About an hour later they went back to the house and Marja scolded both of them for going to the valley at such a dangerous time without telling anyone, but soon the subject was dropped and the three ate breakfast. News of James spread to the point that the Harveston people were angry that they hosted such a vile man, all the charges pushed on him towards the dead body and attacking two unarmed people. However, Vil and Epel spent the rest of their time relaxing and enjoying the festivities of Harveston. It felt like there was a new connection of trust and understanding for the two, making it easier for them to converse and enjoy their time.

On the last day, Marja gave Vil a little wooden apple pendant as a gift and wished all the best to him before Epel hugged her and they departed. Vil was greatly touched by the gift and couldn’t help but smile at the way things went. He had both a relaxing but enlightening time and was eager to plan another trip back, maybe even bring Rook or Leona along next time. A few days afterwards, Vil made a payment to have some of Harveston’s cosmetics and bathroom supplies shipped over to his store. Rook was ecstatic to see the selection of items, having time to clear out the products that had toxic ingredients before the new supplies came in. “Oh Roi de poison! This is a marvelous collection, tres bien!”

“Thank you Rook, I hope Epel appreciates it as well.” Vil replied with a smile, then glanced over as he saw Epel’s shocked face. “Ah, perfect timing.”

“W-what is..is this all from Harveston? There’s at least 30 boxes!” Epel said in shock, looking at Rook and Vil.

“More to come too!” Rook said happily and added. “They are going to be part of the store and we wanted enough supplies to last while Harveston is snowed in.”

“However, they are getting full credit as well, and hopefully this boosts more tourism.” Vil spoke up before saying to Epel. “And I want you to be in charge of the natural section from now on.”

Epel’s big blue eyes blinked, processing their words before asking excitedly. “You mean it? I can just talk about my hometowns products?”

“Well, not just them, but the other natural products here too.” Vil explained before grinning and handing Epel the list of supplies. “So, I want you to become an expert in all the natural products we’re receiving.

Epel froze up, looking at the list with a bit of uncertainty but groaned as he realized it was better than talking about things he didn’t care about at all. He huffed and puffed his cheeks as he took the list with him. “Fine, I’ll learn about the others too..”

Rook laughed as Epel walked off to get his stuff in the employee room. “Do you think that is a little harsh?”

“No, he needs to learn that passion for products comes with learning about the products, not just experiencing them and testing them.” Vil replied with a knowing smile. “But, I know he can do it, he’s more capable then you might believe..”

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.15-Unwelcomed and Unfavored TWST Mafia AU

It could be said that Azul and Leona have a huge dislike for each other, in comparison to other people in their unit. Vil and Riddle hold a civil relationship, Malleus tends to be stoic to almost everyone, Idia didn’t care enough to really form friendships, and everyone liked Kalim. But Azul and Leona have always disliked each other since the beginning. When Nirvana Steel was just beginning its nightlife in the Coral District a few years back, Azul had just moved to the city with his parents and his fathers associates the Leech family. Many could say that the Ashengrotto family was the pioneers of the Coral District, changing it from a busy city of only offices to a nightlife paradise and tourist city. The Leech family also helped with the city, making many connections in just a few weeks to build sponsors and more businesses. Azul, Jade, and Floyd got to know each other very well thanks to their parents, but they also were new to the city and their parents took the opportunity to show them Nirvana Steel.

When Leona was 10 years old, he remembered escaping his tutors lessons and watching his father greet Mr. Ashengrotto from upstairs. As his father lead Ashengrotto to the next room, Azul at the age of 6 years old and quickly followed his dad, and this prompted Leona’s curiosity. He snuck downstairs but jolted back when his father suddenly looked back and sighed. “Leona, did you sneak out of classes again?”

Leona looked down a bit, not answering his father but could hear Mr. Ashengrotto’s chuckle. “My, my, a little bit of a rebel?”

“Leona is just not one for lessons.” Mr. Kingscholar replied, gently pushing Leona into the common room with them. “This is my second son, Leona KingScholar. Leona, this is Mr. Ashengrotto and his son Azul.”

The 10 year old finally looked at them and nodded politely. “Nice to meet you. Are you a friend of my dad?”

Mr.Ashengrotto smiled and chuckled again as he sat in a lounge chair. “Hopefully we will be, I have propositions for him. Azul, why don’t you and Leona go play together?”

Azul looked nervous about the idea of leaving his fathers side, but slowly walked closer to Leona, the brunette resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the boy’s moves. Azul and Leona left the room while the adults spoke, the two both looked away akwardly and the silence was suffocating. Leona huffed and spoke first, making Azul look at him with big eyes. “Well! I’m going to take a nap in my room, bye.”

“W-wait! u-um..if our dads become friends, then we should learn about each other, right?” Azul asked quickly, following after Leona as the brunette started to walk off. “I’m new here, my parents came from across the ocean.”

“Fascinating..” Leona replied sarcastically, not turning to look at Azul as the kid followed him. “Look, my dad isn’t going to make any business deals, he doesn’t need them.”

“well..he let my father see him, so maybe he’ll change his mind. My dad has this great vision of making the city bigger! And making more fun places for people to see, we can make your home popular.”

Azul’s enthusiasm and pride in his father was palpable, but it only made Leona stop halfway up the stairs and spin around with a mocking smirk. “Ha! The Afterglow district doesn’t need things like that! My family is all about traditions and preserving our people’s land. We don’t need more crowds or money as it is.”

The 6 year olds expression dropped a bit, then he puffed his chubby cheeks. “But my father says people who live in the past end up suffering. It’s our nature to evolve and develop!”

“Heh, you’re a lot of talk for someone who probably still wets the bed.” Leona replied with a sneer, making Azul more flustered.

“I-I do not! Your dad would be stupid if he didn’t work with my dad!”

At this, Leona glared and growled back. “Don’t you dare call my father stupid! What would you know, brat!”

Azul was about to bite back but Mr.Ashengrotto left the common room and ordered sternly. “Azul, come. We’re leaving now.”

The boy nodded and huffed as he turned away from Leona and hurried down to his dad. Leona watched the two leave, frustration building up until his eyes spotted his dad. Leona ran down to him and asked. “Dad, is Azul right? Are we giving up our land?”

Mr. Kingscholar looked down, petting Leona’s head and assuring him. “No son, nothing is changing..Mr. Ashengrotto is a little too..pushy for my liking. Now come on, time to get back to your lessons.”

Since that day, a small bitterness lingered between Leona and Azul but grew even worse overtime when the Kingscholar family kept getting into legal matters to stop Ashengrotto’s developments in the Afterglow district. When Leona was 15, he realized he couldn’t count on his father to handle things with the sneaky business overlords, so he and Ruggie decided to work together to halt any operations. Of course, no plan is perfect and on many occasions Leona and Ruggie would get caught by police for tampering with wire connections or trying to break into offices. Leona and his father got in many fights about his illegal way of fighting back, while Falena would try to convince Leona to join him and his father in a more legal way.

Meanwhile, Azul’s pride only grew in his family as the Coral district thrived, only after 5 years did his family settle down and just own a restaurant by the water. Jade and Floyd’s family however kept up their business, and Azul joined them as a self proclaimed leader. Their shady actions were always in the shadows, and Azul’s contributions only made it harder for police to do anything, which greatly enthused the twins because they loved their family business. Of course, the twins insisted to their father that Azul should run things, Floyd didn’t care to be the boss with responsibilities, and while Jade didn’t mind leading he also knew he didn’t have Azul’s savvy with persuasion without bodily harm.

Both sides grew into their gang and mafia roles, Leona and Azul even more pissed off at each other over time. With Leona’s strength and influence, he gained support form the Afterglow district and some support from Pyroxene. Little bits of support came from people in the Thorn Valley and Ernte farmlands, but it was not too influential. Azul’s cunning and charismatic nature also made him a prime leader for the Coral district, Rose district, and some support from the Golden district as well. But the two leaders had their first interaction since childhood when Leona was 20 and Azul was 16, by this time Leona’s gang was in full swing and holding strong, while the mafia was still trying to take root in larger corporations.

Ruggie was patrolling the border of the Afterglow district that connected to the Rose district, driving on his own motorcycle with five other gang members on their own rides. He slowed to a stop and grinned as he noticed a sea blue van and saw a few of Azul’s men unpacking it in front of a garage. The house looked normal enough but Ruggie knew better, especially when he saw Jade step out and spoke with the driver. He chuckled and looked over to the guys, who all cackled and grinned as well. “Well boys, who’s up for a little sushi?”

With the revving up of the bikes, the six Savanaclaw members drove down the paved street, which gained the attention from Jade and his lackeys. Jade just smiled and said calmly. “My goodness, it looks like the dogs are on the loose..Quickly, get the van back to the Coral district.”

The driver didn’t wait and took off, only with two motorcycles chasing after it while Ruggie and the other four cycles came to a stop. Jade glanced at his men, who looked ready for a fight he had four men with him which would be plenty. Ruggie hopped off his ride, taking off his goggles and helmet before saying loudly as if he and Jade were best friends. “Hello Jade! Nice to see you near our turf!”

“Technically, this is the Rose district, we are not in your territory yet.” Jade replied with a polite grin, that had a sadistic edge to it. “We are just making a few deliveries, so if you would be so kind to turn around and leave, we don’t have to make matters worse.”

“Oh is that right? Well we could just get the authorities to come down and see what you’re hiding. Is that a problem?”

The two groups were in silence for a moment, then Jade just chuckled and clapped his hands. When the second clap sounded, his men immediately charged, prompting Ruggies team to brace. The gang members quickly grabbed onto the mafia men, both sides struggling to wrestle their opponents down the other while Ruggie started walking towards Jade. The teens to young adults kept throwing firsts, a few managing to connect to jaws or stomachs, a sickening crack followed a couple of the impacts. Jade immediately took out his switchblade and caught Ruggie’s arm with his free hand before tossing him overhead, but Ruggie was faster to land his feet on the ground first and twist around to jab his taser into Jade. Releasing Ruggie, Jade jumped back and continued to dodge and sneered. “It’s a shame we’re not allowed to use guns.”

“Eh, too expensive and too easy to be on trial for.” Ruggie replied and took another lunge at Jade, managing to rip Jade’s suit when the teen dodged. “Where’s that pesky brother of yours?”

“Oh? You didn’t notice? He’s driving.” Jade replied and swiped his knife at Ruggie when the smaller man got to close, but only nicked his arm.

The gang members tangled with the mafia men, but unlike Jade and Ruggie, they were worse for wear. One mafia member was on the ground, clutching at his side as he coughed up blood, while a gang member was bruised up and struggling to see through two black eyes, and the others were all cut up from the punches or from being thrown onto the pavement. Neither side used guns for their fights, it was claimed unfair and both Azul and Leona knew getting guns involved would cause greater grief with the law. The two 16 year old right-hand men were still going at their little tangle, both frustrated that they couldn’t land many blows on the other. Jade and Ruggie were cautious fellows, they didn’t like confrontation if they could help it and they were barely landing any hits on each other.

Ruggie managed to get his arm hooked onto Jade’s stomach and shoved him to the ground, getting over him to jam the taster into his chest, but Jade’s hand caught onto Ruggie’s arm and forced it up so Jade could kick Ruggie away into a garbage can. The teen was not only taller but also stronger, he was fast but Ruggie was faster and had more dexterity than the teal-haired teen. Ruggie growled a bit as he looked up at Jade, who had a smug grin on and stood up to dust himself off. “Ah look, a dog in the trash, very befitting.”

Jade barely finished his comment before Ruggie stood up and kicked the knife out of Jade’s hand, tripping Jade in the process, Ruggie smirked as he caught the knife and spun it in his fingers. “Oh look, dead meat.”

In the distance, a loud concussive explosion rang off in the distance, making the fighting stop and everyone looking over in shock. Somewhere miles away into the Rose district, a large fire started and sirens of firefighters were already echoing in the distance. Jade’s expression dropped as he took out his phone and called Floyd, the first couple of rings made Jade anxious until there was a pick up at the other end. “Floyd? Floyd are you alright?”

Ruggie actually froze for a moment as he noticed Jade’s face changing to a mix of panic. He looked at the gang members and shouted. “What the hell are you all doing? Everyone go back to your individual places! Go to Idia if you need help!”

The men that were able to move quickly left the gang members getting on their motorcycles while the mafia men went into the house, both respective parties carrying their wounded. Ruggie jumped onto his bike and started it up, pulling up next to Jade. “come on Jade, let’s go see the damage.”

Jade looked skeptical but hung up on the phone and got behind Ruggie, moving his hands to Ruggie’s shoulders as the gang member started driving towards the crash. “My brother said his van swerved! He’s not sure if your boys are okay but Floyd said he’s having trouble moving.”

Ruggie sped up the bike and drove down the less crowded streets, taking the larger alleyways between houses and businesses, but they eventually reached the downtown area and the roads were being closed off. A couple buildings were on fire, one noticeably a gas station which explained the explosion, and the van was down the street a bit and the right side of it crushed in. Jade jumped off the bike and started running over, Ruggie took a crowbar from his bike’s bag before following Jade, using the crowbar to wrench the door open and Floyd fell out with a groan. Floyd had blood covering half his face and his body was covered in cuts, but it was hard to tell if anything was broken. Jade quickly dragged Floyd out and forced his brother to stand, then looked off at the distance and said. “Ruggie, can you give us a ride?”

“Three people on one motorcycle isn’t very safe.” Ruggie pointed out, preparing to argue until he saw flashing lights and hissed. “Fuck, shit, fuck, police..fuck here, just help me get Floyd on the bike, I’ll get him to idia.”

Jade reluctantly nodded and helped Ruggie get Floyd to the bike. “Fine, I have to do some cleanup here anyways. And if you so much as abandon my brother-”

“Oh please, I’m not a heartless bastard, I’ll get him there..” Ruggie grumbled, keeping Floyd balanced behind him before taking off down the street, leaving Jade to his work.

Jade hurried back to the van while the police were talking with the firefighters, he opened the crooked doors on the back and sighed in relief that there was just one box. He picked it up, hearing the broken glass inside and ran to the building that was scorching with flames. It was a large brick building with a melted insignia, just a couple buildings away from the gas station that was still blazing. Jade quickly threw the box into the fire and ran down the street to conceal himself, he fixed his clothes as best as possible to make himself presentable.

However, later that day, the news broadcasted the events and Azul was pacing in his office in frustration. The TV showed two motorcycles following the van from the few traffic cameras that were in the downtown area, the van swerved to shake off one biker down a road and then turned into oncoming traffic, a larger truck hit the van before skidding straight into the gas station while the van went sliding from another car hitting it. The second biker unfortunately was hit by another car, causing the bike and person to go flying. Azul’s cold eyes looked at Jade, who was watching the news with a tense expression, but Azul couldn’t yell when Floyd was actually injured in this mess. “Have you heard from Idia?”

Jade looked at Azul, masking his worry and fear. “Floyd sustained a broken arm, several deep cuts that require stitches, and has a mild concussion. Idia insisted we leave him there until further notice..”

Azul sighed and sat at his desk, grumbling to himself. “Our fathers are going to kill us if they find out we are involved. Damn those Savanaclaw boys..”

“I already took care of any leftover evidence.” Jade said calmly, his hands clenched on his lap with anxiety building up in his chest.

“That’s not the point Jade, do you realize what buildings were set ablaze?” Azul asked with exasperation, feeling his head spin with overwhelming panic.

Jade’s heterochromic eyes focused on the TV, looking at the three buildings that were burning on the news. “One gas station, one a small business, and the other was a brick building. I assume the brick building was an office building or a station?”

“It’s worse than that..” Azul muttered and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “If we’re lucky, we won’t get any calls..”

Back in the Afterglow district, Leona’s group house was filled with chatter about the crash, the one that actually resulted in one of their gang members dying. The group was watching the TV, all of them a mix of angry or worried. Leona growled to himself as he got the story from Ruggie, spitting out while storming upstairs. “Do you know what will happen if my family finds out?!”

Ruggie snapped back, throwing his hands up in frustration. “What was I supposed to do?! I had the boys chase the van because that’s what we’ve always done, you never disapproved of that!”

“We need to make sure we’re not caught in the crossfire, the police will search cameras and we need to cover our ass for when that happens.” Ruggie followed Leona upstairs, ready to argue more until Leona’s phone started ringing, but the leader growled and handed his phone to Ruggie. “Here, answer it, i’m not in the mood.”

The sandy-blonde huffed and answered, trying to control his temper in case it was someone important. “Hello, Ruggie speaking.”

“Ruggie, this is Jamil Viper, inform Leona he needs to be present at 8am in the Golden district. Kalim has to meet with him, and tell him that if he doesn’t show up, then all the funds are cut off.”

Ruggie didn’t even get to answer before Jamil hung up, his eyes widened as he realized what was just said and looked at Leona. “Sorry boss, but I think we got worse problems..”

The next morning, around 7:45, Leona arrived at the Golden district wearing business casual wear of a neat white shirt and black slacks. He grumbled as he got out of the car that was being driven by one of his chauffeur’s, ordering him to park somewhere before walking up to the bank of the Al-Asim family. He waited outside, pacing around a bit as he felt his thoughts grow heavy and stressful with thoughts of what Kalim wanted. While waiting, he heard footsteps and glanced up just out of habit, then his green eyes narrowed as he snarled. “Oh great, just another topping to this shit sundae I got here. What are you doing here?”

Azul was always wearing some sort of business casual attire, but this time wore a black suit that was a bit more respectful, and this time wasn’t wearing a hat. He walked up to Leona, his flint-gray eyes looked sharper despite him only being 16 years old. “If you must know, Jamil asked me to come here.”

“You too?” Leona asked, his eyes now narrowed in suspicion before he accused angrily. “Did you tell him I was at fault for the crash?”

The younger teen huffed and rolled his eyes as he replied. “I didn’t say anything, Jamil didn’t even give me the chance to speak.”

The two fell into silence while waiting for the minutes to tick by, then Azul looked over Leona and noticed how cold the taller teen was. It had been a long time since they had seen each other, but to Azul, Leona still looked like the overconfident brat he remembered in the Kingscholar mansion. He never liked how Leona acted so aloof while also being so powerful, Azul saw it as a form of weakness that Leona never truly put the work into being a stronger foe. After a moment, Azul checked his watch for the time and sighed as he spoke. “My condolences for your man.”

Leona scoffed, crossing his arms and turned his head away from Azul. “Fuck off..the idiot shouldn’t have followed the van in the first place. I’ll put my men in their places once they are back at the house.”

Azul wasn’t sure what to make of that response and stayed quiet, both of them kept their gazes in opposite directions. When 8am hit, the doors to the bank suddenly opened with Jamil standing at the steps, his eyes burning with anger and frustration. “Both of you, inside.”

Azul and Leona followed Jamil inside, the vice bank owner was only 16 but already his voice commanded respect and obedience. He closed the doors and locked them before looking at the two leaders, his ebony hair practically whipped in the air from how fast he turned to look at them. “Kalim has been crying all night yesterday. Care to guess why?”

Neither Leona nor Azul spoke up, but a small chill of fear settled in their chests, a cold sliver to remind them of yesterday's events. When neither of them spoke up, Jamil continued to scold. “Because some of our bank tellers died yesterday in that fire, he was beside himself and I had to console him yesterday for hours until his parents came to see him and took over. Now, you’re going to speak to him, and you better have a damn apology ready..”

Jamil walked to the office, the two leaders following silently as their steps echoed from the marble floors to the walls around them. In the office, Kalim was sitting at his desk with a hand grasping onto some tissues, his eyes were puffy from crying and he looked exhausted. The young bank manager looked up, sniffling as he cleared his throat and Jamil walked over to stand next to him. Kalin tried to put on a brave face and stood up. “Do you have any idea what your mayhem has done?”

Azul quickly spoke up, bowing a bit to Kalim. “I do apologize that your people were caught in the crossfire..It was not intentional and I understand the harm that was caused.”

Leona sighed, he didn’t want to be brought into this mess but Kalim’s desperate eyes made him respond. “I’m sorry too, my people did something they weren’t supposed to and it cost a life from my team and lives from your bank. It won’t happen again.”

Kalim faltered a bit, but Jamil whispered something in his ear which made him tense up and say firmly. “You two need to work on a contract..if you two cannot promise to leave my banks and people alone, i’ll have no choice but to cut both of your accounts.”

The leaders froze, their eyes widening as they rushed to argue or explain, but Jamil just interrupted them. “Enough! Kalim has given you the condition, either you both find a peaceful resolve for this, or you can say goodbye to all funds.”

Jamil opened the door into a separate meeting room and gestured for them to go inside, Kalim looked ready to cry again as he spoke with a shuddering breath. “Please..work on your negotiations. I’ll check on you in thirty minutes.”

Leona begrudgingly entered the room, knocking his elbow into Azul’s side as he entered the room, and Azul followed while trying to stay away from Leona. Jamil shut the door for them, basking them in another awkward silence as the two sat on opposite ends of the table. Leona let out a deep and loud exhale as he said. “Okay, this is simple. We just say that we stay in separate territories and no one gets crossed.”

“Excuse me, but I do have some business in other districts.” Azul replied, trying to keep his temper down as he clenched his hands under the table. “While you might be primarily in your territory, I am constantly going out and meeting people, I need to be able to leave the Coral district.”

Leona scoffed and leaned back in his seat, smirking as he placed his hands behind his head. “But you wouldn’t want to upset Kalim right?”

“Kalim just wants us to make sure our fights do not reach his banks. We can work on that, simply tell both of our people what places to avoid and that if they get near a bank they are to cease all fighting.”

“You’re naive if you think they’d remember that. I’ve seen both our groups, they don’t stop unless ordered to by a leader or significant change like the police showing up. The best we can say is that they should always take fights away from the bank, and no more vehicle chases.”

Azul and Leona went back to silence, both contemplating each other's words, then Azul grabbed a blank paper and started writing on it. After a couple minutes he read out loud. “How about this..Both of our people will steer clear from fighting around any banks or any vehicle chases. Along with that, no fighting will be condoned in the Golden district at all. If either side breaks these rules, they will be handled by their respected leaders.”

Leona thought about the offer, taking the paper from Azul to read it himself before muttering. “Fine..let's draft it and then call Jamil and Kalim in.”

Azul took pleasure in writing out a detailed and formal agreement, with Leona double checking every word before they called in Jamil and Kalim. The two bank workers looked over the contract, Kalim smiling a bit and nodding in agreement, but Jamil looked unsatisfied as he spoke up. “And how should we explain this to the families of the deceased?”

Leona stood up while Azul struggled for words, saying boldly with a clear tone. “Take whatever money you need from my account to pay for funerals and compensation. Along with that, give them my condolences from my people’s foolish behavior.”

The others were stunned by Leona’s sudden selfless behavior, Kalim standing up and hugging Leona while starting to cry again. “Oh thank you Leona! That is so nice of you!”

Azul was still stunned but then his eyes narrowed as Leona smirked in his direction, the bastard purposefully was trying to get in Kalim’s good graces. Azul stood and added with a smile. “Then allow me to help, give them my condolences, and use some of my money to help rebuild your building.”

Kalim kept crying happily but Jamil was over the petty battle of dominance and set the paper on the table to order. “Both of you, sign it.”

Leona and Azul signed the document, leaving at the same time while Kalim kept thanking them. Once outside, Azul glared at Leona and hissed out. “Good day Leona..”

The brunette just huffed and walked off to his car. “Bye, don’t bother me again, brat.”

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.14-Rule Number 53 TWST Mafia Au

Sebek was proud to be going on a solo mission for once, his goal was to tail a member of Vil’s informants and hopefully find a weak point to exploit. He had heard a lot about Rook Hunt, that the blond man had keen instincts and sharp senses, and he was incredibly hard to track. Many of the Thorn agency senior agents were growing frustrated by the way Rook easily slipped away, and when Sebek mentioned loudly that they should send him out they mocked him for it. But the joke was on the senior agents, because Lilia and Malleus approved of an experimental tailing of Rook by Sebek. This mission was simply to see if Sebek could locate many of Rook’s favorite hang-outs, but not to engage in a fight or to assassinate. The approval of his bosses alone were more than enough for Sebek, who promised to not let them down.

With determination and excitement, Sebek left the agency that morning to go to the Afterglow district, a rumored location of Rook’s home town. It was about 5 in the morning when he left and arrived around 6 to tour the city. He continued to drive around and try to locate Rook and hoped the previous intel was correct. The young assassin had driven around without rest and his eyes were scanning each area with resolve, despite how early it was. The streets of the city were barely awake until a little after 7 in the morning when people were driving off to work or walking to their destinations in the city. Sebek was surprised how each part of the district was a little different, the north part that changed from dry plains into the mountains, the west part trailed into more dry plains, the east connected to the Golden sands, the south region slowly changed into grassy plains and spotted forests, and the city was unevenly split between new and old buildings and homes.

After driving and searching for so long, Sebek stopped at a cafe in the area and walked to the counter, looking at the menu from a distance for a minute. He was unfamiliar with the food in this area, but wanted to avoid anything bitter. The young teen straightened his pale green turtleneck sweater before dusting off his tan pants, he also wore some simple black boots. Lilia always mentioned that tailing a person requires subtle clothes and a quick mind to make lies, unfortunately Sebek is not well stocked in casual clothes. He stared at the menu with uncertainty and then blinked as a smooth and kind voice said next to him.

“Having trouble, mon ami?”

Sebek’s electric green eyes glanced at the stranger and his voice caught in his throat as he saw Rook smiling at him. He quickly swallowed before saying calmly. “Oh, this is just my first time here. I’m not really sure what to get.”

“comme c'est grandiose! What kind of food do you like?” Rook asked while gesturing to the menu. “Something sweet? Nutty? Or perhaps you like more tart?”

“Just anything not bitter or strong.”

“Ah! Then perhaps the koeksister is the one you will like. It is a braided dough strip that is fried and covered in a delectable syrup, then topped with lemon juice or cinnamon! It has a strong zesty or tart taste that makes your mouth water by just one bite, and the dough is perfectly soft yet firm.”

As much as Sebek wished to deny it, the pastry did sound delicious, he cleared his throat and nodded. “I suppose I will try that. Thank you.”

“aucun problème, I hope you enjoy it. Go on, it is your turn to order.” Rook encouraged Sebek to go first.

The young man wasn’t sure what to make of the informant, he was far more friendly than Sebek was expecting, but he walked ahead and placed his order for a green tea and one of the deserts that was recommended. While waiting for his order, electric green eyes looked over Rook with suspicion, the informant seemed to be dressed in professional clothes for his job at the cosmetic store he worked at, but Rook also looked so relaxed and radiating joy. When Rook finished requesting his order, he stood next to Sebek and asked.

“So, what brings you to the Afterglow district? I know most faces, but yours is unfamiliar.”

“I’m just touring around, this is my first time to Nirvana’s Steel.”

Rook’s forest green eyes lit up with joy as he replied. “Is that so? How wonderful! Just a tip, there are gangs and mobs in different districts, be careful wherever you go, but enjoy it! This place is filled with much beauty and mystery.”

Sebek resisted the urge to scoff, he didn’t see a reason to praise this place, Nirvana’s Steel was just a giant city of idiots, arrogant people, and selfish power hungry figure heads. Malleus has a pure dream to cut off the growing rot and protect this place, not like Azul who wants to control it, or Leona who wants to limit the growth of an entire district. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

Once his name was called, Sebek grabbed his drink and food before heading to his car and waiting patiently inside. His car had tinted windows and a silver car, something that was recommended by the company so he didn’t look suspicious. Sebek waited while eating, which he had to admit he liked the pastry, and watched as Rook left the shop after some time and started walking to a bike that was chained up to a bike rack. The young assassin was ecstatic, perhaps Rook was heading home and he would be able to report the location soon to Lilia. The drive was slow and Sebek’s excitement wore away as he followed Rook towards the highway, which was a test of patience since he had to stay back a few cars to keep an eye on Rook. Although he was a little impressed that Rook biked on the side of the freeway all the way to the Golden Sand’s district. Sebek had been to Golden Sand’s a couple of times but was always surprised by how clean it was, lots of people in organized lifestyle, historic limestone buildings along with fancy wooden style places, and the entire district was covered in the scent of delicious foods.

Sebek tailed Rook all the way to Kalim’s bank and then parked down the block, watching as Rook met with Kalim outside and passed the bike off to him. Kalim looked like a kid at Christmas as he received it, making Sebek wonder if Rook fixed it for the bank owner. Then Rook took out his phone and texted something while waiting on the sidewalk and chatting away with Kalim. The two spoke for a while while Sebek grumbled in his car, but then he sat up as a red convertible came up to them and Rook waved to Kalim before getting into the vehicle. Sebek once again followed Rook, tailing the red car from a distance as it drove towards the Rose district.

The Rose district was filled with gardens and trees along every street, parks and natural beauty in every spot and many family homes. All the buildings were in pristine condition whether it was a business or a house, but this district transformed from residential to business as they went closer to the east side that got close to the border of the Coral district. However the entire air of the Rose district carried a floral yet sophisticated air to it. The red car stopped outside the casino with both Rook and Trey stepping out as the valet was given the keys and the two walked inside. Sebek let out a sigh of frustration, for one, he couldn’t park in an empty lot, and two, he didn’t know how long Rook would be inside. Opting for the more hidden tactic, Sebek parked his car behind the Casino in a more secluded spot before getting out and walking to the front of the casino. They were not technically open so it’s not as if Sebek could just walk in, and he didn’t know how long Rook would be inside.

The novice assassin thought carefully before deciding to follow the valet, if anything he could locate the car and then get inside before Rook leaves, assuming that Trey was his ride. Sebek was somewhat familiar with the head staff here, only knowing about Trey because Lilia advise not to confront the man. And Malleus had warned him to stay away from Riddle, who was the manager and considered strict along with ruthless. However, as he walked into the employee garage, Sebek gasped in shock at all the red convertibles. The color of cars did vary, but the models were all the same, the only colors were white, red, and black. Sebek sighed as he couldn’t remember the plate and started looking for the cars that were recently used, feeling the hoods of the red cars and walking around the garage. When he heard voices, Sebek quickly hid behind a car and listened closely.

“What car does the boss want?”

“He wants the red one today, says he has some important business in Coral district. Here’s the keys.” The faint sound of keys jingling rang out before another set of jingling was heard. “And these are for Mr. Hunt. Trey is allowing him to use the car for the day.”

“Damn, another red car? It would make things easier if we just let the guests use the white ones all the time.”

“He insisted on red, maybe he just really likes the color. Either way, get them warmed up. They’ll be down soon.”

As Sebek watched the two part ways, he followed the employee with the keys to the cars, waiting as the employee started both red cars that were only set apart by a white and black car. Once the employee left, Sebek quickly looked at both cars, either one could be the ride Rook was going to use but there didn’t seem to be any indication to which one. The only difference he noticed was that one car didn’t have the complimentary rose air freshener. He heard a nearby elevator ding and hurried into the back seat of the car without a freshener and waited, staying right behind the driver's seat and tucking himself close to the back of it. He could distinctly hear two voices but couldn’t pick out the voice that wasn’t Rooks. The door to the car opened and Sebek could hear both doors close at once, when he felt the car move, he peeked out a little and noticed a red car in front of the one he was in, but glancing at the driver he froze up seeing a red headed guy in the seat.

The cars exited the garage and Sebek yelled without thought. “WAIT A MOMENT!”

The young man screamed in shock and hit the breaks, looking over at Sebek with wide blueish-gray eyes, then shouted back. “Who the heck are you?! What are you doing in my car?!”

“I don’t have time to explain! I need to follow that red car!”

“Absolutely not, get out this instant!”

Sebek didn’t listen and instead unbuckled the red head and yanked him out into the passenger seat, which made the car start rolling backwards from the lack of pressure on the breaks. The driver let out another scream and frantic yells at Sebek, while Sebek quickly crawled into the driver's seat and slammed his foot on the gas pedal. The car tore out of the garage as Rook’s car was headed to the main road, Sebek’s eyes concentrating on staying a bit behind Rook’s car while the red head was still shouting at him. Sebek glanced and noticed how short the guy was, there was no way he was older than 16, and the second thing was how red in the face he is in anger.

“Do you have any idea who I am? This is not only robbery, this is basically kidnapping!”

“No, I don’t know who you are, so keep quiet and let me drive. I need to follow this guy.”

“I am Riddle Rosehearts you cretin! And I demand you give me control of my car!”

Sebek looked at Riddle for a moment with shock, then returned his gaze to the road. “You’re Riddle? But you look so-”

“If you say short, I will have you buried alive!”

“I was going to say young!” Sebek replied with offense and sighed as he replied. “Look, just, I need to use this to follow the red car.”

Riddle calmed down for a second to look out at Rook’s vehicle and then quickly buckled his seat belt as he inquired. “Rook Hunt? Why?”

“I just need to.” Sebek huffed and felt a cold chill when he could feel Riddle staring at him.

“You’re part of the Thorn agency, aren’t you? I will get you reported to Malleus myself if you don’t pull over!”

“Ha! As if you know Malleus!” Sebek laughed mockingly. “My boss is too important to meet with sleazy casino owners. Plus, he would find you childish and uncouth.”

Riddle’s anger flared up as he growled back. “Malleus Draconia, age 29, was part of the assassin’s industry all his life. Is close partners to the senior agent Lilia Vanrouge. They visit my casino often and we have business discussions occasionally.”

“Wait..you can’t be serious!” Sebek demanded, looking at Riddle only to see the dead seriousness in his eyes. “You’re..serious?”

“Yes you dolt! And when I call him, I’ll leave the option to him whether I get to deal with you or if he takes care of you himself!”

Sebek now was actually scared, he didn’t want to disappoint his agency, muchless Lilia and Malleus, and he quickly said. “No! I’m trying to accomplish my mission, if I fail this then I’ll disappoint everyone!”

“Not like you’re helping your situation! Look, I have no business in your assassin bureau, but I’ve never seen someone incompetent enough to steal a car with someone inside! You are breaking two segments of rule 53!”

Sebek’s hands clenched onto the wheel in frustration as he snapped back. “This is my first mission, give me a break! And what the heck is rule 53?”

“Rule 53: you must replace anything you steal. And you are stealing my car and me with it! I have important business to attend to!”

“Well it can wait, I’m pretty sure Rook is just heading to his job in Pyroxene now.”

Riddle steamed in his seat while Sebek watched Rook’s car, to which he frowned when he saw Rook driving off the exit that led towards Ernte farmland. The land changed in scenery to orchards with lush forest-like areas, heading south the sky was clear and the entire area was like something out of a movie. Lush farmlands, occasional ranches, happy people with their crops, it was a very warming feeling. By now, Riddle hadn’t bothered to argue but was messing around on his phone, in a hasty reaction Sebek grabbed the phone and threw it into the backseat.

“Don’t try calling my boss.”

“I wasn’t! I was telling someone that I was going to be late!” Riddle shouted as he looked behind him and sighed as the phone was out of his reach. He sat in his seat properly and said with a scoff. “You really need to work on your temper and social interactions, this is completely unacceptable for a Thorn agent.”

“How would you know? You haven’t gone through the hours of training and sleepless nights.”

“Perhaps not in the same way you have. But I do have endless nights running an entire casino. And I personally do not wish to report your incompetence to Malleus, he and I are on decent terms.”

“How do you possibly know him?”

“He poisoned one of my customers during my first year running the show. I spotted him and asked him to see the cameras, even though you could not see him poison the glass it was clear he still had involvement with my customers death. So, we talked it out and he promised to inform me if he was planning another assassination so I could quietly section people off, but only if the person truly deserves death.”

Sebek looked at Riddle with confusion. “And who are you to decide that?”

“My uncle is a judge, I’ve done my fair share of judgment calls myself. Most of the time, if I insist my customer does not deserve death then I protect them within my casino, however I will not provide protection outside the walls.”

The young assassin didn’t know if he trusted Riddle’s word, but he was impressed and respected Riddle’s limited involvement with the Thorn agency. “That’s the only reason you know him? To negotiate a person’s death?”

“Well..there was one other incident, but this was more-so Lilia’s introduction to me. When I was in the Coral district one evening, I ran into some bad company. Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to call for my companions so I was left to run away until I was trapped. Much to my luck, the men chasing me happened to be on Lilia’s hit list and he jumped down from a roof top and took them both out before I even had time to process what was happening. We introduced ourselves and Lilia just reminded me to be careful before he took off and I had to leave quickly so I was not spotted with the bodies.”

Sebek felt a bit jealous that Riddle was already so close to two people he admired, that he already developed a friendship of sorts. “I’ve always dreamed of being as great as them..Lilia is remarkable with his skill and Malleus has a sense of intimidating power that I wish to possess. To be a great assassin.”

Riddle seemed to cool down and looked out the window as he asked. “And just what about the job fills you with pride?”

“I suppose..I just was destined to be there, my grandfather and mother worked for the agency, now I wish to carry on their greatness.”

“I’m sorry but what is your name?”

“Sebek Zigavolt.”

“I see..Well Sebek, you should not have to carry their legacy, you must make your own to inspire others. I understand the want to make your family great, but there are limits and..reasons not to let such things possess you.”

“I guess so..” Sebek said, then sighed in frustration as he looked up at Rook’s car and then said. “Where the heck is he going?”

“I have no idea, he just said he had things to do before his shift at work.”

Sebek held back a growl as he continued driving, then decided to ask. “Riddle, why was Rook even at your casino? I thought that The Coin and The Pride were opposing forces?”

“Maybe as far as loyalties go, but Rook is actually friends with Trey. They were part of the same club in high school, and Rook is not such a bad guy, he’s just a bit eccentric.”

“No kidding, he describes everything in length like it came out of a book.”

Riddle let out a soft chuckle by the statement and nodded in agreement, making Sebek crack a smile. The two rode in silence as Rook’s vehicle took a turn and headed to the coral district, filled with tall buildings and bright lights that glowed even in the daylight. People and traffic were plentiful as were the sounds of music and car horns. Riddle was starting to get antsy in his seat and Sebek grit his teeth at the rustling. “If you need to get out here I can drop you off?”

“And let you drive off with my car? I think not. I can wait until your frivolous mission is over.”

Sebek shrugged a bit and continued to follow Rook as the red car ahead of them started crossing into Pyroxene now. This man had actually driven through almost all districts of Nirvana’s Steel for no apparent reason, and it frustrated Sebek. Rook didn’t stop once until the car had finally reached Délices D'aconit, his workplace. When Sebek pulled off to park along the street, he carefully got out along with Riddle and was shocked to see Rook walking over to them. Sebek nearly freaked out until Rook directed his attention solely to Riddle.

“Roi de Roses! What were you following me for? Perhaps to try out some new eye shadow?”

“Wait, you knew you were being followed? Why didn’t you try to call?” Riddle asked with a tired sigh.

“I did! Your phone went to voicemail!”

“Oh..right my phone was unceremoniously tossed into the back seat. And I believe it’s on silence.” Riddle commented as he opened the back door to retrieve his phone.

Rook's sharp green eyes then looked at Sebek, a smile on his face that made a cold shiver race down Sebek’s spine. “Did you enjoy the tour of Nirvana’s Steel? I wanted to go through other spots but I was running out of time.”

Sebek’s jaw dropped, processing what Rook just said before shouting. “You knew I was following!?”

“Oui, I saw you in the Afterglow district driving around like you were lost. I figured you were just new but after you followed me to the casino I had to be sure. So I decided to drive around and give you a tour! Plus, the red car kind of gave it away, my apologies Riddle. I should have been more conscious of the fact you were there.”

“That’s alright Rook, but I need to go to my meeting now.” Riddle said as he started to walk around to the driver's seat, gently pushing a shocked Sebek out of the way.

Sebek finally broke out of his shock as he tried to recover. “Well..thank you for the tour..”

“Of course, and come visit whenever you wish!” Rook replied with a courteous smile before walking into the cosmetic store.

Sebek stood frozen a bit longer with a feeling of lingering frustration and dissatisfaction. He didn’t jolt out of it until he heard Riddle clear his throat and he looked back at the casino owner. Riddle had a very composed and neutral look as he gestured to the car. “Do you want a ride back to the Thorn agency?”

“Uh..yeah..” Sebek replied quietly and got into the passenger side while Riddle started up the car and drove them towards the mountains.

The Thorn Valley was a territory of deep forests and mountains, the roads were always climbing or descending on winding roads and it was common to spot wildlife and beautiful houses with acres of land. Sebek always loved his home as it was, so much history in every slab of stone, every tree, and all the animals were part of the community. There were many points on the mountain to view Nirvana’s Steel from, but Sebek never found as much beauty in the other districts as he did in the mountains. Sebek sat quietly just as Riddle did, the drive was smooth and calming as Riddle pulled up to the gates of the agency. Once Sebek showed his ID, they were granted access and Malleus was standing at the main doors with an unreadable expression.

Riddle got out first and ordered Sebek. “Stay here.”

He didn’t even try to argue, his eyes just watching Riddle as the young casino owner walked up to his boss. Riddle was comically shorter than Malleus, but Malleus was gracious enough to stay still as Riddle spoke to him. The redhead did most of the speaking but his body language didn’t reflect anger, and only once Riddle’s mouth closed did Malleus nod and say something briefly. Riddle walked back to the car and got in before saying to Sebek. “Go ahead.”

Sebek hesitated, looking down as he said. “He’s mad isn’t he? I stole a car, practically held you hostage, and was spotted by Rook..”

Riddle was silent for a moment before saying. “I told him your car broke down at the casino, and that I allowed you to use my car to pursue Rook.”

Sebek looked at Riddle in awe and with respect. “You..why?”

“Well technically..even though you broke rule 53, you did not separate me from my car so it was not so much stealing as it was more kidnapping. However, I did not fight back meaning I failed to defend myself and surrendered the car. I simply told Malleus that Rook knew we were tailing him and that next time you should train more in stealth.”

A small smile graced Sebek’s face as he got out and said happily. “Thank you Roseheart! I won’t forget this.”

“Yes, yes, I understand, now get going. I’m late.” Riddle huffed and backed his car up as soon as Sebek closed the door.

Sebek walked to Malleus and his boss greeted him with a nod, his voice carried authority. “You were spotted, however this simply means we acted too soon. Head inside, Roseheart will deliver your car later. I’ll have Lilia schedule more stealth missions for now until you feel confident to do it.”

“Thank you sir!” Sebek said with a firm bow and then hurried inside. Despite the botched mission, it was not a horrible day. And he felt renewed determination to become a better assassin, he hadn’t expected Riddle’s help but promised that someday he would pay him back for his kindness.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.13-Harsh Deserts TWST Mafia AU

“So remind me, why are we doing this?”

Ace’s voice was laced with exhaustion as he sat in Cater's small white Toyota, resting in the passenger seat while glancing out at the sun rising in the distance. Cater finished packing the back seat with a few boxes and then closed the door before getting into the driver's seat with his peppy smile on his face. Ace never understood how Cater could possibly be this enthusiastic in the morning, or all day for that matter.

Cater only replied as he started up the car. “Because, Riddle wants us to transport some goods to a client. And I figured that it would be good to take a freshman casino man with me for the experience so I’m not the only one doing it.”

Ace let out an exaggerated sigh as he rested his head back and then asked. “And the reason the client couldn’t pick it up is..?”

“The client has a franchise to take care of, and Riddle believes in keeping our clients happy so he offered our assistance. It won’t be so bad, we just have to get this to the Afterglow territory.”

“Isn’t that area kind of forbidden to us because of the rivalry?”

“Not really~ It’s more like..stay with the populated traffic and don’t interact with each other. Don’t worry, it shouldn’t be long, we’ll probably only be gone for an hour or two. Plus, Trey said you can take off early if we’re slow enough!”

“It’s never slow at the casino, even on valentines day!” Ace scoffed and then looked at Cater. “You certainly seem excited.”

“Any time I can get away from the crowds of people is a bonus to me.” The orange haired man chuckled as he drove to the main road. “Now don’t be so grumpy. We’re doing this early for a reason, and how about I treat you to a few snacks before we get to the main road?”

“Well..I suppose so. Where does this person live?”

“The far end of the Afterglow district, but considering we’re close to the border it’s not too much of an issue.” Cater’s voice was filled with insistence at this reply, to which Ace decided to not ask more questions about the situation.

Both took the ride in silence with only the CD player playing one of Cater’s tracks. But during the ride, Ace’s head perked up at the sound of a particular band and asked. “Hey, who is this artist? These guys are good.”

Cater paused before chuckling and replying. “Actually this is my old band.”

“You were in a band?” Ace asked, his eyes widening in surprise as he listened to the voices. “When did you play in a band?”

“Oh goodness, three years ago? It was when I was sixteen and I played at a bar with Lilia and Kalim. Lilia was the one to get us access to the bar while Kalim paid for our instruments.”

“Now way! What did you play?”

“The electric guitar! Then Lilia was on bass, and Kalim was on drums. I think we were pretty good but we didn’t last more than a year. We only made one CD.”

“What? Why?” Ace questioned, but noticed how Cater’s face contorted to a pained expression. “Sorry, is it too sensitive to talk about?”

“Not exactly. We all had fun, but in the end we were torn away because of our duties. Lilia had to manage the agency, Kalim took over the bank, and I had to help Trey. But we have a group chat and we talk a lot, even occasionally we meet up at a cafe in different areas for a meet up. It just..it’s sad that life took our youth so early.”

“What if you play at the casino?”

Cater then started laughing at the suggestion and glanced at Ace for a second. “That’s a nice idea, but trust me, Riddle wouldn’t approve of our music. It’s kind of..a mix of pop and a tiny amount of gothic? Anyways, it’s not for a casino, that’s why there’s a professional band.”

“That’s sucky, you guys should play soon.”

“We probably will~” Cater chuckled before mentioning off hand. “But don’t feel bad, almost all of us have been uprooted from our teen life.”

Ace thought for a moment, it was true a lot of them were only just becoming adults, and already many ran gangs, mafias, casinos, and spy industries. “Cater, what about the others?”

“The others? Oh..let’s see..” Cater thought as he glanced up real quick and then stared back at the road. “Well, Malleus has grown up to be an assassin all his life, so he never had a normal childhood. Then there’s Jamil, who was always following Kalim to protect him and clean up problems. Idia has always been in the underground system like Ortho, most likely they’ll continue the family legacy. There’s so many stories, Ace, I could go on forever.”

“That’s hard to think about. That really sucks though, why can’t you all have a truce period? Just a month or a night to simply not fight.”

“As much as I wish that could happen, I think everyone’s pride would get in the way of a peaceful meet-up. Totally not a good idea putting enemies or passive-aggressive people in the same room.”

Ace thought to himself and evened the score by telling Cater about his family and how he learned magic tricks from his big brother, and how he came to the casino. As they rode together, their topics became a little lighter and asked about general likes and dislikes. Cater was an easy guy to talk to and Ace was not fond of silence, so it was easier that way. They arrived within the heart of the Afterglow district a little after 8 in the morning and Cater suggested parking and exploring the city before delivering their package. Ace had never explored the Afterglow district, but was pleasantly surprised by all the local shops. All the stores were locally made items, all branded with the names of the creators, but it was peculiar how parts of the city seemed newer but as if construction never succeeded.

While eating some bakery goods, Ace looked around before asking Cater. “What’s with all the incomplete buildings? It’s like all the new buildings were abandoned.”

“Well, you’re not completely wrong. Leona’s men want to stop the development of this area and are trying to find legal loopholes to prevent the construction from going ahead. However, the gang slows down production by messing with supplies and harassing people to quit.” Cater replied with a smile and took a selfie of himself in front of the shop. “I like all the cute stores around here though!”

“Yeah it’s pretty nice here. And everyone seems really kind.” Ace agreed as he finished his food and then looked around. “Well, where to next?”

“Let’s just start walking.”

At Cater’s suggestion, they started walking but Ace felt on edge and questioned with a bit of worry. “Is the car going to be okay? It’s not common for break-ins here, right?”

“Oh no, come on the gang isn’t that mean! If anything, they just would paint the car, but that’s why I parked it in an area with security cameras on both sides. Leona’s gang doesn’t just break into places with no reason, their only goal is to stop the construction contracts.”

“What is this package anyways? Who was the client we’re helping?”

“Her name is Nia, Nia Osei. She’s pretty rich and wants to help the development of the roads and update the buildings. Riddle expressed her grievances to us and that’s why we have the supplies for her. Some stuff like building plans, legal papers, items of interest. Just boring stuff.” Cater explained with a rather nonchalant tone as he waved a hand.

“I’m surprised she wants to develop the area.”

“Well it’s a difficult topic, while some of this area should be developed for more jobs, it’s also a concern of how much the natural environment will suffer or the chance people here will be driven out of their homes. It’s a constant battle here.”

“So, why hasn’t anything been resolved?”

Cater opened his mouth to answer but then his eyes widened a bit and he said quietly to Ace. “Stay close, don’t say anything.”

“Say anything to who?” Ace asked, only to be shushed by Cater, who started walking ahead as two buff men were walking towards them.

The guys in question had some claw necklaces and a yellow colored bandana somewhere on their body, one had a bandana tied around his knee while the other had his tied around his neck. Ace stayed behind Cater, watching the guys as they slowed down and Cater quickly greeted them. “Hey Savanna boys! Can we help you?”

“Why don’t you Cards scram?” One of the men with dark brunette hair growled, his eyes glaring into Ace and Cater while his partner gently pushed the growling man back.

“You’ll have to excuse him, he hates people that don’t belong here. We’re still working with him.” The second commented with a grin, he had a scar down his lip and looked recently bruised. “Let’s cut to the chase, we need the thumb drive.”

“Thumb drive?” Cater hemmed and hawed at the question before snapping his fingers and reaching into his pocket. “Oh yes, I think I have it right here..”

The two gang members took a step closer which made Ace clench his fists, but before he could step forward Cater punched one in the jaw with a set of brass knuckles that were suddenly on his fingers, then the other gang member’s arm was twisted behind his back before Cater slammed the man’s face into his knee. Ace stood in shock as Cater had just dropped both men in a matter of seconds, the orange-haired man let out an embarrassed chuckle as he shook out his right hand that had the brass knuckles. Upon closer inspection, the brass knuckles had a pattern of card suits, and Ace asked with shock still echoing in his voice.

“C-cater..why do you have those?”

“Oh these? Just for emergencies, I advise you to carry more than your flashlight.”

Ace took off the flashlight that was clipped to his pants, he noticed before that it had a sharp crown around the bottom, but he never considered using it for hitting someone despite how sturdy it is. His ruby eyes were flicking between the groaning gang members and the composure of Cater, but Ace barely had time to ask a question before his friend grabbed his arm and dragged him off in a hurry.

“Do you mind telling me what the hell that was about!?” Ace suddenly shouted once he regained his thoughts and followed Cater, even starting to run ahead of him.

Cater gasped for air as they ran and he explained. “There is one package that I forgot to tell you about, and it’s with me currently. Other items mean nothing as much as this thumb drive does.”

“And when did you learn how to fight?”

“Oh I dabbled in it playfully with Lilia and then Trey started to seriously teach me, since well, I’m not the best fighter. But I’ll admit, brass knuckles still hurt my fingers and wrists.”

They slowed down a bit once they were far away from their recent location, but Cater was still trying to collect his oxygen while Ace was looking over his friend with a new light. “But how did they know you had it?”

“Because, they know me. I never let important things slip my grasp, plus Riddle would kill me if I did.” Cater replied as he was able to equalize his breathing. “Plus, Leona isn’t an idiot, even if his minions are not the brightest. They always report to him before doing anything by themselves.”

“So they already know we’re here.” Ace mumbled before saying. “We need to get this stuff delivered and get out of here.”

“Aw, shame, I wanted to look around more.” Cater huffed but then shrugged as he started walking back to the parking lots. “But alright, let’s get it done.”

Ace couldn’t believe how calm Cater was being, the media-fanatic was more embarrassed to be seen hitting someone rather than being caught. The two hurried back to the car but froze down the block when they both saw gang members covering the area. Cater pulled at Ace’s arm and started walking a block over while saying. “We need to go around the long way, if we’re lucky we can get to Nia’s home before more of them find us.”

“Just what is on that thumb drive?”

“No idea. It’s none of my business.”

“That’s not a good thing! That is literally asking for a target on the back of our heads!”

“Oh Ace, don’t worry, we can get a taxi to Nia’s place.”

Ace was uncertain and felt his phone start to vibrate, taking it from his pocket he answered. “Hello? Deuce?”

“Yeah it’s me, Riddle wanted me to call and check on you and Cater, but I didn’t have Cater’s number.”

“Why didn’t you just ask Trey or Riddle?”

There was a brief silence on the other end before Deuce sheepishly admitted. “I probably could have asked..”

“Yeah dummy.” Ace chuckled with a smirk before reality over their situation came back. “We have a little bit of trouble. Cater and I are being stalked by Savannaclaw gang members.”

“Oh shit! W-what should I say to Riddle?”

“Just tell him that we’ll be a little bit late getting back-” Ace paused as a few gang members started running towards them from the corner of the street. “Shit! Bye!”

Cater and Ace took off running down the street, crossing the road quickly while Ace hung up and the two raced away from their pursuers. Ace was already unsure of the situation and occasionally would check behind them, only to see the same men still following. Being the sporty guy he is, Ace started to run ahead of Cater which made his superior pick up the speed to catch up. In the midst of their running, one gang member was perched up on a rooftop and then jumped down as Ace passed, landing on Cater and trying to pin the guy down. Cater let out a yelp as he turned and slammed his knee hard into the guy but was not strong enough to kick him off. The guy tried to yank the brass knuckles off Cater’s fingers until Ace put the man in a head lock and pulled him off. Green eyes flicked to the street where the oncoming threat was and he quickly got up before giving a firm hit to the man Ace was choking out, then they hauled themself out of there before others could catch up.

Ace quickly took the lead and grabbed Cater’s left arm tightly while running, every street and roof top seemed to have some reinforcement and the constant twists and turns were making them both experience whiplash. Cater then whistled and waved an arm for a taxi as he hurried over to the decelerating car, both Ace and Cater practically jumping in as the driver was confused by their frantic demands to drive. Eventually, the driver started to drive down the street and the two casino boys rested in the back seat, both catching their breaths as Cater instructed the driver where to go. While part of Ace wanted to demand for answers, another part of him didn’t want to make a scene and get kicked out of the ride.

The two sat in silence, with only Cater talking to the driver occasionally, until they arrived at a large three story house with a gated yard. Cater happily paid the fee before stepping out with Ace, the two admired the house for a second with the orange-haired man taking a picture before walking to the gate. Ace stepped up to the part of the gate that had a keypad and took a second to hit the call button on it, getting a feminine voice from the speaker. “Can I help you?”

“Hi, uh..I’m Ace, I work at the casino in the city. We were told to deliver something for Nia?”

“One moment.” The voice replied before the gates were opened and both Cater and Ace walked together to the large mansion-like house. They were greeted by a maid, who smiled and led them inside, and taken to the living room of the place. Cater started taking pictures while Ace noticed the luxury items in the room and the furniture that cost more than his customized suit.

“Hello Casino men.” A woman called, that being the voice of Nia as both men turned to look at her. She walked down the stairs with grace, her skin an espresso shade and her black hair waved down to her lower back, she wore a crimson blouse and black slacks with red heels on her feet. “I am surprised you have not driven here yourself.”

Cater chuckled as he walked closer and charmingly took her hand to kiss the back of it. “We drove to the district, but the gang stopped us from driving the rest of the way.”

“I see, sorry if they gave you trouble.” She sighed, her voice heavy and filled with annoyance as she walked to the couch and sat down. “Are all my things trapped in the car then?”

“Unfortunately yes.” Cater admitted, sitting in a chair across from her while Ace stood beside him. “We will need help in order to get them back.”

“That is fine, I can call the police and have your car brought here.”

Ace finally opened his mouth for a question. “Miss Nia, why were they after us? They said something about a thumb drive.”

Nia looked mildly uncomfortable with his question but relented as she explained. “The drive has documents of the next building plans. But I can’t divulge more to that.”

“That’s alright.” Cater said happily before standing up and looking at Ace. “Let’s give Nia some time to call the cops to get our car, we can go outside.”

Ace was ready to protest but there was something in Cater’s demeanor that shut him up quickly. Nia stood up and took out her phone for the call before the boys left the house and Cater quickly took out his phone and the thumbdrive. It was then that Ace noticed how different Cater’s phone was, it was larger with an available usb socket for the flash drive. Ace leaned closer to look over the information that Cater quickly started skimming, the green eyes were reading it so fast that Ace barely got to read anything. “Cater, what are you doing?”

“These plans are construction related, but they are also plans for raising prices on the nearby homes to drive people out.” Cater replied quietly then downloaded the data before unplugging it and putting the flash drive in his pocket.

“What? Then shouldn’t we tell the police?”

“No, I have a better plan.” Cater replied before texting someone before shutting his phone off.

The two waited patiently, but whenever Ace tried to ask who Cater texted, the man would only shush his freshman agent. It was no more than ten minutes when two motorcycles sped down the street, and Ace quickly recalled the yellow bandanas on the gang members, but one of them stood up and took off his helmet. Leona stood tall and proud on the other side of the gate, his eyes glaring at Cater as they stared at each other. Leona’s voice rumbled with anger. “You said you had information for me? What’s the price?”

“My car, all damages taken care of, and us being freed. I know you have your claws in a good chunk of the police force.” Cater replied, a small smile on his face as Leona growled across the gate. “Sounds fair right? Plus I’ll also support you media wide and help you spread the news of the cities plans.”

Ace stared in disbelief as Cater bargained his price to give Leona the information, and after a moment the gang leader nodded in agreement. “Fine, I’ll let the police bring you the car. But you two better be gone before noon.”

“Can do!” Cater replied happily and then said. “Don’t forget to follow me on magicam!”

Leona scoffed before getting on his motorcycle and putting his helmet on, then as he drove away Ace looked at Cater and asked. “Why do all that?”

Cater smiled at Ace and shrugged as he said. “I wanted my car, the insurance is great on it and I don’t want it to be wrecked. Besides, I think it’s only fair that Leona has some knowledge of what the sneaky intentions of the city are.”

“But..isn’t most of the city's construction governed from the Coral district? Our partners?”

“Yeah, but it’s all a game, all is fair in love and war as they say.”

In less than 20 minutes, the car was returned along with a very angry call from Riddle to Cater, to which Nia’s servants took the boxes out and both casino boys quickly jumped back into the car. Cater had to sheepishly explain the incident to Riddle, but left out the interaction with Leona, meanwhile Ace was silent as Cater drove them back. Both were too tired to talk as they left the Afterglow district, but both were aware of the eyes on the car as they left and the motorbikes that would race ahead or stay behind them as they left. Once they crossed into the Rose district a sense of peace rolled over head, the rain had started to fall and Ace felt his shoulders sag with relief. Cater and Ace were welcomed by Trey and Deuce, to which Deuce stayed back with Ace in the rain for a second. “Ace, are you alright?”

“Yeah I'm..yeah. I don’t want to talk about it, I just want to head inside.” Deuce didn’t pester him, all Ace wanted to do was deal his cards for the next game.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.12-First Time? TWST Mafia AU

Epel was slowly getting used to Vil and Rook’s demanding training on top of working for a living and school, most nights now he would eat easy-make dinners and devour it in seconds before going to bed and have to repeat his routine for the following day. Ever since he was taken into Vil’s secret business he barely had time to himself, it was slowly killing his sanity and dealing with picky customers at the cosmetic store was a cherry on the top of the shit pile. The young man gripped his hair with anger as he was on his break and leaned back in his chair of the break room. “Why are these people so nutty?! Who cares if the foundation is liquid or whipped? What does that even mean!?”

The door opened to show Rook standing there with a smile, Epel immediately straightened up in his seat and quietly ate his lunch. Steps grew louder as the huntsman stopped beside Epel and a gloved hand started petting his lavender hair. “est-ce que tu vas bien? Why were you suddenly yelling?”

Despite Rook being so close to Vil, Epel did feel comfortable talking to the guy, especially since he did treat him to occasional sweets. “I’m just..a little tired and frustrated. It’s the same thing everyday and I work and study until I pass out.”

“Oh I see, you are caught in the tide of responsibility and adulthood, but a young soul like you should not be weighed down by such things!” Rook replied with passion and with a dramatic wave of his hand he sat across from Epel.

“Uh..right..” The guy was eccentric, but at least he was a good listener and did provide some comfort.

Rook hummed for a second in through before clapping his hands together. “I have it! What if Vil and I send you on your first solo mission?”

“H-huh?!”

“You would not be completely alone of course, you would have a senior informant with you, but you can change up your routine by doing these small tasks for us.”

“But what if I get caught?”

The man stood up and patted Epel’s head with a smile. “You’ll have to be extra careful then. We have many lawyers on our side but if you act irrationally or behave in a risky manner, the chances of an easy case will be ruined.”

Epel thought to himself for a moment, it would be nice to change things up, and it might get him away from the store for a few days. “Is it..what about work?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll pay you for the mission. Take some time to think about it.”

Once Rook left Epel was left to decide, it does not sound like a bad deal but if Epel did get caught it could ruin his reputation at the school and it would upset his family greatly. However, that need to break out of routine was just as powerful, he wanted a change and to do something risky. It didn’t take long for Epel to psych himself up to the idea, smiling to himself as he hurried to finish his lunch and return to work with a smile on his face. As the day passed on slowly, with Epel gritting his teeth behind closed lips to the annoying customers, it was almost closing time before he strolled to Vil’s office and knocked. The door opened with Rook on the other side and Vil in his chair, Epel was greeted by the enthusiastic manager.

“Ah! Monsieur Crabapple! Have you thought about what I offered?”

Epel didn’t care so much for the nickname, but knew that Rook loved giving everyone nicknames so he didn’t make a fuss. “Yes, and I want to do it. What kind of mission is it? Do we get to deliver cargo? Hack into computers?”

Rook chuckled at Epel’s eager questions but Vil looked more serious as he shot a look to Rook. The manager closed the door and Vil said sternly to Epel. “Have a seat Epel. As you know we only leave hacking to senior agents. You are still a novice in comparison, and a very expressive one at that.”

Epel took a seat while Rook leaned on the door, Vil then leaned forward in his seat and explained further. “Novices are meant to work on small investigative missions. That requires you to be hidden, silent, and no fighting unless absolutely necessary. You are to gather information and try to find dirt on anyone that our client wants dirt on, or secrets we can use to protect ourselves in court.”

The lavender haired teen soaked in the information given to him by Vil, feeling excited by the idea of being a real spy. “Well, that does not sound so bad. Who am I hunting?”

Vil’s wisteria eyes flicked towards Rook with mild annoyance while his friend's green eyes shined with amusement. A second of silence felt like an anxious eternity for Epel, who then jolted as Vil stood up and opened a filing cabinet to take out a small folder before handing it to the teen without a word. Epel took the folder and emptied the contents onto the desk, which had a disappointing amount of information. The folder only contained a couple pictures and one page of information of a woman by the name of Amalie Meyer, a lovely brunette woman with light brown eyes and a figure of a model. Her honey skin and the fitting evening black dress she wore in the picture completed her character of being famous or at least wealthy to her name. Epel skimmed through the report which stated where she lived now, her common hangouts, the main people she had been seen with, but no personal information on her place of birth or her family.

“This is Amalie Meyer, a young model new to the fashion industry but is taking the career by storm.” Vil explained briefly, gesturing to her picture. “She seems like a sweet young woman and has already made connections with her boss and several of the clothing designers. I want you to simply observe her.”

Rook chimed in at this moment, walking to the desk and standing by Vil as he smiled at Epel. “Basically, you will be watching her from the party, see if she reacts differently when her boss is not around. See if she likes to capture the attention of people even when she does not know them, and if she has a secret side to her.”

“So, I’m basically watching a woman for several hours?” Epel simplified, trying to not show his disappointment.

“I know it does not seem like a thrilling job, but this is training you on how to stay hidden from your target, knowing how to come up with lies quickly, and understanding a person simply by observing their behavior.”

Rook’s assurance was thoughtful but not the answer Epel was hoping for and the teen asked. “So, who is going to be supervising me then?”

Vil took out his phone and started to look through it as he replied. “I’ll figure that part out later. Miss Meyer is going to an auction house in Pyroxene, it’s called The Twin Stars. It’ll be up to you on how you gain entry.”

“What resources can I use?”

“We will provide you clothes and emergency contact if you need extraction. Otherwise, resources like Kalim and Idia are open to you, or you can call in a favor to the Savannaclaw gang. Details of arrival will be texted to you later.”

Epel figured that was all the information he was going to get, he stood up and neatly put the papers back into their folder before saying. “I suppose I should go home and nap.”

“That would be wise, until this evening, Monsieur Crabapple.” Rook replied with a friendly wave as Epel left the room. The second that the door closed, Rook glanced at Vil with a glint of confusion. “Roi de Poison? Why did you not tell him about Sam?”

“He needs to figure out things for himself.” Vil replied with a sigh, taking the folder and putting it away. “If we’re lucky, he’ll go to Idia first.”

That evening, as promised, Epel had a package delivered to his home and it contained black slacks, black dress shoes, an orchid dress shirt, and a black suit jacket. Epel quickly got dressed and read the card that was at the bottom of the package, it described the time of arrival for the auction house and the locations of the bank and the Lamenting streets. Epel glanced at the clock quizzically since the arrival schedule was at 7pm and it was only 5pm at that time. Figuring that there was a clue he needed, the teen left his apartment and hurried to the Golden Sands district. It was a heck of a lot safer than going to the Coral district to get to a secret entrance. The city was buzzing with energy, the night life had begun and many people were heading home for the day in a hurry, Epel had to be extra careful not to run into anyone to avoid ruining his clothes. Once Epel arrived at the Lamenting streets he knocked at the entrance to Idia’s home and was greeted by Ortho at the door.

“Oh! Hello, are you Epel? Rook Hunt said you might visit us tonight.” Ortho said with a smile, the boy rolling backwards on his roller skates to give Epel room to walk in. “What can we help you with?”

“If I’m honest, I have no idea. Vil said I had to figure out my own way into an auction house and gather information on a woman. I was hoping you and your brother might have some ideas?”

“Hm..hold on. Big brother!” Ortho called out as he skated over to Idia and slid around an operation table where Idia was examining a body.

Epel instantly looked away from the underground doctor, he didn’t want to watch Idia tear out the dead person's organs, but he listened as closely as he could when the brothers talked to each other. Idia then looked over at Epel and walked over while taking off his bloody gloves, his piercing eyes staring at the teen with exhaustion. “So, what do you need? A realistic mask or something? Or information on a person’s medical history?”

“Actually..if you know anything about Amalie Meyer?”

“Meyer huh?” Idia sighed and threw away the gloves before taking a tablet from his lab coat pocket and started researching on it.

While they waited, Ortho smiled at Epel and asked. “You’re a new spy right? Have you had an appointment here yet?”

“Uh no? Why?”

“Oh we like to do our own tests and information gathering, that way in case you get brought to us we can help you. Blood tests and things like that!” Epel blinked in surprise by the response but nodded his head a bit.

“Amalie Meyer isn’t on any of my files, in fact she’s not recorded in any of the nearby hospitals. She’s either using an alias or has her own doctor that is very classified. Unfortunately, I don’t have much to go off of.” Idia responded as he put his tablet away but then advised. “If you need assistance getting somewhere or having equipment, I would find Sam’s market.”

“Sam’s market? Wait, who’s Sam?”

Ortho gasped a bit and smiled as he explained. “Sam is a blackmarket man, he’s really fun and completely mysterious. Even we don’t know where his market is.”

Epel looked between the brothers with a bewildered expression as he asked. “How..how do you find someone if you don’t know where they are?”

“You don’t, he finds you. He’s a weirdo..but he is easy to spot, he has strange makeup and always wears a top hat.” Idia said with an eye roll and then went back to his work.

Ortho gave a sympathetic smile to Epel before saying. “If it helps, he sometimes appears at the Scarab’s Key cafe, I’ve seen him there a few times at all times of the day.”

“You’re saying that I could be waiting there forever for him.” Epel said with a soft sigh but then smiled and thanked Ortho. “Thank you, I’ll give it a try. Talk to you both another time.”

Epel hurried out the door, checking his phone for directions to the cafe, but he didn’t understand why this was the only cafe in the area that was open 24 hours a day. When he arrived, the cafe was in a large brick building at the corner of the block with many people already standing in a line out the door. The cafe was not a simple coffee shop, it was an entire restaurant of many ethnicities and Epel had a hard time locating people in the bustling cafe. Epel politely slipped around people as he tried to locate Sam, almost embarrassed that he had to use the excuse that he was trying to find the restroom to the waiters and waitresses. The restaurant was bathed in golden light, rich bronze furniture and oak tables with white cloths, the walls were of a cream color, and the shades of the lamps were a color of turmeric orange. Each booth had small glass squares on the back rests of minster patterns and slightly frosted, while the large windows were thin paines of clear glass.

Soon, Epel found who he was looking for, in the corner of the restaurant at a booth, a lanky dark skinned man with white dots lining under his eyes and a few patches of white spots going down the front of his neck like vertebrae of a skeleton. The man had a dark purple jacket and a purple shirt with a ribcage design, paired with black pants and dark boots. On top of his head was the black tophat with a skull on the side of it and a bone necklace around his thin neck, his hands covered with white gloves. He casually swirled his small cup of alcohol and took a sip, his crimson eyes focused on the liquid's color.

His sharp crimson eyes looked up at Epel as quickly as Epel froze in his steps, a thin grin tugged at the man’s lips as he set his drink down and asked in an enthusiastic and charismatic tone. “Hello there little imp, what can I help you with?”

Epel felt a cold chill down his spin as he slowly took a seat across from the man. “Are you..sam? I was sent by-”

“The Shroud brothers. I know. And yes, I am him.” Sam replied while taking a coin out of his pocket and began twirling it on his fingers and knuckles. “So, what can I do for you?”

“I need a full proof way to get into an auction house called The Twin Stars and..well I need to get a DNA sample from a person.”

“I see, allow me to introduce to you a ticket~” Sam chuckled as he flipped the coin and caught it in his hand, then made the coin disappear and took off his hat to pull out an invitation card.

Epel stared at the man in shock as he took the invite, it was official from the time and date, even had the official stamp of approval. “W-wait, how did you get this!?”

“I have my ways.” Sam chuckled before putting his hat on and then took out a small sealable vial from his pocket. “And in this you can collect whatever sample of DNA you want. I can even give you a needle if you prefer to gather blood.”

“No, uh, thank you, but i’ll just try to get a hair or skin..” Epel said as he reached for the vial, only to flinch back when Sam pulled it back. “What is it?”

“Well I cannot just give all this for free~ I need a way to be paid, whether by money or by trade.”

Epel was slightly agitated by this, wondering why Ortho and Idia didn’t warn him about this, but started checking his pockets. He didn’t have much cash on him and replied. “I only have about ten thaumarks. But I can get you more later!”

Sam let out a thoughtful hum as he looks at his products and then smiles and nods his head. He handed the vial to Epel and held out his hand for the money. “You know what, since this is our first time meeting, I’ll discount you. It was nice working with you Epel.”

Epel handed him the money and stood to leave with the invitation and vial, but paused as he looked back with shocked icy blue eyes. “How..how did you know my name?”

Sam only grinned and took a sip of his small squared-glass of bourbon. Epel knew he wouldn’t get an answer and quickly fled the busy restaurant, checking his phone once he was outside. It was only thirty minutes before the meeting time and Epel started to run down the street, swerving through people as he made his way back to Pyroxene. The night was growing colder, the streets became quiet, and the street lights illuminated the city while the stars were hidden in the sky. Epel checked his phone again for directions and let out a sigh of relief as he arrived at the auction house and put his phone away, fixing his clothes as he smiled proudly that he made it with five minutes to spare.

The doors to the auction house were opened to Epel when the doorman checked his invitation, the place was of expensive yet historical taste of limestone walls and renovated to hold all the expensive gallery items and the people coming to buy them. It was brightly lit with brass chandeliers and the place was already loud with people talking and laughing. Epel quickly received a number for the auction but sighed as he started looking for his target, who was surprisingly difficult to find through the crowd. Epel now grew a bit nervous since he did not know if he should interact with her or stay at a distance, but his mind was made up as he almost ran into the woman herself. “O-oh I am so sorry miss!”

Amalie looked at Epel with surprise and her model companions also looked at Epel with surprise, before the teen could say anything the girls began to giggle and began to speak fondly to Epel. He stood stunned as they murmured about how cute he was, small, how good his clothes looked, and Amalie was the first to break the adoration chatter among her friends. Her voice was filled with a tone of amusement and layered with a German accent, and all the girls wore extravagant dresses of bold colors and showed off their curves. “Excuse us, we just were not expecting such a charming young man! Are you part of the new model selection?”

Epel shook out of his dumbfoundedness and quickly said with a polite smile and poise. “Oh no, I am here for an entrepreneur meeting.”

“You look a little young for that.”

“I wanted to start early, it’s a competitive field.”

“What are you hoping to buy from the auction?”

“Oh perhaps some paintings, they are all the rave among my community.”

The group continued to ask Epel questions and slowly he relaxed, but he was still tensed up from having to come up with such lies, it really wasn’t his best skill but surprisingly was pulling it off. After a few more minutes, the girls started moving towards a well groomed and older man with higher end fashion taste. Amalie was about to follow the group before Epel quickly asked. “Who is that man?”

“Oh that’s Francis Monet, he’s our fashion designer and the host of this party.”

“I see, Amalie, how did you get into the modeling career?”

“Mr. Monet actually found me. When I moved to this city he discovered my talent while I was working at a photoshoot gallery.”

“Where did you move from?”

“Nowhere special. Just from across the sea.”

Epel noticed how quickly she dismissed the answer and thought for a moment before glancing at her long hair, he carefully reached a hand over to take a strand before he flicked his hand down as she hurried to the others to talk to Francis. He thought to himself on ways to get her hair, but it seemed that she would be surrounded by people. He was getting nowhere talking with her, if she was hiding her identity then she was not going to slip up. Knowing the girls found him adorable annoyed him but also graced him with an opening to get close to them. The teen started wandering around a bit, quietly listening in on conversations for anything important while taking out his phone to leave notes on it. He tried to be inconspicuous as he stayed in corners or would walk to the tables to get some food, making light conversations with anyone he could but not cutting in on others. He silently cursed to himself when he forgot information, and everytime he glanced over to Amalie, he found himself further frustrated by the entourage that surrounded her. When it was called for everyone to gather in the large living room for the auction, everyone hurried to get a seat and that’s when Epel quickly followed Amalie.

He hurried to sit next to her and gave a polite smile as he commented. “I hope you don’t mind me sitting here.”

“Not at all, and I’m sorry I didn’t get your name earlier.”

“O-oh right, i’m-” Epel thought quickly, his eyes darting to the ground before quickly saying. “Jared. I’m Jared.”

“Well Jared, feel free to take the seat, you are such a delight.” She encouraged and then looked up front at the podium.

Epel nodded as he looked at her hair again and tried to plot what he could do to get a strand. He would need a hair with a piece of skin but to get it without yanking her hair would be interesting. He didn’t even listen to the announcer as items were being brought out for bets, only thinking about how to accomplish his mission. When she happily raised her number for a painting, Epel got an idea and raised his number. Amalie gave an amused look at Epel before raising her number again and called out. “500 thaumarks!”

“700 thaumarks!” Epel quickly called out, raising his number again.

The painting was nothing grand to Epel, but it did have a lovely oil painting of a lush forest with a golden peacock, totally not his taste. Epel continued to call out his next bet and when Amalie did as well he tried to reach for some of her hair closer to the ends to find a loose one, but her movements made it hard to do so inconspicuously. Their numbers kept climbing up until Epel called out the final bet of 3,000 thaumarks, to which Amalie finally relented and the gavel was smacked on the stand. It was then that Epel felt a cold shudder of dred when he realized all the money that he would somehow have to pay to this place and left the room for a moment to compose himself. He walked out to the yard and gasped for breath as his panic increased, how was Vil going to react? How would he pay? What if he couldn’t and he was taken away from school?

In the midst of his panic he allowed a groan of anger to escape as he started scolding himself, his farmer's accent escaping him. “Yer so dumb! Just what hair-brained idea was that? There ain’t a single prayer that will help me cover the cost!”

“Um? Jared?”

Epel jolted in his skin as he looked back to see Amalie and Francis, the tall man smiled in amusement as he slicked back his dark hair and held out a hand to Epel. “Well played on that betting. I am Francis Monet, fashion industry.”

“A-ah..” Epel cleared his throat and shook Francis’s hand. “Jared, an up and coming entrepreneur.”

“Good to meet you, Amalie here noticed your distress and wanted to know what was wrong. She seemed enthused by that painting as well.”

Epel’s panic washed away into surprise as he looked at Amalie and a new idea popped into his head. “Well, if you really like it, what if we settle an amount here? I can cover a small portion and I have one request.”

Amalie looked a bit curious and surprised but smiled as she offered. “I’ll buy it for 2,500 thaumarks, it was the original price I was willing to pay. And then you cover the other 500. But what is this favor?”

Epel blushed a bit as he gestured her to lean down and then whispered to her. “A kiss on the cheek?”

Amalie stood tall and laughed before composing herself and kissing his cheek, to which Francis laughed and said. “Of course, I should have known. But you should probably go wipe your cheek off.”

“Of course, thank you, I’ll rejoin you both in a minute.” Epel said quickly before running to the bathroom and smiled triumphantly as he looked at his hand, which was able to snag a few of her hairs. He knew that they had to have skin on them to work and he let out a sigh of relief seeing one strand had skin on the end. Carefully carefully set the strands of hair into the vial and cleaned off the kiss mark on his cheek. Who knew years of whittling and apple picking would let him have such a delicate touch?

After the party and signing an agreement, Epel left that night with a proud smile and hurried back to the cosmetic store to give his report. Vil was a little upset with the money they’d have to give to the auction community, but gave a brief “good work” to Epel and took the evidence. Around 11 in the night, Epel was finally released to go home after giving the information to his bosses, to which he took a calm stroll down the street to his apartment. Once inside, the teen collapsed onto the bed with a groan and thought about the events of that night, altogether it was actually exhilarating and the kind of thrill he wanted to experience out of his dull life. And he would be looking forward to the next mission.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.11-Spring Cleaning TWST Mafia AU

“Jaaaaddeeee!” Floyd whined loudly and in a bored manner, he was laying back on one of the lounge's couches before continuing to complain. “I’m bored!”

Said twin brother was cleaning up the counter and making sure all the glasses were cleaned as well, he grinned in amusement at his brother as he replied. “Well, why don’t you check on the kitchen staff?”

“I already did!”

“Check with Azul about other tasks?”

“I don’t want to.”

“Jobs requiring you to visit the casino?”

“Goldfishie said that if I don’t leave him alone for an entire month that he would ban me.”

“Oh? How long ago did he say that?”

“Three days ago..”

Jade only chuckled at his brother before walking from around the counter and saying. “I would not worry, eventually he will call for you. But I cannot think of any tasks that are fun and can cure your boredom as well.”

Floyd let out another aggravated groan and got up from the couch, stretching his arms up until several pops were heard. “We have not had a fun job in ages!”

“I thought you really enjoyed wrangling those party crashers at the casino a couple weeks ago?” Jade questioned while walking over to the stage to check the music stands.

“Well yeah! But that was two weeks ago!” Floyd pouted and walked over to the bar, preparing to make himself a drink when Azul came out from his office and scolded. 

“Floyd! Do not waste my materials, those bottles of champagne were expensive.” Floyd scoffed but put the bottle away and Jade walked over with an amused chuckle. Azul only shrugged off his mild annoyance to hand the twins a folder. “Look, the club will be opening soon but while I am running it, I need you both to run an errand for me. Idia reported that a few men have been getting in the way of his routes to hospitals, by what he and Ortho could find out, they are part of Leona’s pride and have been making it troublesome for Idia to obtain blood and other things to heal people.”

Jade opened the folder to look at the dark images and small file of information while Floyd just rested his chin on an open palm, the lazier of the two leaned against the counter and asked. “Isn’t Firefly-squid’s home supposed to be off limits to gang rivalry?”

Azul fixed his glasses while replying. “Yes, which means Leona was probably trying to be quiet with his attack. He is not directly attacking Idia but his plan is probably to limit our access to medical attention.”

“Giving him a chance to choke our medical needs then attack us when things are at their worst.” Jade summarized before setting the paper down. “So, what are we going to do about this?”

“Well, I tried contacting Leona..but his lackey’s firmly told me “up yours” when I told them not to interfere. The last two people I sent to drive the gang members away were grievously injured and nearly dead.” Azul then smirked and looked at the two. “I see no reason why you boys cannot give them the same treatment.” 

Floyd grinned at his words and shouted with excitement. “Finally! Something exciting to take care of!”

“We will try to keep it a “clean” job.” Jade responded with a grin of his own and started heading to the exit, Floyd immediately following with a happy skip in his step.

They both agreed it would be better to walk, that way they would not need to worry about traffic or carjacking, and they had a pleasant conversation of what they would do to the Afterglow men while heading to the Golden Sands district. The Lamenting streets stretched between the Coral district and the Afterglow while the base remained under the Golden Sand’s lively city, and considering a majority of hospitals were in the Golden Sands that must have meant the troublemakers would be somewhere in the lavish city. Floyd and Jade did stand out from most people, especially in their suits while walking down the street, but neither of them cared and both took turns stopping at different stores to explore them. Vacations were not something the club members really got on account that they were so busy running the club or doing Azul’s side jobs for him, and the twins enjoyed whatever days they could get off. Jade’s personal interests were heading to the farmlands in the south or the mountains up north, exploring various plants and animals in both areas. Floyd however enjoyed the city, he liked to parkour on the rooftops or in some cases enjoyed watching sport tournaments that were hosted in the grand city.

For a moment they stopped for lunch at a cafe across from the alleyway that led to the Lamenting Streets, enjoying a chat while waiting for any sign of the gang members. Floyd’s laugh was boisterous while Jade settled for devilish chuckles, it disturbed some of the people but they quieted down a bit and continued their conversation, Floyd bringing up something off topic entirely. “So how is sea turtle?”

“He’s fine, we have not seen each other in a few weeks though.” Jade replied humbly. “And with both of us having incredibly busy schedules it is hard to meet up.”

“I’m sure you could talk to Goldfish to give him a couple days off.” Floyd chuckled quietly while slouching over the table.

“Perhaps, but I would also need to convince Azul to give me time off. Speaking of Riddle, what exactly did you do to make him kick you out?”

A pout crossed Floyd’s expression as he mumbled. “Goldfishie said something about being busy or that he couldn’t have me distract him. When I tried to use my usual charm he flat out threw a dart at my head!”

“Floyd, your “charm” normally pisses him off more rather than helps the situation. You’re not a romantic soul.” 

“Hey! I can be romantic! I just don’t like to because it’s a pain and Goldfishie looks weirded out whenever I do.”

Jade chuckled before glancing out the window and noticing some figures in the alley. “I believe they’re here now. Let’s make this a quick job.”

Floyd’s eyes gazed over and smirked as he purred. “I go up and you go in?”

“Yep, just like we always like it.” Jade replied and paid for their meal before leaving the building, Floyd followed behind but as they reached the alley he started climbing up the side of the brick building and pushed off to the next building.

Jade watched his brother for a moment before walking further into the darkened alley, even in broad daylight the Lamenting Streets always were chilled with darkness, he paused for a moment to take count of the men gathered in the darkness. After he counted five he then looked up to see Floyd looking over the side of the building, he showed an open palm to his brother to signify the amount of people. Floyd tilted his head for a second before giving him the thumbs up and pulling away from the side of the building. Jade decided to listen for a bit before making his move, his hearing may have not been the best but he could pick up on a couple things that were said. 

“Sometime today right?”

“Yeah…hope they don’t..”

“It’s under the casino right?”

“Keep your voice down!” One voice hissed in particular.

“Why are we even doing this?”

Jade released a frustrated sigh since he could barely understand what they were all talking about, choosing to step out then and smiled at the men as he walked closer. “Now this is interesting, here I was seeing medical assistance and I see there are others here too. Oh? But none of you are injured..”

The five looked over at Jade, one stood out in particular because of his height and piercing golden eyes, but the other four were slightly shorter and nothing too intriguing about them at all. One of them, to which must have been leading this group, had spiky red hair and stepped forward while growling at Jade. “Buzz off mob scum, the place is closed right now.”

“I was only trying to seek medical help..” Jade replied, forcing tears into his eyes, fake crying was an easy practice for him as he sniffled a bit.

Soon the tallest stepped forward and commented. “Rocky, maybe he actually needs help-”

“Piss off Jack, he’s playing you.” Rocky, an interesting name for the gang member, replied and shoved Jade back a bit. “And you, fuck off!”

“Oh now you’ve really hurt my feelings..” Jade sighed before flipping out a knife from his pocket and cutting across Rocky’s neck, the hawksbill blade dug into the skin with ease and speed that caused blood to run down in rivers.

Jack stepped back, his eyes widened with shock and fear as Rocky dropped dead and Jade only smirked, seemingly not caring about the blood that was now pooling on the pavement. Two of the other members shouted in anger and charged at Jade, only for them to be tackled down by a fast descending Floyd who landed on top of them. Floyd laughed maniacally as he easily got off the two and punched the fourth member as he charged at him, the fourth man however grabbed a hold of Floyd’s arm and dug his own knife into Floyd’s right shoulder. Jade gladly stepped on one member that was still on the ground and helped the other one up before slashing at his collar bone as well, he dug the heel of his shoe into the neck of the man on the ground and kept it pressed there to choke him.

Jack finally shook himself out of his daze, he grabbed the back of Jade’s suit and flung him across the alley, his back meeting with the wall in a painful thud. Floyd wrestled the fourth gang member's knife away before snarling and breaking the man’s arm, then took his opportunity to snap his neck and stop the man’s scream of pain. His eyes glowed with anger as he noticed his brother on the ground and his lips curved into a frown as he swayed closer to Jack, who was trying to help his friend up from the ground. “What did you do to Jade?”

The larger gang member slowly backed up and held his friend up; he couldn’t risk letting go since the man was recovering from his lack of oxygen. “Look we will leave-”

Before Jack could even finish his sentence, the third gang member went limp and Jade’s knife was embedded in the man’s back, Jade only smirked with satisfaction as he said. “Good, if you answer our questions then you can go.”

“What in the seven hells are you guys doing!?” All three turned to look at Idia, who was staring at the mess with disgust and anger. “Right at my door?!”

“Oh hey Firefly squid!” Floyd waved to Idia and chuckled. “Two of these guys are dead but one of them might still be alive.”

“Idia! Please help him.” Jack called out, motioning to the man he was still trying to support, who groaned in anguish.

Idia sighed in exhaustion and snapped his fingers, two men coming out and dragging the two dead bodies in before two more appeared and lifted the wounded gang member. “I’ll take care of them, you all can heal yourselves. But no more dead bodies outside my door.”

The door slammed closed and the twins grinned at Jack maliciously, Floyd speaking up first. “Well that’s a shame~ I was looking to go a few rounds with you, I bet you’re an awesome wrestler!”

Jack felt a shudder down his spine as he growled back as threateningly as he could. “This was not supposed to happen on the job, we were just trying to-”

“Choke our medical supplies, we know.” Jade replied with a chuckle and cleaned off his knife with a handkerchief.  

“Look, I don’t even like fighting! I only came because Ruggie said this was light work and no one would get hurt!”

“Ah, sharksucker said that? That’s hilarious! He should know any jobs that interfere with us are bound to have blood shed!” Floyd cackles with glee.

Jade thought to himself before asking Jack. “Not that it really is any of our business, but what were your people talking about with the casino?”

This time Jack looked uncertain and worried, rather than being afraid or angry, his eyes averted from them but Floyd got impatient and snapped. “Spit it out sea urchin!”

“A raid!” Jack shouted, actually causing the twins to step back in surprise. “I-I knew it was a bad idea, it was a really stupid idea, but Leona said it was the best chance they had.”

“To do what?” Jade prodded carefully, noticing the distress growing in Jack’s eyes. 

“There’s pipe work under the casino..” Jack replied grimly. “But Leona wants to drive away the business for good and send a message to all construction owners.”

Floyd’s eyes glinted in anger before growling back. “And just what is he planning to do?”

Jade’s eyes widened in surprise but before he could get a word out a silent shot sounded and he felt a quick sharp pain in his shoulder, a small dart was embedded into his shoulder followed by a second into his thigh. Floyd was quick to get out of the way of a third and Jack jumped back before looking up at the roof of the buildings around them. Ruggie stood up on one of the rooftops and smirked as he taunted. “Sorry you two, but this isn’t stuff for you to hear~”

Jack quickly ran out of the alley and Floyd took cover behind a trash bin before snarling. “You’re going to regret that shark sucker!” 

Jade tried to quickly remove the darts before seeking cover and knew he only had a few minutes before his body would give out on him. He caught Floyd’s gaze and motioned his head up to the roof that Ruggie was on, the angered twin nodded and quickly ran out while narrowly escaping another dart. Once he reached his brother, Jade clasped his hands with his palms open and Floyd quickly used him as a step to climb up the wall quickly, the heterochromic eyes glaring at the retreating figure of Ruggie. “Jade-”

“Go, I’ll call Azul!” Jade yelled up before taking out his phone for the call.

Floyd ran after Ruggie in a rage, even though Ruggie was really fast and could easily hide anywhere, the dart gun on his back made him stand out. The blonde looked back for a second before jumping onto the next roof and slid down the nearby emergency exit stairs, he landed just as Floyd jumped over the edge and grasped onto the rails of the stairs. Floyd gritted his teeth as he kept tunnel vision on Ruggie, the smaller man running through the crowd with ease and attempting to disappear. This chase dragged on, both of them pushing over people, avoiding bikers, occasionally breaking off into traffic to run across the street. Ruggie was just fueled by pure panic and Floyd was pushed on with the idea of breaking Ruggie’s arms. Finally Ruggie got an idea and grinned, he slid down one of the tight alleys that were comprised of stone steps and ran down before turning around and holding the gun’s scope to his eye. He was able to catch his breath at least while he waited for Floyd, but he grew on edge again as Floyd had yet to appear. Slowly he moved his gun down but then looked up as Floyd jumped down from the roof of the building and tackled him, Ruggie’s head met with the stone steps and he grunted in pain while using the gun as a shield to keep the angry twin off him.

“You’re gonna die shark sucker!” Floyd snarled angrily as he finally forced the gun away from Ruggie’s hands, moving to grab at the blonde but a butterfly knife was flicked out and cut at both of Floyd’s hands. 

Ruggie managed to roll out from under Floyd when the taller man recoiled, albeit uncomfortably because of the stone, and snagged out a needle from his pocket before jamming it into Floyd’s shoulder and pushed the plunger down. “Sorry Floyd, but I’ve got more work to do.”

“Game isn’t over yet!” The twin already felt drowsy but managed to grab at Ruggie’s arm and slammed him into the wall, then proceeded to throw him down the steps where Ruggie had no choice but to cover his head until his body lost momentum. Floyd however quickly followed and kicked Ruggie hard enough that the blonde coughed up blood and was staggering to get up. “Alright Shark sucker, this has been fun, but whoever messes with Goldfishie is dealing with me!”

Ruggie chuckled as he slowly got to his feet and backed up carefully as Floyd was staggering to him. “Awe come on Floyd, I am just doing my job. Why all the hostilities?”

“A job to damage the casino, eh? Not bad, except the fact that you pissed me off in the process!”

“Look Leona honestly was going to ignore you guys completely..” Ruggie shrugged and then smirked in a mischievous manner. “But I convinced him that a message has to be loud in order for anyone to hear it. Be lucky, that's just a sedative..”

Floyd finally had to lean on the wall but was still overcome with rage and managed to lunge at Ruggie and land a blow to his cheek, when Ruggie reached an arm up to press on Floyd’s knife wound the twin latched his slightly sharper teeth into the man’s wrist and copper blood filled his mouth. Ruggie screamed in pain but the attack was short lived when Floyd felt a foot connect with his side and was kicked off of Ruggie, Jack helped up Ruggie and said something quietly before handing the blonde his tranquilizer gun. Ruggie grunted as he took the weapon, ignoring the blood running down his hand and shot once into Floyd’s leg before walking off with Jack. Floyd tried to force himself up but his body felt so heavy that he collapsed and only had the strength to take out his phone. He quickly dialed the speed number he had and waited for it as patiently as he could, trying not to break the phone in his grip.

“Hello?”

“G-goldfish?”

“Floyd? For the love of-I’m busy right now-”

“The basement.” Floyd snapped back, not wanting to mess around. “Watch..the basement..”

“Floyd? What’s going on? Are you alright?”

“Just watch the basement..” Floyd replied quietly, ignoring Riddle’s yelling on the other end as he slowly passed out.

A rude awakening greeted Floyd and Jade when smelling salts were moved under their noses and they snapped awake, Idia and several other members of the club had them in Idia’s workspace on separate tables. Othro moved the bottle away and said cheerfully. “Hello you two! Welcome back to the living, my brother and I took the liberty of fixing your wounds!” 

“W-what time is it?” Jade asked softly as he shook his head to focus again.

“It’s a little past five.” Ortho replied and skated over to a table where their clothes had been neatly folded up and cleaned, he skated back to them and placed their clothes on their laps. “Here! Azul called in a favor to my bro, but he said to hurry to the casino.”

“Holy shit..” Floyd groaned as he rubbed his head. “How long were we out?” 

“About an hour? It was easier to heal you both up before waking you two.”

The twins sluggishly got dressed, trying to piece themselves together before Jade mentioned. “Leona must be planning a bomb attack or something..the basement of the casino has all sorts of piping under the place.”

“Yeah, and if there’s something flammable then the whole place will burn up..” Floyd growled a bit and then looked at Ortho. “Do you have a car we can use?”

“No sorry..but you can always ask Kalim! The bank does not close until six!” Ortho replied and took out his phone. “I’ll give them a call-”

“No,” Jade replied as he got his shoes on. “I have something better. Remember that motorcycle dealership nearby? I think the owner owes us.”

Floyd grinned at his brother's suggestion and quickly finished dressing, the twins ran out with new surges of energy and hurried to the nearby motorcycle business. It was a small business but it was easy for the two to threaten their way into getting a thunderhead colored bike with some helmets. Jade decided to drive, knowing his brother would sooner hit something with the motorcycle rather than reach their destination, all in the name of fun. Floyd still had fun yelling with joy as they sped down the streets towards the Rose district, Jade smiling a bit at his brother's excitable mood. 

While driving Jade yelled back to Floyd. “Alright! Here is the plan, you and I will go straight to Trey, he can give us the key that gets into the maintenance area of the building!”

“Great, except one problem, you said he doesn’t keep his phone on while working, which means we have to find him first and that means we have to get in through the front gates. Those newbies will slow us down!”

Jade knew Floyd had a good point, anytime the casino hired someone new they were signed up for the checking counter, new people were always tense and obeyed every single rule with worries of having Riddle’s wrath brought down on them. Trying to explain a possible bomb threat may or may not give them reason to call Trey if there was a rule to prove they were telling the truth. “Alright, so in that case, you and I will have to charge in, or distract them.”

“You can slip by easier! I’ll find a way to cause a distraction.” Floyd immediately responded, obviously anytime there was a chance to make some noise he would take it.

As they pulled up it was a little past 5:30 and the twins abandoned the bike at the valet parking, the man called out but the two ignored him and ran inside.From the grand entrance, Floyd nodded to Jade before walking up to the counter and shouting loudly. “Where is the manager?”

Many people turned to him in shock and curiosity, giving Jade a chance to slip by while Floyd continued shouting nonsense. Jade hurried up the stairs and grunted at the soreness of his body, but he continued to search around in a hurry before seeing a familiar face. “Ace! Where is Trey?”

Ace looked at Floyd with surprise before commenting. “Uh he’s in a meeting but you can’t- Oi! Jade!”

Jade ran past him to the stairs, heading to the third floor while Ace followed after him and Jade excessively started yelling for Trey. Although Ace knew he was no match for the twin, he had to at least slow him down and pounced onto the twin, effectively sending both of them to the floor and causing a few people to look over and whisper their shock. “Jade! What is wrong with you?!”

A door opened to where Trey and Cater stepped out with surprise, Cater moving Ace off and telling him to yield while Trey helped Jade to his feet. Cater was the first to question. “Hey what’s going on here? Ace, we don’t tackle our guests!”

“Jade, what’s-” Trey tried to ask with concern but Jade only stopped with an exclamation of his own.

“Trey! Has anyone gone to the maintenance room recently?”

“I’m not sure, why?”

“There’s a threat from the Afterglow boys..” Jade replied, quieter this time from their onlookers. 

Cater and Ace froze before getting a look from Trey, the two ran off and the green haired man ushered Jade into the meeting room he was just in. “It’s alright Jade, breathe, Ace and Cater will look but what is happening?”

“T-there might be a bomb threat. We have to call for an evacuation.” Jade replied tiredly, his body throbbed in aches and his mind was still somewhat dizzy from the tranquilizers.

“Okay, I’ll contact Riddle, just sit tight for a moment.” Trey took out his phone and quickly noticed the messages from Riddle, he called his friend back and started to speak. “Riddle, where are-”

“Do you have any idea where Jade is?!” Riddle shouted in concern. “Floyd just told me there was possibly a bomb here?”

“That’s right, we need to start evacuating just in case.”

“Agreed, I’ll have Floyd-Floyd?” Riddle paused for a second before he snapped. “The bastard just ran off! After all the chaos he caused down here he just left!”

Trey sighed as he paced in the room. “Riddle, he probably went to assist Cater and Ace, I just sent them to the maintenance room.” 

“Alright, I’ll work on getting the downstairs evacuated but do not let anyone panic!”

“Right.” Trey hung up and turned but noticed Jade was gone and the door was opened, he let out an aggravated sigh before running out to inform people they had to evacuate for a miniscule reason.

In the basement hall, Cater unlocked the door and peered inside the careful navigation of pipeworks, Ace was the first to step in as he narrowed his eyes and peered around each corner carefully. The two cards made their way deeper into the system before both turned to see the twins walking in. Cater breathed softly as he took out his taser and asked quietly. “So is someone here?”

“We’re not sure..” Floyd grumbled as he stormed in and pushed past them. “But I’ll tear their throats out if they are.”

Ace scoffed and asked. “Are you guys even going to tell us who or what we’re looking for?”

“Possibly a bomb or a person..” Jade answered, calming himself after he had run down there in a hurry.

There was a clank noise that echoed in the room and the twins rushed ahead, slowing down when seeing two gang members and immediately the two tackled them. Ace and Cater followed soon after the orange haired man knelt down to see a black on the ground with a couple wires. “That’s a bomb alright, Ace, do you have a knife?”

“W-wait a real bomb!? Shouldn’t we call the police?!” Ace asked then glanced at Floyd and Jade with a grimace as they dealt with the two gang members.

“Ace, knife.” Cater ordered with zero hesitation and finally the other gave his knife up. 

The twins made quick work of subduing the gang members, both of them knew Trey and Riddle would be furious if they killed them, and Ace made his way over to handcuff them both. Floyd just gave a strange look to Ace as he asked. “Why do you guys carry around handcuffs again?”

“It’s just part of our policy. Subdue and then let the security take over, only managers like Cater can carry tasers.”

Jade looked at Cater as the man focused with the small device and commented lightly. “I had no idea you could defuse a bomb..”

“Well you learn a lot when you stay with friends, lock picking, bomb disarming, it’s just another hobby in the end.” Cater replied cheerfully before adding. “Now get out of here, it would be stupid for all of us to be blown up if I don’t do this right.”

“No way, I’m staying.” Ace replied quickly and watched Cater work on the bomb, then looked up at the twins. “You two can go, I can call Trey or Riddle if there’s a problem.”

“Wouldn’t it be easier just to..cut all the wires?” Floyd asked with curiosity, the gleam in his eyes made Jade nervous.

“No, if I cut the wrong one then it’ll still go off.”

“So which is the right one?”

“Floyd..” Jade warned quietly. “Do not interfere.”

“It’s just a question Jade~” Oh no, Jade thought, that playful grin was very familiar to him.

“Well it’s hard to say…it either has to be the red or-” Before Cater could finish, Floyd snatched his brothers knife from his belt and cut the red wire, everyone held their breaths but nothing happened and Ace finally shouted at him.

“Don’t fucking do that ever again you jack ass!”

“Got something to say crabby~?” Floyd asked, Jade trying to shake Cater out of his petrified state and moved the bomb out of his hand.

It was safe to say that Azul, Riddle, and Trey gave Floyd a scolding when Cater was brought out unconscious and Ace explained what happened. But to Jade, he could only smile at the scene, being reminded of the special chaotic day they had and how much fun it would be to have this happen more often.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.10-Clovers and Consultation TWST Mafia AU

“I’ll have their heads for such impudence!” Riddle shouted loudly as he looked over the news on his office computer, before abruptly standing from his chair and taking a dart from his jar of darts and throwing it directly in the center of his dart board across the room. Trey had opened the door as the soft thunk sounded from the board, the medallion yellow eyes gazed at the red and white feathered dart that was stuck in the cork material. 

“Riddle, is there a problem?” He questioned as he walked closer to the seething casino owner, who finally sat down after seeing his friend.

“You could say that, come take a look at this.” Riddle huffed as he pointed to the computer screen that was lit up with news on a scandal of one of their clients.

Trey adjusted his glasses before reading the news out loud to himself. “Jacob Rios was discovered to be handling the exporting and importing of Laurel berries and Lambent flowers, along with several other endangered plants and protected species. He claims not to have anything to do with this and blames the evidence was planted in his vehicle while visiting the Royal Rose Casino. I think I see the problem now.”

“I need to go give a brief statement and show some video proof, unfortunately I know who was the one to collect information from him.” Riddle grumbled as he flipped to the camera surveillance from the previous night that showed a familiar blonde man buying Mr. Rois drinks that night. “Rook Hunt, a loyal friend and second in command to Vil..Even if I show the tapes the judge won’t do anything.”

“Luckily though the judge would also never dare to shut us down. You handle the case and I’ll take care of Hunt.” Trey replied happily before adding. “Cater can take care of the Casino while we’re taking care of this.”

“I hope so, I do not care what you have to offer Trey, but try to at least come up with a way for Vil’s community to not besmirch our casino.” 

The young owner and second in command left the office, with Trey immediately seeking out Cater to give him an update on the situation before questioning the man. “Do you have Rook Hunt’s number? I know you are not that close to him but-”

“Sorry Trey-man, I don’t have any numbers in Vil’s group, you know how hush-hush they are.” Cater replied with a shrug and then started scrolling through his phone. “But, I know someone that might have his number or can get you close.”

“Oh? Who would that be?”

“Kalim, he’s friends with everyone, and considering he owns many banks I’m sure he would have his number. Want me to give him a call?”

“No, I think I’ll go see him myself, more than likely they’ll just say that they can’t “divulge” client information over call. It would be faster to drive down myself, but if you happen to see any of Vil’s companions do not hesitate to call me.”

“You got it big man!” Cater chuckled before walking down the stairs to the casino lounge.

Trey made quick time getting to his red sports car, while he was not much of a car guy he figured he should look the part of a casino owner's right hand man. Traveling from the Rose district to the Golden Sands district was not a grueling drive, Trey found himself always amazed by the culture involved in creating the district and the historical buildings that were preserved. After parking the pine green haired man made his way inside to the luxurious bank and immediately was spotted by Jamil, a man that was hard to get by no matter how busy the place was. Trey waited patiently until he got to the counter and greeted Jamil politely with a smile. “Hello Jamil, is Kalim here?”

“Why do you want to know that?” Jamil questioned, biting back any tones of suspicion or impatience. 

“Well I have a question for him and then I will be out of here, it’s in regards to a mutual friend of ours.”

“Kalim has no time for such things, he’s busy enough running this bank that he can’t afford any distractions-”

“Trey?! Is that you?” 

Both Jamil and Trey turned their heads to the office doors where Kalim was walking out of with his bright smile, Jamil was very annoyed but Trey only smiled in amusement and greeted back. “Hello Kalim, sorry that it has been a while.”

“No, that's alright! But I have not seen you in months, how are you?”

“I am well, we have been very busy at the casino and I have been training a lot of new staff, which is why I barely have time to visit.” 

“While you’re here we should catch up! Maybe I can get some snacks prepared and-”

“Actually,” Jamil cut Kalim off, narrowing his eyes a bit as he explained. “Trey has a question for you then will have to go.”

“Oh really? Such a shame..” Kalim frowned a little but perked right back up as he said. “Well then I will just have to make time to see the casino, does that sound good?”

Trey chuckled slightly and nodded, fixing his hat back into position. “That sounds perfect, Kalim, we will be happy to have you visit. What I am trying to find though is Rook Hunt’s phone number.”

“Rook Hunt?” Kalim’s ruby eyes widened a bit in surprise before taking Trey’s arm and leading him to his office, closing the door before commenting. “Trey, you know that he is part of a special group.”

“I know, but this is a business deal and emergency. Please, I need to speak with him.”

Kalim hummed softly to himself and stared at the floor with sudden interest and thought. “Whenever I need to talk to them or they need to talk to me it’s normally sent by letter for a meeting. But I was told that if I needed to get a hold of them quickly that I should meet an operative in the Islet Maze, which is in-”

“The Pyroxene district.” Trey finished with a sigh, if he was to be discovered working at the casino then he would have trouble with any wandering gang members in the territory. The Islet Maze was also a great tourist attraction of famous actors and historical leaders in the land of Nirvana Steel. “Very well, thank you for the information Kalim.”

The bank owner smiled a bit as he walked to his desk and handed Trey a small golden viper pin. “Here, this should help you through the territory as a messenger of the bank. Speaking of which! Can you deliver this to Rook if you see him?”

With the pin, Trey was surprised when Kalim handed him a bag that had a bizarre shape, almost a pentagon with the handles at the top and was wrapped in bubble wrap and red thread. “Uh, sure. I’ll see if I can deliver it.”

“Thanks a bunch Trey!”

The vice casino owner was not sure what to make of the odd gift, but brought it back to his car and put the gold pin on his jacket and drove to Pyroxene’s district. Much like Golden Sands district, the Pyroxene district was full of culture and beautiful buildings. Nirvana’s history could be found in the museums and famous landmarks as well, along with great theater performances and a grand park in the center of the district. Cars were harder to navigate through the crowded area so Trey had to park his vehicle and walk to the central park, Islet Maze was exactly as it sounded, with linings of beautiful flowers and an entire maze of stone figures and other remarkable plants that were constantly cared for. The park was not really a maze all things considered, the first half of it was just a walking path with the statues in plain view then the second half was the real maze with several entrances and exits so no one could really get lost. The hedges of the maze were neatly trimmed and some shaped around the historical figures, and occasionally rabbits and birds would build their homes in the hedges as well. Trey was thankful that none of The Gang members were around, they are easy to spot whereas the spies of Vil are not so easy to discover, but he would have to make this a quick visit.

As the pine color haired man stepped into the maze he wandered a bit before noticing a lone bench in the center of the maze, the bench had a small metal plaque with the words “In honor of the creator of Islet Maze, Erik Venue.” Trey took a seat and leaned back on the smooth wood, waiting patiently for a sign of Rook or one of his men. While he sat there, the birds provided plenty of peaceful background noise along with the exhilarating smells of wild flowers of all shapes and colors. Trey felt his shoulders drop in relief but before he could enjoy the peace longer a man came into view from Trey’s left, the person dressed in a casual but beautiful navy blue suit but wore sunglasses to cover his eyes. At this man’s presence, Trey calmly set the package on the bench and stood up, briefly saying. “I’m looking for Rook Hunt.”

“Well he’s not here.” The man sneered before stepping closer to Trey, having the gall to reach out and grab his arm. Trey simply took hold of the man’s wrist and noticed the fancy light shade lilac gloves, the only group to wear these types of gloves are under Vil’s employment. The henchman growled and attempted to punch Trey with his freehand, but when Trey moved it only let the man’s knuckles knock his glasses off. With quick succession, Trey launched his knee into the man’s stomach before driving his elbow into the spine of the man to drop him to the ground, with a small glare from the medallion eyes Trey picked his glasses up and turned his attention up to one of the walnut trees that loomed over the maze. 

From above there was an amused grin by the man Trey was looking for, Rook Hunt smiled down at Trey before commenting and clapping his hands, standing on the strong limb as if he weighed nothing at all. “Merveilleux! You certainly do not waste time asking questions. But that is to be expected from a casino man.”

“Rook Hunt I presume? Sorry for kicking down one of your men, but he is rather..nosy.” Trey replied back with a smile of his own.

“No need to apologize, my men are not as good of fighters as Vil would wish.” Rook replied and jumped down from the tree, smoothing out his clothes.

In most video’s they caught of Rook, he was always in a suit or wearing an altered violet kimono that reached to his knees, and he always wore a hat that covered his face in surveillance videos. Today his clothes seemed more casual with a black tracksuit and a black cap with camo white patches, paired with black gloves and black combat boots. Rook took no time to walk closer to Trey, and for some reason the man seemed to give off a pleasant yet cautious approach. “Now, what can I do for you? This is my day off and I would like to get back to my training.”

“I’ve come to talk to you about a situation that happened at the casino, a man by the name of Jacob Rios may have been framed by one of your men. He’s not our highest paying client, but losing a customer along with our name being slandered is a problem.”

“Rios..Rios..Ah! Bien sûr! Yes I remember that mission. Rest assured Rose Chevalier, that man was only framed by his own hubris. However, he was not our original target, the man Vil was hunting for did not arrive so we only could get rid of his henchmen. But we’re hoping to make a trap to meet the head of the organization.”

Trey brushed off the odd name that Rook called him, although was interested in the information since it could pertain to another scandal. “And what exactly is their business, because if you plan to use the casino again there might be issues with your boss and mine.”

“I understand your worry, but we will be setting a trap at the nearby theater house, the boss apparently loves going to performances.” Rook smirked and his eyes narrowed a bit upon noticing the package on the ground. “Excuse-moi, what is that?”

“I’m not sure, Kalim asked me to deliver it to you.” Picking up the package, Trey handed it off to Rook and the spy took a moment to unwrap it and open up the package, he chuckled as soon as he looked inside.

“Ah, always so kind Kalim.” Rook commented out loud and sat on the bench as he took out a box and opened it to show many round puffy cookies. “Would you like to try some Rose Chevalier?”

It was surprising how friendly Rook was being, Trey nodded his head and sat next to him before asking. “What are those?”

“They’re from Kalim’s home town, the cookies are called Maamoul. Delicious cookies filled with nuts that are soaked in honey, it has a delectable fluffiness to the outer shell~” Rook replied with delight before handing one to Trey. “When I saw Kalim last, he wanted to know if I wanted anything from his hometown, I’m glad he was able to get some of these.”

“And you do not mind sharing these?” Trey asked curiously and took a bite into the cookie, smiling at the sweet taste that greeted his tongue.

“Of course not, even if we are from different agencies, that does not mean we cannot be civil to each other.”

“That is true, I’ll have to try making these myself.”

Rook looked at Trey with curiosity and smiled. “Oh? You are a baker?”

“Baking is a hobby of mine, but I do not get many chances to bake with how busy I am.” Trey admitted before adding. “Helping out the casino takes up most of my days and nights, which is why I wanted to resolve the issue with Mr. Rios quickly.”

The spy went silent as he took a bite of one of the cookies, both sat together and ate quietly before Rook spoke up again. “If you are worried about the casino, I can promise you that the news will have its eyes elsewhere very soon.”

“You can promise that?”

“Absolutely. I understand the lack of freetime and how sad it is when you barely have the time to yourself, that is why my day off is important to me. But I assure you, Vil is working as fast as he can and the attention of Mr. Rios will be dragged away.”

“Being a spy does sound interesting.”

“Spy? We call ourselves informants.” Rook chuckled slightly and then stood up while wrapping the package back up. “I should go, but do not worry about the casino. Thank you for delivering the package as well, your kindness is much appreciated!”

“Just a favor for a friend, but it was nice of you to share.” Trey replied and stood up, rubbing the back of his neck. “Sorry about your guy too..he’s been on the ground for a while is he alright?” 

“Huh?” Rook glanced back to one of his men on the ground before chuckling and calling out to him. “You can head back now!”

The man slowly stood and nodded his head, fixing his shades before leaving the maze and leaving Trey in confusion. “Wait, he could get up this whole time?”

“Oui! We train our people to fight, but if they cannot and they have the chance to get information or survive, we encourage them to play dead.”

“That’s..I’m not sure if that’s really smart or boring.” Trey smiled as he lightly chuckled. 

“It’s both. Now, if you do not mind I need to head ba-”

The informant stopped suddenly and his eyes glared in the direction of one of the paths to the maze, Trey became on edge when the informant put the package down and reached for one of his pockets. Before the green haired man could react, Rook immediately tackled him down as a gunshot went off and there was now a hole through one of the hedges, Rook quickly got back up and took out a small pistol from his pocket before firing back. Everything went quiet that moment and Trey’s ears thudded with adrenaline as he slowly got to his feet and followed Rook’s gaze to the hedge, the vice casino owner was not used to this kind of interaction. There was movement the next second, a figure in all black stepping out with a pair of shades and their short brown hair tripped to sharp points. 

Trey then realized what was going on and demanded. “What is a member of the assassin’s doing here?”

“That’s none of your concern.” The man hissed back before aiming his gun at Rook. “Rios sends his regards.”

Another shot sounded off as Rook and Trey parted in opposite ways before Rook took a shot back, the assassin was fast enough to only be grazed in the cheek but Trey did not want to risk being shot and ran further into the maze. With all the noise the assassin and Rook were making it would be no doubt that someone would be calling the police soon, without some form of weapon Trey did not know how he could even assist. The green haired man however did not get far when he heard a shout of pain and stopped in his place, the shooting stopped and there were no following noises made, it made him on edge. He slowly made his way back and when he peeked around the corner, Rook was on the grass and blood stained the grass, the assassin above him had a bleeding hand and was no longer holding his gun. It was then Trey gritted his teeth and ran over, the assassin noticed quickly but as he moved to take out a new weapon, Trey wrapped an arm around the man’s neck and under his right arm to hook him and slam him into the ground. With the man’s arm pinned up and his neck held at such a miserable angle there was not much the assassin could do besides struggle. Trey grunted as he kept holding the assassin down, trying to think of his next move, then suddenly the body went limp and Trey slowly lifted his head to see Rook smiling at them while moving a cloth away from the assassin.

“Are you alright?”

“Y-yes but..what did you do?”

“Chloroform rag of course, he had it in his upper pocket. I noticed it when he dodged my first shot.” 

“That’s impressive..” Trey replied and stood up, flinching as he noticed Rook’s hand moving to grasp his left side that was bleeding. “You’re bleeding badly. Come on, we need to get you to a hospital!”

“N-no need.” Rook chuckled and casually walked to the package by the bench and picked it up. “I already sent a message to Vil for extraction when I played dead on the ground. Although, I am surprised you came back.”

“Fighting is not really a strong suit of mine. But I can handle someone at the casino if you’re getting rowdy..” Trey explained and watched as Rook sat on the bench, sympathetically the casino man removed his jacket and wrapped it around Rook’s side, tying the arms of the jacket together tightly to keep pressure on the wound. “Here..”

Rook almost looked intrigued by Trey’s intuition with the wound. “Oh? So you have seen wounds like this?”

“All the time. You would be surprised how many people get shot or stabbed in a casino.” Trey replied with a small smile, then he fixed his glasses and said. “I should be heading back. Riddle and the others will be worried.”

“Of course,” Rook nodded with a chuckle and added. “But, we should discuss more of our delectable tastes when we can.”

Now Trey had to chuckle but agreed. “I’m sure we’ll meet again soon.”

After they parted ways, Trey immediately went to the casino to wash up and take a nap, the moment he woke up he was invited downstairs to greet Jamil and return the pin he had borrowed. Jamil did comment on how Trey did not need to disturb Kalim for a while and that Kalim would visit sometime soon, the vice casino owner only smiled and apologized for the trouble before the dark haired man left. It was several hours later, now about 1 AM, and the casino was packed wall to wall with people, Trey commenced his normal patrol of each floor while listening in to others conversations.

Deuce suddenly ran up to him, narrowly avoiding a walking by customer before stopping in front of Trey. “Trey! This just came for you.”

Trey looked at the fancy black box and opened it, he froze a bit when he noticed his jacket, cleaned and pressed with a lavender card on the top of it. He smiled and took the box before looking at Deuce. “Thank you, but who delivered it?”

“I’m not sure, some purple haired kid, he did not look much older than me though. He just said to deliver this to you right away.” Deuce’s eyes narrowed as he muttered. “I honestly thought it was a trap.”

“I see. Don’t worry, I know who sent this.” Trey said with a smile before excusing himself to take his jacket up to his room, then he opened the card and read the decorative cursive.

“Rose Chevalier, I hope you are doing well. My friends and I took care of Rios’s companion, I imagine this will release some tension from your boss. Also, thank you for the coat. I hope you don’t mind but it was stained with my blood and I took the liberty of cleaning it and scenting it with a popular fragrance. Have a wonderful evening, a friend from the garden.”

Trey’s brow furrowed in confusion before taking a sniff of his jacket and cringed at the rose scent. “Of course..what did I expect?”

[goldenheartgirl1]

Extra to A Pride Alliance (+18)

(read the age restriction!)

The sound of the door knob twisting open had Vil on alert and he quickly grabbed his small dagger from the pile of clothes on the nightstand, preparing to throw it until he noticed it was just Leona.

“Leona, have you ever knocked before?”

“Calm down, I was heading to bed..I didn’t expect you to be in it.” Leona replied with a cheeky grin as Vil’s face morphed to shock before he sat up and looked around. 

“Y-your bed?”

“Yeah, my bed. Jeez princess, I didn’t realize you were that in need of a good lay.”

“How absurd! I did not know this was your room!” Vil snapped but took a breath and reasoned, trying to conceal his embarrassment. “I can leave-”

“Nah don’t bother, I can sleep just about anywhere. I’ll just take the floor.”

“The floor? But you’ll hurt your back.”

“I won’t trust me.” Leona shrugged and grabbed one of the pillows that Vil was not using, but when his eyes scanned Vil’s face he came closer to the bedside and propped one knee onto it, leaning close to Vil’s face. “But, let me tell you this, don’t listen to that shit Ruggie was spouting out. The damn guy can’t keep his mouth shut.”

“It seems more like you do not want others to know about you. Why is that? Because you’re afraid your family will find out about your activities?”

Leona clicked his tongue in annoyance. “Oh please, they don’t give a damn where I am. My brother is too occupied with his wife and son. Gives me plenty of freedom.”

“I see. I suppose I cannot relate to that, I am an only child.” Vil replied in a sympathetic tone as he thought for a moment then smirked. “You seem awfully confident to walk up to me so easily, perhaps you are desperate for touch.”

“From you?” Leona scoffed and sat on the bed, but did not lean away from Vil, his emerald eyes glowed from the single candle lighting the room. “If I recall correctly, you said that was absurd. Not sure I want some high class princess going around and claiming he was fucked by a gang leader.”

“What do you take me for?” Vil remarked with an offended look. “Any private matters of mine are for me and my partner alone.”

“Then let me ask you this,” Leona’s voice rumbled, making Vil shudder at the voice and the close proximity as Leona nearly brushed their lips together. “How far has someone gotten?”

“I’m no virgin Leona, but I certainly am not fond of sappy romances.”

“Good, because I’m not exactly a patient person either.”

Leona did not wait any longer and roughly kissed Vil, thankful there was no makeup on the stunning model to smear or transfer onto him. Vil reciprocated with delight, it was true he had given himself to a couple others before but they had a similar problem, they were obsessed with his looks and his popularity. Vil found that love was easier to manage if there were no strings attached, that he could control the title of the relationship at his will while having a partner that respected his desires. However, it had been too long since his last lover, so Vil was rather eager to pull Leona closer by his long brunette hair. Their kiss was just as bittersweet as their bickering, a constant pressure of both lips and tentatively they began to lick and suck on each other's lips, Vil playfully biting Leona’s tongue as it tried to caress the walls of his mouth. With Vil pulling at Leona’s hair, the gang leader only saw it as fair to feel the body of the man he was kissing.

Much to Leona’s surprise, Vil’s body was not only stunning and soft but his form was also well-built and firm, providing further evidence of how he was able to fight so well. Vil curved away a couple times from his touch, muttering something about how Leona’s hands were too rough, but overall was welcoming to the hands. Pulling away from the kiss, the wealthy sun-kissed man began to undress, kicking off his shoes and carelessly throwing his clothes aside. Vil on the other hand merely had to drop his covers to show his fair skin, yet he was unable to stop looking at Leona’s brawny physique and the tattoos and scars that covered his skin. Leona attempted to move over Vil but the informant placed a hand on his warm chest and gently traced a scar with his index finger. The brunette couldn’t repress the shudder as the thin finger touched him, instead he took hold of his wrist and kissed the palm of the hand before nibbling at his wrist’s pulse point.

“Where did you get all these scars?” Vil questioned, not expecting an answer or even the truth, but nonetheless he was curious.

“Hmm.. A mix of things.” Leona mumbled, not looking at VIl as he started to kiss up his arm and proceeded to reach his neck with the trail of kisses. “Fights, accidents, animals, shit like that.”

Vil carefully cupped Leona’s chin and forced him to look up, gently brushing his thumb on the lower end of the scar that went down vertically over Leona’s left eye. “Don’t leave marks on me..what about this scar?”

Leona said nothing for a moment, his eyes gleaming with pain and Vil felt sorry for a moment, but then the other answered. “It’s not something I want to talk about..”

“Of course, sorry for asking.” Vil replied then Leona went back to licking and kissing at Vil’s flesh. 

From his neck, shoulders, chest, and stomach, Leona never stopped his caressing or gentle kisses. It frightened Vil, the last lover he had always tried to get to the finish line quickly, but the way Leona was moving countered what he expected of the impatient man. As though Leona was tasting a fresh cut of meat or juicy fruit, he was savoring Vil’s taste and not allowing a single inch of his skin to be untouched. Vil returned the favor and his fingers traced along the dips and curves of Leona’s strong figure, feeling every muscle that was radiating with heat and that was rougher than the skin of most men Vil interacted with. Both found each other fascinated with each other’s bodies, exploring all they could while exchanging kisses and small nips at flesh. Leona tried once more to push Vil back onto the bed but the model grew agitated by the persistence and twisted them around, roughly shoving Leona onto his back and straddling him.

Emerald eyes peered up in surprise at the man practically sitting on his erection, in turn he also noticed the throbbing cock on the strong man as well. He smirked and moved his hands to Vil’s hips, carefully grinding his dick against Vil’s backside. “You want to be on top?”

“Is there a problem with that?” Vil asked with a huff, but relaxed when Leona shook his head.

“Nope, I actually like this, it gives me a chance to watch you put those strong legs to use. Rather than kicking the shit out of me and my men.”

Vil was so caught off guard by the joke he covered his mouth as he chuckled into his hand, equally surprising Leona, who chuckled as well. After collecting themselves once more, Vil took hold of Leona’s right hand and began to coat three fingers with saliva, licking and sucking at the thick digits. The green eyes lazily watched but Vil could feel the effect of his actions taking hold of the twitching member against him. Leona watched for a couple minutes longer before taking his fingers away from Vil and moved them to Vil’s entrance, the blonde squirmed for a second but quickly relaxed as the fingers caressed him. A sharp gasp left Vil as two of the fingers inserted immediately and his wisteria eyes glared at Leona. 

“Careful, I don’t want y-you tearing anything.”

“Relax princess, I got it.”

“I mean it Leona, if you also bruise me-”

Leona suddenly crooked his fingers in deeper and a shaky moan left Vil’s soft lips, making the gang leader smirk as he continued to thrust his fingers and playfully replied. “I got it Vil, you want me to be gentle.”

That was not fair, not only was Leona making it hard for him to think, but he also couldn’t help the shiver running up his spine hearing his name. But in truth he didn’t want this sex to be gentle, he has had enough of benign affection. “N-no. Not gentle.”

“Hm?” Leona quirked a brow up in confusion as he slipped the third wet digit in. “Well you go at your own pace, just let me know when you’re ready.”

Vil nodded in agreement before rocking his hips to the thrusts of Leona’s fingers, they were so thick and hot, it made Vil’s mouth water and quiet moans of pleasure slipped from his delicate lips. He did not know what he was more grateful for, this man having such a talent for making him so needy, or the luck that brought this man that listened to his wishes. Craving such lustful desires were something that was frowned upon in higher cultures, yet so many joked about their desires. High society was two faced, there were no doubts about that, and for these rare occasions Vil couldn’t even drop his act to enjoy one night. Leona however, did not care of Vil’s fancy appearance or of his proper manners, for this night at least he could be uncaged and feral. Thinking about his appointments for the next couple days his resolve crumbled and Vil leaned down to bite into Leona’s shoulder.

Leona hissed and his fingers stopped for a second to look at Vil with a glare. “Any reason I can’t bite you but you can bite me?”

Vil pulled away, satisfied with the mark of his teeth on the tanned shoulder. “I have changed my mind, Leona. Be savage, you may mark me however you wish, but I still will remain on top unless I order you to do something.”

“You’re getting a bit too comfortable with your orders..” Leona growled but took Vil’s offer and sunk his teeth into Vil’s collar bone, sucking roughly at the skin and removed his fingers from the tight entrance to take hold of Vil’s hips again.

“Ah~ Leona, mark me more~” Vil hummed, his voice vibrating in pleasure while his manicured nails dragged down Leona’s chest.

The model was careful as he leaned back to sit up again, Leona releasing the skin between his teeth to let him do so, then Vil took care to position himself before sitting down on the scorching cock. His mouth fell open to let out a lewd moan as Leona hissed out a groan himself from the tight velvet walls that encased his cock. True to Leona’s words, he stayed perfectly still for Vil as the man on top reigned himself in to start bouncing on the cock. Vil could only close his eyes to shield himself from the green eyes that examined him, they were so focused and calm in comparison to the wisteria eyes filled with lust and ecstasy. Minutes passed and Vil’s movements became desperate and frantic, he wanted more and while Leona had let him take what he wanted, it still was not enough. Vil wanted that primal touch and tried to silently urge Leona to do his bidding, rotating his hips a little and arching his body back to allow a deeper angle.

However, when Leona still did not catch onto the silent plea Vil then switched to verbal. “L-leon-ah~ Fuck-”

“Oh so you can cuss.” Leona teased but then rubbed Vil’s hips to help him relax. “What’s going on princess?”

“H-harder, move!” Vil ordered as he gasped for air but still tried to retain some dignity. “You have m-my permission.”

“You got it~” The brunette moaned and his grip tightened significantly on the fair thighs, he pulled Vil’s body completely off him before twisting them around and forcing Vil’s chest to meet the bed. 

Wisteria eyes shot open in shock before a shriek was wrenched from his throat, Leona had wasted no time to thrust into Vil’s body at a rough pace. Much like a predator, he leaned over his prey and bit into Vil’s shoulder but took a second to enjoy the feeling of Vil’s hair brushing his cheek, Leona’s hips did not stop their violent thrusts as he kept himself mounted on Vil. The blonde’s hands clenched on the sheets below and his face was pressed to the pillows, Leona’s growls and lustful groans kept stirring up more pleasure in Vil’s guts as the hard cock within him battered against his most sensitive areas. Vil was on cloud nine, he has never felt this good with another person nor has he ever felt so alive giving into his desires. Leona let out a groan as he bit into the back of Vil’s neck, making sure to leave a mark as he demanded.

“You are a real pillow princess~ Lift your head up.”

Vil did as he was told and lifted his head from the pillow, only to let out a surprised wail as Leona forced his body to twist on its side and his left leg was thrown over Leona’s shoulder while his right leg was pinned under his lover’s strong hand. Soon the pace resumed its punishing brutality as Leona groaned above Vil, the man watching Vil’s erotic expression as the model screamed in pleasure and arched his body to allow Leona’s cock to shake his entire form. Leona was highly impressed with Vil’s flexibility as he pushed the left leg down towards Vil’s head, almost getting it completely down before he heard a hiss from Vil which represented the stopping point. Vil’s teary eyes glistened in the dark as the candle kept a warm glow over their faces, the model reached his left arm up to tug Leona’s hair, yanking him down to kiss him as Leona continued his assault. 

It wasn’t long before their kiss broke so they could both let out a yell of pleasure, Leona’s cock twitching within Vil as he emptied himself and Vil collapsing back on the bed as his cock was spent. They curled up together for warmth but both didn’t wait for each other to sleep, Vil falling asleep much faster than Leona while the brunette nuzzled the blonde locks. Nothing more was said between the two as they laid together, this relationship could be once but they both hoped for more.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.9-The Pride Alliance TWST Mafia AU

Vil Schoenheit was a man of many qualities, a model, businessman, and informant. He had many hobbies such as yoga, jogging, kickboxing, ballet, lock picking, and creating new cosmetic products. Although, very few people knew of his informant business which made it easier to sneak into fancy parties like the one he was in now. One of his business partners in the cosmetic industry was having a party at the Royal Rose Casino, and his partner had rumored that one of their rivals was there for a proposition to one of the higher ups. As usual, the place was busy and sudden cheers of delight outshined the clinking of chips and money, despite Riddle not being a fan of Vil he never stopped the model from entering. Most likely for publicities sake. Their rival has been a big pain as of late because they have been putting out a new fragrance that was addicting to whoever smelled it, the man was from the Afterglow District which was cause for surprise since such a small business could not have exploded into this much popularity so quickly. Vil had smelled the perfume himself, it was intoxicating but it brought a strange sensation of muscle relaxant as well, which made Vil believe there was an unethical ingredient in it. As a way to pursue this theory he unfortunately had to get close to the man, a rather crude man by the name of Samuel Konig, an average man with dark sandy colored hair and sharp blue eyes that wore an expensive suit to make him stand out.

That night Vil informed his informant community not to accompany him and that he would be back the next day, much to his distaste. He sported black slacks that held tightly to his legs and hips, paired with red four inch high-heels, wearing a royal purple long sleeved satin blouse, and his hair was done up in a crown braid to show off his supple neck and ruby stud earrings. Around his eyes were a dark purple and black eyeshadow design and his lips a beautiful cherry red to complete his work. The man’s lissom form was beautiful and Vil used that to his advantage, convincing Mr. Konig to take him back to Afterglow for a business venture. They sat in the back seats of the car while the driver took them from the Rose district to Afterglow, the two engaging in casual talk about their business and how they got into their respective industries. Mr. Konig had tried to make a couple passes at Vil, creeping his hand closer and making implied remarks, but the blonde model just smiled and rebuffed his advances.

“Really Mr. Konig, if we are looking forward to a prosperous partnership you need to tell me about your product. Perhaps show me the production line.”

“I shall, but let's not waste the night. It is already extremely late and we would not want to ruin your beauty with no sleep.”

“Oh, well I can always purchase a hotel room.” Vil brushed off simply but his right hand was taken by the man, he tried to resist pulling his hand away as the overly lotioned hands held his.

“No, I couldn’t let you waste money on a hotel that is nowhere near your standards.”

“Mr. Konig-”

The car suddenly screeched to a stop and slid on the road, thankfully they had no cars behind them but it caused the two in the back to lurch in their seats. Mr. Konig looked at his driver and exclaimed. “What happened?!”

“S-someone ran out in front of us!” The driver said and put his hand over his heart to try and calm down.

Vil looked out into the darkness and his wisteria eyes narrowed before he unbuckled his seat belt and stepped out of the car to examine their surroundings, despite Mr. Konig calling him to sit back down. There was no one on the road and off the road itself there was only some dried shrubbery and a few trees in the distance, it was a chilly night but not unbearable. He was about to get back in the car when a loud thunk came from behind him, he turned and a man stood on the roof of the car while making a grab at Vil, quickly the model grabbed the opposing hand and threw the stranger to the ground with enough force to make the man cry out in pain. However, a startled yell from the driver caused Vil to turn around again to see another person at the driver's side door. Another quick motion and a red shoe swung into the man’s face, sending him skidding onto the asphalt. The other intruder was suddenly behind Vil and grabbed at his arms but was quickly greeted with a stab of the heel to his foot and a strong elbow to his cheek. Mr. Konig, being the coward he was, informed the driver to take off and Vil cursed as the car sped down the road. After making sure the two men were down, Vil sighed and took out his phone to call for someone, but his wrists were suddenly grabbed which made him seeth in anger.

“This is the final straw!” Vil hissed out and made a move to slam his heel into the man’s foot but he moved too fast for the heel to make contact, Vil then knocked his head back to try and hit his assailant in the jaw, to which actually worked and the man behind him grunted and leaned back a bit.

After feeling the movement, Vil was able to turn and jab his knee into the man’s stomach and followed up with punching the man in the cheek. A growl sounded out from the man and Vil was struck with a blow to his stomach, it was a strong enough punch that he felt spit fly from his mouth and his body curled forward. Vil was fast enough that when a hand grabbed his shoulder he took hold of their wrist and twisted around to face the man, continuing to twist his arm he heard the same growl and a curse following as he attempted to shake Vil off. This time the red heel made contact to the back of the man’s knee, making him kneel forward but the man only managed to use his strength to yank Vil to the ground and proceed to get over him. The informant was not one for giving in and gave a good punch to his attacker’s throat, the man gagged briefly but managed to keep steady over Vil and finally leaned down. Vil felt teeth graze his jugular, he panicked and tried to shift his weight to knock the man off to no avail, then strong hands captured his forearms and the teeth closed down forcefully but not enough to draw blood.

Vil’s eyes were wide and his body petrified, not daring to move in a way that would risk his throat being damaged. They were quiet with the exception of the two men Vil already beat down, who were groaning in pain, and their chests inflating and deflating for air. Soon, the blonde felt the man on him move his teeth away slowly and let out an aggravated groan. “Fucking finally you crazy bitch, we weren’t trying to capture you. Damnit, my fucking jaw..”

The model snapped out of his trance and he glared at the silhouette, his eyes had adjusted to the dark enough to make out the long dark locks of the man and the few necklaces hanging from his neck, and he could see the emerald green eyes glaring at him. “And you have no right to attack me as you and your men did. If you left any marks on my neck I swear I will break your nose!”

The man stopped and let out an arrogant chuckle. “That’s a bold thing to say princess, but I don’t listen to whores of that worthless slave driver.”

“Whore?!” Vil shouted, slamming his knee into the groin of the man, making him fall off with a pained yowl. The blonde was able to get up and quickly backed away from the stranger as he staggered to get up. “Not that it is any of your concern, I was simply trying to get to know him! So, be a good boy and go back to your flea-bitten den.”

“flea-bit-” He hissed, looking over at Vil which made the model uncomfortable, many men have looked at Vil before with lust but these eyes were trying to find something else. “Well in that case, I can tell you all about that guy..if you’re willing to pay us.”

“Of course.” Vil fumed, moving to fix his hair but never taking his eyes off the shadow. “What kind of information could you give me?”

“I know where he lives, where his fucking busness is, hell I know where his damn mother is.”

Vil suddenly perked up in attention, he thought about this man before him before asking politely. “If I may ask, who are you?”

The man quirked a brow and spoke with a tone of reluctance to Vil’s question, crossing his arms and scoffing. “What’s it worth to you?”

“Well, I figured you would be interested in a deal. I will pay you for information and for a chance to get into his factory. He is a devious man and I need to figure out how to shut him out of business.”

Another chuckle sounded from the man before he snapped at the two henchmen who finally got up. “Hey! Put some lights on! Let me see this guy.”

A grumble left one of them as a light shined from the flashlight, the second goon took out a second light and Vil was finally able to see them a bit more clearly. The brunet man who was their leader had a cocky grin as he looked at Vil, all three of them sported a rope necklace with a claw on it and all were dressed in filthy clothes as if they rolled in the dirt. Leona had a bruise forming on his left cheek and despite only wearing a dark yellow sleeveless shirt with a black leather vest over it. His pants were worn out and shoes scuffed out, but Vil was intrigued by the simple yet antique necklaces around his neck and the scar down the man’s left eye. The tattoo and braids along with his clothing all put together made the man look like a thug. The two men beside him were just as poorly dressed and filthy, but seemed much younger and more terrified of Vil, he imagined that if they had tails they would be tucked between their legs. Many times Vil had been introduced to men all over Nirvana’s Steel, all would immediately compliment Vil’s beauty and grace, but this man in front of him just stared with an unreadable expression. There was no lust, surprise, not even a wavering confusion, those emerald eyes just kept examining Vil’s form.

To cut the calculating staring contest, Vil hummed in amusement as he teased. “Have you boys ever heard of a bath?”

“Why you-” One man snarled but the leader held him back and stepped forward.

“We give up the “good life” to help those in need, we make a family of our own and try to stop miserable bastards like Mr. Konig. People that like to kick out the poor to replace the pride of Afterglow with cheap shopping centers and take away the business of good working people.”

“Well, it sounds like we are after the same thing.” Vil commented before stepping closer, he knew his hair was a mess along with his clothes but he knew they wouldn’t care. “I am Vil Schoenheit, and you are?”

“Leona Kingscholar.” Leona replied and held out his hand. “So, we have a deal? We get paid for helping you?”

“Yes,” Vil replied and took Leona’s hand, holding a groan at the dirty palm as he shook his hand. “Now, do you have a car to get there?”

“A car?” Leona laughed a bit and looked at the two men. “Get the bikes.”

“Bikes?” Vil asked in confusion as the two men ran off and retrieved three motorized dirt bikes from the slope off the road, all three being black with a spray painting of a lion's head on the side. “Oh no, I’m already a mess and I don’t have-”

“I have a spare helmet, come on princess you’re worried about getting messy?” Leona joked, gaining a chuckle from the two men next to him. He held out a helmet to Vil and sat on the main bike, Vil glared and snatched the black helmet before putting it on and sitting behind Leona.

“Do not call me that.” Vil replied and moved his hands to Leona’s shoulders.

The small group sped towards the rural city of Afterglow, the night was quiet and Vil felt at peace from the lack of traffic and the usual city bustle he was used to. Afterglow city was more like a town, the main street was rows of small businesses that slowly converted to small homes and open fields. Lights were old and covered the city in a bronze glow, it was a very vintage vibe that was soon broken when they drove closer to the east border that connects to Pyroxene district. The developed area was covered in larger businesses and upgraded lights, fewer plants and more pavement, fancier cars and upgraded houses that clearly belonged to those with the money to spare. They continued driving until they stopped at a large factory that had recently been renovated, Leona glared at the building before ordering to his two men.

“One of you will keep an eye on that perfume manager and the other will get some people together to keep the police from this area.”

Vil watched as the two left, their bikes revving loudly as he removed the helmet and got off the bike. Wisteria eyes gazed at Leona as he spoke calmly. “You should stay out here, I’ll have better luck getting in and out on my own.”

“You think you can break into this place without being caught? You’re funny princess. Even if the bastard is vain enough not to have guards, there are still cameras.”

“Vil.” The blonde replied sharply before turning on his heels and storming up the factory, Leona only smirked and followed after Vil. The model examined the property before taking out a small dark device with two antennas on top, turning on the device with a small red light turning on he slipped it back into his pocket and casually walked up to the large set of metal doors. The gang leader said nothing but followed the blonde while Vil noticed the magnetic lock, he took a moment to peer around before turning to Leona, who was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed. “Do you happen to have something thin like paper?”

“No, why?”

“Because this door has a magnetic lock, if I slip a paper in and activate the sensor then I can open the door. Now, we need to do this quickly.”

“I might have an idea..” Leona mumbled and walked over to a nearby trash bin beside the factory, he lifted the lid and felt around for a moment before pulling out a smelly manila envelope and bringing it over to Vil. “Here, does this work?”

Resisting the urge to gag, Vil nodded and motioned to the door. “You know, you should have the honor. Just slide the paper through the side of the door above the lock and wave it around. Don’t drop it.”

“Don’t order me around.”

Leona rolled his eyes but did as Vil said, waving the envelope in the limited space between the metal door and the frame. As Leona did this, the informant jiggled the handle until the latch finally unlocked and the heavy door opened. Both men slipped in and Vil took care to examine the cameras in the room, having to grab at Leona’s arm tightly to keep him from walking into the line of sight of the cameras. Security cameras in the factory were older models, meaning that they would have poor visibility but still could enhance a dark image, and although the scrambler Rook made for him was good it only was effective at specific ranges, Leona scoffed as he watched the model creep around. “What kind of shady company are you from?”

“I assure you I am not here on behalf of a rival company, I am doing this to ruin a despicable man.”

“Is that so? What did he do to you princess?”

“He touched my hand without permission and implied disgusting activities, kitty.”

“Kitty?” Leona seethed, only getting a smirk from Vil. “Oh hell no princess, you are not calling me that.”

“If you do not want me to call you kitty then you shouldn’t call me princess.”

Wisteria and emerald eyes were filled with steadfast challenge, neither breaking eye contact until a growl left Leona and he walked ahead. “Come on, I think the office is this way.”

The two walked together to a locked wooden door, Vil tried the handle but Leona was far from patient and moved Vil aside to deliver a swift kick into the wooden door’s lock, the heel of his foot hitting hard enough to break it. Vil glared at the gang leader as he hissed out. “Are you kidding? I can’t leave evidence!”

“Ah, I knew it.” Leona said in an eerily calm and collected manner before striving up to Vil, which made the model stand his ground but still backed up against the wall when Leona leaned his head down a bit. “Who are you? Detective? Company agent?”

“You give me far too much credit.”

“You said it yourself, we’re after the same thing. What if I were to propose an arrangement?”

Vil stared at Leona with curiosity and placed his hands on his own hips. “Go on?”

“If you are up for attacking rich assholes that are trying to uproot Afterglow’s good people, maybe you can give us a hand. We can give you protection and information, in turn you pay us for both actions.”

“Hm, I suppose it’s not a bad thing but, I will require complete cooperation.” Vil replied with a smug smile, moving his fingers along Leona’s jaw. “That means you and your other kitties will listen to me and obey me when I need something done.”

Leona’s growl rumbled in his throat as he spat out. “They only obey my commands. They are not some disposable rags that you can use once then throw away.”

“I will not treat them in that way. But if you feel that strongly about it, we can schedule meetings with each other to make proper plans prior to a hunt. How does that sound?”

Green eyes scanned over Vil’s features to see if there were any lies or underhanded purpose in those bright purple eyes of his, after seeing nothing he sighed and moved away from the man. “Fuck it, fine, I’ll need your number.”

“Certainly, here.” Vil said, handing his phone to Leona after unlocking it and then started searching through the desks and drawers in the office. “So, why is it you were after Mr.Konig?”

After Leona was done he set the phone on the desk and began his explanation. “The guy moved in with promises of new job opportunities at great pay and a safe environment. Sounded like a dream come true. One of my men came to me a week ago though and explained that the perfumes they were making had an ingredient that was highly addictive.”

“I see. Ah! Here it is!” Vil spoke with pride as he found a small safe in one of the cabinets behind a pile of files.

Leona watched in surprise as the model pressed his ear to the safe and slowly twisted the circular lock, and after a few minutes the safe was opened and he searched the files inside it. “Phone please Kitty.”

“Sure Princess.” Vil held out his hand expectantly as Leona placed the phone on top of his head instead, earning a glare from the wisteria eyes. Turning the phone onto its camera settings, Vil quickly took pictures of everything before putting the file back and locking the safe. “Alright, let’s get out of here.”

The two quickly left the factory, hopping onto the motorcycle and racing off to the base that Leona spoke of. The Afterglow district was an interesting place, almost a mix of steppe grassland and savanna biomes, where parts would receive heavy rain and others would just be hot and dry, it really did a number on Vil’s skin. It was off-putting to arrive at an old house that was dark inside, at the door a few gang members waited and Leona gave them all orders as soon as he got off the bike. Vil carefully dismounted from the bike and covered his mouth as he yawned. “Well, thank you for your assistance, but I need to find a place to sleep.”

“Just stay here, hotels are nice but there’s no point giving your money to them since you still have to pay me.”

Vil rolled his eyes and tugged out his wallet from his pocket, fetching out some thaumarks and handing them to Leona. “Here’s 2,000 thaumarks. I hope that is sufficient.”

“Holy shit, yeah that will be alright.” Leona smirked and took the money, then offered his arm and motioned his head to the house. “Ready to go in, Vil?”

Leona’s action actually surprised Vil, he smiled and took the arm that was offered before playfully remarking. “I guess I will be making a gentleman out of you yet, Leona.”

“Don’t push it, or you’ll sleep outside. This house is on the outskirts so there are wild animals out here too.”

Vil appreciated how Leona growled at a few of his men to stop leering at him, then ordered them to get shower supplies for him before leaving Vil’s side to let a young man named Ruggie take over. Ruggie quickly and merrily led Vil to the showers and explained how Leona became the leader years ago in his teen years after construction had first started. Much to Vil’s curiosity, he found himself asking while looking at the old mirror and removing his makeup. “Where does Leona come from? Is he..does he not have a family?”

Ruggie looked outside of the bathroom before leaning on the door frame and speaking quietly. “You didn’t hear this from me, but Leona is actually related to a wealthy man around here. Their family, the Kingscholars, conduct business in the Ernte farmlands and own most of the farmlands themselves. Along with that they own the best use of alternative energy and help keep power grids active all across Nirvana’s Steel.”

“Really? Then why is he a gang leader?” Vil asked in surprise as he turned to Ruggie.

“I don’t know much other than the fact it has something to do with family issues-” Ruggie began before a hand reached out and grabbed at his throat. “Uncle! Uncle!”

Leona snarled at Ruggie before moving him away from the door. “Leave the princess alone, you and I need to have a word.”

Vil watched for a moment before closing the door and commenced with his shower, deciding to call Rook in the morning to be picked up from this place. After he had finished and dried off, he found the cleanest room he could, the room was plain but held the necessities and a tidy bed. Crawling into bed, Vil grimaced at the idea that he would be wearing the same clothes and that he had no makeup to make himself look presentable. Because of the lack of pajamas, Vil had no other alternative choice but to sleep nude, pulling the covers up and close to his chest and staring at the plain dark honey walls. He was ready to blow out the single candle on the nightstand when the sound of the door knob twisting open had Vil on alert, he quickly grabbed his small dagger from the pile of clothes on the nightstand and prepared to throw it until he noticed it was just Leona.

“Leona, have you ever knocked before?”

“Calm down, I was heading to bed..I didn’t expect you to be in it.” Leona replied with a cheeky grin as Vil’s face morphed to shock before he sat up and looked around.

“Y-your bed?”

“Yeah, my bed. Jeez princess, I didn’t realize you were that in need of a good lay.”

“How absurd! I did not know this was your room!” Vil snapped but took a breath and reasoned, trying to conceal his embarrassment. “I can leave-”

“Nah don’t bother, I can sleep just about anywhere. I’ll just take the floor.”

“The floor? But you’ll hurt your back.”

“I won’t trust me.” Leona shrugged and grabbed one of the pillows that Vil was not using, but when his eyes scanned Vil’s face he commented. “You look better without all that shit on you.”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Your makeup, sure it makes you look bold but it’s not needed or practical. Now sleep, I want my bed back by nine AM tomorrow.”

Vil didn’t know what to make of Leona, the man was certainly full of surprises, but he smiled softly and layed back down while closing his eyes to sleep. Before sleep could take him he spoke softly. “I promise, I won’t say anything.”

Although Leona did not respond, Vil could feel Leona’s eyes on him and the clear but quiet grunt made it clear that the gang leader acknowledged his words. By the next morning, Vil was up by eight to get dressed, trying to get ready for the day before Leona could see his naked form. Vil made a quick call to Rook to come pick him up, then walked to Leona’s sleepy form and lightly nudged his side with the red heel. “Leona? I need to get going.”

“Mmhm?” Leona groaned and slowly opened his eyes, looking up at the man above him and yawning. “Alright, then scram. I’ll contact you when we have information..”

“And I’ll contact you when I need some loyal kitties.” Vil teased back before walking to the door. “I pray they can handle whatever tasks I give them.”

“You bet your ass they can..And don’t feel bad if you need to put them in their place. I always do.” Leona replied, closing his eyes again and not even moving from his spot.

Vil hummed in amusement as he left, thinking to himself about his new partnership and calling to make an appointment with the man that left him on the road in the middle of the night. It was later that day that Mr. Konig suddenly disappeared and a few days later his company was shut down as well. From the day they met, Leona and Vil supported each other before claiming their group as “The Pride,” a group of activists that believed in protecting the rural districts and helping people recognize their full potential. Vil had properly trained Leona’s people to follow orders while Leona kept recruiting people to grow their gang, providing protection through Afterglow and Pyroxene districts. While they did annoy each other, they also respected their individual strengths and watched each other’s backs in times of need.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Extra of CH.8 (R18)

(Warning this does contain sexual content, so don’t complain to me if you think it’s “sick” you were warned)

Even with the serious talk out of the way, Malleus still kept giving side glances to Lilia on their way back to Thorn Valley, the drive was calm and no other cars were on the road, the forest road was so dark the headlights barely made a dent in their path. Lilia had continued to look at his phone and occasionally talk to Malleus about work or a band he started listening to, but overall he was doing most of the talking while Malleus only nodded and gave a couple replies. A sigh then escaped Lilia and he set his phone down to turn slightly in his seat, propping his left arm on the middle console and resting his cheek on his palm. He stares at Malleus for a second before smirking and teases. “Am I so handsome that you can’t keep your eyes off me?”

Malleus only gave a smirk and replied. “You know you’re handsome.”

“But you never really say what’s on your mind when you give me those looks.”

“What looks?”

“Oh~ Just the ones where you look at me like you want me~”

“Lilia..” Malleus muttered in a warning tone. “Do not start that here.”

Lilia pouted and sat correctly in his seat, crossing his arms as he replied. “Why not? It’s been a while hasn’t it? Four days since our last kiss and over three weeks without something more. It’s rude to let your partner wait.”

Over the years they’ve known each other, at some point their relationship turned more to the romantic side. They were almost equal in strength and skills, Lilia being better by just a hair, and somehow when Lilia was finally ranked as a master assassin their relationship became more physical and they wound up dating. For the sake of the agency, and families, they had to keep their relationship private to not get in the way of work or worry others at their workplace. But things turned out well between them, almost to the point of a perfect couple if it was not for the rare arguments about plans or how some of the recruits should be trained. In anycase, their training helped figure out what made the other happy or sad, but they also knew how to drive each other up the walls.

“Just a little longer and we’ll-Lilia!” Malleus snapped as Lilias hand started to trace his thigh to his crotch. “Listen you little imp-”

“Come on Malleus~ Can’t you go a bit faster~?” Lillia purred, arching his back a bit from the seat as his hand slowly rubbed at the crotch lining of his dress pants.

Instead of going faster however, Malleus turned the car to the side road and turned off the car, seizing Lilia’s hand he ordered in a low octave. “Get in the back seat.”

Being completely cheeky about the order, Lilia creeped over the middle console into the back seat with a chuckle and began to quickly undress himself, he freed himself from his coat and vest but barely got his shirt off before Malleus was already seizing his wrists and bit into his shoulder. Lilia practically purred in delight as his companion sunk his teeth into his flesh and began to soothe the bite with his warm tongue. Slowly the larger hands moved off Lilia’s wrists and started to unzip the striped pants and they worked together to shimmy the tight fabric off, the red eyed man held back a giggle at Malleus’s frustrated growl at the mini quest. Lilia was soon naked as he sat on the younger one’s lap, his pale skin practically glowing in comparison to the darkness of their surroundings, both assassin’s had keen vision in the dark which made this the perfect setting for them. Malleus did not bother to undress just yet, basking in his mentor’s beauty as the smaller assassin began to rock his hips on his lap, creating a slow lap dance for the two of them to enjoy.

Blood eyes narrowed and Lilia’s grin grew, feeling a hardness brush against him as he rolled his hips down on Malleus’s, he continued to do his small dance while occasionally giving a slow grind against the bulge to excite a moan from Malleus. Now being assassin’s they had to learn a lot for their jobs, tolerance for any injury, silence, patience, but this was their time off so all of this training was easily filed away. Sharp green eyes lit up as Malleus tightly grabbed onto Lilia’s hips and he leaned forward to kiss his mentor with great vigor, said mentor responded immediately and wrapped his strong but limber arms around Malleus as he bit into his bottom lip. Their tongues sought each other for a game while Malleus moved his right hand below Lilia’s hip to caress his firm ass, then proceeded to tease his entrance with his index finger before impatiently sliding in his finger. The intrusion made Lilia freeze for a second before he retaliated by scratching at Malleus’s back, both forced groans from each other at their actions but did not break their heated kiss. 

There was a sense of pride for both of them, Malleus was proud to be the only lover to Lilia, to know how to take the smaller assassin apart and make him cry or smile at his will. Whereas Lilia was proud to have Malleus for himself and to know the man could learn new and exciting ways to make his body melt, plus having a lover with a long tongue also had its own perks. Malleus continued to stretch Lilia, sliding his middle finger in as well and stretching Lilia’s tight entrance, and the taller man’s tongue overpowered Lilia’s in order to delve deeper into his mouth. Lilia’s lungs demanded for air but he was too occupied with how the suffocation of his lover left him feeling hot and needy. Malleus soon removed his fingers from Lilia’s entrance and unzipped his pants before stroking his own cock and pulled away from the kiss. Saliva fell from Lilia’s lips and he regained focus quickly to notice how Malleus positioned him over the throbbing cock, a raspy shriek escaped Lilia as his skin flushed with a light pink from adrenaline. Raw was the only way these two ever fucked, feeling the heat and not having any manmade item blocking such a personal feeling, Malleus growled and forced Lilia’s head to his neck with a needy demand.

“Bite me.”

Lilia’s eyes practically rolled back as he bit into Malleus’s neck hard enough for droplets of blood to seep around his lips, in response the cock buried inside of him throbbed and seemed to only grow at the wound, this further urged Lilia to drink the blood that sparked his senses. Malleus did not wait any longer to move, beginning to thrust up into the tight passage with a slow but violent pace that made sure to sink his dick completely into his lover. Lilia licked and sucked on the wound, moans of delight but impatience bled out from him as he forced himself away from Malleus’s neck and scratched at his back.

“F-faster-I want-nNGH~! Fuck!”

“Faster? This is not enough for you?” Malleus taunted, peering at Lilia’s intoxicated appearance as their eyes met. “You already look senseless, ready to bend to my will.”

“M-Malleus-Ah-!” Lilia’s words earned him a rather hard thrust to his prostate, making his eyes water in pain and pleasure at the continual assault. “Master!”

“Good pet, remembering my title.” Malleus praised as he ran his fingers through Lilia’s short dual colored hair. “See, you do not need me to speed up, I’ve already reduced you to tears.”

A cocky grin appeared on Lilia’s lips as he looked at Malleus with a challenging glare. “A-are you saying you can’t speed up? Is-ha-your endurance that weak?”

There were only three things that really pissed off Malleus, people who questioned him, those that hurt his family, and having his little imp challenge him like he had for years. The man stopped moving and seethed at Lilia, feeling triumphant as the small body flinched in delight. “Very well then.”

Although most would try to backpedal when confronting their dominant partner, Lilia welcomed the unknowing punishment. A loud shriek left him as Malleus slammed his cock hard into his smaller body, but the man was both precise and fast while delivering his brutal pace, Lilia’s hips were held tightly by Malleus and the man's nails dug into his flesh to keep the mentor from falling backwards. Somehow Malleus had mastered his thrusts over their time together, knowing when to yank Lilia’s nimble body onto his hard shaft and knowing when to buck his hips at just the right time to hit the sweet spot inside his lover. Lilia could vividly remember when Malleus was shy and slow on their first time but after the third session the boy suddenly grew more confident and knowledgeable, and Lilia was accommodating through all of it. However, there were periodically moments when things did not go right, such as now as Lilia yelped in pain at his head coming in contact with the roof of the car.

The yelp made Malleus freeze and his eyes widened with worry, his thrusts immediately stopped as he looked at Lilia’s head to check for blood. “Lilia, are you alright? I apologize, I did not mean-”

A fist struck down on Malleus’s head, the red eyes staring at him were narrow but not filled with anger as Lilia pouted. “There now we’re even, I’ve had worse Malleus so stop being a brat and rail me.”

Malleus stared at Lilia with surprise but immutable devotion, a smile of his own crossed his lips as he kissed his lover before leaning back in his seat, he moved a hand to the back of Lilia’s head to keep him hunched over to prevent another bump to the head. They regained their fervent motion with Lilia whimpering into the kiss and Malleus groaning at the heated walls of his lover. Malleus pulled away from their locked lips to kiss and suck at Lilia’s collar bone, having Lilia arch his back and drinking in the sweet and scratchy moans of his partner, whereas the angle caused Malleus’s cock to drive deeper into Lilia to produce hot tears down his cheeks. They both could feel the car moving from their sexual embrace, but that only solidified Malleus’s resolve as he slowed for a brief second to push Lilia back on the middle console then forced his flexible legs over his strong shoulders. Lilia could tell instantly what was going to happen and quickly dug his fingers into the fabric of the passenger and driver seats as Malleus repositioned his large hands onto Lilia’s ass. 

All their movement was so fast it felt as if seconds had only passed to change positions before Malleus resumed his hip shattering pace. Lilia screamed loudly in their confined space, arching his back and his eyes rolling up with blurry vision as his head roughly scraped against the middle console, but he shuddered in delight on how the cock in him made his stomach curl. Malleus was no better when Lilia decided to cross his ankles behind Malleus’s head to squeeze the large cock battering inside the tight heat, making the leader of assassins moan and curse in pleasure. The car by now was heated by their activities and a light fog had started to cover the corners of the windows, the black of night still surrounded them in a peaceful shroud that made Lilia smile and giggle between his moans.

“O-oh master-Fucking harder~ Ah~ AH! Use, no! Abuse me!”

“Abuse you?” Malleus groaned, leaning forward as best as he could to push Lilia’s legs at a tighter angle. “No, I will not be the one to ever abuse you. I shall treasure you.”

The sweet words made Lilia’s heart pound harder and he gasped for more air, under normal circumstances he would tease Malleus for being a romantic at heart, but now he was too wrapped up in overwhelming pleasure that boarderlined pain of overstimulation. “M-mast-er~!”

“You’re always so open to me~” Malleus purred, licking at Lilia’s stomach to elicit a jolt from the man. “My precious imp, come for me.”

“N-No not yet-” Lilia whined in denial, wanting to hold off for as long as he could to feel his body being molded for Malleus’s cock.

“Lilia, I gave you an order.” Malleus growled back and yanked Lilia’s body hard to his own to impale him on his member. “You follow my orders and I will take care of you. Understand?”

It was rare for Lilia to feel this much passion, hence why Malleus is the only person he trusted to go this far with, and ever since their first time he craved the numbness that was brought up from these pleasure filled nights. “N-ngh-h-ha~ Y-yes master-please-”

“Come first.” 

Malleus did not bother to touch Lilia’s hardened shaft, only using his own cock to force the pleasure into Lilia, but he knew the assassin liked to come without assistance. Lilia closed his eyes for a second, focusing on the blood draining down to his nether regions and willed himself to come at his bosses commands, his hot semen spurting onto his stomach which made Lilia cry out in relief. That relief soon thawed into spasms of an aching thrill as Malleus continued to thrust with determination, wanting to watch Lilia tip over from bliss to madness, the small body jerked at each movement and small squeaks and chitters of numbing pleasure escaped Lilia’s lips. 

“M-mast-ooh~! Please-blood-”

Malleus was never sure why Lilia became obsessed with his blood, even Lilia was perplexed by this want when he accidentally bit him during another session, but he obliged and carefully stood up in the back seat. The taller man leaned over Lilia to let the weak man wrap his arms around his neck, Malleus making sure his feet were steady to continue to thrust into Lilia’s twitching form. Lilia used every bit of strength to lift himself up and bite at Malleus’s neck again, remarking the bite that had already begun to heal, he began to suck and lick at the blood that soaked his lips with a moan. Malleus moaned in a gravelly voice as he felt his own cock twitch, wanting nothing more than to fill his lover to the brim, but he wanted to make sure Lilia would be left satisfied as well. Lilia felt the cock inside him pulse and twitch, pulling away from the bloody neck for a second to mewl in Malleus’s ear. “Do-ah~ it master- Fill me~”

“Not un-until you-” 

“I will, promise~”

At the quiet promise, Malleus continued to thrust into Lilia with shaky movements, grabbing at the driver's seat for balance with his left hand while leaving his right hand on Lilia to keep his lover’s body close. One more hard thrust left Lilia wailing in delight as he felt Malleus release his hot sperm into him, his teary eyes focused on Malleus’s relaxed expression that was damp with sweat and he smiled at him. As promised, Lilia did come for a second time and his body was limp, his legs dangling uselessly on Malleus’s shoulders and his arms dropping to the seats as he playfully remarked. “We should go before Sebek sends out a search party, but I certainly can go another round later~”

Malleus refocused on Lilia and smiled, chuckling quietly as he teased. “You’re insatiable, never change my love.”

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.8-When you were this small TWST Mafia AU

(warning tags below)

Another classy party, terrible Hors d’oeuvres, and lethargic music. All the things Lilia didn’t care for on his missions but had to accompany Malleus for this occasion. Normally all assignments that Lilia would be given are for tough customers with dangerous lifestyles, that mostly involve someone getting shot, but Malleus insisted he needed him for this night. The blood red eyes scanned the party guests for his target who was rumored to have a fancy for Malleus, not a big surprise by that sentiment, and he quietly sipped wine from his glass. This evening the shorter man dressed in a white long sleeved shirt with gold cufflinks, paired with a black waistcoat with gold buttons and a lining of white down the flaps of the waistcoat as well, and his pants were a black color striped with a lighter gray. His dress shoes were shined and his new black gloves protected him from leaving fingerprints, around his shoulders rested a royal green coat with cream colored cuffs at the ends of the sleeves, and white roses on the shoulders with a gold clip on the front in the shape of a bat. 

One could say he did enjoy dressing up every now and then, but having to pretend he enjoyed these slow and egocentric parties was a pain. He glanced over to Malleus, who was looking stoic as always to the overly enthusiastic guests, and a small smile crossed his features. He had known Malleus ever since the Dorniger Drache leader was a baby, being five years older and a top assassin also meant that Malleus was his pupil in a way. It always made him chuckle now about how stubborn he was when Malleus’s grandmother told Lilia that he would be training her grandson. He would try every trick in the book to avoid the young master until Malleus found all of Lilia’s secret hiding places in the agency. Eventually he had to give in to his bosses orders and train the young man himself how to be an assassin. At an early age, Lilia was already revered by his peers for being at rank 6 when he was sixteen years old, assassins have to go through a total of 12 ranks in order to be a master and very few get that chance. By the age of twenty-four Lilia had successfully become a master and Malleus had received rank 6 himself, along with that Silver was seven years old when he received rank 1. 

It was hard to get to such a high level rank when Silver was adopted, but Malleus helped the boy tremendously in training while also improving his own skills. Lilia could never appreciate Malleus enough for helping him watch Silver. A gentle chuckle escaped the dual-color haired man as he set the glass down and began walking around, his coat fluttering behind him as he scoped out the people in the party and continued to reminisce. He remembered one particular day when Malleus had been appointed to a mission with him, it was a cold winter day in December and Lilia was at the age of sixteen and this was the first mission that Malleus would attend, who was eleven years old at the time. They were on a mission in Pyroxene to subtly kill a famous art gallery owner who loved to sell art on the side to other wealthy people, something that violated his rights and the rights of the artists. Being so young they could only do so much to get into the party, guided in by someone who swiped them VIP passes and then forced to find the man and get rid of him.

“Alright, Malleus you get to lure him to me, I’ll wait behind the curtain display.” Lilia spoke quietly, motioning to the curtains that covered the entrance to the employees area.

Malleus’s eyes narrowed slightly and asked in a very pointed tone. “Why don’t you get him and I will dispose of him?”

“Because I outrank you and your grandmother will be very mad if I put you in danger.” Lilia replied with an aggressive growl. “Just lure him over saying you dropped something and wanted to be a good boy and not cross the “do not enter” sign, okay?”

The boy let out a low grumble of his own before walking off, Lilia only smirked as he walked past the curtains and waited patiently for Malleus to return. A few minutes passed and the teen’s anxiety only grew since he could not hear the young man approaching at all, or the gallery owner for that matter, but the calm chatter through the building suddenly broke out into screams. A loud crash made Lilia look out the curtains, but screams of the guests made him speed out to find Malleus. In the center of the gallery one of the artistic light structures made of glass had fallen onto the owner, blood pooling in the center of the room along with the dead body, Lilia’s eyes quickly noticed the small body running along the catwalks of the gallery building. Letting out a frustrated groan the assassin quickly found the service entrance and ran up the stairs, catching Malleus halfway up and grabbing him roughly by the shoulders.

“Malleus! Do you realize this is supposed to be an “inconspicuous” kill?! Why did you kill him in a hall of rich people and security guards?”

“Either way you look at it, his body would have been found and reported, my grandmother said his death would bring out the other cowards who sell art on the black market.”

“He was supposed to go missing! That was the message!”

The voices of security guards snapped Lilia’s attention away from Malleus, but grabbed onto the boy’s arm tightly as he ran up the stairs and to the door leading to the roof. Lilia took out a hairpin and carefully picked the lock while Malleus stood watch, once the door was opened they sped upstairs and looked for a service ladder or a safe way down. All the while Lilia’s blood boiled angrily. “I still cannot believe you did something so careless without even trying to tell me.”

“You would have stopped me-”

“For good reason! Rule number two is, never be found out and number three is, never leave your partner in the dark!”

“But number one says to never be caught, where number five is if you have an opportunity to dispose of your target do not hesitate.” Malleus argued angrily, his vibrant green eyes scanning the side of the building. “There’s no way down from here, why did you lead us-”

“I have it covered.” Lilia cut him off, taking out special gloves from his pockets that had small sharp cleats on the palm and fingers. “You’re going to get on my back and I’ll scale down.”

“Are you sure you can carry the both of us?”

“I’ve carried far heavier, kid. Don’t make me sound so frail.”

Malleus huffed and waited for Lilia to bend down before climbing onto his back, wrapping his arms around tightly and propping his head on Lilia’s right shoulder. Behind them a few angry shouts called out and Lilia pulled his hood up before leaping off the side of the building, his palms collided loudly with the building next door and slowed their descent greatly. There were police sirens in the distance which made Lilia hurry down the wall and Malleus clung onto him tightly, after his feet touched the ground there was a loud bang and the door on the side of the building was opened with two more guards. The blood red eyes sharpened with an intensity that Malleus had never seen from the teen, the assassin quickly ran down the alleyway passages as the men followed but Lilia was far faster even with the eleven year old on his back. Once he gave the guards the slip with a slide into a small alleyway, Malleus slid off his back and was pushed into the darkest part of the alley.

“Malleus, stay here, I’ll be right back. Do not move an inch, understand?” Lilia ordered, his eyes boring into Malleus and the boy nodded with hesitation.

Lilia walked out then, following after the guards who had passed them and Malleus listened quietly, a few grunts were heard accompanied by two shots from a pistol then everything was soundless. His heart throbbed painfully in his chest as he watched the entrance to his narrow passageway, but soon he eased up when Lilia stepped around the corner. However, in comparison to Lilia’s normal confident attitude, his mentor’s face was twisted in pain which made Malleus run to him. “Lilia? Are you hurt?”

“Y-yeah kid..” Lilia mumbled, then Malleus saw how his left hand was covering his waist and blood was staining his shirt. “Call the agency, I need to sit for a second, tell them it’s a code LOF.”

Malleus did as he was told and used his radio to signal the agency crew on standby, watching his mentor sit in the dirty alleyway as he held his wound. Soon after giving the code, the young boy stepped closer and took off his black coat and pressed it onto Lilia’s wound, causing a painful hiss to escape but gaining a grateful look as well. They sat silently as Lilia focused on his breathing and held the coat to the wound, Malleus stared at his teacher before asking. “Did it hit something vital?”

“Not sure..I’m hoping it just hit an intestine and not the aorta.”

“Lilia..I’m sorry, if I didn’t..I should have spoken with you about my idea..”

“Yes, you should have.” Lilia replied quietly and slowly looked at the boy, surprised to see such a sorrowful expression he tried to make the situation lighter. “Hey, I’m not dying yet, you do not have to cry over me.”

“I’m not crying..” Malleus replied stubbornly. “My grandmother is going to be angry isn’t she?”

“Most likely, but the most important thing is getting home alive.” Lilia muttered then slowly petted the boy with his unoccupied hand. “Malleus, you have great potential but you need to remember that we have rules for a reason, if we try to change them suddenly someone is bound to get hurt..what is rule number six?”

“Do not jeopardize the agency..”

“Right..” Lilia nodded and lurched forward as he coughed into his arm, making Malleus panic and help hold pressure to his wound. Soon the coughing slowed down and Lilia continued. “You’re going to make mistakes..I made a few too, and one resulted in the loss of one of our agents because I didn’t listen. That’s kind of why I did not want you to join me, I don’t work well with partners.”

Malleus thought about Lilia’s words carefully, noticing the flex of anguish in those red eyes, he carefully responded. “When I get stronger, I want to be your partner in all your missions.”

Red eyes locked with the strong green ones, surprised at his apprentice's words and chuckling softly. “We’ll have to see, after all you’ll be taking over the agency some day. Which means we will see each other less.”

“I won’t let that happen.” Malleus replied with determination, earning another pet from Lilia.

A few minutes had passed before more of their agents honed in on their location and quickly took them to the van, Malleus however was soon separated when Lilia was taken to the nearest hospital in Pyroxene. Despite the comforting words of agents saying Lilia was strong, protected, and would be taken care of, the boy couldn’t help but worry. His grandmother did indeed get mad after Malleus confessed to what happened, however his punishment was already enough with guilt eating away at him. Lilia looked so peaceful in the hospital, Malleus took whatever time he could to go see his mentor and always brought a new bouquet of flowers, to which the duel-color haired man just smiled and graciously took them. It was only after Lilia’s forced month-long time off that he discovered Silver in an alleyway and brought him home as his son, to which Malleus did his best to help Lilia out when it was possible. 

Malleus kept true to his word though, even over the span of the years the two were almost always together, whenever Lilia was not training others or out on a mission. Now both were at master assassin levels and the agency, and their business had begun to spread to farther reaches of Nirvana’s Steel and beyond. Coming back to reality, Lilia grinned seeing his target downstairs in the ballroom area and strutted up to the man to offer a drink. The target was a man in his mid-40’s who had a habit of gambling good tax dollars from the people, and rumors were that he wanted to talk to Malleus about a potential investment. It was easy for Lilia to charm the man to drink a cocktail he left a dissolvable pill in, but he would need to keep him occupied for another fifteen minutes before the effects took place. 

“I don’t recognize you.” The man commented then asked. “You must be a close friend of Mr. Von-Brein.”

“Oh no, a good friend of another friend.” Lilia brushed off with a smile and added. “I just never imagined an invitation out of the blue. I’ve only just started out in this city.”

“Well someone so young has plenty of time to grow here.” Lilia grimaced internally of the implication that followed. “Although you’re visually stunning, perhaps one of the modeling agencies could use your features.”

“You flatter me, I’m not interested in strangers staring at my figure.” 

“Excuse me.” Both men turned their attention to Malleus, the two very surprised as the tall stoic figure took Lilia’s hand and pulled him closer. “I apologize for interrupting, but I wish to dance with my friend before we retire for the night.”

“O-oh of course Mr. Draconia! But I was hoping to talk to you about an investment plan.”

“I will be returning to another party soon, perhaps you can meet me there.” Malleus replied in a collected manner before bowing to the man and walking with Lilia to the dancefloor as the music switched to a classic ballroom song. “How long do we have?”

“Until his body goes into shock? seven more minutes.” Lilia replied with a smirk and let Malleus lead him by his left hand. “Don’t tell me you were worried about me.”

“No, never about you Lilia, but I prefer if my escort stays in my line of sight.”

“Aww, so you were worried.”

Malleus rolled his eyes at Lilia’s playful remark and led the dance, despite their height difference Lilia never felt small to his boss and occasionally would switch them so he led the dance instead of the taller man. It had only been a couple minutes before Lilia couldn’t help himself and mentioned. “You know, you did not have to attend the party or have me as an escort, I know for a fact you could have handled the target by yourself.”

“This is true, but I was hoping we would have a chance to relax.”

“Relax? Malleus, my friend, we are at a party surrounded by arrogant, ingrates. I find it more relaxing being at home or at my desk.”

“That is the problem, your definition of relaxing is work or playing video games with your online friends. I don’t believe you’ve socialized outside of the agency.”

“Pot, meet kettle.” Lilia cackled and gasped when Malleus spun him. 

“My point is, I believe we both need to socialize more and spend more time outside of work.”

“Ah~ I see. In that case, there is this amazing concert coming up, normally I just stream it on my TV but if you’re offering to pay maybe we can go.”

“Why should I pay?” Malleus huffed stubbornly, getting a playful glint from the blood red eyes. 

“Because it was your suggestion.”

After a brief staring contest the green eyes yielded and Malleus agreed. “Very well, I’ll pay. But you pay for the next activity.”

“Sounds good to me~” Lilia hummed and then commented. “We should probably start heading back now, we’ve got three minutes.”

“Probably for the best.” Malleus agreed and led the way off the dance floor. “You are getting older Lilia, perhaps you should slow down with the missions. I could always assign you more vacation days.”

“Malleus, this agency is all I really am. I do not want to slow down until I physically cannot go faster.” 

“That is what worries me, you refuse to slow down.”

“What do you think will happen to me? Spontaneously combust?” Lilia joked as he walked outside to their black Porsche, given to them by the agency’s mechanic engineer. 

“You always have surprises up your sleeves, Lilia.” Malleus replied fondly and opened the passenger door for his companion, helping him in before going to the driver's side.

Lilia took this time to take off the coat and remove the eyeshadow around his eyes, pouting a bit when Malleus started the car. “Why don’t you let me drive anymore?” 

“Because you always somehow start a car chase when I do let you. Now, stop avoiding the topic, even Silver had expressed his concern when you fell asleep at your desk.”

“I was tired from playing games! Sebek recommended this energy drink to me and said it may improve my gaming skill. Which he was not wrong but I also played the game so long it was sunrise by the time the caffeine left my system.”

“The point still stands,” Malleus replied in a firmer tone. “You cannot function if you are running low on energy.”

“Stop talking about me as if I’m old.” Lilia pouted, looking at Malleus to make sure the man could feel his gaze. “I’m 34 and you’re only five years younger than me.”

“And in your live you sustained 25 broken bones, 32 surgeries for gun injuries, 150-”

“Okay! Look, that just means I’ve had a full life, your grandmother understood that.”

“But you are not just a normal assassin Lilia, you are a father, a dear friend, and far more than that.” 

“Malleus, I’ll agree to hangout with you more but do not try to force me on a vacation or lesser tasks, I have my own pride and responsibility to the agency.”

The car suddenly screeched to a stop and Lilia gagged as his seatbelt yanked him back to his seat and he looked at Malleus with surprise. The young leader’s hands were clenched around the steering wheel and his eyes closed, his face was pinched in a way of frustration and exhaustion which made Lilia frown. “Lilia..I don’t want you to be like my parents..”

A cold shock ran through Lilia’s spine and he quickly understood what Malleus meant, slowly he brushed his hand over one of Malleus’s and took it off the wheel to hold it in his own. “Okay..I understand Malleus, I will try to slow down, can I have two days off a week plus more vacation days?”

“Yes..” The green eyes slowly opened, glistening from tears as he looked at Lilia and held his hand tightly. 

“How about we get back, grab Sebek and Silver, then go to the ice cream shop you like?” Lilia asked with a soft smile, getting Malleus to smile in return.

“That sounds nice, it will be a good way to wrap up the night.”

A buzzing from Lilia’s phone broke the peace and the assassin took out his phone and cackled. “The police found the body~ Heart attack apparently, such a shame for a man of his age.”

Malleus couldn’t stop the chuckle that rang out from his mouth. “Yes, a shame indeed, although it's even more a shame he didn’t get your number.” To this, Lilia’s laugh became boisterous and he let go of Malleus’s hand to wipe away the happy tears in his eyes. 

[goldenheartgirl1]

Extra of Ch.7 TWST Mafia AU (kissing involved, very short)

“It looks as if he is asleep.” Azul commented as he came to check on the Shroud brothers, to which Ortho was asleep with his head resting on Idia’s lap.

“Well, he has had enough excitement for one day, not to mention this is total HDR in comparison to the VR headset I got him.” Idia replied with a shrug, his left hand petting and brushing Ortho’s hair.

“I suppose that is true.” Azul replied and sat next to Idia, chuckling softly. “Honestly I didn’t think you would take my generous offer. I actually had three more idea’s lined up in case you shot down the first one.”

Idia tensed up slightly at the proximity of his friend, despite them always playing board games together he still was not used to being shoulder-to-shoulder with the powerful man. “It’s for his sake, I know he really wants to explore more but with his condition-”

“It makes it hard to let go or not worry.” Azul finished for him, his flint gray eyes meeting with piercing yellow ones as a small smirk crossed his face. “You are such a caring brother.”

“N-naturally, now could you back off-”

“Shh~” Azul hushed and whispered softly. “Do not wake him.”

Their relationship was interesting to say the least, they often met up to play board games and small mobile games, but over the time they’ve known each other their relationship became an unspoken romance. Idia and Azul promised to each other this would not affect their work and this was not a romantic relationship, simply a release of oxytocin and dopamine for when they craved affection. Azul carefully grabbed Idia’s chin with his index finger and thumb, bringing their lips together for a soft kiss, and as usual part of Idia’s reaction was to freeze up for a minute. Slowly they fell into a calming dance of their kiss and a shudder racked through Idia’s body, he gently moved a hand to Azul’s shoulder and pulled away a little to whisper. 

“Ortho is right here..”

“For later then?” Azul muttered, stealing a short kiss as Idia reciprocated the stolen affection.

“Yes, later.” 

They shared a couple more small pecks and a couple more bold kisses, Azul groaned as Idia’s teeth grazed his bottom lip but they forced themselves away and slowly got up from the booth. Ortho was carried out of the lounge by his brother and Azul had Jade drive the car around front to take them home. Azul led them outside, helping settle Ortho and Idia in before closing the door and watching the dark car disappear into the streets of blinding light and vibrant colors.

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.7-It’s a Little Bland TWST Mafia AU

The streets of Golden Sands were bustling in the late noon, not that Ortho minded, the sun was starting to hide behind the tall structures and the rays created a glimmer off his cobalt hair that faded into a sky blue on the tips. No one paid much mind to the eleven year old boy, despite his unparalleled appearance, but it worked perfectly for Ortho to explore different parts of the city. While the Shroud family was famous outside of Nirvana’s Steel, they were not as well known here which gave a great lift to his brothers business. Ortho happily adjusted his headphones and turned on their glow setting, the black headset shined with gold that complimented with his untamed flame-like hair, his bright yellow eyes shut as the beat of the music thrummed against his ears. He wore a white hoodie that paired with arctic blue sleeves and hood, his mouth was covered with an air respirator mask colored in black and two electronic filters on the sides, and his black jeans covered his porcelain skin. Without much care but astonishing dexterity he skated down the sidewalk in his white roller blades, swerving between people as he was heading home from another successful errand run. 

Even though Ortho had been practically raised by his brother in Golden Sands district, he was never able to leave home that much for two reasons. One, he was constantly helping his brother with his work, and two, his brother was such a worry wart that everytime he left it took an extra 15 minutes to convince his brother that he would be safe. Logically, the turf wars and petty fights could get violent but his brother and a few of their friends were always careful to uphold the peace in the Lamenting streets and Golden Sands. Once he arrived at the small cement building sandwiched between two office buildings, he rolled up the side ramp and slid to a stop before opening the doors, greeted to the dimly lit room with several workers at their desks. During the day this place is a simple technician’s repair office where anyone with corrupt files, busted electronics, or wanted spare parts, can be taken care of. The employees happily greeted Ortho as he skated across the engineered-wood flooring, he happily waved to them and greeted them with a smile behind his mask. Ortho moved his headphones around his neck upon reaching a secure metal door in the manager's office, moving his left wrist over the electronic panel, the door opened with a short but loud ‘clang’ from the magnetic locks detaching and the bright eyed boy coasted inside.

Dark cement tunnels were only lit up with single strips of fluorescent tubes and the flooring slightly sloped at an angle, a line of stair rails lined both walls in case someone slipped on the ground. Ortho hummed softly as he glided down the slope, looking at the walls with boredom and thinking to himself before coming to a stop at another door, another wave of his wrist over another panel unlocked it and the ice blue light saturated the entrance of the doorframe. Inside the large room of medical and technological equipment, Idia Shroud stood at his desk and wrote quietly into his notes, Ortho smiled as he closed the door behind him and skated closer to his brother. 

“I’m back brother!”

Idia jolted out of his thoughts and looked over at his younger brother with a gentle smile. “Ah! Ortho, did you deliver the package safely?”

“Yep! The package number 40087 has been delivered to Jamil on schedule!” Ortho replied proudly, sitting on one of the recently cleaned medical tables.

The Shroud brothers hosted a very special service to The Pride and The Coin, along with the neutral parties between the two great powers. While they did help with electronics, their other business entailed serving as a medical ward for those that had no insurance and those that could not let officials know of their injuries, i.e. the individuals that had reputations to uphold. Idia had learned about electronics since he was five, but grew just as fascinated with anatomy once he turned ten and their parents signed the older Shroud brother up for advanced online classes. When his 18th birthday came along, Idia insisted on moving out to better other places and to bring his brother with him when Ortho was six years old, the younger brother followed in Idia’s steps ever since. 

Idia was an introvert through and through, completely lacked social skills and had anxiety whenever he went outside, unless it was in the dead of night when the city was dark and barely anyone walked around. The man was 23 years old and sported the same messy hair and bright eyes as Ortho’s, only that his hair ran down his back and was held out of his face by a loose hair scrunchie, and he developed dark eyebags over the years. His skin was far paler than Ortho’s but most of his skin was covered by his clothes, to which he wore an indigo trench coat, black sweatpants, white high-ankle boots, and a pair of black gloves for his work. Despite Ortho’s frustrations of not going to many places with his brother, they still found ways to have fun like playing games and watching movies back at their headquarters, the second floor renovated for their TV room and bedrooms.

“I knew I could count on you, but did you have any fits? Get hurt? Have any strangers try to-”

“No brother,” Ortho replied while rolling his eyes at Idia’s growing volume of concern. “I didn’t get hurt and no one even spoke to me other than Jamil.”

The older brother sighed with relief as he turned back to his notebook, his frizzy hair swaying a bit as he continued writing in his book. “Good, have you also looked into any employee complaints?”

“I did, but most say the same thing. Brother, I think we need to look into more..color? Or something to make the office brighter and not just the scheme of blue and gray. Maybe we could add posters or office plants?”

“I can look into it, but I don’t want this place becoming so jutter after some upgrades, we may have to put it to a vote so we can zone the lobby.”

Ortho shrugged, his brother's video game lingo may not make sense to everyone but he understood it quite well. “I’ll offer a vote in a couple days, I highly doubt anyone will be upset by ideas. What should we do for tonight?”

“We have been pretty slow today for business, so how about we close up early, order some food, and watch that new sci-fi movie you’ve been telling me about?”

While Ortho loved his brother their “hangout” times would always be the same, he slid off the table and skated closer to his brother before stopping at the desk and leaning his elbows on the table top. “Actually, I was wondering if we could go to the new techno-club in the Coral Center district, its neon themed and I heard it’s really fun!”

“Since when have you liked night clubs?” Idia asked with surprise as he looked down at Ortho, closing his notebook for a moment.

“Well, I don’t know, I have never really been to one, but I love techno music! So can we go and try?”

A frown crossed Ortho and Idia’s face, the young boy could see the dread in Idia’s eyes and knew what his response would be. “W-we could just set up our own techno party h-here. I-I mean clubs will be dangerous and I’m not sure you’d be able to enter one anyways-”

“I checked age restrictions, they’re ok with minors so long as I don’t go near the bar and I have an adult. Plus, I can pay for our tickets and we don’t have to be gone long.”

“B-but still I’m no good at dancing-”

“There’s a sitting area.”

“The food is going to be greasy and-”

“They have a selection or we can order our take out and bring it with us.” Ortho replied stubbornly and crossed his arms. “Brother, I want to go. But I want to go with you.”

He could see his brother flinch at his words, the taller man looked away and shook his head, expressing his apprehension. “I still don’t like the idea, what if you get sick while we’re out? I’m sorry Ortho but it’s not safe-”

“You always say that! Idia it’s not dangerous if we’re careful.” Ortho pleaded with his brother, trying to skate around him to catch his gaze. “Please? I promise we can leave after a few songs.”

“Ortho I said no.” 

Letting out a groan of frustration, Ortho felt his cheeks flare pink with anger and replied in a sharp tone. “Fine, you stay here, and I’ll go have fun!”

Idia’s gaze softened as he watched his brother skate to the east entrance to the lab. “Ortho, I just don’t want to risk it.”

“You don’t like taking risks at all, I’m not surprised.” Ortho snapped back, trying to collect himself as he quickly left the room and skated up the tunnel ramp with great speed. There were three main tunnels, one to the east that leads to Coral Central, and the west one travels to the Afterglow district, then the main tunnel that brings others underground from the office building. Ortho focused on his breathing, the tunnel stretched for quite aways which is why he grew so attached to having roller skates, it made it easier and more fun to travel around at great distances. While Idia ran the repair shop, Ortho’s primary job was receiving the distress calls and quickly receiving those that are wounded and bringing them to his brother, hence why only a couple people had access to the labs. 

Because of how close all the districts lineup it does not take long to reach a new district unless you’re going diagonally from the farthest reaches. In the north rests Thorn Valley, the south holds Ernte Farmland, those two being in opposite directions take about two hours to get to each other. The Golden Sand’s district is like the heart of Nirvana’s Steel, it runs vertically from the border of Thorns Valley to Ernte’s border like a vein, and the four other districts surround the east and west of this central district. Northwest the Afterglow district connects to Thorns Valley and the Rose district, while the Rose district connects to Ernte on the southwest side. On the northeast, Pyroxene’s district connects to Thorns Valley and Coral Central, then the Coral Central connects to the ocean and a sliver of Ernte district on the southwest. It does not take as long for most to cross certain borders, especially if they have a vehicle or take the public bus system, but the development of the city did not plan for a monorail or train system so walking or driving were main modes of transportation. 

Idia had once told Ortho that the tunnels they claimed as the Lamenting Streets, were going to be designed for a subway system, but the project fell through because of dangerous conditions while digging so the whole idea was scrapped. His brother found this place by accident when looking to set up shop, but it worked out to their advantage. Or, more to his brothers need to hide, Ortho thought bitterly. Arrival at the exit of the tunnel had connected to a small cement bunker, a single room with a locked metal gate that required the Shroud brothers code to get in or out. The small building was tucked between buildings of the neon mafia city, the light from the buildings nearly blinded the boy as he wandered out and excitedly took in the sights around him. Taking out his phone, Ortho quickly looked up some popular attractions in the area and began skating around while putting his headphones back on, successfully blocking out the sounds of cars and people around him.

While touring the city, Ortho couldn’t help but slow down with the amount of people walking around, it was far busier here after sundown than it was at the Golden Sand’s district. He let out a yelp as someone shoved into him, knocking him on the ground as the person only cursed at him and kept walking. Ortho narrowed his eyes but carefully got up and continued to skate down the sidewalk, taking a moment to look at the street for a place to cross but the street was just as busy as the sidewalk. Eventually, Ortho gave up trying to cross and continued down the path he was already on, that was until he noticed two taller men leading a man forcefully into an alleyway. It was bizarre that no one else stopped but Ortho recognized their sharp outfits as part of the mafia, he slowly followed them and listened as they threatened the frightened man.

“You’re late on payment, did you really think skipping out on us was a good idea?”

“P-please I wasn’t skipping, I was on my way to Azul-”

“Oh sure, after all Azul’s lounge is just right before the docks. Don’t make this any harder than it has to be.” One goon grabbed the man’s arm and a sickening scream rattled from the man as it was twisted at an odd angle. 

Ortho slowed to a stop and called out to them. “Is that really necessary? Can’t you just take him to your boss?”

All three men looked at Ortho with surprise, the goon that was not holding the man scowled and walked towards Ortho. “Great idea brat, how about you come with us as well?”

Ortho immediately took off, the goon chasing him through the crowded sidewalk as confusion filled his mind. Didn’t the man realize who Ortho was? Maybe not, but if he allowed the guy to catch him then his arm might get twisted as well. With that thought in mind, Ortho sped up as best as he could but the sidewalks were still overly crowded, he had to remove his headphones to listen for the goon’s proximity. Escaping was his only recourse, Ortho skated off the sidewalk and sped onto the street, several cars screeching to a stop and honking loudly at the boy and the sound of metal slamming into metal rang out. The blue haired boy jumped onto the next sidewalk, the crash seemed to catch most bystanders' attention so it was easier for him to skate through the spaces between people. His heart pounded in his chest and his throat suddenly felt swollen, making Ortho cough violently into his mask respirator as he slowed down and sat on a passing bench. 

Ortho curled up on the bench as he tried to catch his breath and took out his inhaler from his pocket, quickly moving his mask down and taking a breath with it before putting his mask back on and doing his best to relax. His heart rate began to slow as he sat there and focused on the sky above him, yet his gaze soon turned to a black sports car that pulled up to the sidewalk. Ortho stood ready to speed off, however, much to his relief it was only Jade and Floyd that stepped out of the vehicle. Floyd grinned as he walked to the young boy and asked in a gleeful tone. “Hey there Sea Angel! What are you doing out alone?”

“I was trying to take in the sights, but I think some of Azul’s men thought I was going to tattle on them.”

“Eh? Why would they think that?”

“They were hustling a guy and probably thought I was just a kid that witnessed their assault. One of them chased me.” 

Floyd’s eyes darkened as his grin grew, moving his left hand to his right shoulder and massaging it a bit, a common reflex Ortho noted that Floyd was ready to start a fight. “Is that so? Well, I’ll make sure to teach him a lesson, he’s probably one of the new guys.”

“Come now Ortho, Azul wants to see you.” Jade said politely, opening a door to the back seat where Azul sat inside.

Ortho gladly skated over before climbing into the car, greeting Azul with a wave as he buckled up. “Hello Azul!”

“Hello younger Shroud. Care to tell me why you’re out alone?” Azul questioned with a smile and  leaned back in his seat.

Jade and Floyd got into their seats as Ortho explained the evening's events, the car driving aimlessly for sometime before slowing down into the VIP lot of the Monstro Lounge. Even after they pulled up however, Azul insisted he and Ortho would go to the office and they were not to be disturbed, the mafia leader led the young boy to his office and locked the door. “Ortho, I should be honest here, I went looking for you after your brother called me.”

“Oh..so he’s angry isn’t he?” Ortho questioned quietly, sitting on the linen amethyst couch in the room.

“On the contrary, he was extremely scared, he feared you were trying to run away.”

“What? I would never do that to him! I just..I got a little upset.”

Azul replied, sitting next to Ortho and chuckling softly. “You’re a smart boy Ortho, I know you can handle yourself, but considering your condition you cannot be surprised that he would freak out.”

Only Idia and Azul knew of Ortho’s condition, being diagnosed with emphysema as a baby was something that always gave Idia great anxiety. His brother made his inhaler himself to maximize the medicinal and oxygen intake, the mask Idia created and updated for Ortho to cancel out bacteria yet provide plenty of oxygen passage. It really showed how much Idia cared for his little brother, providing all physical therapies as well to help strengthen his lungs. Ortho gave a melancholy look to Azul, his hands fiddling at his hoodie as he said. “I worried him a lot, I just wanted a chance to hang out with him outside of our home..”

Azul’s calculating eyes watched Ortho’s form and smiled a bit as he stood up. “Come with me Ortho, I have a reasonable compromise.”

Ortho tilted his head curiously but followed Azul out of the office, as they entered into the main lounge however the place was packed and the younger Shroud noticed a familiar figure at the bar. “Brother?”

Idia, who was talking with Jade for the moment, turned and sped to Ortho to wrap his arms around the small boy. “Ortho! I was so worried about you! I-I didn’t know what to think when you-”

“It’s ok big brother, Azul found me and I only used my inhaler once.” Ortho soothed with a smile, hugging his brother in return. “Azul said he had a compromise though!”

“Compromise?” Idia looked at Azul with suspicion and the mafia man just let out a cordial chuckle, moving his right hand over his heart.

“Seeing you both so worried and considerate to each other I think I have a good way for you two to safely enjoy Coral Central. Perhaps once a month I can offer you both VIP seats in whatever club, restaurant, or other amusement facility of your choosing. In return, you would just need to help cover expenses and I am not providing a free ride. That way Idia would not be overstimulated and Ortho will have his chance to try new things.”

Ortho’s eyes lit up with delight as he tugged at Idia’s coat. “That sounds good, right brother? Can we take him on his offer?”

Idia bit his lip a little before looking at his brother and pursed his lips. “I..I suppose that would be a good offer. If that’s what you want Ortho.”

“I just want to make new memories with my brother.” Ortho replied softly, nuzzling Idia’s stomach. A gentle smile crossed Idia’s lips and his attention turned back to Azul for a second to speak with him, Ortho didn’t listen though, just simply enjoyed his brother's embrace until a soft patting on his shoulder gained his attention again to Idia. 

“Ortho, why don’t we sit here and have dinner? Azul said we could sit in his booth.”

“Really?! Thank you Azul!”

“Think of it just as a small token of my benevolence~” Azul replied, giving a smile towards the brothers before leading them to the booth. “Oh and Ortho, Floyd found the new guy that gave you a scare. He wanted to know if you had a punishment in mind?”

“Let him know cornering someone in the alleyway is just dumb, of course someone is going to notice them!”

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.6-Winning Hands TWST Mafia AU

There was nothing extraordinary to the job, given that Ace was only 17 there were only a few things he could do at the casino, but given the fact that he knew many card games he became a Dealer. The casino was roaring with business as usual, laughter and cheers of disappointment or excitement filled the air, and Ace was hard at work with his customers. His uniform was black slacks and dress shoes, paired with a white dress shirt and a black vest that contained a red heart design over his left pectoral, the gloves and bow tie also were black and in all it was a dull look to Ace. In his mind these were common “Casino” clothes like from the movies.

“Full bust!” Ace called out with a smirk and looked at the men at the table. “The game is black jack gentlemen, remember to get as close as you can to 21 and not over.”

“Hit me.” One called out, receiving a card from the dealer before the next man called out his move.

Ace loved all kinds of games, Texas Hold ‘em, Black Jack, Baccarat, he always had fun playing those kinds of games. Perhaps it was spurred on from his father and brother, the three always had a blast hanging out so it could have been a natural development. As the game continued on there were sudden shouts and yells of disturbances that caught everyone’s attention, running through the casino was a middle aged man with his hands clutching onto loose thaumarks with security chasing him. Deuce was one of the guards following and caught up fairly quickly but the man only shoved him into Ace’s table, sending chips and cards flying as the pursuit was endless to the perpetrator. The redhead was quick to help Deuce to his feet and checked on his friend carefully to make sure there was no permanent damage, unlike Ace, Deuce worked security and the check in counter and was on his feet constantly. Getting injured in a way that would hinder his ability to stand would be troublesome. 

“Oi, you alright man? You didn’t hit your head?”

“N-no I’m fine, I need to go after him-” Deuce replied with a grunt, standing up to help with the chase but when the two looked over the man was already trapped under some guards.

“Too late, looks like they got him.” 

“Damn it..I wanted to catch him.”

The teasing tone that came from Ace only sparked an agitated look from the darker haired man. “Oh? Deuce is still trying to live out his policeman fantasy huh?”

“Shut it! Just because I’m dedicated doesn’t mean-”

“Enough, both of you.” 

Both froze up and looked over to their boss, Riddle, who was walking to the guards with Trey and Cater behind him. His expression was cold as he glared at the thief and spoke in a regal yet pernicious voice. “How dare you come in here, lose your own money, and then proceed to steal from others to make up for your pathetic play. You are no longer welcome here, if I see you come in here again it will be off with your head.”

With a nod the man was escorted out, the casino owner looked around at the stunned faces of his customers and cleared his throat before announcing loudly. “I apologize for all those that had to witness a criminal in your midst, please continue your games and welcome yourself a free beverage in the Burgundy Bar.”

Cater and Riddle shared a look and the tangerine haired man smiled as he took out his phone. “I got it~ I’ll keep an eye on the bar and make sure to maintain order. Should I also post some things in the media?”

“Yes, update the black list and advertise the entertainment and people at the bar.” Riddle replied before walking off with Trey.

Trey glanced over at Deuce, who was still leaning on Ace for balance, and spoke with a smile. “Good work, if you both want to take a break now would be good while the staff clean up the mess.”

“Sounds good to me!” Ace replied, letting go of Deuce and heading to the bar, the bright cyan eyes from the part-time guard looked at Trey with apprehension.

“Are you sure? You guys are not going to need me?”

“Deuce, there is nothing wrong with taking a break, besides Riddle and I have some important business to take care of with Azul right now. The night should be a bit more peaceful now.” Trey assured him with a kind expression before following Riddle.

Feeling a bit disheartened, the darker haired man fixed his red vest and tucked his white shirt back into his red slacks, a black spade was designed on the front of his vest right at his right pectoral. Deuce removed his white gloves and tucked them into his pocket while accompanying Ace and Cater at the bar. It was loud and rather obnoxious to get through the customers but it was worth the second to sit down, Ace smiled at his friend and chuckled as he nudged him with his elbow. “Hey don’t look so glum, we get a break out of the commotion!”

“Yeah but-”

“There’s nothing else to it, come on Deuce try to relax. You’re more of a stick in the mud than Idia.” 

“Ace is right!” Cater pitched in, sliding a drink to Deuce and taking a picture of the two before giving a big grin. “Gotta do a whole vibe check to make sure everyone is happy. You both really fit the image here you know? Totally artistic clash with the outfits and looks!”

Half of the time the poor teens barely understood Cater, but the media manager was very good at bringing up promotions and making everything at the casino look perfect. Ace just gave a polite smile and shrugged as he replied. “Well it’s not my first choice of clothing. Hey, on another note Cater, what is with Azul coming here all the time?”

Deuce’s curiosity was also attained at Ace’s question, pitching his own input. “Yeah, and those two guys that come around with Azul are so strange. Riddle can’t stand one of them and Trey seems indifferent.”

“Eh? Oh right, you both were only hired here a couple months ago.” Cater realized and set his phone down for a second. “But you really don’t know who they are?”

Both shook their heads and Cater looked around them cautiously before getting out of his seat and motioning them to follow him, leading them to a private booth with door attachments. They sat quietly for a moment, both teens watching their manager with confusion as a finger played with a lock of orange hair. In contrast to the majority of staff, Cater was not in a typical uniform, his outfit was a cream colored shirt with a tan and brown tweed waistcoat, his shoes were black and his pants a tawny brown color. There were no gloves or bow tie to his clothes but the earth tones helped to bring out his vibrant fern green eyes. After the doors were closed securely, he kept his voice low and took out his phone to retrieve some pictures. 

“So, let me make this clear, you can never tell anyone what I’m about to tell you ok?” 

“Alright?” Ace replied skeptically while Deuce only nodded.

The first photo was of Azul, taken at an odd angle without the man’s knowledge. “Despite only being a couple years older, Azul is the mafia leader to the Ashengrotto estate-”

“Ashengrotto!?” Both Ace and Deuce shouted, eyes wide while Cater leaned back in shock before hurryingly trying to make them quiet down.

“Ok good! You know what that name means, good..” Cater sighed and put his left hand over his heart. “Jeez, total heart attack..anyways, he and Riddle work together to promote their business and keep the cash flowing. Our businesses are in a collective unit called The Coin, two sides collectively working together for a common want or need.”

“Just to be clear, isn’t working with the mafia..illegal?” Deuce asked with concern, he did not want to be involved in illegal activities that could jeopardize his future.

“No, technically we do not do any malpractice with them. Riddle is always working hard to make sure that we all stay safe and are not criminalized for what happens outside of the casino.” 

“Jeez, what about that purple haired guy then?” Ace questioned, gaining Cater’s attention. “He was here a few weeks ago and security had to escort him out, but he was not added to the ban list.”

“Oh, that was one of Vil’s cronies. I haven’t met him, but that’s because Trey warned me to keep my distance for now. He was part of The Pride though, a union between the Savanaclaw Gang and Informant agency.”

“Whoa, pause for a second, rewind.” Ace groaned, leaning back in his seat. “Can you just start from the beginning? Otherwise this will get more confusing?”

Cater thought to himself, tapping his cheek with his index finger before smiling and nodding. “Alright! But it’s a long story, I’ll try to make it simple and quick for you two.”

“Is it really that complicated..?” Deuce muttered to himself as Cater took a breath and began to explain.

“Once upon a time-”

“Don’t tell it like a fairytale!” Ace snapped but Cater only chuckled and continued.

“Riddle and Trey were working on the proper paperwork to officially claim the business as his after the untimely death of his father. Mrs.Rosehearts did not approve but Riddle wanted to escape his oppressed life and continue his fathers legacy, to which Trey joined in. Another person by the name of Chenya had gone off on his own abroad for college, I’ve only seen him a couple times. Anyways, being the new casino owner meant there was a lot to do and Riddle needed a way to spread his name out, and I was brought on the scene! We were doing wonderfully for the regular gamblers but at the time we lacked the popularity we needed to make us a crown jewel in the city, to which Azul introduced himself one day. Apparently he’s had his eyes on this place for a while, but when Riddle rejected the offer to sell the business they struck up a deal. If Riddle could get more than one million new customers in one month then Azul would give up, and if not then he would have to sell the rights to the mafia.

I’m sure you realize that Riddle was not one to give up, so the three of us pitched several ideas together and worked our heads off to get as much advertisement as possible, the hardest part was getting the right clientele in. It didn’t help that Azul’s men, Jade and Floyd, continued to try and mess with us and our business the entire time. But by the time a month was up we managed to get more than one million new people through our doors and Azul was not happy about the defeat, but he respected Riddle’s valor so they struck up a new deal. Riddle got to keep his business so long as he paid Azul for protection, again this unsettled Riddle and he denied the deal. But then a few days passed where our people kept getting attacked and robbed that Riddle had no choice. In order to hold some power Riddle suggested a different kind of deal, that Azul would be paid for bringing new clients and using his men whenever needed, Azul is basically paid to give out bodyguards or laborers if Riddle needs them and to not harm anyone that worked in the casino. It worked out in the end, but they still hold a pretty tense partnership.”

“Wow..” Deuce said softly and blinked for what seemed like the first time in minutes. “We have ties to the mafia?”

“Yes, it’s more complicated as far as their deal goes but it’s confidential.” Cater chuckled and showed a picture of a shadowed figure, the face was unrecognizable because the picture was taken in the dark but the tall figure was there. “This is Malleus. He is the head of Thorn Agency, otherwise known as the assassin’s bureau. We normally don’t see him but his men like to skulk around here for their jobs..I’m sorry to tell you this guys but when we have a death here or someone sent to the hospital there’s a good chance it was intentional.”

“Wait, now we have assassins too?!” Ace sputtered out in shock.

“Don’t worry they’re completely professional, they would never harm someone that isn’t their target. Let’s see..you already know Idia obviously, he’s an underground doctor..then there is Sam who is a black market dealer for everyone and anyone. Both Idia and Sam have a “peace” compliance between the two groups so no fighting is allowed around them. And then there’s Kalim and Jamil that run the bank, we obviously have to maintain friendships with them.”

“Does the bank hold ties to us and the Mafia then?” Deuce questioned, leaning back in the booth.

“Of course! We have a different deal with them though. The Coin and The Pride are given a sum of money from the bank to keep the violence away from the streets of Golden Sands, we keep the violence away and we get paid along with having our cash stored there. Since Golden Sands district is filled with hospitals and other business firms we try to avoid chaos, any group that does not comply with the peaceful territory risks having money deducted and being turned over to the police.”

“Cater, what about the informants? Why are they coming here?” Ace asked, trying to get back to his own question from earlier.

“Ah..Do you boys know of Vil Schoenheit?”

“He’s a model right?” Ace questioned while Deuce only shook his head, not knowing the man’s name.

“Right, Vil is the head of his own informant agency, he likes to snoop around with some of his people to get dirty secrets on people to sell or blackmail with.”

“Huh?! If you know this, why don’t you tell the police?” Deuce questioned in annoyance. “First the mafia, then assassins, and now informants? Why can’t you guys go to anyone?”

“I think I know why,” Ace mumbled before asking. “Because “snitches get stitches” right?”

“Right on the nose Ace~” Cater replied cheerfully, tapping the tip of his own nose before continuing his explanation. “All of us know each other too well, this is a dispute between the groups, it is none of the police’s concern what happens. Besides, each region has paid off cops, some are on our side and others are on The Pride’s side, so we couldn’t tell who to trust. Anyways, we need to keep vigilant to keep Vil’s group out but it can be tough since they know the times that guards and staff switch shifts. No matter how many times we try to switch it up they always figure out the pattern.”

“So that’s why we had that weird week of day crew switching with night crew..” 

Deuce still did not look pleased by the information but pressed on with his questions. “In that case, what does The Pride want?”

“The Pride consists of Vil’s group, which love to tear down the people we have as clientele, and the Savanaclaw gang. I assume you know this gang since they’ve hit the news several times over their destruction of city property and constant interruptions of construction projects. Both groups seem to hold a hatred for the city itself so we do our best not to get in the way. Azul especially has animosity for the gang since many of Azul’s business partners want to expand the city.”

“But why does Vil want to deal with a gang?”

Cater’s expression changed right then, it was of dismay as he released a sigh and stared at the two. “It’s hard to say..Leona and Vil have mutual respect but by what i’ve heard they constantly are fighting. I wish I could answer that to you both. All I know for certain is they both have a common goal of getting rid of the holders of the city, those in politics, construction, financial support, they can’t stand people like that. To be honest though, I can’t either but they’re like, our main source of money? So we put up with people like that.”

Ace and Deuce were quiet, thoughts rolling and grinding uncomfortably in their heads, the two shared a look of uncertainty before turning their attention back to Cater. Ace however was the first to break the silence as he stood up and exaggerated his arms stretching up as he commented. “Alright! Well I’m going back to work, come on Deuce!”

“Alright, thanks again Cater.” Deuce replied, standing up and following Ace out of the booth, the red head however was walking towards the entrance to the casino floor. “Ace? Where are you going?”

“Just uh, going to check and see how our boss is doing.” Ace replied with a cheeky grin as he made his way upstairs to the third floor, Deuce followed after him in a frenzy.

“Ace! I know what you’re thinking so stop right now!”

The two sped up the stairs and Ace’s cherry eyes narrowed when he thought about which meeting room Riddle would have gone into, ignoring Duece’s protests he snuck closer to the wall of doors and carefully pressed his each door until he recognized two voices. Deuce caught up and grabbed onto Ace’s shoulder as he hissed into his ear. “Ace! Come on, we can’t eavesdrop!”

“Shh! I’m trying to listen.” Ace grumbled as he shoved Deuce back a little and kept his ear to the door. “Oh shit they’re talking about a heist.”

“Really?” Deuce asked in disbelief and pressed his ear to the door, but then glared seeing the grin on Ace’s face. “You just lied didn’t you?”

“If you can’t make them, trick them.” Ace replied then refocused on trying to hear through the thick door. 

The conversations were muffled thanks to the heavy doors but occasionally the two heard yelling, mostly from Riddle, and a taunting laughter. Unfortunately, no solid words could be made out and this frustrated Ace greatly, he slowly turned the knob of the door to try and open it but found it locked. Deuce noticed the growing aggravation and gently smacked Ace’s hand away from the knob and took out a couple bobby pins from his pockets and began to pick at the lock, Ace watched in surprise and asked. “Since when do you know lock picking?”

“Don’t even ask Ace, you don’t need to know..” Deuce muttered before getting the door open and giving a smirk of pride to Ace. 

With the door cracked open they listened to what they could, which was not much when the door suddenly swung open and both teens stared at the tall teal-haired man in front of them. He gave them a polite smile but it was laced with a form of sadistic anger, he bent down a bit to loom over them and asked. “Can I help you gentlemen with something?”

Both of them sputtered and started blabbering out excuses when Trey came over and carefully moved Jade to the side a bit and scolded the two. “Guys, this is an important meeting, you’re lucky that Riddle is occupied, if you want to keep your jobs you’ll leave now.”

There was no need for further convincing as they ran off, leaving Jade and Trey at the door to watch them, only then the heterochromia twin chuckled softly and commented to Trey. “You always have such entertaining employees, it’s a shame they can’t join the meeting.”

[goldenheartgirl1]

Ch.5-Blooming of an Apple TWST Mafia AU

The city was not what Epel expected, it was busy and companies were cut throat as he imagined, but getting a small job was a pain in itself. Money makes the world go ‘round, that was a saying that was more true when he entered the city, it drove Epel batty. Epel was currently going through extra curricular college with his family's support, they waited on the farm but he was determined to get a college degree in agronomy to help better his family farm. However, they could only provide so much with all the needs of the farm growing, so Epel was extremely frugal with his money and a job was still needed to keep him afloat. He technically still was in high school but being connected to a popular farm he was offered a chance to start college classes instead of taking the highschool classes, to which Epel excitedly agreed on. There was nothing special in his cheap apartment, he was surrounded by the deafening city with blaring car horns and thousands of voices echoed in the streets, up on the third floor of this apartment complex was where Epel stayed. Upon entering the apartment you could immediately see the one-person sized kitchen, the living room and dining area, and the door to the bathroom. The walls were a dull bone white color, the floor was faded oak wood and only one window in the room allowed any natural light, or at least the natural light that was not polluted by neon in the night. A mere four steps to the left and the bedroom could be found with a single bed and a cheap wardrobe propped against the wall with a larger mirror beside it. 

Epel’s apartment complex was designed to be small and thin, where all rooms could be seen just standing in any particular part of the place. But, for Epel it worked, it was affordable and a short commute to his college. Keeping up with college was no issue, and with his learning experiences on the farm it made some classes easier than others, yet money was always weighing on his mind. Sometimes skipping meals was a necessity and canceling any and all subscriptions was a must, his only entertainment came from books his parents gave to him or drawing in his notebook, and occasionally when he was eating some home grown apples he would start carving them into different shapes. It was a mundane life to say the least. After sending out applications to over 17 places, having to quit his current job due to safety violations that made the boy uncomfortable, he finally was called into one place for an interview in the morning. Feeling a rush of adrenaline the lavender haired boy hurried to pick out a nice olive green dress shirt and black slacks for tomorrow before settling to bed with a protein bar and grabbed his book to read.

“Alright, you can do this..it ain’t nothin’ big, just questions that you answer with the honest truth!”

After a thorough psyching, Epel took a breath and stepped into the store with the golden label of “Délices D'aconit” with a peacock blue background. Inside the shop it was blinding with white LED light panels covering the ceiling, from the center of the large cosmetic store a large arcadia crystal chandelier hung and sparkled above the customers, each display stand and furniture item had a gold accent and the walls were an elegant macaroon creme white. Everything was so overwhelming and even the faintest smell of an apple spice aroma warmed the room and Epel’s body. The boy was not a fan of makeup, or even familiar with any fancy products, but since this is the only place to call him he cannot risk screwing this up. Nervously he spoke with one of the staff workers, who gladly led him further into the store until they reached the stairs and went upstairs. Downstairs was filled with basic cosmetics, but upstairs was filled with the elite products with advertisements everywhere of famous celebrities. Epel was frankly shocked by how much some of the stuff cost, there was a one ounce bottle of foundation that was worth 140 thaumarks!

They walked to a locked door and the worker knocked before telling Epel to wait there and she returned to work, leaving the poor light blue eyed boy there overstimulated by the store. He muttered to himself after she left. “Is this part of their initiation? Tryn’ to intimidate me?”

When the door swung open Epel had to repress a shriek when a rather passionate man stepped out and greeted him in french. “Bienvenu! I am Rook Hunt, the head manager of Délices D'aconit. You must be Epel?”

His heart was beating so fast he could feel it in his throat, Epel just gave a modest smile and reached his right hand out. “Y-yeah, that’s me. I’m so thrilled ya’ll called me here.”

A black-gloved hand clasped his in a firm grip and shook Epel’s smaller hand, and the courteous smile from the stranger made the smaller boy shudder in apprehension. The man before him had sunflower blond mid-length hair cut in a bob style with straight-cut bangs, piercing emerald green eyes, and he wore brown winged eyeliner. Strangely enough his clothes were just the standard uniform of black slacks and a nice white dress shirt, but he wore a wide-brimmed brown hat with a large white feather on top. He let go of Epel’s hand and started to look over his appearance, even circling the farm-boy as he hummed to himself before asking in a cheerful voice.

“You must be from the farming country, oui? I will let you in on a little secret, if you want to work here then you need to learn to drop the accent.”

“Huh? Why’s that? It’s not like anyone couldn’t figur’ what I say.” Epel’s accent was heavy from his upbringing, he saw no issues with his speech and there were only a couple times someone has had trouble understanding him.

“Because we have lots of high-end clientele, they expect all of our employees to represent the beauty and a sense of breathtaking stature! Je ne sais quoi, is the best way to explain it.”

While it did sort of irk Epel, he still desperately needed this job and reluctantly agreed. “Well I..I’ll try to lessen my accent. Is there anything else I should be worried about?”

“Not that I can think of~ Now it is time for Vil’s judgment! You see, he owns this store and his own cosmetic line, and he prefers to pick his new employees personally.” Rook replied before gently pushing Epel into the room and closing the door behind them. The room was brightly lit just like everything else but it only contained an office space with two desks on either side of the room with separate computers, and at one desk the owner himself sat. 

Epel was mildly surprised by the person in front of him, fair skin was warmly complimented by the light beige blonde hair that draped down to almost reach the base of his neck, the beige color faded into a light purple at the tips and side-parted bangs with two loose braids on both sides, that connect at the back of his head. Epel could see the braids were held together in the back with a gold barrette, shaped like a heart with a sword going through it. Vil sat in his chair for a moment longer before flicking his wisteria colored eyes towards the two people in the office and stood up. A beautiful violet silk shirt fitted to the man’s frame, along with his white pants, and on his feet he wore violet ankle boots with gold heels. 

A refined smile tugged at the man’s lips, his eyes popped out more when Epel noticed the dark eyeshadow around the wisteria orbs, he then gently motioned for Epel to sit in the chair in front of the desk. “Welcome, I am Vil Schoenheit. You are Epel Felmier I presume?”

“Y-yes sir, it’s a pleasure to meet you.” Epel replied, sitting in the chair and doing his best to drop his accent and resist the urge to fiddle with his clothes. 

Much like Rook, Vil took a moment to take in Epel’s appearance, to which the younger teen had to grip onto his legs to prevent fiddling with his shirt or hands. After a few seconds the bewitching man sat back down and began to speak. “Epel, how much do you know about make up?”

“I uh..Not very much sir, b-but I’m eager to learn!” 

“That’s what I like to hear. You have charming features so I’m sure you’ll fit in well here! We do require our staff to advertise some of our products, even simple things like wearing foundation. And from what Rook has noticed on your resume, the last place you worked at had you organizing and researching alternative products?”

“Yes..I just have a knack for finding things that are more natural.” Epel gave a half-hearted shrug, trying not to grimace at the idea of wearing make up as he further explained. “We had a lot of customers comment that not everything we sold was free from chemicals. So I did some research on my own and proposed it..but my boss was not impressed.”

Vil’s eyes stared into Epel before he said firmly. “I need someone with that sort of thinking, cosmetology is complicated and there are many beautiful faces in the world that are sensitive to certain products. If you are going to work here I need that same dedication and determination to better your understanding of our products.”

Epel quickly replied, not wanting to miss out on this job opportunity. “And I promise you’ll get it! I will ask questions and take time to look up some of our product's information!”

Rook gave a smile and a knowing look to Vil, who returned the look with a nod before standing up from his desk and holding a hand out to Epel. “I will hold you to that promise, welcome Epel. I will expect you here Friday afternoon for your first training.”

Epel happily took his hand and agreed to the first day of work, immediately after letting go of Vil’s hand, Rook led him to his own desk and took the time to prepare a work schedule for the teen. The lavender haired teen left that afternoon with a big smile, even treating himself to some take-out and enjoying some videos online when he arrived home. His first shift after school was calming, many employees showered him with compliments on how pretty he looked and showed him the ropes of where everything was, Rook primarily walked with him that day. Saturday, a busy day that was perfect practice for helping customers and checking people out at the registers, but much to Epel’s dismay he did have to wear eyeliner. Third and fourth day? Busy and chaotic. Fifth and sixth? Annoying, all the others ever talked about was the makeup and how beautiful Vil was on screen. Epel almost reached his wits end on the seventh day, it was not as if the pay was not going to be worth it, but hearing all the narcissistic, arrogant, and cosmetically absorbed conversations were starting to get to him.

It came to Epel’s attention that he had no connection to his fellow coworkers, Rook was fairly interesting and talked more about his interests rather than just makeup, but even he was constantly complimenting Vil. His boss was barely in the store due to being a model, but whenever Vil did show up he always had something to say about him or the way the store appeared. Epel had to admit, learning about their products was interesting and he even recommended some more natural makeup items for the store to sell, but for the most part he stayed away from the others as much as possible. Figuring out how to repress his accent and apply his eyeliner was the most painful thing to do on a daily basis. Between work and school Epel was exhausted, having to be in school from eight in the morning to three in the afternoon and then work from four until nine in the evening was draining. Sunday was the only day he had officially off and it was still filled with chores, studying, and other grown up tasks that grinded on Epel’s sanity. The pay was a bit higher than average rates though so Epel just had to grin and bear it. 

One wednesday night of October, Epel found himself closing with Rook and all of the other staff had either gone home or could not make it in, it was painfully slow that night and they still had 10 minutes before officially closing. All Epel wanted to do was go home and enjoy the grilled steak he still had from last night. Vil walked in just as Epel had finished dusting some of the light fixtures and stormed off to his office while calling out in a jaded tone. “Rook! Office, now!”

Rook’s eyes narrowed as he quickly followed after him and called back to Epel in a firm but pleasant manner. “Please watch the store, I will return soon.”

Epel was left in confusion but watched the clock until it ticked down to the last second, as soon as nine o’clock hit on the screen the teen practically ran to close up the doors and pull the curtains closed. Rook and Vil still had not returned so he decided to start turning off all the spotlights first, heading upstairs to get the second floor done first. One by one the rows of LED bulbs powered down and sky blue eyes noticed the slightly opened door to the office, yet despite his brain telling him to mind his own business something drew him to that door. As if like a marionette, Epel found himself pulled towards the ajar door and glanced in to see Vil and Rook having a very quiet and serious conversation. 

“Mon ami, please try to calm down-”

“Rook, he followed me. Do you have any idea how unnerving that is?”

Was Vil being stalked? Epel grew a bit worried now, if his boss was being stalked then that explained why he seemed so snappy when he came in. Rook only continued to talk, interrupting Vil and expressing his concern. “Oui, I understand, but Cater is not one to follow without order. More than likely he was trying to see where you were heading.”

“The fact that he was following me in the first place is my concern. If Riddle knows I am attending the party at Perdita’s estate then he will send someone to cut me off from seeing her.”

“Do you want me to go with you? I can clean up quickly.” Rook suggested with a smile and peppy tone.

“I need you to keep the Cards out.” Vil replied bitterly and waved his right hand absentmindedly. “The faster they fold, the easier it will be for me to retrieve her video surveillance.”

Perdita, that was the woman that founded the flawless facial cream that Epel was forced to try, why would Vil need access to her home security? For that matter, who was trying to stop Vil? Alarms started ringing in Epel’s head at the thought of working for a crook or some government agency, but he had to listen because things were still not making any sense.

“Remind me, what did she do?”

“Supposedly illegal animal testing for the products she makes, along with affairs and has a bad habit of spending more than she has. I already found evidence of her testing procedures, all I care about now is seeing if she has had an affair.”

“Sournois~ Is she part of the contracting committee?”

“Unfortunately no, but her husband is the owner of a popular jewelry store, someone with that kind of wealth has no care in the farm lands or the Afterglow district. If we can convince them to put their vote against the construction expansion then maybe we’ll have more leverage.”

Epel’s body tensed up, his breath shallow as he slowly moved away from the door, he had to call someone or just anyone that would listen. Keeping slow steps he started to walk down the stairs, but before he made it even halfway his body was yanked backwards from someone grabbing the back of his shirt. The boy struggled of course, reaching both hands back and clawing into the wrist of his assailant before using his entire body weight to slam them into the metal railing of the staircase. A pained gasp left the attacker and released Epel for a moment, letting the smaller teen dash down the stairs before he could be captured again. By the last step Epel’s heart pounded to the sound of hurried steps behind him, he quickly ran to the back door and sped around displays and corners to shake off his pursuer. When both fair-skinned hands shoved the back door open, the brightness of the store made it harder for his eyes to adjust quickly to the darkness that engulfed the city, yet his attempt to run was quickly interrupted when two hands grabbed onto his arms tightly.

An involuntary gasp left Epel from the spiking fingers that dug into his biceps at just the amount of pressure to keep him from struggling further. “Let me go!”

“Epel, what have you heard?”

Sky blue eyes widened as his eyes finally adjusted and looked up to see Vil staring down at him with a vexed expression, Rook came out of the building and chuckled with a strained smile as he held his right side. “Aie..ça fait mal..You’re stronger than you look Epel!”

Immediately the need to free himself occurred to Epel, he slammed the heel of his shoe down on Vil’s foot, only gaining a grunt from the man before the younger one found his back against the cement wall. Vil’s eyes were cold and filled with impatience, they bore into Epel’s as the teen realized just how strong Vil was in comparison to him, the throbbing on his back and the back of his head just proved it. Rook stood by with his left hand clutching his right side, staring at Epel and Vil with a detached yet troubled look, he briefly glanced at his friend as he cautioned. “Vil, be gentle. Epel, what exactly did you hear?”

“How should I know?!” Epel suddenly screeched, his accent reappearing which took both of his bosses off guard. “What in tarnation we’re ya’ll talking about? Blackmail? Parties? Cards? Someone called Cater? Somethin’ about miss Perdita, but whatar’ you tryin’ to do?! If it’s wha’ I think then I will tell the police!”

Vil and Rook just stared silently, but the grip on Epel’s arms never loosened up, the lavender haired boy’s chest heaved from his breathless yelling and only glared at Vil with determination. Surprisingly, Vil relaxed and released the teen, only to then say in a quiet and measured tone. “You picked up all of that and remembered key details..Epel, how would you feel about earning more money on the side? Granted, if you say no I could easily just ruin your scholarship and send you right back to the farm from which you came, so choose your answer wisely.”

“V-vil!” Rook gasped in shock, walking closer as Epel leaned on the wall with confusion. “There is no chance he would join in our business, and it is too dangerous.”

“That is up to him..” Vil replied, crossing his arms and never took his stern eyes off Epel. “Remember, there is no going back to a normal life whether you say yes or no, either ruin your chances or take the leap.”

Epel couldn’t even begin to process what Vil was really asking of him, but he knew it was a threat to his future. Vil gestured to the back door of the building, his behavior changing abruptly to a kinder tone. “Let us talk inside.” 

“No! You get to tell me right now!” Epel demanded and then questioned. “Are you both secret agents ‘r somethin’? Some gang members?”

Rook began to laugh loudly, hissing in pain a bit at the bruise forming on his side. “We are part of our own work. We do have ties to others in the city, but our job is less physical and more informational.”

“You see Epel,” Vil spoke, patting the invisible dirt off his gloves. “We take great pride in providing information that benefits the people of Afterglow and Ernte’s farmland district. Politicians, company owners, financial supporters, anyone that wants the construction to develop, we take great lengths to persuade them to think otherwise. When I found out you were from one of the farms I wanted to give you the opportunity to work for me, not many jobs pay well or want a farm boy.”

Eyes widened and Epel’s jaw dropped slightly at Vil’s words, he was taken off guard to be honest. “So..yer’ not assassins or anything?”

“Informants.” Rook smiled sweetly and elaborated further. “In a way, we are spies. With Vil’s fame it is easy to find dirt on those that threaten the poorer areas.”

“But..why do you both care?”

“I cannot stand those that trample on others,” Vil spoke bitterly, baring his teeth for a second before looking in Rook’s direction. “Those that have power and use it to hurt others disgust me.”

Rook nodded sadly and added to Vil’s statement. “And my family is in the Afterglow district, I could not forgive myself if I watched them being pushed out and homeless..”

The confessions stung Epel’s heart, both seemed so collected but their voices rang with anguish and loathing, they sounded so unconsoled from their pain. “What would you have me do?”

They looked at the teen and Vil gave an impressed smirk as he explained. “I would need you to help gather information, you will be paid, but you need to be loyal to us and train hard. This is a secret, not even your family can know, and when I call upon you then you must answer swiftly no matter what is going on in your life.”

Only two choices, crumbling and disappointing hell or secretiveness and promising a good future, this made his answer roll off his tongue. “I’m in.”

[goldenheartgirl1]

Extras of “Contract Query” (+13) TWST Mafia AU

“Jamil, I assure you those treatments are for the stubborn ones, Jackson is more of a quiet man.” Azul stood up, walking directly behind Jamil which caused the man to stop drinking his water, and he whispered calmly to him. “There is another matter I wish to discuss today..”

“Is it about the loans for your construction project?”

“No, it’s about our contract, the file that is coded “Toxic barb” if I remember right.”

Jamil’s eyes widened a fraction as he seethed out between his teeth. “Let me guess, you want to make alterations again?”

“Precisely, but there is another thing..”Jamil instinctively turned and nearly elbowed Azul in the cheek, making the flint colored eyes widen in surprise as the mafia leader stepped back to avoid the swing, a gloved hand quickly shot out and grabbed ahold of Jamil’s arm and pinned it to the wall. “Jamil? What is with the assault?”

“Assault?!” Jamil snapped back and tore Azul’s grip off his arm, but the other man only stepped closer to move his knee between Jamil’s legs. “That’s a lot coming from you Azul..”

“Can you blame me for wanting to touch you?” Azul smirked, moving his arms around Jamil’s waist and whispered against his lips. “It’s been so long since our last meeting Jamil, I even know when to stop working to have fun.”

Charcoal eyes burned in hatred and his cheeks flushed with anger and embarrassment, he took the chance to viciously kiss Azul only to bite his bottom lip until the copper taste of blood overwhelmed their senses taste and smell. Azul carefully but quickly managed to squirm away, releasing Jamil and hastily took out a handkerchief to dab his bottom lip, glaring at Jamil with displeasure. In another act of spitefulness, Jamil spat out the leftover blood into one of the glass cups by the refreshments, taunting the mafia leader with a grin. “Don’t act as if you have me wrapped around your finger Azul, being seductive was never your strong suit or flirting for that matter.”

“Is that so?” Azul grumbled, looking at the bloody white cloth before tossing it into the garbage bin after the bleeding had slowed down. “Because if I remember correctly, you were the one to show up at my door last time after I asked you to.”

“That’s not how I remember it.” Jamil spat back and crossed his arms. “You begged me to come over that night, you wouldn’t stop calling or texting me. All because you were lonely.”

A bitter chuckle left Azul as he began to move closer again, like a predator that didn’t learn to keep away from an equally dangerous predator. “Lonely, that’s a laugh. Remember how you clung onto me and refused to let me breathe? I swear you were very active that night, almost like you wanted to agree to my terms.”

Oh if he wanted to play this way then Jamil was armed with his own memories. “All I remember is you crying beneath me for more, and I gave you more because you refused to let me leave until you were satisfied.”

“Let’s not play around too much Jamil, we wouldn’t want Kalim knowing his best friend is in “personal ties” with its leader~”

Jamil only glared as they were only centimeters apart, neither of them moved a hand forward to touch or leaned in for a kiss, it was just a staring contest and seeing who would break first. “And I’m certain there are many people in Pomefiore that would love to know you’re a masochist.”

Azul grimaced as he replied in a hiss. “Not like you helped there, you sadist.”

Tension was wound up so much that both broke in unison, Jamil yanked Azul back into a bruising kiss while Azul quickly pulled Jamil’s body to his. Their private arrangement has gone on for a year, with rendezvous at each other's homes just for a night of peace, to sate their desires and continue life with no strings attached. At least that was the plan originally, while Jamil still refused to hold anything to Azul, the mafia leader laid a claim to him and dismissed the idea of having anyone take Jamil. This was not the time or place to have their normal activities, but both could at least quench their pent up needs. Without breaking the kiss, Jamil forced Azul to the wall and moved his hands up Azul’s sides before dragging his nails down, even with the shirt in his way he groaned at the gray haired man's moan. In a similar situation, Azul took care to force Jamil’s kiss to be slower and softer as he encouraged their tongues to play, he shuddered feeling the pierced tongue run across his raw bloody lip.

Yes, Jamil had a tongue piercing, nothing fancy, but the small metal ball always made Azul tremble in excitement. Both men closed their eyes to lose themselves into the lustful lip-lock, Azul’s fingers dragging through Jamil’s hair while the darker toned man continued to scratch through the fair skinned man’s clothes. The smell of leftover blood was intoxicating to Jamil, making his mind dizzy and his tongue eagerly licking at Azul’s swollen lip, and Azul moaned as his fair skin started to turn red on his cheeks. Azul’s arms slowly drifted down to feel Jamil’s rear and his lower back, impressed with how toned and yet slim the man was as he continued to caress his body. Jamil however did not share the same fascination, he enjoyed seeing how red the mafia leader could become, he was fascinated with how a composed man could be reduced to tears and begging under his touch. Saliva coated each of their lips and when the demand for oxygen became too great they broke away with a small string connecting them. The two panted gently before Azul smirked at Jamil and commented. “So, that was just throwing caution to the wind?”

Jamil glared and wiped his mouth from the saliva before turning around and walking back to the filing cabinet. “Let’s just take care of the file..”