He tried his best not to panic when he heard Dante's voice in the doorway, but it seemed it was just unavoidable. He had been so focused on the food in front of him that he hadn't even heard the man walking down the hall. He hadn't even realized he'd eaten over half the box by himself! Surely they wouldn't be happy about that.
"I'm sorry!" he immediately apologized, dropping the donut in his hands onto his lap.
Dante slowly stepped into the room, staring down at him with an expression he couldn't quite place. It was almost like Dante wasn't looking right at him, but through him. Nero watched the man carefully as his hands balled into fists at is sides, shaking slightly as if he were trying to hold back. This was it, he'd finally worn out his welcome.
"Sorry? For what?" Dante asked, blinking just once which seemed to snap him back into reality. His hands relaxed and he turned toward the closet door to rummage around. "I told you to eat as many as you wanted. There at least one left?"
Nero found himself having a difficult time pulling his eyes away from Dante's bare chest to check. The man was certainly very fit despite the simple lifestyle he seemed to lead. Nero couldn't remember seeing a single spec of fitness equipment in the run down office, but he apparently had it hidden somewhere with abs like that. Dropping his eyes down to the box he tried to occupy himself with something other than Dante to avoid being weird again. There were exactly two donuts left in the box, not including the discarded one in his lap, which he now had to salvage.
"Yes, there are two…" he mumbled, willing his eyes to stay glued on the shattered donut he was picking up from his borrowed jeans.
"Good, if Lady doesn't get one she might kill me…"
The bed shifted as he spoke, causing Nero to lurch, glancing at the end of the bed where Dante was now seated. With his back facing Nero, the only thing the teen could see were the little beads of water that rolled off the tips of his still wet hair, trailing down his spine as Dante leaned over to pull a pair of socks out of his dresser. It just wasn't fair how perfectly flawless the man's skin was. Nero would have killed to have a body like that, to have Dante's body…close.
"You hear me back there, kid?" Dante asked, looking back over his shoulder at him.
Nero's eyes jumped up to the man's face in panic, hoping that he hadn't caught him gawking at his back like the hormonal teenager that he was.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" he gulped, feeling the heat spreading over his face like a beacon. Dante had to think he was just plain sick in the head.
"I said I need to go out for a while. I have a job to do. You think you'll be ok here with Lady for a little while?" he asked again, pulling the black shirt on that he'd grabbed from the closet.
The woman. He didn't want to be left alone with a stranger. Dante he knew was nice, but the woman he didn't know at all and quite frankly, he was terrified of her. When he had first opened his eye after the most peaceful nights rest he'd gotten in what felt like forever and saw her, he was sure his heart had stopped. That stern gaze of hers reminded him too much of what he had escape. Of pain. The only instinct he had was to flee and ended up nearly flipping the couch in the process.
"Come on, she's not that bad. You can hang out in here and I'm sure she won't even care to bother you," Dante chuckled, seeing the fear plastered on Nero's face.
He had a good feeling if he told Dante that he really didn't want to stay alone with her that he might get offended. The woman was probably his girlfriend. Despite how mean she looked, she was pretty. Nero forced himself to nod lightly, watching Dante closely as he stood up and pulled the donut box away from him.
"Didn't like the coffee?" he asked, pulling one of the donuts out of the box and wedged it between his pearly white teeth.
"It was bitter…" Nero muttered, reaching out to grab the cup off of the wobbly nightstand.
"Hey, if you don't like it, you don't have to drink it."
"No, it's not that," he lied, bringing the cup to his lips. It was given to him and he refused to let the precious gift go to waste. "It's different, that's all."
Dante smiled down at him, a warm and friendly gesture he never wanted to vanish. He would have given anything to stop time right where it was. Very slowly, Dante peeled his left hand off of the donut box and plopped it onto the top of Nero's head, causing him to snap his eyes shut in fear. Dante just chuckled, ruffling his hair a few time before the hand vanished and he could hear his footsteps moving away from the bed.
"I'll be back soon. I promise. Just relax until I get back and I'll order us a pizza."
The word pizza blind sided him for a moment, giving Dante the opportunity to slip out of the room before Nero could properly voice his concerns about being left alone with the mean looking woman. Scrambling off the end of the bed, Nero forgot all about the shattered donut on his lap, the coffee sloshing dangerously in the cup before he adjusted his grip, shoving his head out into the hallway to try and catch Dante before he left. But the snowy haired man was already gone, the hallway empty and the thought of being alone made Nero's heart sputter in his chest. He could hear the distant sounds of doors opening and closing, his heart sinking into his stomach when he heard the faint sound of shoes on the stairs. He kept trying to tell himself to just go back into Dante's room and lock himself inside, but he just stood there gripping the doorframe with his free hand until the woman appeared in the doorway at the end of the hall.
"Oh, Nero, was it?" she asked softly, her voice causing tremors in his legs. "Dante went out, he told you right?"
He only nodded in response, focusing very hard on not crushing the cup in his hand. He didn't know what he would do if she tried come any closer.
"Right, well that just leaves me and you here. You want to come down and play pool or something?" she asked, frowning at him.
He shook his head no just once, unable to force his voice out of his throat. Even at a distance he could see her weight shift from her left foot to her right as she prepared to take a step closer.
"Look, Nero, I'm not going to-"
Whatever she had said he never got to hear, jerking back into the bedroom the instant she lifted her foot. He ended up dropping the coffee cup onto Dante's bedroom floor, slamming the door shut, fumbling with the lock. For a while he just stood there, heart hammering into his ribs painfully, leaning against the door for extra protection as if the tiny framed woman was going to kick the door in at any moment.
"Ok! Well, if you change your mind, I'll be downstairs!" she shouted and Nero could make out the faint sound of her shoes on the stairs again.
Breathing a sigh of relief he turned around to survey the damage. There was a puddle of black coffee seeping into the floorboards, scattered donut pieces all over the bed. He'd been there for a day and was already making messes.
"Shit…" he sighed, digging into the clothes hamper in search of a towel. He had to clean it up before Dante came back.
"Eleven-Seventeen, eleven-eighteen...ah! There it is!" Dante groaned, stopping on the cleanly shoveled sidewalk. "Eleven-nineteen, this is where the sick bastard lives?"
When lady had said the address was in the ritzy neighborhood, he had no idea was that ritzy. He had to go through a gate to get in, thankfully the tags helped him get past the shit security guard. He was returning someone's property, instant pass. The man did glare at his leather jacket and worn boots, obviously not all that happy to let him through. But Dante really didn't give a damn, one way or another he was getting into the neighborhood. Even if he had to jump the damn fence.
Sighing sharply he gripped the tags in his half gloved hand, marching up the clean pavement up to the pristine white porch. The front door was a huge pane of stained glass, angels floating in the clouds. What kind of bullshit is that? The sight of it just helped fuel his anger even farther, reaching up to push the silver shiny doorbell with more force than he knew was needed. What if he wasn't home? What was he suppose to do then? He certainly couldn't hang around and wait for him to come home. There was just no way he could leave Nero alone with Lady for that long. The kid didn't seem all that thrilled about being left alone with her after she had freaked him out.
Growing impatient he started to reach for the doorbell again when he heard the door lock click open, the white door behind the stained glass panel creaking open and when the glass door swung out toward him his jaw almost hit the porch. It was a short young woman with wide brown eyes and reddish-brown hair. Certainly not what he had been expecting. Maybe he had the wrong house or she had a brother?
"Can I help you?" she asked, her voice light and airy. It couldn't be, could it?
"Possibly. This is eleven nineteen cross landing, isn't it?" he coughed, trying to hide his shock behind his 'professional' voice.
"Yes. Is there a problem?"
"I'm not sure yet, can you tell me if you recognize these?"
Holding out his hand to display the tags, Dante watched the woman's features carefully as her eyes fell on the trinkets. There was no mistaking the recognition in her eyes. She knew exactly what they were, who they belonged to. For a long moment she didn't respond, gripping the door tightly. It didn't look like she needed support, but more like she needed something to hold her back.
"Where…did you get those?" she asked quietly, eyes flickering up to his face.
"Miss, my name is Dante. I am a private detective, would you mind if I came inside and asked you a few questions about this?" he sighed, reaching into his jacket pocket to produce his business card which she gladly took. "S'kinda cold…"
"Certainly. I'm sorry, Mr. Dante, come in."
"Just Dante, please."
She nodded lightly, stepping back away from the door to allow him in. Thanks to the clear walkways he had no snow on his boots and barely bothered to wipe them on the rug inside the door as he followed her inside. As soon as he was clear of the door she snapped it shut, staring up at him as if she just realized how tall he was. Something she didn't seem at all pleased by. She gave him a meek little smile and ushered him farther into the house.
"Please, have a seat. Would you care for some hot tea? I was just about to put the kettle on…" she mumbled nervously, almost as if she were scared of him.
"Sure, that would be great…"
In all honesty he just wanted a chance to look around without her watching him like a hawk. The living room was pristine, white upholstered furniture with dark wood accents, a white marble fireplace with a mantle covered in pictures. Pay dirt. Stepping closer to the fireplace he pretended to warm his hands as he scanned the photos in search of Nero. She knew him, he had to be there somewhere. One photo stood out to him in particular, not because it was the largest, but because of the stern looking man in the photo standing next to the woman.
He could tell by the similarities in their hair and eye color that they were related. Too close in age to be father and daughter. Brother, just like he figured. The man certainly looked mean enough to beat someone, but the girl? Not a chance in hell. As he moved his eyes farther down the mantle in search of Nero, the man and woman seemed to shrink before him. Time literally reversing, taking him all the way back to their childhood. It was then, as he spotted the last photo on the mantle, when he finally spotted Nero. If he hadn't been paying attention he would have missed him, but as he studied the grand cathedral in the background to determine a location, he noticed the spec of white just enough to make him curious.
Wanting a better look, Dante scooped the photo up off of the mantle, surprised at how heavy the gold frame was. The woman and her brother were standing on what looked like the front lawn of the cathedral, the girl smiling softly as her brother remained scowling as if he wasn't exactly happy to have his picture taken. On the far left of the picture Dante could see the mop of white hair standing out against the lush green lawn as the kid's small body leaned into the frame to pick up a blue ball off the grass. He literally took up a sliver of the photo. He hadn't even been important enough back then to have a proper picture taken.
The distant sound of the kettle screeching hardly pulled his attention away from the picture, holding it firmly in his hands as he turned back around to see the rest of the room. Maybe they had pictures of the kid on the wall. Something more than a little sliver to tie him to the girl and her brother. But the only other decorations in the house were depictions of angels. Why was it always the religious types that had something disgusting to hide?
"Sorry for the wait," the woman sighed softly, shuffling back into the room with a tea tray.
Dante turned to glance at her after putting the photo back on the mantle, taking in her nervous smile and the way the china was clinking around on the tray. She was obviously not at all happy that he was there, but he just didn't give a shit. And he wasn't leaving until he found her piece of shit brother and made him pay for what he had done to Nero.
"S'all good, nice little place you've got here," he muttered, moving to sit on the love seat across from her as she sank into the lush white armchair. "That your brother up there in all those photos?"
"Yes, my brother Credo. My name is Kyrie, by the way."
"Kyrie and Credo. Odd kind of names…"
"We weren't born in this city. We came here from the island a few years ago."
"I see."
She nodded, an awkward sort of silence settling over the room as Kyrie leaned forward to pick up one of the tea cups.
"You said that you were a private detective? Am I…in some sort of trouble?" she asked quietly.
"Why would you be in trouble?"
"Those tags. Nero is missing," she said with a shaky sigh. "He ran off the night before last. I was afraid with it being so cold and the snow that something might have happened to him. He doesn't have anywhere to go…"
"I found him. On a park bench yesterday morning. Covered in snow."
"Did he…die?"
For some reason, the question set off a red flag in his brain. The tightness in her voice, the blank gaze she was giving him. He was missing something from the equation. If her brother had been beating and abusing Nero, certainly she should be fearful to give him any information. He figured it was best to spare her the details until he located her brother.
"I really can't say at this point. Actually, I was hoping to speak to your brother. Credo, was it?" he mumbled leaning forward to grab his tea just to humor her.
"My brother?" she asked, blinking at him as if he had asked for a mountain of gold or something else equally ridiculous. "I'm afraid that's impossible."
Dante blinked at her over the rim of his tea cup. She hadn't said that she didn't know where he was, or that he was just at work, or anything people normally said when they were hiding someone. She had said it was impossible.
"What do you mean by that?" he mumbled, watching her carefully as she dug into a box in the middle of the coffee table.
"You can't speak to Credo, because he is dead…" she whispered, passing him the newspaper clipping she'd pulled out of the box.
The article had a color photo of her brother in uniform, the headline reading : Decorated Officer Killed In The Line Of Duty. The man had been a police officer, killed in a shooting. Two years ago. The wounds on Nero's body were recent. Too recent to have been inflicted more than two weeks ago. That could only mean…
"You?" he gasped, glancing up at her in shock. "You are the one responsible for the way that kid is?"
The two of them sat there staring at each other in realization. Dante couldn't believe what he was seeing. This tiny, meek looking little girl had inflicted that much damage on Nero? He just couldn't accept it, couldn't understand how he had let her when he obviously wasn't a fan of pain. And her, she just sat there, staring at him blankly as if she didn't even care! It wasn't possible, it wasn't human.
"Nero and I have never had an easy relationship…" she admitted with a shrug.
"Easy? An easy relationship? Since when is slapping a collar on a human being and beating them senseless a relationship in the first place? He's afraid to move without someone's permission!"
"Everything we did was entirely consen-"
Dante slammed his hand down on the table roughly, sending one of the candles in the middle crashing to the floor with a loud thud. He assumed he would meet the man that had hurt Nero, kick his teeth in and return home feeling satisfied knowing the bastard would never hurt the kid again. But this! He couldn't hit a girl, no matter how badly he wanted to. Somehow that fact made it all the more worse. This little…bitch, was going to get away with it. She had probably instilled so much fear in Nero that he would never be able to press any kind of charges against her.
"You treated him like an animal! Worse, even. There is nothing consensual about that. Nothing. And then you just kicked him out in the middle of December with no where to go? Did you even go to look for him?" he snapped, dropping his cup back onto the tray without a care.
"It was his choice to leave. Judge me all you want, but it was something he wanted to begin with."
"I don't want to hear your lame ass excuses. You're a monster and he's lucky that he got away from you. If he has any belongings, which I somehow doubt, you might as well just give them to me now. He's not coming back here ever again if I can help it."
She just sat there, staring over at him blankly as if she had no intention of giving him anything that belonged to Nero. It really didn't matter if she handed over the kid's things, he still wasn't going to let Nero fall back into her sadistic care. Very slowly, he leaned forward on his knees, staring at her with a dark scowl.
"Look you evil cunt, one way or another, you will answer for what you did to him. I don't care what it takes. He's been abused, under fed, imprisoned? For how long? I don't care what you say, he could have never wanted any of that. So get your little prissy ass up and get me his things before I lose my patience and back hand you across this living room. I will not let you intimidate me."
It took her a moment of him glaring at her for her to realize that he was not the kind of person that would submit to anyone. She couldn't kick or beat him. She couldn't overpower him or fool him with her little concerned act. Very slowly she stood up from her seat and vanished down the hallway. It didn't take her long to return with a small pile of clothing in her arms, one pair of jeans and one old t-shirt. That was it.
Sitting the clothes down on the end of the love seat, Kyrie took a step back so that she was no where near him as he looked over the kid's belongings. There was an old faded wallet on top of the jeans, but Dante was sure it wouldn't have much in it either. He stood up with a sigh, grabbing Nero's things in one hand and glared down at the woman in pure fury.
"I didn't think that he would stay outside. Normally he just comes back in an hour or so…" she muttered quietly, twisting her hands together nervously.
"Guess he figured he was as good as dead either way. At least out there he wasn't getting beaten to death."
Without even bothering to wait for her to escort him out he turned toward the front door, pausing for a brief moment to give her one last look of disgust. He was determined to get more answers, just not from her. There was no way he could tolerate just sitting there across from her like a normal human being. She was anything but normal. He would have to hear the story from Nero. One way or another.
Two piles of folded laundry, mostly towels and rags and a few pairs of shorts, though they looked like they'd never been work. All of the shirts and jeans easily fit into the closet on the few hangers that Dante did own. The bed was made, now void of crumbs. All that he was left with was an empty clothes basket and a coffee soaked towel. What was he supposed to do now? Nero sat on the end of the bed, staring at the locked door, waiting for Dante to come back. It hadn't seemed like such a bad way to pass the time until he realized an hour had already gone past and Dante still hadn't come home. He had said that he a job to do, meaning he wouldn't be back for at least eight hours, right? He'd never had a real job himself, but when his Master left for work that was usually how long he had the house to himself. Or rather his room to himself. He hadn't been allowed free reign of the house.
Usually he spent the time trying to sleep, only to keep waking himself up in fear every few moments. Eight hours took no time to pass when you didn't want time to move at all. But he was eager for Dante to come back, eager to not be alone with her. Not to mention Dante had promised him pizza when he returned. The fact that he'd already been given donuts meant the possibility of actually getting a slice of pizza was pretty good.
Glancing over at the alarm clock he was disappointed to find three minutes had passed since he last glanced at it. Dante was never going to make it home! There had to be a better way to pass the time, anything had to be better than sitting on the end of the man's bed staring at the door like a dog waiting for it's master to return. Dante had made it perfectly clear that he wasn't Nero's master. He was a human being and he needed to start acting like it.
Groaning softly, he forced himself up off the end of the bed and grabbed the clothes basket that he had dropped the wet towel into. Laundry was something normal people did, right? It was just a matter of getting past her. Unlocking the door as quietly as possible he stuck his head out into the hallway, searching for any sign of her. All clear… He took slow steps down the hall to keep from alerting her to his presence, past the bathroom door that was closed.
Thankfully the doorway at the end of the hall gave him a bird's eye view of the office below. The dark haired woman was no where to be seen there either, even though her jacket was still dangling off the side of the pool table. If she was in the bathroom he would only have a few moments before she came back. Heaving the basket down the stairs, Nero made a pit stop by the couch to scoop up the towel he'd used the night before into the basket and made a dash for the door behind Dante's desk, next to the wall of random weapons. He'd heard Dante turn on the dryer, meaning the washer had to be there too.
The door led him into a small dingy kitchen with one small stretch of counter space that was covered in old pizza boxes and an old sink. There was a stove on the opposite side of the room that he had a feeling Dante never used and a refrigerator that sounded like it was on it's last leg. At the very back of the room, in what like nothing more than a closet without doors, sat an old beat up washer and dryer set. The entire front of the washer looked like it had been kicked in several times and Nero wondered if Dante was to blame for that. He didn't seem to have much patience and Nero was sure kicking things was a good way to relieve frustration. He just hoped he wouldn't end up kicking him if he got too stressed out.
Nero wasted no time dumping the towels into the empty washer, adding a small scoop of the powdery detergent and set it for a short wash before he turned to flee back to his cave. Certainly that had taken up a fair amount of time. Stepping back out into the main room of the office he was pleased to find that the woman still hadn't returned and made another sprint for the stairs. He was halfway up the steps when he heard a soft gasp above him that made him freeze. It was too good to be true, he should have known he wouldn't be lucky enough not to run into her twice.
"Did you change your mind about that pool game?" she asked softly, staring down at him with her two-toned eyes.
He instantly took a step back down from the stairs, prepared to lock himself up in the kitchen if he had to. He was sure there would be plenty in there for him to clean until Dante made it back. The woman just took a step away from the door out onto the landing, waving him through with a small smile.
"Go on then, lock yourself back up in Dante's room until he gets back. But I really won't hurt you, you know?" she sighed, leaning on the railing with her back to him.
Watching her carefully, he pressed his back up against the wall, sliding up the remaining few stairs slowly. When she didn't even turn to look at him, he made a break for Dante's room, slamming the door shut and locked it again. Now that he was alone and safe again, the only thing he had left to do was flop down on the end of the bed, staring at the handle. Waiting for Dante to come home…
