Hello again Black Lagoon Archive :) Long time no see ;)

So it's again been quite a while for me. I'm possibly even more nervous about this, than I have been about any other BL fic I've done. It puts Revy and Rock in a situation they've never been in, and will most likely NEVER be in, in regards to canon. I suppose it can be called AU in that respect, but it doesn't alter anything we've already seen. It's just a scenario I thought up, and an odd/uncomfortable/difficult one at that. Still, do expect Revy to change as the story progresses, as a result of her really not having much of a choice. This might be cryptic now, but it should make a little more sense later )

Anyway, I just finished work on it today, but will be posting it a bit slowly as I haven't been over the more recent sections a million times yet. I might also mention that I've been working on this fic for over a year now, little by little whenever inspiration hit. I apologize it it feels uneven at times, but that lengthy stretch is why.

I still don't own Black Lagoon.

It had been two months since the Thai government claimed eminent domain of Roanapur. Naturally, such an event brought all hell to break loose. While the lower-level criminals -Abrego, Dago, and the few remaining members of the laughable Verrochio family- quickly up and left, Balalaika had no intention of leaving without a fight, and rumor has it, that war is still going on.

While Roanapur's citizens had seen her through all manner of death, destruction and chaos, this was different. This wasn't the usual case of Roanapur's resident military searching for one or two individuals, this was Hotel Moscow versus the Thai government, and the only way that ends for the spectators is with body bags. Witnessing the rapid deconstruction of their home, it wasn't long before Roanapur's star couriers parted ways. Seeing as how he'd just found love with a certain Indian computer hacker, Benny was the first to leave. Having accumulated a rather substantial nest egg for himself throughout the years, Dutch was next to go and with his departure of course went the PT boat.

Revy and Rock were the last to leave. Between the two of them, they had just enough money to survive for a while, and seeing how their partnership had become somewhat of an odd-couple's friendship, they decided to stick together. They made a deal with Chang and the proprietors of the rip-off church, to hitch a ride to the US, or more specifically; New York City.

Heavy rain saturated Rebecca's clothes as she walked the dank and garbage laden streets of China town. Wearing a black hooded coat and all-to-familiar skirt over tight black pants, her hands rested in her coat's pockets, while her hood kept her face in shadow. She approached a street vendor and quietly requested, "The usual."

The man behind the cart handed her a small plastic bag for which she in turn dropped a few crumpled dollars on his cart before turning back the way she came. She slowed as she came to the intersection of Elizabeth and Canal Street, and while she waited for the light to turn, her attention slowly drifted to her right. Every time she came to this corner, she observed Mott Street from a distance, frozen in remembrance of her childhood.

The light turned and the crowd behind and beside her proceeded to cross Canal, leaving her standing at the corner for a moment before finally snapping out of it. She continued across Canal and a couple hundred feet down Elizabeth, before turning down a corridor between two old buildings. Even through the dense rain, she could hear the sound of footsteps behind her. Approaching slowly at first, then increasing in pace until her stalker was just behind her. In an instant, she slipped a hand from her pocket, retrieved a cutlass from beneath her coat and turned to face whoever had decided to make her their target.

A knife-brandishing street punk stood before her. He was perhaps an inch or two taller than her, more than likely a good bit younger, and at the sight of her polished steel, he took a step back, though he didn't fail to order of her, "Wallet!"

"Wrong bitch, my friend," She calmly replied. "If you don't have a gun in those rags, you'd be smart to turn the fuck around."

Either frozen in fear, or simply too hungry to run, the kid stood his ground and again barked, "I said gimme your wallet!"

A few floors up, Rock heard the commotion in the alley and looked out through a boarded up window of his and Revy's dwelling. "Shit," he muttered as he observed her holding a gun on the kid.

Revy looked away from the punk and growled under her breath, "God-fuckin'-dammit." She turned back to face the kid and pulled the hammer of her cutlass down with her thumb, "I really don't feel like dealing with the fuckin' cops today, junior. There are plenty of saps out there with a lot more money than me, now fuck off."

Obviously in over his head, the kid slowly backed out of the alley, never taking his eyes off of her. As soon as he came out onto the street, he ran off in search of an easier victim. Revy decocked her gun and slipped it back in her holster as she quietly muttered to herself, "Fuckin' idiot."

She took a few steps further into the alley and pushed open the dilapidated, spring-loaded door to the building. She flipped her hood down and shook herself off. The flickering fluorescents in the hallway offered the slightest of illumination as she ascended the decrepit staircase to the third floor. She came to her and Rock's "apartment", unlocked the door and quickly closed it behind her. She proceeded into the dim space and placed her bag on the small table in the kitchen area.

"Revy," Rock quietly exclaimed with a smile, though her eyes didn't turn to him as he approached her from the couch. She slipped her coat off revealing her cutlasses, and Rock asked, "Are you alright?" Still failing to acknowledge him, she took a seat at the table and opened the bag. Now within a few inches of her, he placed a hand on her shoulder, "Revy?"

Startled, but snapped free of her trance, Revy replied, "Huh?"

"Are you alright?" Rock asked again.

She looked back to the bag and removed a small container of soup as she solemnly replied, "Yeah."

With no utensils to be had, Revy tipped the container back, pouring its contents down her throat. He took a seat opposite her, and with her free hand, slid the bag across the table to him. Watching as she ravenously swallowed both broth and wontons like a starving child, Rock's typically bleeding heart was gushing. He retrieved his eggroll from the bag and as he took a bite, Revy paused her rapid consumption and took a breath, "Any word from Chang?"

Rock shook his head 'no' and replied with a full mouth, "Nothing for a week now. How about you?"

Revy retrieved a rolled bundle of money from her pocket and placed it on the table between them. Rock's chewing ceased as he observed the neatly wrapped roll of cash and asked, "Where'd that come from?"

Revy raised the container to her lips as she replied, "I took a job."

Rock immediately knew what that more than likely meant and pried, his tone clearly upset, "What does that mean, 'you took a job'?"

"It means I got paid for services rendered, Rock," Revy spat. "What the fuck have you done to put food on the table, dipshit?"

Rock looked away from her in shame. Still, he quickly attempted to defend himself, though kept his tone as calm as he could, "Every day I walk the surrounding neighborhood no less than twenty times, Revy. I'm looking everywhere for work. None of the families will talk to me, and-"

"I said no dealing with these fuckin' pricks, Rock!" Revy interrupted in a fury. She slammed her container down on the table and stood as she screamed at her partner, "This isn't Roanapur! These people don't have a shred of honor! Go looking in the wrong place and you'll wind up in a dumpster, you stupid fuck!"

Rock leaned back in his seat and struggled to stay calm, "I'm doing all I can, Revy. I'm trying to-"

"Well do me a fuckin' favor and try harder so I can stop suckin' dick…" Rock's eyes doubled in size as she continued, "…just so we can fuckin' eat!"

Instantly in tears, Rock reached his hand out to hers, "Revy-"

Just as his fingers touched the top of her hand, she pulled away from him and shouted, "Don't fucking touch me!" She slapped the container of soup at him and stormed off as she shouted, "Enjoy you're fuckin' meal! I have to get this fuckin' taste out of my mouth!"

The door to the bathroom slammed against its latchless jamb, and Rock's face fell forward. Feeling nothing but the utmost of shame, his tears ran down his cheeks as his mind raced for a solution to this awful life they'd gotten themselves into.

In the bathroom, Revy forced a finger down her throat bringing her to vomit everything that had entered her mouth these past few hours, including the food she had just eaten. Confident she had cleaned her system out; she rinsed her mouth out over and over again, before finally stopping to look at herself in the broken mirror. She calmed her breathing slightly, and just as it seemed she was back to reality, her gloved fist crashed into the mirror, shattering it and knocking it to the ground.

The sound of the crash immediately brought Rock to his feet. He knocked at the door, and without invitation slowly pushed it open. Revy sat on the floor of the shower stall, fully clothed. Her knees tight to her chest, her forehead resting on her forearms, and the blood on her knuckles washed away by the running water.

He cautiously approached her and slowly she raised her head, though her eyes never met his as she spoke, "I swore I'd never do this shit again, Rock. Two months ago, I was one of the best guns in the fuckin' world, now what the fuck am I?"

He kept his distance as he knelt down in front of her. He kept his tone as soothing as he could as he offered her, "It's going to get better, Revy. I promise I'll never stop looking, and as soon as someone gives me the chance, I'll do whatever I can."

"We used to be god's among insects, Rock; now we're nothing," Revy replied. "There's nothing here for us. No ins-"

"Dai-lo Chang said-"

"Wake the fuck up, Rock! Chang is gone!" Revy shouted. "Everyone we knew cut bait and jumped fuckin' ship! We're on our own!"

"Revy-"

"Please just…" Something must have clicked in her head to oddly calm her down somewhat, "…go away, Rock."

"Revy, please-"

Her growl built in her lungs before manifesting in a loud roar, "I said fuck off!" Her momentary calm vanished in half-a heartbeat and she reached for the nearest thing she could throw at him, which unfortunately for Rock was a shard of glass.

He raised his arm to protect his face, though this gave the piece of glass a new target. The shard slipped into his forearm and he shouted in pain. He managed to look down to Revy who wore no expression for what she had done. He pulled the glass from his arm, threw it to the floor, and finally gave her what she wanted, "You want me gone, I'm fucking gone!"

Rock stood from the floor and slammed the door to the bathroom behind him. A few seconds later, she could hear the sound of the "apartment" door slamming closed as well. It took a cluster-fuck of a situation for Revy to reflect on her actions, but this was one of those moments, "Goddammit, Rock."

She winced as she stood from the floor of the shower and peeled off her sopping wet clothes. Her skin was littered with bruises courtesy of whoever had paid for the pleasure of her company. She turned the water up as hot as it would go, and reached up to the showerhead, keeping it on her as she leaned up against the wall of the shower. She folded her arms across her chest and merely stood there, hoping the scalding hot water would wash away the touch of the bastard who'd used her as his whore.

Rock walked out onto the street and headed off towards Little Italy. The Italians would undoubtedly beat the shit out of him for even attempting to speak with one of their higher ups, but he had to do something. While there was nothing more than a friendship between them, he cared far too much for Revy to let her do the things she was. He would find them a place in this city even if it meant getting himself killed in the process.

Within seconds of entering DaNico's restaurant, Rock had gotten himself dragged out back and beaten as he expected. However, on this rare day, the don himself -Antonio Laroni- followed his thugs into the alley to observe the pummeled sack of meat that was Rock. Not as hefty a man as Rock would have imagined, the somewhat slender mob boss, knelt beside the businessman from Japan and calmly asked, "What the fuck were you thinkin', kid?"

Barely able to find breath, Rock's speech was just audible over the rain, "I need work; I'll do anything."

The don must have been having the day of his life as a small piece of him felt pity for Rock. He reached into a pocket and retrieved a single hundred dollar bill. He didn't throw it at him, didn't shove it in his face, he simply lay it down on the ground before him. "My dishwasher had a little…accident. That there is an advance; you be here tomorrow at five o'clock sharp."

Rock weakly nodded while the don stood and ordered his minions, "Clean him up and send him home." As they helped Rock to his feet, Antonio wrapped a hand around the back of his head and calmly denounced his authority, "If you decide not to show, I would run as far and as fast as you can; got it?"

Though it seemed a bit severe a threat over a measly hundred dollars, Rock nodded slightly as he replied, "Yes sir."

Somewhat surprised by the respect Rock offered him, Antonio gave him a pat on the shoulder, and the men who had just beaten him helped Rock back into the building, save for one. A man of similar build to Antonio, dressed in a matching white suit, and with long blonde hair asked, "A chink, Boss?"

Antonio took a step under an awning, lit a cigar and quietly replied, "He's Japanese, Michael."

The don turned to head back in the building and Michael again asked, "Boss?"

"He's not a chink," the don quietly replied.

Revy sat up against the same boarded window Rock had observed her from just a few hours earlier. Her hair still wet from her scalding shower, and she wore but a tank top and a pair of gray panties. The rain had stopped just a few moments earlier, leaving her with an absolutely painful silence. A part of her wanted nothing more than to go out on the street and just start shooting. She'd absolutely be killed by either the police or some random gun toting citizen within a few moments, but at least she'd go out in a blaze of glory as opposed to dying of starvation, nothing but some rich asshole's plaything.

A twist of the doorknob immediately snapped her attention in its direction. She quickly retrieved one of her cutlass and quietly racked the slide as she tip-toed to the wall beside the door.

Rock walked through the door and she could immediately see he was heavily injured. "Rock?" She asked as she lowered her gun.

His head rose slowly as he quietly beckoned in search of her, "Revy?" She reached out just in time to keep her partner from falling on his already bloody face, and just as the lights went out, he spoke with a weak smile on his lips, "I got a job, Revy."

More to come as I finish proofreading :) Hope you're enjoying it so far :)