Victor Creed lay on the couch of the small apartment, hands folded over his chest, eyes closed. He ignored the itchy feeling of the armrest's fabric on the back of his neck as he listened to the noise of the busy New York street below the open window, the constant buzzing of the traffic and angry voices shouting to one another over random disputes.
He had become used to the city sounds not long after moving into this temporary home, as he had become used to the sounds of gunfire and screams.
It had been a whole year since the war ended and already he couldn't wait for the next one to start, he preferred the screams over the angry voices of weak men and their petty arguments. He didn't care that he was fighting as a result of one such argument, he enjoyed the feeling of blood on his hands and the thrill of the kill. He hadn't had the pleasure of taking a life since the war, there had been nothing to do other than find a job and a place to sleep until the next round started. One thing his long history had taught him was that there would always be another war.
He had been laying there for over an hour, listening. Finally he heard the sound he had been waiting for. "Watch it!" a man yelled from the street, there was a short and not felt apology from a familiar voice. Not long after was heard quick footsteps and a fumbling of keys outside the apartment door.
"Its not locked," Victor shouted. The door swung open and James Logan entered with a broad smile on his face. Victor opened an eye, "your late, what's got you so exited?"
"Got myself a date for tonight," said James excitedly as he unbuttoned and removed his dirty, grease stained shirt and threw it onto a laundry pile.
Victor's passive mood turned slightly sour, "good for you," he said, his tone unintentionally harsh.
James's smile faded from his face as he turned to regard his elder brother. "What's gotten into you?"
Victor didn't know what brought up his sudden attitude, he had always been irritable, he put it down as the fault of inaction. Work in construction wasn't exactly excitable, or tiring, at least not for them.
"Well?" James prodded, looking down at his brother from the other end of the couch, with a raised brow.
"Nothing, just bored." Victor looked up at James and admired the way a triangle of light from the window played across his muscular chest. Those muscles should be put to better use, he thought, but he had to admit, what better use for muscles was there besides heavy lifting.
James's mood lifted again and the smile returned with a hint of smug, "well, maybe you should go out and find a girl then." He gave Victor's bare foot a slap on his way to the bathroom.
The elder man smirked, clearly his harsh comment had been mistaken for jealousy. Victor Creed was jealous of no man, at least that's what he told himself so many times that he believed it.
The shower was heard running and a faint whimper as James stepped into the cold water. The cheap, two bedroom apartment didn't have a water heater, at least not a working one. Neither of the brothers cared about the cruddy living conditions, they'd had worse during their long lives. Having run away from home as children and living feral, they never had much of anything accept the clothes on their backs, and sometimes not even that.
It had to be over two hundred years since that night, Victor had lost track of the time, James was the one who remembered the dates. Victor didn't care for time, it was meaningless to them anyway.
The shower continued to run. Victor imagined the freezing water trickling over his brother's skin, creating millions of tiny goose bumps.
Immediately his face contorted into a look of confusion. It wasn't the first time such a thought had played through his mind, but it was the first time for a long time. Such a, should be, disturbing image had come up during their time in the trenches, only men together for such a long time, he wasn't the only one who thought of screwing a fellow man, sexual frustrations get to everyone.
Perhaps he was feeling those frustrations now and James's excitement over his date had brought those feelings to the surface. Perhaps he did need a date of his own.
James came out of the bathroom naked, they never bothered with modesty around each other. He rubbed a towel over his wet hair, tossed it onto the laundry pile, then stood in front of the window to dry in the breeze.
A thoughtful, sympathetic look crossed his features as he stared down at the street. "There's that homeless guy again," he said looking down at a scruffy middle aged man.
"What of him?" Victor said, uncaring in the least.
"We should help him out, give him some money..."
"Why, if he's homeless that's his own fault!"
"You don't know that, besides if we gave him some money maybe he'd go do something with it instead of standing there being a pain in the ass."
"And he would keep coming back for more, like a stray dog, you'd have better luck beating the shit out of him. Your too nice for your own good sometimes Jimmy."
"And you're a heartless bastard!" James replied playfully. He shook his head vigorously, spraying water droplets over his brother, then went to find some clean clothes.
Victor glanced at his brother's bare ass as it disappeared into the bedroom, he regretted it instantly as he felt a twinge in his groin. He needed to screw something, hard.
"Don't suppose we own a fancy suit and tie between us do we?" the younger man asked from the bedroom. Of course they didn't.
"Why, she some stinking rich upper class bird?"
"No, she's a woman, an Id like to make a good impression for once."
"Why bother, probably not even worth it," Victor said under his breath, but of course his brother's keen ears caught every word.
"You wouldn't know you haven't even met her!" James snapped angrily, why couldn't his brother simply be happy for him?
"And when did you meet her, this morning?"
"As a matter of fact I did, pull the stick out of your ass Victor!" James wandered back into the bathroom, not caring if he had made his brother angry, but always expecting claws in his back.
Victor ignored the last comment and closed his eyes again. He dug his nails into the back of his hands, drawing small beads of blood. Why should he care about his brother having a date anyway. He comforted himself with the fact that it wouldn't last long, either she'd find out about his mutation, which James did well in hiding, or his animal nature would drive her away. The latter was more likely, he could hide the claws beneath his skin but the mentality of his condition always broke the surface.
"Ah, shit!" James cursed, distracting Victor from his thoughts. The younger man was trying in vain to straighten out the dark tangled mess on his head. The cursing continued to flow from the bathroom, much to Victor's annoyance, as James ripped at his hair. It sure sounded painful.
Finally he could take it no longer. Victor stood up and stalked into the small bathroom, "give me that you useless sack of shit," he muttered as he snatched the brush from his brother's hand and went about untangling the mess.
James ignored the insult and smiled slightly, finding this small act of affection rather heartwarming. He knew it was the way Victor showed his love, he wasn't the type to come out and say it or give hugs, instead he let it show through playful insults.
"Ouch!" James yelped as the brush caught on a nasty knot.
"Don't know why you insist on keeping your hair long, you should cut it short like mine, then you wouldn't have this problem."
"Then we'd look like twins, they already get us confused at work, and the last thing I want is to look like you," he cringed as the brush was yanked forcefully through the knot, likely on purpose.
When he had finished brushing out the knots Victor spit onto his hands and rubbed them through the soft dark hair in front of him in a vain attempt at styling. It briefly crossed his mind that he liked the feel of it on his fingers. James cringed as Victor accidently nicked him with a claw.
Victor patted James on the shoulder, "there, now get outta here and go sweep the bird off her feet."
James smiled at him, "thanks Victor," the older man waved him off. Moments later James departed, determined not to be late for his date.
Victor sat at the island counter, debating on making himself something to eat, but there was nothing he wanted. He scratched idly at the counter top, sharp claws making deep wounds in the wooden surface, becoming more restless as the minutes ticked by.
He gazed around the empty apartment, at the cracked plaster walls, dirty carpet and the clothing strewn about it. Everything they owned in plain view.
He felt himself gripped by a feeling akin to loneliness. He always had his brother's company, somehow sitting there doing nothing by himself seemed worse than sitting there doing nothing with his brother. No wonder he was bored, maybe they should start going out and doing something once in awhile.
Restlessness and curiosity got the better of him, as it usually did, and he decided he'd go see this broad for himself. He put on his black leather jacket and combat boots and slammed the door on his way out, causing the landlord to stick his bald head into the hallway.
"Gettin behind on your rent Mr. Creed," the pudgy man said in his thick New Yorker accent.
Victor glared over his shoulder at the man, "you'll get it next payday." The landlord didn't argue further, he knew Victor Creed was not a guy to piss off, and behind or not the brothers always payed.
Victor ignored the homeless man's plea for spare change as he headed down the street. James didn't say where he was going but he had a good guess, a not so fancy diner near by the construction site where they were employed, it was the only place they could afford when and if they decided to eat out, they had good flapjacks and sausages for the breakfast menu.
The diner wasn't a far walk from the apartment. It was a chilly night and he zipped up his jacket. The streets were busy as they always were in the city that never sleeps, the sounds of the traffic were loud and the smell of fumes permeated his nostrils. He truly missed the quiet and the fresh air of the Canadian wilderness, a place where he didn't have to hide his claws and could let his true nature take over.
He passed a newspaper stand catching a glimpse of today's front page, the word 'Mutant' stood out at him. Mutants, that's what they were calling people with 'special features,' like him and his brother. The word mutant was more associated with chemical spills and radiation, he preferred to think of himself and his brother as a higher form of life, better than the rest, the only ones of their particular kind. Humans cant seem to handle anyone whose different, so they give them a low title and treat them like shit. Victor had his fair share of discrimination over the years, he didn't care about it anymore and it was comforting to know he wasn't alone.
He stopped outside the diner, he didn't want to go in, his brother would catch his scent and he didn't want to explain himself, and James didn't like to be followed around. He could see them sitting by the third window. The woman was a looker for sure, with big eyes and shoulder length brown hair, she wore a red dress to match her bright red lips. She didn't seem too put off by James's casual clothes, his neatest looking plaid shirt and blue jeans.
You did good Jimmy, Victor thought. He watched them smile and laugh as they talked, a happiness in James's eyes that was rarely seen, in fact Victor didn't think he'd ever seen it before.
And there was that feeling of loneliness again, a deep sinking feeling. He wasn't worried about being seen as he continued to watch them, they never took their eyes off each other. After a while he turned away from the scene and headed back the way he had come.
A small part in his mind said, you should be doing the same thing, find a girl, wine and dine... He shook the thought away, a thought brought up by his human nature, a diminishing thing in his mind. The beast always won him over these days, he could hardly control it, so why fight it, it felt good to lose control. There would be no wining and dining, he would find some helpless victim and simply take what he wanted.
He would never win anyone's love. Most of the women he fucked didn't survive the intense and often violent encounter, those who did were broken for life, hell, one even committed suicide. He didn't want their love anyway, didn't need it, he had all the love he needed from his brother, something he'd never admit he was afraid to lose.
His mind replayed the images of his little brother and the woman. He was hit with a wave of jealousy and anger, not really sure what it was directed at. Looking around he noticed he'd been distracted and gone two streets too far. There was a whore house across the street, a scantily dressed woman stepped out a side door into the alley and lit up a cigarette.
He started towards the woman. Jimmy wasn't the only one allowed to have fun. Seeing his approach the woman smiled and opened her mouth, likely to ask him if he was looking for a good time, but choked on her words as he grabbed her by the throat.