A life worth living
Been quite some time since I've done a GTA story, not since my failed attempt at a serialized story called "Vice Life", which I can guess can be considered on permanent hiatus. Anyway, as I was writing out a new Legacy of Kain story for Christmas time, I also felt the urge to do so for GTA as I got the idea for a neat little one-shot. Basically this is set after the "Revenge" ending, and explores Niko's life after losing Kate.
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Life always has meaning, even in the absence of clear purpose.
The tinsel was on display in the high rise apartment, but it was ignored. A modest tree sat in one corner, decked from top to bottom in brightly colored decorations, but it too was ignored. Anything that remotely would have brought out the 'Christmas spirit' was being throughly, and bitterly ignored by the middle-aged European man who sat at the island in his kitchen, a bottle of whisky clutched in his hands. Despite the amount he had drank, the muddled thoughts he tried so desperately to forget still danced across his mind, mocking his futile efforts with soundless laughter.
A red haired woman, lying dead in his arms. His hands forever stained with her blood.
"What's wrong, Niko Bellic? Still dreaming of that woman you killed?" A thick Russian voice said, dripping with ridicule and spite. Short blonde hair and dark glasses framed his thick face, a pink tie covered in blood and riddled with bullet holes swung around his collar as he leaned over the man's shoulder. His lips curled into a sneering grin as he hovered over Niko's shoulder like a devil.
"I didn't kill her... It was that bastard, Pegorino." Niko replied dryly, his expression unchanging from the man's sudden appearance, as if the man had always been there, hanging over him like a shadow.
"Ah, but it was your decision to betray him that lead to her death, was it not?" The man said accusingly, now facing the man from the opposite side of the counter to stare Niko in the eye. Niko jerked his head up suddenly, a look of anger, but then heaved a heavy sigh.
"Just leave me be, Dimitri..." Niko shook his head, turning to face away from the man as he poured another shot into an empty glass and took a long sip. The burning sensation in his throat a familiar one, as it was the only thing that he even felt at all. He often wished it could burned the pain he felt.
"And miss out on watching you slowly drink yourself to death? As if." Dimitri snickered derisively, suddenly sitting on the chair beside Niko, which didn't creak at all as he shifted around on it. Niko grunted a response and took another swig, trying once more to ignore the pestering man.
"You can keep drinking, Niko Bellic, but remember; I'll always be here." Dimitri mocked, whispering the last few words right into Niko's ear. Stumbling out of his seat and turning to face the pale looking man, Niko glared.
"Go fuck yourself!" Niko bellowed, then threw the bottle at Dimitri. The glass container shattered against the wall, the liquids inside forming a splatter shaped stain that trailed down the wall. Dimitri was nowhere to be seen, his seat as cold and empty as it had always been.
"Likewise, Niko, likewise." The man's voice echoed, soon leaving Niko alone once more. No, he had always been alone, just as it should be, he figured. It had been a year since he arrived in the "land of opportunity." A year since his pursuit of Darko ended with him letting the traitor go, letting his past, his anger, all go. Niko wanted to clean his slate, to start anew, with her... with Kate. But then that bumbling, wannabe came and took her, all over his damned lost money. Never had Niko felt more empty and lonely, and he couldn't explain nor understand why. There just something about Kate that had inspired him, to actually change himself for the better, to cut his past off like a gangrenous toe.
"Now what?..." Niko muttered to no one, his eyes staring down the half empty glass in his hands. Then a knock came from the door and a familiar voice wafted through.
"Guess who came to see her favorite uncle!" A spirited voice said as the door pushed opened and two people entered, a somewhat pudgy man and a woman carrying a child. Roman and Mallorie looked around the apartment, noticing how unkept it looked.
"At least the decorations we set up are still alright, otherwise it looks almost like the crap shack you and I used to live in, hahaha." Roman laughed, jabbing his cousin in the elbow lightly, who merely looked back with weary, bloodshot eyes.
"I thought I said I wanted to leave me alone..." Niko finally said after a pregnant pause, the ice in his glass shifted as it slowly melted. The happy looking couple collectively frowned at him, sharing a quick glance with one another before looking back at him. All the while, the somewhat fussy baby girl in Mallorie's arms babbled and cooed.
"But cousin, it's Christmas! Don't you want to celebrate?" Roman asked with a jovial tone, holding out both arms to offer his dour cousin a hug. But the younger of the two men merely scoffed and walked past him, slumping down in the long couch in the center of the room.
"Just leave me be..." He mumbled, which made an unseen frown appear on Roman's face. Mallorie handed him the baby as she went into the kitchen and grabbed a dust pail to sweep up the broken glass that lay on the floor like a shattered thought. The baby girl gave a delighted squeal of joy as she watched the flickering lights in the room, enjoying the splendid colors.
"Cousin, when are you going to let it go? Didn't you want to stop shouldering the responsibility of those you've lost? Look, I know how you feel, we both do. When Kate was-" Roman began to say.
"Do you? Do you really know how it feels to watch the woman you love die before your eyes? Tp be completely and utterly helpless?" Niko asked, standing up with a wobble as he glared icily at Roman, who remained quiet.
"Niko..." Mallorie tried to say, but was at a loss for words, as was Roman who sighed heavily as his drunken cousin continued to look at him.
"I thought so." Niko slurred, shaking his head. "Just leave me alone, as if any of you can show me there's a point in enjoying life in this hellhole of a country." The embittered Bellic huffed, finishing his glass with a swig and slamming it on the coffee table as he sat back down.
"I may not have known Kate for all that long, but I can you this, cousin, she wouldn't want you to be mulling your days away in the dark, drinking yourself into a stupor. Trust me, I should know. I wasted so many years drinking and gambling, but I finally learned that life can be so much more when you have people who love you." Roman said, walking around the couch, keeping an eye on his downcast cousin.
"Just look at little Kate and try to tell me that there's nothing to be happy about." Roman said, gently holding his daughter out towards Niko, who glanced up to see the bubbly child giggle and stretch out her hands towards his face. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he felt a compulsion to accept the child into his grasp, and Roman carefully allowed his hands to let go as Niko took hold of the girl. As he continued to watch the small infant babble and coo at him, he felt a stirring in his heart, a promise of hope for the future. It was funny, all it took was the carefree smile of a child to spark the dying embers of a broken heart. Roman and Mallorie smiled as they watched Niko hold Kate in the air, a grin spreading on his face as she giggled and flailed her tiny arms.
"That's the spirit, cousin! Now, who wants to open some presents?" Roman laughed heartily, switched on a stereo to play some jingles while Mallorie handed him some wrapped boxes from beneath the tree. Niko could no longer hold back as he smiled, the baby now quietly resting in his cradling arm.
Life will always have a meaning, when you have something to care for.
THE END.
Yea, it might be a bit 'fluffy' for a series like GTA, but I thought it was a neat idea to explore the aftermath of Niko's loss. It's always an arduous task to overcome loss, to grasp the reality that someone close is forever gone, but that it in no way should mean life is no longer worth experiencing. Niko had found promise in Kate, even if she always played coy with her direct feelings, she was a beacon of hope to him when he was blindly rushing forwards to find Darko and get revenge. We'll always feel sad for losing the one's closest to us, but it's up to us to keep moving on with our lives and not let the pain eat us away.
Happy Holidays.