Yay, new thingie. If you haven't read Not You or Tagged I recommend you read those two fics first before jumping into this one

Warnings: fighting and uh I think that's it? idk man, my grammar and spelling and stuff.

"Listen well, this right here is what can stop this shit from happening."

He was having a hard time breathing, his lungs seemed to be collapsing and his throat was closing in, his vision was blurry and he could hardly tell apart the figure of his father from the other blurs of figures. The man was standing near him, crouching down and holding a bottle in his hand. He shook the bottle once, then twice, a smirk on his face. Still, Nicolas couldn't bring himself to even form any kind of words, his voice was completely gone. He couldn't tell his father that he couldn't breathe and he couldn't see anymore, little by little his vision was fading and his body was then shaking before it started to jerk and twitch. He couldn't control it and saliva was slowly seeping out of his mouth, his eyes were rolling to the back of his head and the only thing he could do was feel how his body was going through a spasm he couldn't control.

He was going to die.

He was going to die and there was nothing he could do.

In the end tears slowly started to well up in his eyes, he didn't want to die. He truly didn't want to, but he was going to, he couldn't stop it. He couldn't avoid it.

Just then there was a sharp pain on his arm and then it was like his lungs knew how to breathe again. He gasped loudly, his body jerking as he arched his back and tilted his head back. He was able to breathe again, his lungs and throat were hurting and he could taste blood in his mouth but he was able to breathe. All fingers on his hands were digging onto the grass underneath him, the moist dirt clinging to his fingernails as he tried to focus on that instead of the burning sensation that was slowly spreading through his body. It was painful, and his body felt extremely drained, but he could breathe again, and just that simple fact had a twitching smile spreading through his lips.

Nicolas was forced to focus his vision when his jaw was roughly grabbed by a hand that was far bigger than his. He was forced to face his father, and a small slap on his face was making his brain bounce in his skull, bringing some pain towards his eyes. He was being forced to pay attention and the raven was trying, he really was, but his eyes looked idle and glossy.

"Are you paying attention?"

Nicolas gave a weak nod, his body now feeling so numb he couldn't keep it up himself, the only thing lifting his body by now was the hand on his jaw.

"Your ass is a twilight. You need this drug to survive and I'm the only one that has it. Without this shit, you will go through the same pain and then you will die. You were born to die, you belong to me and serve me. You do what I say when I say it. You will die when I say so or in another ten years like any other shitty twilight. You get that?"

Nicolas hardly winced when the hold on his jaw tightened and his face was brought closer to his father's until they were only a couple of inches apart. He managed to nod his head, one of his eyes closing by now. his eyelids felt so heavy.

"What were you born to do you little shit?"

It was a struggle for the raven, his throat felt raw and he could still taste blood, in fact he was sure his mouth was bleeding although he wasn't sure why.

"DiE..."

Nicolas saw the same smirk spreading through his father's mouth as he shook him once more.

"And what are you?"

The raven coughed quietly this time, the blood in his mouth dripping from the corner of his lips.

"Tw'l'gh'...th'ng..."

Nicolas watched as his father laughed quietly, and by now he was sure there was going to be a big bruise on his face. The hold on his jaw just seem to be tightening by the second.

"And what am I?"

Nicolas took a couple of seconds this time, he stared at the man in front of him and his hesitation only earned him another slap on his face, this time forcing him to spit out blood as his head turned to the side from the force. He was panting from the pain and his lips were trembling but his voice was back although it was nothing but a whisper.

"Captain...Owner."

"Good to know you can say that shit right."

Nicolas forced his eyes open when he felt an arm pulling him towards a warm body. He let out a soft noise, and closed his eyes again. He felt tired, even thought he had just slept he felt extremely tired. It was almost as if he hadn't slept at all. The energy that was usually saved up when sleeping was all gone, and so he didn't struggle when Worick pulled him closer to his body and buried his face against the back of his neck. The blond was still deep asleep, and Nicolas pretended to be as well. He kept his eyes closed, letting his body rest but he honestly felt too weak to even force himself to move. He could be taking a shower right now, and getting ready to go out and look for an early job but it was impossible, his body wouldn't respond to him.

He was numb, he was tired and everything seemed a little bit too difficult.

It took a while for Worick to change positions, but when he did the raven pulled away from his hold and sat on the bed. The sun was barely showing through the window but what was frustrating for Nicolas was the fact that just sitting up was taking a high amount of energy from him. He sat there, his head hanging as he stared at his lap.

He had a dream, a dream that was a memory that he could still recall pretty often. It wasn't like his father had only said those words a couple of times, no, ever since he could remember he was told the same over and over and whenever he wasn't good then...then he could feel what dying was like. He had been good though, obedient, loyal and never complained, never argued.

The raven glanced at the bottle on the night table, the black label with white letters indicating which doctor had made the drug, and for whom. Celebre was what kept him alive, without it he was dead and even then...even then like his father would say, he didn't really have that long. On top of that, as a twilight the chances of him dying were higher. It was a dead end.

It was pointless.

Worick woke up when the sun coming through the window started to make the room too hot for him to remain buried under the blankets. He yawned loudly and stretched, his body instantly sitting up as he rubbed his eyes and looked around. Nicolas wasn't sleeping anymore and he wasn't on the bed either. The blond frowned and looked around again before noticing a familiar head. Worick had to think before crawling over to the other side of the bed and sitting down next to Nicolas. The raven was sitting on the floor with his head buried against his knees and his arms around his legs. He wasn't sleeping and looked up as soon as Worick was sitting on the bed next to him.

"Nicolas, you could just sit on the bed and wait for me to wake up if you are bored. You don't have to sit on the floor." Worick gently bumped his leg against Nicolas' shoulder, giving him a small smile.

The raven didn't nod or said anything, he just looked away. It was easy for the blond to tell that something was bothering Nicolas, he was somewhat proud of the fact that he was able to read the other a lot better than he used to, even if he still made a lot of mistakes.

[What's wrong?] This time it was Worick talking to Nicolas in sign language. The raven was looking at him, his blank face showing very little yet enough for Worick to frown. Still, nothing had really prepared him for what happened next.

"W'ric'...owner?"

It was like the blonde had just been punched on the face, he was frozen in place, trying, no pretending that he hadn't just heard what Nicolas said. He shook his head and stood up, before turning and giving the other a wide fake smile. "Sorry Nic, I couldn't understand that, tell me after my shower!" He was running from this and he knew it, but he couldn't deal with it. What Nicolas had just asked was something that Worick honestly had never thought of, no, he would be lying if he said he hadn't. It had been an implication since the day Nicolas ended up with him, but he had just waved it off as something stupid. Just like he had pretended for the longest time that Nicolas wasn't a Twilight, how even now sometimes he liked to deny it because Nicolas wasn't a monster, and he wasn't massive with big muscles. He was scrawny and short, even if he was an elite fighter, he just couldn't see it. Even now.

The blond stood there in the bathroom, his blue eye staring at the cold tile. He didn't want to leave, he hadn't even shower and he knew that Nicolas wasn't moving. He was going to sit there and wait for him, maybe he was going to ask another question, or maybe he was just going to pretend that nothing happened. Either way Worick didn't want to deal with it, he didn't at all and so pretty much ran away by taking the longest shower he possibly could.

Worick honestly expected Nicolas to be there by the time he got out of the shower, but he wasn't. He wasn't sitting anywhere, and the window of their small apartment was wide open. The bottle of pills next to the night table was gone but something didn't feel right. Something was wrong. Nicolas wasn't right at the moment, he shouldn't be outside, there was something wrong with him and Worick didn't know what the hell it was. He needed to find him. Without a second thought the blond found himself running out of the apartment. He locked the door and ran out of the building, looking to his right and then his left but the streets didn't show a familiar raven head of hair. Where the hell was Nicolas.

It was Thursday, and like every Thursday the people in charge of the cage fighting were slowly setting things up. It was Thursday and it was too early, and of course the men in suits found it odd that Nicolas was already there, sitting against a wall with his katana in between his legs and leaning against his shoulder, both of his arms were around his legs and his head was buried against his knees. He was trying to take as little space as he could, even though the warehouse and the building near it were far apart. He looked too small, but the men couldn't interfere, sometimes keeping your nose out of people's business was the way you could stay alive, specially if you were a twilight.

The warehouse was slowly coming to life, tables were being dragged outside along with some lights and pamphlets. Another group of twilights arrived, these one being a mix of females and males, all of them wore similar white and blue uniforms, it was the uniforms that people that sold food wore, they were probably going to start setting up the inside as well now. Nicolas was watching, his eyes hidden by his jacket and his own hair. He hadn't eaten anything but he wasn't hungry. He had already taken that one pill that was necessary for him to survive, he honestly didn't need anything else. It made his body function and it kept his mind from becoming foggy like it had so many times.

The morning sun was moving and it was slowly hiding behind the old buildings. The lights the staff had brought out were now lit up and people were slowly starting to arrive, it was Nicolas clue to get up. He walked over and by now the men knew him. The tag on his neck now read C/4, it had been eight weeks since he started to participate in these fights and he had become one of the favorites to watch, although the raven didn't know this. No one really approached him and when they did he wouldn't notice half of the time. Nicolas wrote down his name, his messy hand writing standing out so oddly and somehow it was bothering him today, he erased it and wrote it again and again until the staff noticed the struggle.

"Hey kid..." It was the same man he had met eight weeks ago, Mike. "Its alright."

Nicolas watched as the man took his pencil and wrote down Nicolas brown for him, his hand writing of course being superior and looking so neat, it went well along with the rest of the names. Nicolas looked up and nodded his head at him.

"All you gotta do is practice, you'll get there." Mike smiled at him and Nicolas didn't know what to say, he just nod once more and walked towards the entrance.

Practice uh? He used to practice a lot of his writing with Worick, but lately they hadn't done that at all. Their schedules were just too different and whenever Worick was home he wanted to rest or go out and eat. Nicolas had tried to change this by learning how to cook, but it had ended up with them having to buy more bandaids and bandages. He was a mess at cooking, he couldn't understand the concept, and when Worick had said he had to put his heart into it, he was at a loss.

The raven made his way to the locker room, he knew how to do this by heart now. He had to wait in the locker room, then wait for them to call his letter, and then he could fight to earn himself a better number. Once again he was one of the first ones in the locker room, he sat on the floor with his back against the wall and waited. Other twilights slowly started to fill up the room, some of them would look his way and talk among themselves but no one really approached him, which was fine for Nicolas. He wasn't here for interaction, he was here to get himself a number and then leave. He was already making better money than before, it was easier for the two to find food and rent wasn't an issue anymore, but they were still in the gutter and Worick still had to work every single night and he was looking more tired by the day. He needed a break.

Nicolas didn't even noticed how tight he had been holding his katana until he heard the wood of the sheath whine in reply. He stopped then and sighed quietly. He wanted to finish this already. He wanted to go back home but he also didn't want to. He was confused and frustrated, he was angry and he wasn't sure why. He just wasn't good at managing his emotions yet, everything felt fucked up and his brain was scrambled all over. He wanted to feel but he wasn't sure what, he wanted to be stronger but how. He wanted things. Want was never a word he had before but now he did. Life had been simple with the mercenary group, but now that he had been thrown into this world, everything was so complicated and Nicolas was frustrated. The world was so very different and his head was hurting from just thinking about it.

He was tired too, he somehow wanted to sleep again, to sleep for a long time and hope that when he opened his eyes again life was going to be the same once more. No more confusion, no more Worick making his brain a mess, no more of this. Yet, thinking like this made him feel awful, the pain on his chest and throat was coming back and it was frustrating. He was so distracted by his own thoughts that he didn't notice the usual announcer coming in and giving them the usual speech, that was until he noticed people walking towards the door. It was the D class. Not letter yet.

The fact that he had more time to think about what was running through his head was frustrating as well. He wanted to be out there, because for those few minutes he was fighting, everything made sense. He had been trained for this, made for this, this is what his father had done with him. It was what felt natural for him, holding back? He never had to do that for this long, he could remember never being thrilled or excited about missions, or honestly caring at all. He did what he was told and that's it, so maybe he never realized how much he needed this as well. How those missions in which his father let him do as he pleased was what maybe kept him as sane as he was in the mercenary group. The thrill of the hunt, the fighting, the smoke and the smell of gunpowder, the way his blade would slice through flesh, all of that he was familiar with and all of this...all of this was too new.

Most of all, it was pointless.

It was pointless. Nicolas was going to die sooner than Worick, he was going to die like all the other twilight had before him. He had seen it happen, his father had made him watch. He was going to slowly lose his senses, he was going to lose the ability to feel, his body was slowly going to fall apart and he was even going to go blind. The one thing he had to keep him in this world was going to be taken from him as well. He was going to die slowly, and it was going to be painful and depressing. Everything was going to be taken away and it didn't matter how much he tried or how much he loved life. He was going to die soon and there was nothing he could do about it. Worick didn't know this, or maybe he did, maybe he was ignoring it and was living life in the moment but eventually it was going to become painfully obvious and Nicolas was going to disappear like he had been nothing.

The vibrations of the crowd outside were bounding against the wall, and with each new one Nicolas knew a fight had ended. Three fights down, a few more to go. He could wait, he could. What he didn't realized was the aura that was around him, and the murder intent that was easy to smell in the air. Needless to say, no twilight approached him, like always.

Worick couldn't believe he had been looking all day for Nicolas. He had looked through every nook and cranny in the god forsaken city and now he was here. He never thought that this is where Nicolas would go to pick up his tags, and to be honest he had never put much thought into it, he was giving Nicolas that privacy, he wanted the raven to tell him himself but after he had left the worry in Worick's heart only seem to grow by the second. Not to mention this was a Twilight area, him being here wasn't very smart but he needed to find Nicolas.

The blond ran towards the tables that seem to be receiving people and stopped right in front of one. He was panting and sweating, he was having a hard time catching his breathe but he had to force his body to cooperate. The men behind the table were giving him odd looks and one of them looked impatient with his presence.

"Excuse me...sorry...but I'm looking for someone..." Worick was able to say in between his panting, his blue eye finally looking at the two men in suit. The two looked big and strong, not to mention they had tags around their necks. "I think he comes here to get his tags. He is short, black hair, has a C/4 tag. Oh! and a katana of course." The blond motioned towards his shoulder to show how tall Nicolas was and then stared at the two man who looked surprised. One of them raised one of his brows and then crossed his arms over his chest.

"You talking about the Nicolas kid?" The man with a blond beard asked.

"Yes! Nicolas, he ran off and I couldn't find him anywhere, is he here?" Worick sighed in relief, the loud banging on his chest was slowing down, his worry was finally slipping away although he couldn't really calm his nerves yet.

"You are a normal though, right? What do you want with him?" The second man asked, furrowing his brows before he frowned and tsk'd "So that kid ain't a stray after all, of course...are you here to watch him fight and shit? Take him upstairs Joe."

"But Mike, the boss doesn't even know about him. You know the only normals that can go up there are-" Joe was interrupted when Mike grabbed his shirt and pulled him close.

"I know that, but its better than having a normal die near his warehouse, he would fuck us up if that happens, got it? Tell him this kid is with the Nicolas boy, he would get it." Mike pushed on Joe and then watched as his subordinate showed Worick inside the warehouse.

Worick wanted to say thank you but something was telling him that the last thing the Mike wanted was a thank you from him. He had looked pissed when he said that Nicolas wasn't a stray, almost like if it had been offensive and degrading. Worick kept quiet though and follow the other man who was taking him around the fighting ring and up a flight of stairs. The walk wasn't long but the blond ended up in front of a metal door that was being guarded by a lot of men, all of them wearing dog tags, still Joe walked towards the door and knocked. Another twilight opened the door and after the two whispered to each other Worick was motioned to follow them inside.

The room was huge and had tinted glass walls all around it. Men in expensive suits were standing around or sitting, some of them had cigars in between their lips while others were drinking and laughing. All of them looked like rich people, and none of them wore a dog tag. There were piles of money on some tables and the female waitresses were dressed in short and showy dresses, all of them had tags that were attached to a dog collar and the sight made Worick sick in the stomach. He looked away and followed Joe instead, until he was lead into another room that was different, very much so. It was an office with a lot of books, a heavy wooden desk was near the far wall and a man with white dreads and olive skin color was standing near one of the glass walls. He was staring at the fighting ring below him and Worick could see two people fighting from the corner of his eye.

The man turned, his brown eyes staring at Worick and the blond could have sworn this man could read his mind. He was frightening but also didn't feel dangerous at all. It was an odd combination.

"You know normals being here is dangerous, right?" The man spoke as he took a drag of the cigar in between his fingers.

Worick gulped down his fear and took a step closer. "I honestly wasn't paying attention where I was going, I got here by luck but I know Nic is here. He's been leaving to get tag numbers and today he ain't right, I know it."

"He isn't right? Wouldn't he be able to tell?" He tilted his head at Worick, taking another puff of his cigar.

"He...he would keep pushing even if there was something wrong, that's how Nic is." The blond frowned and glanced towards the glass window, watching as the two twilights fought in the ring.

"You mean that's how he was trained."

Worick's head snapped towards the man, the deadly glare in his eyes visible, his blue eye looked as cold as steel and his jaw was locked and rigid.

"Calm down boy, I didn't say you did it but is pretty obvious. Let's start this over." The man nodded and put his cigar out in an ashtray and walked over to Worick bowing his head just slightly. "I'm Charles and you are?"

"Worick." The blond nodded slowly and watched as the older male walked towards the glass wall again, this time Worick followed him.

"I've been keeping an eye on your friend, he has become quite popular to be honest. The normals in the other room have been betting in his battles non-stop and they even started to bid in between each other to see who can get him but because we all thought he was stray then obviously that wasn't possible, but since it seems he isn't then that means things have changed." Charles glanced over at Worick and reached for the cigar again although he didn't light it up.

Worick tch'd and turned his head, glaring at the floor. He hated when people started talking like this, if only he had known it was going to turn like this when he gave that bastard the money he wanted. He had been an idiot but even now he was sick and tired of listening to this type of conversations. It was sickening.

"I'm not his holder, I'm his friend."

Charles hummed and nodded his head, his eyes on the fighting right. "Is that so...that means those guys next door can just pay him off and keep him then, right?"

"No!" Worick cussed mentally at how fast he answered and huffed when he noticed Charles smiling just a bit. The blond had pretty much contradicted himself because if he was just friends with Nicolas then why did it matter if he went off to work for someone else.

"Alright then Mr. Worick. Why don't you tell me a bit about your situation then, because I'm having a bit of a hard time understanding it. You say he doesn't belong to you, yet you don't want him to go work for other people which would pretty much guarantee a good position for him and also safety from other normals."

Worick sighed and ran a hand through his hair, he was getting a headache and the stress from the day was finally building up. It was frustrating him. He wanted to do nothing else but stomp into that stadium and drag Nicolas out with him but he wasn't even sure where the hell the raven was. The blond sighed one last time, rubbing his face in frustration.

"Its complicated...his father's troops were stationed in my house. I met Nicolas when he became my bodyguard after I ditched my last one, he was fired and I was without one for the longest. It was his father that introduced us and at first I hated it..." Worick heard himself chuckle. "But he grew on me and we became friends, at least that's the way I see it. It wasn't like his bastard of a father was any better than mine."

"He got hurt, badly hurt. I was sure he was going to die, he wasn't taken to a doctor. He had to patch up himself, do you believe it? He was fucking twelve and those assholes couldn't even fucking spare him some time. He had to do it himself. He stitched his wounds himself..." The simple memory would still anger the blond, he could feel his fists shaking. "Of course his body couldn't take it, he was hardly given any drugs, he could hardly stand for too long and could hardly eat. They wanted to take him back and he was going to die, I knew he was going to die..." Worick leaned his head against the glass wall, his eyes closing as he rubbed his lips together. Somehow talking about all of this was making him feel better, even though it was frustrating and it was bringing back terrible memories. It was still calming him, maybe this is what he had needed all this time, he needed someone to talk to that wasn't just Nicolas. The two of them had tried to carry on this whole burden on their own but in the end they were nothing but brats. "I..I gave his father money. He sold Nicolas. I just wanted to help, he was going to die, he was going to be dumped like trash."

"So you bought him."

That sentence turned his body cold, Worick shook his head, his eyes shut as he tried not to think of things that way. Saying that Nicolas' father sold him just was another form of denial for the blond, to deny the fact that he had indeed bought Nicolas, that he had traded his father's money for the raven.

"I'm sure he was grateful, after all you took him away from his abusive father, right?" Charles was lighting up his cigar again, taking a long drag and blowing it against the window.

Worick wanted to say that yes, Nicolas was happy, but the memory of that smile. The memory of how the raven had looked after he gave him the news was still burned into his brain. He hated being able to remember things so well because that day he had never seen Nicolas so broken.

"No answer? I'm guessing that maybe you did the wrong thing. Not to say your heart wasn't in the right place kiddo. But you know what's the right we all deserve when we are in this world?"

Worick glanced at the older male, his blue eye half lidded as he looked at him through thick blond eyelashes.

"Freedom. I think we all deserve it, we twilights used to be slaves. Being sold, being bought, it was part of our life every day. The three rules give us basic human rights while still keeping us below normals. You took your friend's freedom away when you bought him. He could have ran away any day, he simply choose not to, because maybe unlike you, he actually wanted to be with his father or maybe just like him, you also wanted that."

Worick swallowed heavily, his blue eye wide as he stared at the man in front of him. He had hated his father, he had hated his life and everything around it, but when Nicolas killed his family instead of feeling relief, instead of feeling happiness. He was angry, he was sad, he was upset, everything all at once. He wasn't saved, it wasn't that simple and he had done the same thing to Nicolas. He had taken him from his family, not only that, he had shown him how much he wasn't wanted, how being exchanged for money was all he had been good for. Worick didn't have to experience that, he watched his family being killed but the idea that maybe his father was going to change, was going to accept him and love him one day wasn't taken from him. He had kept it, it was the hope he always aimed for but Worick...he had taken all of that from Nicolas.

The shock and misery on the blond's face was showing and the older male looked away. The crowd was cheering loudly and screaming the fight had just ended and two new fighters were stepping into the ring. It was Nicolas and a woman that was far taller than him, she easily topped 6'4. She had long black hair tied in a pony tail and had two long daggers in each hand, scars covered her neck and right side of her face. The woman was smirking and staring at the raven, noticing how he was sweating and dragging his feet. Charles was able to tell right away that the boy needed celebre.

"That boy..." Charles said, pointing at Nicolas with his cigar. "Was raised and trained to obey humans, I have seen many like him. He was raised as a tool and as a weapon. He doesn't know real freedom, he doesn't know basic rights. He only goes with what he thinks would help who he belongs to. The first person was his father, but even though he was treated as property that was still his father, even if he was probably considered a tool, any child wants nothing else but their parent's approval and love. Being obedient, being good, that's probably what made him think that his father could maybe one day think of him as more than property...Now the question is, what is he willing to do to please you, the new owner."

Worick was at lost of what to say. He didn't want to think about this, not right now. Not specially after the two had...fuck. The blond shook his head, rubbing his good eye. What if Nicolas hadn't wanted it or liked it at all, what if he had gone along with what Worick had wanted, it made him sick to his stomach. He wanted to throw up but he swallowed the feeling. He hadn't known, he probably still didn't know a lot about Nicolas and how his mind worked. He had never really noticed a lot of these things, he just figured it was Nicolas behavior after years of abuse, just like his own behavior wasn't normal...but if it was like this.

The right in the ring was starting. The woman was fast, he was agile and Nicolas ended up defending himself more than anything. She was aiming in the right places with her daggers. She had good aim too and the raven was having a hard time dodging the daggers when they were thrown at him, at some point one of the blades stabbed the side of his jacket, and Nicolas found himself quickly shrugging it off, he was left with his tank top, showing all the bruises and cuts on his arms and neck. He was panting, working out a sweat already and the people in the audience were wondering what was happening. Nicolas wasn't even using his blade yet, he was dodging and blocking with his katana but wasn't attacking. He couldn't keep up with her enough to counter attack.

"Tch, kid, you can't make this so boring, we have an audience don't we!?" The woman grinned, easily moving her daggers in her hand as she took a step towards the other. "Why the fuck would you try to fight when you are so low in Celebre? You don't have some kid or what? You gotta take advantage of it shortie or else you might just roll over and die." She chuckled and then got a bottle out from within her jacket, she shook the bottle of pills and then popped open the cap before dropping some of the Celebre in her mouth. She crushed the pills with her teeth and his eyes became diluted right away. She smiled from ear to ear and then launched towards the teen again, this time her movements being more precised and she even managed to land a hard kick on Nicolas' stomach. The raven coughed loudly, blood crawling out of his mouth as he quickly jumped away from the other, it hurt, his stomach was screaming at him and he was sure that maybe one of his bottom rips was bruised or worst, broken.

Worick was watching, worry slowly starting to creep under his skin. Nicolas didn't look so good, what if he died? He wasn't even sure how the rules were supposed to work but he knew that they weren't supposed to die, Nicolas had told him this.

"I don't want to think of Nicolas like that..." Worick took a deep breathe, his hand resting on the glass wall. "Nicolas is not my property, even if people see it like this, even if they want to push it on me and see me like this. It isn't the truth. I've been shitty, maybe I misunderstood him too much, but I am not going to be like this. Nicolas is my friend, we are partners and I just want him not to be miserable." The blond turned, giving the older man a firm nod. This wasn't him, he wasn't a monster. He wasn't his father, he had fucked up, big time, but Nicolas wasn't property, he wasn't a thing, Nicolas was Nicolas. He was his best friend and only friend and even through the rough times, in the end whenever he would close his eyes he could only see the raven smiling. He could see Nicolas writing, his smile and his confused eyes. It was the reason why he came to this city, it was the reason why he worked hard.

"Nicolas and I are partners, we help each other out, after all I'm a whore, what kind of owner is that?" Worick grinned and glanced at the older male. Charles was staring at him with slightly wide eyes. "We're gonna pull through this together and Nicolas is going to make that choice, I'm not going to force him. He chose to come here on his own, he is learning to make choices and I'm proud of him." The blond grinned and turned his attention back to the fight, Nicolas would pull through, he was going to drag him out and free him.

Nicolas was breathing heavily, his body was shaking and he was sure he was going to go into shock pretty soon, he was hardly dodging the woman's attacks now and by now his nose was bleeding as well, but he couldn't bring himself to stop, he wasn't sure why but he wanted to keep going. More, fight more, and more. The teen stood up straight, his bleeding nose dripping on his lips and chin but he didn't care. He needed to win and without thinking twice he reached for the bottle of celebre in his pants. He watched as the woman smirked as Nicolas popped the cap open and dropped six pills in his mouth. The raven crushed the pills with his teeth and suddenly his whole world changed.

Nicolas wasn't sure what was happening, but the colors seem brighter. He could see better, things weren't as blurry and his senses were wide awake. He could feel the people around him, the man walking around selling food, the kids pushing each other and the men laughing. He could feel everything, sense how the world around him was vibrating. He had never felt this before, it was like he was awake, for the first time in his life he was awake. He was hungry and thirsty, he couldn't remember feeling this hungry, ever in his life and his throat was dry. The way his hands felt, the way his body moved, it was like he had gained complete control over it. He wasn't dragging his feet anymore as he walked, he could lift them, he could keep his head up and he could feel. He could feel so much even if the pain was gone. Not being able to hear was irrelevant, it was pointless when he felt like this.

He was alive.

Live, he could live.

Nicolas felt himself grinning, it hurt his mouth and he could sense his voice vibrating against his lips. He was snickering, and he wanted to fight this woman. She was good, she was great and Nicolas wanted nothing else but to fight her and beat her. He wanted to destroy her and tear her apart, he wanted to win his tags. He needed them, he wanted more. The raven launched against the woman, pulling out his sword. He was faster, too fast, she was hardly able to dodge but grinned all at the same time. She tried to kick Nicolas but the raven pulled away and jumped, he jumped so high he reached the top of the cage and then pushed himself down with his feet. He was swinging his sword, hitting the woman's daggers over and over as she blocked and counter attacked. Everyone was watching and screaming.

Worick could hear the men in the next room howling and cheering, they kept screaming about how this was a good fight. They were talking about how they wanted that woman or how they wanted to take Nicolas. They were all greedy normals that thought of the twilights as tools, they couldn't see the raw power they possessed, how they could so easily kill them and destroy them but Worick did. He had never seen Nicolas like this, he had never seen him so alive, with his eyes wide and full of excitement. He was fighting better than ever, he was dodging and attacking without hesitation, moving like the waves in the ocean. He wasn't quite like water, he was too chaotic to be water, he was like a storm. A storm that was slowly taking over everything and destroying what was around him, and Worick found himself grinning. Yes, this is who Nicolas was, a storm.

Nicolas grinned as he landed a kick on the woman's face, his whole body shook at his own strength and the woman in return swung her arm and punched him on his side, forcing him away from her. Nicolas recovered too quickly, it was almost like he hadn't been kicked at all. The celebre was taking him whole, and waking up his senses, his body, all of it. He wasn't tired anymore, his mind wasn't foggy, he didn't feel as weak and simple anymore. He could think without being tired, it was so different from only taking one pill, the dosage he had been taking for as long as he could remember. The pill that was enough to keep him from dying. He was moving faster, and he was jumping and once again aiming for the woman, this time she had to roll away to avoid his blade, the sharp edge cutting through the fighting ring.

The raven turned, the grin still on his face as he aimed for the woman again, except she stood there, glaring at him before she waved at the referee and the man was next to them stopping the fight. She tsk'd and glared at Nicolas before walking out of the ring. He had won, the girl had given up even thought the fight wasn't over.

"You scared her off kiddo, she thought you were going to kill her and didn't see it as worth it." The man in front of him was saying and Nicolas was surprised of how clearly he could read his lips. The raven nodded and put his sword away, walking away from the ring. The cheering around him was vibrating and he could even feel it on his feet.

Worick clapped his hands once, a grin on his face. "He won!" He cheered and looked over at Charles, he was smiling and nodding.

"He did Mr. Worick. You should go with him, this was his last fight. He is getting a new tag now."

Worick nodded and was about to turn when he glanced back at the man. "Thank you, I kinda needed a rough awakening and thanks for watching over Nic. He's a good kid, just not very awake yet." The blond grinned again and ran out of the room this time. He needed to find Nicolas. One of the employees took him downstairs and left him at the main entrance, the blond was standing there waiting for Nicolas to come claim his new tag and when he saw the raven he ran towards him. Worick couldn't help himself but to hug the other, pulling him into a bear hug that left the raven with wide eyes.

"You won Nic! You were so awesome!" The blond nodded, and Nicolas just smiled in return, giving a weak nod as well.

[She got scared] Nicolas added and grinned before pulling away from Worick to pick up his new tag. He was given a C/3 tag and the raven happily hung it around his neck. He was getting there and it was exciting. The raven turned to face Worick again and the blond was smiling.

Worick reached over for Nicolas' arm and the two walked out of the fighting ring and into the streets. The tight was a bright one but like always stars couldn't be seen, only the moon but the night was still young and there were people walking all around. The twilights were laughing and eating together, children were still playing around and some families were getting ready to sleep. Somehow this small community felt closer and better than any place Worick had ever been to. It was nicer than his home and nicer than the whore house. The blond chuckle and turned to see Nicolas. He was looking around as well and looking just so lively. Even his facial expressions were clearer and his skin color wasn't as pale anymore. He looked healthy and more awake than ever.

It somehow made everything better. To see Nicolas like this, it made Worick's shitty choice a good one.

They got home after picking up some food. Worick ended up getting some stew for the two of them, and Nicolas ended up devouring the food like if he hadn't eaten in days. He was chewing and tearing the meat like he never had before. Usually the raven would poke his food around and hardly eat but this time he was eating like a kid that was learning how to hold a spoon for the first time. He ended up choking a couple of times but was drinking his water right away. The taste was just amazing, Nicolas couldn't remember food ever tasting this good. Worick was mostly amused, he watched as the raven kept eating and chuckle.

"I guess maybe one pill a day is not right for you." The blond nodded and took a bite of his food as he read the book he was holding.

Nicolas only nodded in response. He was going to have start taking more celebre, he wasn't sure how much but he needed to take more than he did before. It was a completely different feel, he felt so alive. He wanted to live, he wanted to actually wake up in the morning, to sleep and to do things, anything.

Worick kept eating and reading his book, his eyes staring down at the letters in front of him and so he didn't notice when Nicolas pushed his plate away or when he half bended on top of their small table. He didn't until he turned to speak to the other again. Nicolas face was only inches away from his and Worick yelped in surprise and leaned back just a bit before laughing quietly.

"What the hell are you doing?" He chuckle and closed his book, putting his book away before turning his attention towards Nicolas just to feel something warm against his lips. The raven was leaning in and kissing him, the full lips were soft against his own and Worick was in shock, Nicolas had never been the first one to initiate things and so the blond reached for the back of the raven's neck before pulling him closer. He blindly put his plate on one of the chairs and and pulled Nicolas closer, making the other crawl on the table until Worick was making him lay down on his back on the table with his legs hanging and the blond in between them. Worick never broke the kiss, his lips still firmly pressing against Nicolas' as he pushed his tongue inside his mouth and gently bit the raven's lips, they were so soft, Worick truly couldn't have enough. He growled and forced Nicolas to wrap his legs around his waist as he slipped his hand under his shirt but stopped then.

Worick broke the kiss, his lips still touching Nicolas but he had to stop himself. He pulled back and stared down at the raven. He was panting and his chest was raising and falling. Worick's hands could feel Nicolas heart pounding against his chest and a red hue was spreading over the round cheeks. It took all of Worick's will power not to say fuck it and fuck the other until he couldn't walk. But he had to stop. He had to.

"Hey, Nicolas...you like this, or not?" The blond frowned, asking as he gently stroke Nicolas' face with one of his hands.

[What do you mean?] The raven signed really quickly, tilting his head in confusion.

"You don't hate this, do you? Do you want me to stop? You don't have to do this if you don't like it. I'm happy with just being around you, you know? Its alright if you don't like this.." Worick nodded, a small smile tugging on the corner of his lips. "It will be fine if we stop." The blond held onto Nicolas face, waiting for him. The raven was staring at him, furrowing his brows as he thought of what the other had just said. Worick couldn't read his mind and sometimes he wished he could, but he waited, his hand holding onto Nicolas face until the raven looked back at him.

[I don't...hate it.] The raven signed looking away with a blush on his face, his hands were hesitating a bit as he moved them but it was pretty obvious he was embarrassed.

Worick stared at Nicolas and couldn't help himself but to laugh. He was laughing in relief and at the same time at Nicolas for being so shy. He couldn't give him a direct answer but simply tell him he didn't like it. He snickered and shook his head, before burring his face against Nicolas' neck, a smile on his face. He wanted Nicolas to be his, he wanted him to belong to him but not in the way people thought of him, no. He wanted Nicolas to willingly say it, to willingly accept it, not as a tool, not as a weapon but because he was happy, he wanted to be with Worick.

The blond pulled back and grinned, kissing Nicolas one more time. "Then we can stop for now and do it some other time. Plus we gotta shower and you kinda stink!" Worick laughed quietly and pulled back, walking over to the bathroom, leaving a very flustered Nicolas on the table with his face red and his clothes a mess.

This wasn't fair!

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