Yes, yes, I know I should be updating the stories for my Soul Eater fans (or working on my novel, or studying for the exam next week), but I needed to get this out of my system. I recently fell in love with this anime, so I was mildly horrified at the lack of Baccano! fanfiction. If you haven't seen the anime, I'm not sure how you found this story, but go watch it! Firo needs more love! (So does Jacuzzi! And maybe Vino!)

Anyway... yes, this story occurs after the events in the anime. Also, I based all of the titles off the song "Razorblade" by Blue October, which fits the story so well that it gave me an onslaught of ideas for one-shots. I plan on writing at least two more chapters (Czes and Nice x Jacuzzi). If anyone needs more, show me some love. ;)

Disclaimer: Characters and ideas belong to Ryohgo Narita and all other respective owners/companies. The song "Razorblade" and its lyrics belong to Blue October and all other respective owners/companies. No copyright infringement intended and made purely for entertainment purposes. This disclaimer applies to all chapters of this fanfiction.

Yeah it is you that I remember in that glowing
It is you that took my first away from me

Ennis curled up in a ball at the corner of her bed, pressing her back into the wall and burying her face into the pillow clutched in her arms. The window, as yet lacking curtains or even blinds, creaked in protest as winds battered from outside. Thunder, so loud that Ennis felt the sound rushing through and around her, roared as the lightning flickered in and out of the room.

Ennis knew that she should not be able to feel emotion, but then, why was she so afraid…?

The door squealed as it was pushed open, and Ennis glanced up. Across the barren room, empty except for the bed, an empty desk, and a few cardboard boxes, Firo held up a beeswax candle jammed crookedly into a too-small candlestick holder. Even in his boxer shorts and oversized socks, Ennis still thought he looked… well, charming, in the way that only Firo could look. "Hey. You okay in here?"

Ennis nodded, but whatever resolve she had for keeping a strong face vanished at the next crackle of thunder. Whimpering, Ennis buried her face into the pillow again.

Firo chuckled as he walked over and, shifting a larger box closer to the bed, set the candle within reach. He sat beside her, wrapping one arm around her shoulders. "It's okay. It's just a thunderstorm. They're not too uncommon around here."

Ennis shook her head, refusing to look at him. Ever since she had moved into this little apartment in downtown Manhattan one week ago, she had felt oddly dependent on Firo. He had paid for everything, from the front door (Firo exchanged the old cracked door with a freshly-painted green one) to the fire escape (where Ennis could sit and watch the setting sun shimmering on the black surface of the Hudson River). He even helped Czes, who shared the apartment with Ennis, unpack and settle into a new routine. He had offered to help Ennis unpack, too, but she would not let him, could not allow him to see how empty those boxes were.

"What's the matter?" he asked, setting his chin on her shoulder. Startled, Ennis drew her head back, and Firo took his chance to brush his lips against her cheek. She was so nonplussed that when the next thunder rattled her bones, she forgot to be afraid.

"You shouldn't do that," she muttered. She wanted to look away, but she had already looked at his face. Once her eyes met his—ever playful, but at this moment half-closed in concern—she found that she could not look away, as if it were a crime to miss this sight.

"Do what?" He brushed his fingers along the curve of her elbow, caressing the skin as he watched her face slowly redden. "Comfort the prettiest girl in New York? I think it's a great way to spend a Wednesday evening."

"I'm not…" Ennis struggled with the words. With his gaze focused on her, she found it difficult to speak at all. "I'm not human."

He chuckled. "You're as human as I am." He leaned back against the wall, keeping his arm wrapped snug around her shoulders, his thumb rubbing her shoulder. Ennis was suddenly aware that she was wearing only a sleeveless maroon nightshirt; the night was too warm and humid for anything more. She had not realized how much skin there was…

"You can't!" she suddenly said, bolting up but, catching her foot in the wrinkled sheets, clattering to the floor and banging her knee and the side of her head against the hardwood. Before she could right herself, Firo was there, pulling her onto his lap and scanning for injuries even as he untangled her foot from the bedsheet.

"What are you doing?" she asked, curious. She placed a hand on his chest, feeling his too-fast heartrate, and wondered why he looked so concerned. "You don't need to be worried. I'm immortal, remember?"

"Don't speak nonsense," he muttered tersely, lifting her with him as he stood up, setting gently back onto the bed. "You can still feel pain. I'm supposed to be worried."

Firo sat down facing her, and he wrapped one hand around hers. By now, Ennis had all but forgotten the thunder and lightning; she was too busy memorizing the effects of the wavering candlelight on his face. "Now tell me. What did you mean, 'I can't?' Can't what?"

Ennis slowly shook her head. "You know already, don't you?" She finally let her head drop to stare at their intertwined fingers, waiting for his to pull away. "What happened… during a storm like this."

Firo waited for more, obviously not piecing things together yet. She waited several minutes, listening to his shallow breathing and wallowing in her own shame.

Then, suddenly: "That bastard." Ennis squeaked in surprise as she was engulfed in two strong arms and yanked into his chest. Ennis did not move. She waited, uncertain, as Firo kissed her shoulder, then rested his chin against the back of her neck, so that she could not have pulled away had she wanted to.

"I won't hurt you like that, you know."

"I know."

"Then why are you afraid?"

Still frightened, Ennis pressed her forehead into the side of his neck so that she could feel the thrum of his pulse. "I might hurt you. I'm not…" Ennis wanted to say "clean," but then Firo interrupted in a ferocious voice:

"No, you're not. I don't know why you think you're some sort of unemotional husk of a person, when you're obviously one of the kindest, most generous people in the world! Certainly my world." He gripped her tighter. "Remember when we first met? You said you were sorry. You felt remorse for bumping into me. Remember?"

"Mhm—"

"And Isaac and Miria? When you saved them, it made you happy, didn't it? You even told them your name, when it could have waited. And me…" Firo paused. "When Szilard showed you that memory of me looking for you, so I could give you back your button. You smiled, just a little."

Ennis nodded slightly. She had forgotten that.

"You had emotions before you even met me," Firo said, and he sounded almost pleased with himself for having come up with such a good argument. "See? You're a good person…" He pulled away, holding each of her shoulders and waiting for her to meet his eyes. "A complete person."

Ennis felt weak in the jaws, as if speaking would send her body crumbling. She settled for staring at Firo, whose face had been caught somewhere between satisfaction and anxiety.

There was just one question hanging, suspended, in her mind. "And… you still want me?"

Firo actually laughed, shaking her a little. "Of course I do! What are you, daft?"

Ennis nodded, but she was smiling, revelling in the sudden calmness in her chest. Firo was still chuckling a little when she kissed him. She had just enough time to think that he tasted like bittersweet cocoa, and then she settled back onto the bed, waiting for his response.

He grinned. "Yahoo," he whispered, and then he winked.