Shadow Moon staggered to the toilets of the Jack's Crocodile Bar, tapping into his last physical and intellectual resources not to open the wrong door.
He clung to the first sink as if his life depended on it and focused on his reflection in the smoked mirror in the hope that it would ease his dizziness. There was a prominent, bloody bump on his nose, and a nasty scratch over his right eyebrow. In addition, several bruises were blossoming on his cheeks where Mad Sweeney - the so-called leprechaun - had hit him without restraint, bruises that would fortunately be less visible than the leprechaun's thanks to his brown skin.
Unless Sweeney wouldn't get any, that he had some sort of an accelerated regeneration power or God knows what, which would explain why despite all the punches he had given him, he had showed no sign of weakening.
On the contrary, each of them had reinvigorated him like drops of gas thrown onto an open flame.
His scream still echoed in his ears.
« Atta boy! Now you're fighting for the joy of it, for the sheer fuckin' unholy delight of it ! »
Shadow realized that the back of his skull was aching, so he raised his hand there; when he brought it back before his alcohol-troubled eyes, he saw that it was covered in blood. The vague recollection of a bottle of beer breaking on his head resurfaced in his memory and he swore under his breath.
« Fucking Irish maniac... »
« It's lil' old me! » exclaimed a voice that instantly made the hairs on his neck stand.
The maniac in question passed behind him with swagger before washing his face at the second sink, literally folded in two because of his impressive height. Annoyed that he wouldn't leave him alone even in the men's restroom but too drunk to do anything but frown, Shadow watched the water turn scarlet and swirl in the siphon, pieces of coagulated blood floating on the surface.
The blood that had both encouraged and stopped him in his outburst of violence.
The reward and the limit.
« You didn't miss me, Shad' » the red-haired man said, touching the wound on his cheekbone then his split lip.
He was wincing and smiling at the same time, a mix which made his expressions even more psychotic than usual.
Shadow rolled his eyes and sprayed his face with cold water, thinking that by paying no attention to him, he would eventually leave.
But he didn't know the leprechaun. Leaning against the sink, he grazed Shadow's right ear with his fingers. The latter jumped back with clenched fists, sending a shower of water in his wake.
« Calm down, you just had that stuck in your ear » Sweeney laughed.
He was waving a gold coin that sparkled as much as his hazel eyes.
« Stop it » Shadow grumbled as he wiped himself with the sleeve of his white shirt, which was already stained beyond repair anyway.
« Oooh, I thought you wanted to know how I do it, huh? Fought for that, d'ya not recall? ».
He invaded his personal space again, dominating him with all his height. Shadow felt anger boil inside of him. Absolutely everything in the leprechaun enraged him, to the scent of Southern Comfort and Coke that he was blowing on his damaged nose.
« You won so I'll show you my trick, it was the terms. »
Shadow sighed loudly, then nodded. He may have won but he felt defeated. And above all exhausted ; he had the impression that if he lied down at that moment he could sleep for a week.
The redhead cracked a smile that was probably meant as an innocent one and raised his palms in front of him to show him that they were empty. Since he had removed his jean jacket before their fight, he also had no sleeves where he could have possibly concealed his unusual change.
Shadow's obsidian eyes were striving not to miss any of his movements, his brow wrinkled with concentration. The fire spread across Sweeney's chest as if he had just taken a big sip of Scotch.
He chalked it up to residual adrenaline.
« The trick is… »
He slowly reached out to Shadow, careful not to scare him off, before he slipped his hand into the front pocket of his pants. He felt him shudder beneath his fingers, but the man didn't back away. The warmth of his thigh radiated through the black fabric.
« ... to believe. » Sweeney finished, taking out a coin of the said pocket.
« To believe. » Shadow repeated flatly, staring at the golden disc.
« Yep. »
For the second time that night, a fist landed unexpectedly on the leprechaun's nose.
He yelped and took several steps back, unbalanced. Shadow took this opportunity to push him against the opposite wall, grabbing his black suspenders to pull him forward before ramming him back into the ocher tiles.
« Stop fucking with me » the man hissed between his teeth, trembling with all his body.
« I told you the truth, cunt ! »
The redhead spat blood on the ground, and, exasperated, exclaimed:
« Shite, all that potential in a guy who doesn't believe in anything ! »
Suddenly, the grip on his clothes disappeared.
« You're wrong, I do believe in a few things. »
Shadow's tone had completely changed. No more anger, no more threat. Just deep melancholy. The leprechaun frowned, and for once, remained silent.
« I believe in pain. I believe in rage. I believe - I believed in love. »
His low voice broke on the last word. Sweeney felt his heart ache and he cursed it for softening itself so easily. It was one thing to have a weakness, another one to be unpleasingly aware of it.
He had no idea what to say, especially since he was largely responsible for the current state of Shadow... who didn't know it yet.
The man kept his eyes riveted to the floor, his shoulders drooped. All the life that had animated him during their brawl seemed to have slipped out of his very being. He looked like a beaten puppy abandoned by the roadside.
And puppies were Sweeney's second weakness.
So he pulled him into his arms and patted on his back awkwardly. Against all odds, Shadow didn't struggle. On the contrary, he grabbed his tank top damped with blood and sweat and buried his face in the hollow of the leprechaun's neck, just under his copper beard.
But he didn't cry. Sweeney was not surprised; he knew by experience that there were sadnesses too profound to be expressed.
For a long time they remained entwined together, way too long. Becoming increasingly uncomfortable, the leprechaun eventually moved his shoulder to get a reaction out of Shadow ... who proved himself to be dozing off on him. The man groaned with displeasure before leaning heavily against the redhead's massive figure, his lips brushing his collarbone.
Sweeney shivered.
« Shite, you have to let me go, somebody's going to come in here » he said, sounding less convincing than expected.
« Mmmh. »
Shadow moved and his crotch rubbed against his.
Sweeney swore in a low voice, breathless and secretly terrified. It could have been an accident if the bastard didn't do it again with more insistence.
He firmly grasped his shoulders to keep him away from him.
« Man, you're drunk, stop. It's immoral, even for me! »
« Shuddup » Shadow replied, grabbing his jaw to kiss those thin lips that never wanted to shut up.
The leprechaun blinked several times, stunned. Without letting him any time to understand what was happening, Shadow slipped his leg between his, making him moan in his mouth. Then in the same languid movement, he bit his wounded lip and snapped his suspenders on his nipples.
Sweeney went from zero to a hundred real quick.
« Fuckin'hell! »
He pushed him hard and Shadow crashed into the door of one of the toilets.
« Never do that again ! » he yelled, more turned on than ever.
He looked at him with his big, shiny black eyes that were so easy to read and the leprechaun almost lost control for good.
But he couldn't.
Sweeney took a deep breath, focusing on the pain that was pulsating on his bruised face and that he amply deserved. Not on the delicious tingling that was running through his chest and mouth. Applying his three thousand years old method : feel it, repress it, move on.
When he opened his eyes, Shadow was still staring at him, as confused as he was. Keeping his teeth clenched, the redhead caught his hand a little too abruptly and placed a coin in it.
Why, he had no idea.
« Return to your boss, Shadow Moon. Get some sleep. Sober up. »
Not able to look at him any longer, Sweeney rushed out of the toilet, then quickly crossed the bar.
That did not prevent Wednesday from stopping him.
« What were you doing? I might have thought you were holding his hair while he was vomiting, if he didn't keep it shaved » the old man sneered.
« I taught him the trick, 's all," he replied casually.
Sweeney didn't need to see the old man to know he didn't believe him. He retrieved his jacket and went to smoke a cigarette in the parking lot to calm his nerves.
As he was watching the rings of smoke rise in the night sky, wondering one more time how fucked up could his life get, he caught sight of Shadow slipping into Wednesday's black Cadillac and dropping like a mass on the backseat, making the shock absorbers squeak under his weight.
The leprechaun lit a second cigarette, still gazing at the car, and the flame of his lighter briefly revealed his indecipherable expression.
English is not my mother tongue so /please/ if you found any weird phrasing or mistake, let me know so I can correct it :)