A/N: For those of you who asked (again and again), I will be posting an old fiction but will be editing along the way. I might add or delete from the original storyline as I go along.

Formerly known as 'Modern Love'.

Song: Remedy - Adele

I will not be posting all of my old fictions as some of them I don't care for or like and I honestly do not have the time. I work about 50+ hours a week and sometimes up to 6 days a week, leaving me no time for myself.

Catherine Chandler was truly her father's daughter. She wanted to be a lawyer just like he, who worked himself through law school. Unlike her father Thomas Chandler, she had two supportive parents, who wanted nothing more than to see their daughters succeed. But Catherine was stubborn and wanted to face the world head on to prepare herself for what her future career would bring. She refused her father's help but told him constantly how much she loved him for his constant support and for always being there when she needed him but her father refused to stop trying to help her. It was too difficult to let his little girl go and watch her grow up too quickly before his eyes. Thomas hated the fact that his eldest daughter was too independent and no longer needed his help the way she use to when she was his little princess. He wanted his little girl back, the one that held on to his leg on her first day of Pre-K then again in Kindergarten and refused to let her daddy go. The first few goodbye was the most difficult but she eventually learned to let him go.

Catherine was three years out of high school and just a year shy of reaching her goal. Soon she would be attending a law school and hopefully Columbia Law School just like her father. While not busy with her college life, Catherine can be found working at a bar at the outskirt of New York city. She somehow managed to get herself hired as a bartender even though she had no experience except for being a waitress for two weeks during her first year of college. But she quickly found out that it was not something that suited her personality as she fell towards the shy category and talking to strangers was not her forte especially rude ones.

The owner of the bar had only hired her for one reason, Catherine was too damn beautiful to pass up and he was a sleazeball. Catherine wasn't naive and was privy to his motive for hiring her. She would rather get fired first than to sleep with her boss and she made it perfectly clear to him. He still made moves and she laughed it off, letting him know that nothing will ever happen between them. He liked her spunk and wondered how she would be in bed with that sassy attitude of hers. She always killed his mood by denying him. "Not now and not ever," she answered every time but it never stopped him from telling her how beautiful she was.

Catherine had unique features that was rarely seen in others. Her mother was of Asian descent and her father a mix of Italian and Dutch. Catherine and her sister was a perfect combination of their parents. They were both exotic with fair skin and bright jade eyes. Not only were they beautiful but also smart and kind though people often mistook their kindness for weakness.

Catherine often proved people wrong when she stood up for herself especially at her work when customers were too drunk. Though she loved the tips after a busy shift, she could do without the pick up lines and their rude comments about what they'd like to do to her. The guys wanted to sink their tip in her. "Over and over again," a drunken confession a lot of the frat boys made before getting kicked out.

Security always took care of her and treated her like their younger sister since they had one and there was no way they would let a drunken punk talk to a girl that way. "Thanks", she always told them and they all would carry on with their job as if nothing ever happened.

Tonight was no different. Another guy was hitting on her while his friends egged him on to continue even after she had shown her frustration and annoyance with them. Some patrons laughed along while another sat one bar stool away and grew enraged as he heard the conversation between the group of drunk boys and the beautiful bartender. He came to the bar to drown his sorrow after a hard day's work at the port. He was a hard worker but often taken advantage by his employers. They paid him in cash and was cheap labor as he had no documents or proof of identification as he didn't wish for anyone to know his identity. He didn't mind the work and it kept him from being completely lonely. The last thing he needed now was some idiots to ruin his already fucked up mood and it bothered him to that such arrogant jerks being so disrespectful.

His eyes started to change color and his impatience for them quickly grew. He stood from his bar stool and pushed it back with his legs as the anger rose with him. He turned to the group of drunk assholes and he stood tall in his camouflage jacket and baseball cap. "Can't you assholes see that the lady wants to be left alone. Order up or get the fuck out. She clearly isn't interested in any of you imbeciles and she's completely out of your league. She's too damn beautiful for any of you," his voice was deep and grave with a sharp hiss as he stared them down with flaming golden eyes that only came out when angered. The group of drunken jerks could barely look him in the eye and quickly withdrew from the bar area.

Catherine's cheek turned a few shades of pink as she blushed at the stranger's words. It was the first time someone had complimented her instead of sexualizing her for the work she did. "Thanks," she told patron who helped her out but he was already gone by the time she turned his way.

He quickly made his way to the door and ignored security. He stepped our into the cold night and tried to slow his breathing. His veins bulged out from underneath his skin as adrenaline rushed through and turned it a glowing blue. His bright gold eyes made his vision clearer and it tortured him to have such an ability that others would kill for because others, like his unit had died because of it. They were all murdered but him as he managed to escape and since then his life hadn't been the same nor will it ever be. The life he once knew was now a memory of yesteryear.

He shook the thoughts out of his head and tried to calm himself before things got worse and out of hand. His eyes slowly started to change to its natural caramel color and his veins smoothed down until he once again felt normal. He scoffed at the idea. He would never be normal again.

"Are you alright?" the security guard asked him.

He took one long breath before turning around and nodded in answer. From afar he could see the man was neither scared or annoyed.

"I saw what you did back there at the bar. Thanks for standing up for her. Catherine is a tough chick but she's too nice for her own good."

He nodded again and walked back towards the bar that needed some remodeling but the patrons that went there didn't care. It was old, rustic and had its own character as it remained completely in tact after many business surrounding it closed and went out of business.

The security guard opened the door for him. "I'm Tony. Next time come holler and I'll kick them out."

"Trust me, I would have done it myself if they hadn't stopped. Vincent, by the way."

"Enjoy the rest of your night, Vincent. I'll keep an eye on the guys."

Vincent entered the bar with a new found respect for the security guard. He'd been in the same shoe before as he served his country over the past few years but his time with the military ended badly but it was the last thing he wanted to talk about.

Catherine, as he now knew, had her back towards him and he sat down at the same stool as earlier. Vincent removed his jacket and set it on the back of his seat as he felt more comfortable now that the group of drunk guys moved to a different area. "Barkeep," he called to her. His voice was coarse and drawn with a hint of accent behind it. Before returning home to New York he lived in the southern states when he first arrived back from Afghanistan a year ago. Barely escaping with his life, he'd been in hiding ever since, keeping in the shadows and remaining anonymous in a city filled with millions of people.

Vincent joined the Army after his two older brothers who were firefighters were crushed in one of the Twin Towers during a rescue and recovery attempt on September 11, 2001.

As the war raged on so did his anger. Vincent wanted revenge for his brothers death and he was willing to do anything. Stupidly and crazy enough he volunteered to be part of a science experiment. At first the serum was promising. He felt the change quickly. His strength was beyond human. His ability to see and hear was heightened. They were trained as a secret weapon but then one by one soldiers became uncontrollable.

After the experiment went awry, the organization behind it decided they couldn't risk the exposure so they killed all the soldiers but one. Vincent managed to escape with a long scar on the right side of his face, starting from the temple then down across his cheeks and to the corner of his lips. He has hidden from them ever since he got away and has always looked behind his shoulder.

Vincent missed his family too much so he came back to New York City and sought refuge at an old abandoned warehouse and lived alone in misery. It was completely run down over the years but he made due. It kept a roof over his head and kept him sheltered from the cold during winter. With his background as a construction worker from his past, he managed to build himself a small space he called home but he still missed his old life and the loved ones he left behind years ago. Every now and then he snuck into his parents property and watched them from afar, wishing he could talk to them once more but he couldn't risk their lives and put them in danger so he hid in the shadows and made sure he wasn't seen by anyone.

Today was the day he supposedly died, at least that's what was written on his government issued gravestone. As much as he wanted his old life back, he couldn't stand to put his friends and family in danger. It was no life to live because he knew all to well what it was like to live a life constantly looking over his shoulders and he couldn't stand the thought of burdening his loved ones but he missed them too damn much to stay away from them.

"Barkeep," Vincent called again.

Catherine finished serving her customer and turned to him. For a moment she stood completely still as she met his sunflower eyes. Yellow surrounded brown, something she had never seen before but there was something hidden within them. His scar, though old seemed to be throbbing. She took a step closer and held their gaze. Fear was instantly turned to intrigued. There was something unique about him that mystified her. "What would you like?" she finally managed to find her voice and felt foolish that she stared far too long.

Vincent never had anyone look at him the way she did and it made his heart elevate causing something within him stir but it couldn't be possible. After all he was something that no one had ever seen before and he be damned if they saw him as something more. He broke their gaze as he lowered his baseball cap and covered half of his face from her. He should have known better and should have never shown her his true self but he was just so damn tired from hiding his emotions and feeling so damn lonely. He was angry that he had no life other than the one that he was miserably living. He just wanted the workweek to end so that he could go away for the weekend and see his parents again. Even from afar there was something peaceful seeing them still together after all they had been through. Three more days he counted in his head.

"What can I get you?" her voice broke his chaotic thoughts.

Vincent looked up from underneath his baseball cap. "Hennessy, double."

"Wouldn't have pegged you as a cognac type of guy," Catherine said as she poured his requested drink. "Fifteen dollars," she told him as she placed his glass of cognac in front of him.

"Another one," he said before grabbing the glass and quickly drinking the cognac. Vincent slammed the glass down on the bar and kept his eyes low. Today was one of those days when he had a difficult time controlling his anger and his emotions in general.

Catherine poured another drink and added more than the first. She set it down by the empty glass and grabbed it to put it away.

Vincent picked up his drink and took a full swig of it as he tilted his head back. He brought his head down to look at her. "I'm just an alcohol type of guy," Vincent answered as he placed the glass on the bar. "One more."

"Bad day?" Catherine asked worriedly as she grabbed the nearly empty bottle of cognac from underneath the bar and another clean glass. She poured him another drink and set it down in front of him.

"Something like that," Vincent answered. He grabbed the glass from her hand and for a moment his hand lingered over hers. The warmth of her hand overwhelmed him. It was something he hadn't felt in awhile. Too long, in fact. "Sorry," he said apologetically as he pulled his hand away and looked away from her.

"Nothing to be sorry about," Catherine slid his glass closer. "Here you go."

"Thanks," Vincent kept his head down and swirled his drink around in the glass. Although it was just a short while he already missed the way her hand felt in his. Her warm hand was a painful reminder of the nonexistent relationship he had with others. He raised the glass to his lips and drank the cognac, hoping that it would stop the longing he felt.

"Are you okay?

Vincent slowly raised his head up. His yellow eyes were saddened and he was trying to avoid looking at hers but he couldn't help it when hers was so inviting and lively. He shook his head at the thought. It was the alcohol that was making him see things that wasn't there. "Just one of those days," he answered in a monotone voice. The presence of sadness was more than he could handle at the moment.

"I hope the rest of your week gets better," she told him as she placed her hand over his.

Vincent felt an overwhelming sensation as their eyes met. The moment was short and bittersweet as he pulled his hand away from hers. He pulled a few bills out of his jean pocket. "How much do I owe you?"

"Three drinks, fifteen dollars each."

Vincent placed counted his money and placed fifty dollars down between them. "Keep the change. Thanks for the company," he told her as he grabbed his jacket, camouflage and government issued, from behind him. Although he knew that he should have thrown it away a long time ago he still couldn't part with it. The jacket was his only identity that he still existed. Vincent stood up from his seat and put his jacket on without a word. As he did so he met her eyes and looked into them. Her green eyes just kept beckoning him and he couldn't help himself. She didn't make him feel self-conscious and it scared him that she had such an affect on him.

Catherine returned his gaze and though she did not know why she kept looking at him. "Don't worry about it. It's on the house," she responded and slid his money towards his direction.

Vincent didn't recognized her kindness and growled under his breath. Somehow she was stirring something in him that even the alcohol couldn't deny. "I don't need your pity," he said defensively.

Catherine reached for his hand and placed the money in his. She calmly held his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "It's not pity. It's a thank you for what you did earlier with the group of frat guys. And thank you for the sacrifices you have made for this country."

"If you only knew," Vincent whispered underneath his breath as he slowly pulled his hand away from hers and put his money back in his pocket. Even the warmth of her hands couldn't make him forget the life he was living and it only made him miss his old life. "Good night," he mumbled as the memories came flooding back into his mind and left her without another word.

Catherine looked on sadly and for a moment was at a loss for words. Never had she met someone who was so forlorn. "Good night," she called out after him.

Vincent turned to her and Catherine, upbeat as ever, smiled at him. For the first time he felt something other than anger and pain. His eyes changed from the golden color to his natural honey hues that was more welcoming. "Good night, Catherine." There was a change in his voice that made her blush from cheek to cheek. Surprisingly, another sound reached his ears. It was faint at first but it quickened as their eyes met once more. Her pulsed raced in his veins and he knew that it was her heartbeat that he was hearing. Realizing what it was, Vincent smiled at her before turning away from her. As he made his exit, he received another smile from the security guard who saw the exchange between them and knew how rare it was for Catherine to smile at a customer.