"Your spirits were rallied
As you learned quick to make a fast buck.
In bathrooms and barrooms,
On dumpsters and heirlooms,
We bit our tongues.
Sucked our lips into our lungs
'til we were falling.
Such was our calling."-'On the Bus Mall' The Decemberists

His hand tightens around the strap of his worn, red backpack; his beaten sneakers crunch on the wet pavement as he stops his quick stride to gaze at the person infront of him. "...what are you doing here?" Leonardo asks, his once bright green-blue eyes tired and lined by dark bags.

Ezio peers down at his friend, worry etching over his handsome features. He opens his mouth, but closes it, hands fisting at his sides.

Leonardo knows he looks worse for wear; every limb, joint, cell aches with fatigue and stress. The blond man runs his tongue over his teeth and knows that he forgot to brush them earlier.

"Leonardo I-"

"Please, I need to get to work." He shoves past the darker haired man, staring down at the side walk; he gnaws at his bottom lip while the bouncer nods at him.

The bass thrums through his body, and dim purple and blinding strobe cast shadows over the masses of bodies piled into the relatively large room. Several stages, all a transparent blue, are placed in the middle of the room; women and men alike writhe on the poles, bodies scantily clad while money showers them like rain.

He feels himself gag.

"Wait!" A hand wraps around his frail wrist, causing Leonardo to stop and glance over his shoulder. A sob works its way up his throat, but the blond man tightly clamps his lips together as he stares at his once-friend. "Come back with me." Brown eyes are pleading, yet Leonardo knows that it would be impossible for him to live with this new Ezio.

He tries to pull away, but Ezio's grip is strong around his wrist. The dimmed lights inside the club casts even deeper shadows under the blond male's eyes; Ezio feels shame drop deep into his gut as he pleads with Leonardo.

"Let go of me." The blond male mumbles, his other arm hanging limply by his side. He stares intently down at his feet, eyes tracing the gaudy criss-cross carpet.

He lost his home, his job, his best friend...Dio mio, I love you, you oblivious bastard...

Ezio tightens his grip, fixing his gaze on the shell of the man he used to know. He takes a deep breath, before releasing it. "No. I'm not going anywhere until you agree to come back and live with me."

With you and your wife! I-it'll kill me, DON'T YOU REALIZE?

"Ezio, please..." Leonardo drags his gaze from the floor and flickers it around the smoky room; colour drains from his face as his eyes lock with the owner, a scowl marring the man's mouth. Leonardo tugs at his captured wrist, thin fingers trying to pry away the other male's appendages. "Let go of me! People are beginning to stare!"

He's tugged close, and feels a large hand support the base of his skull. A shudder racks through his body as he feels Ezio's lips brush against the shell of his ear. "Please, Leonardo...I'm begging you." Hot tears sting the back of the blond man's eyes, but he squeazes his lids closed. He can feel others turning to stare at them, but he can't hear their muttering over the volume of the bass. "I want to help you, amico mio."

A sob bubbles out of his mouth, and he pushes away the man. Thin fingers grab at the expensive dress shirt covering Ezio's chest, and green-blue eyes are wild and over flowing with tears. "THEN WHERE WERE YOU THE PAST TWO YEARS?" He pushes away from his once-friend, sucking in a deep breath to try and calm himself.

Leonardo turns and walks away, hands going up to wrap around the straps of his back pack. In his head, events run through like mathmatical equations. Losing his job with Verrocchino, Lorenzo's death which in turn caused him to become homeless, Ezio disappearing for no reason...

A loud yelp leaves his mouth as he's pushed against one of the walls. Leonardo's head smacks against the stucco plaster, causing his vision to briefly be blocked by white stars. "What was that?"

"Mi dispiace-"

"Obviously you're not," Leonardo opens his eyes, shuddering lightly at the dark look of anger covering Cesare's face. "You were upsetting my customers."

"Mi dispiace, Cesare, i-it won't happen again." He silently begs with the younger man, hands coming up to rest flat against his chest.

Cesare pauses, watching the tears run down Leonardo's face. A slow smirk rests on the corners of his mouth, and he pushes away from the pinned man. Cesare takes the blond male's chin between the tips of his fingers, pressing down until a soft yelp of pain leaves his favourite toy's mouth. "It better not, amico mio...though for the little incident, I'm going to dock your pay." The man recieves a watery glare, causing a loud bark of laughter to work its way from his mouth.

Cesare turns and strides down the hall to watch more of the 'acts'. He shoots a dark glance over his shoulder, a smirk evident in his tone of voice. "Now be a good puttana and make me some money."
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