Title Choices
Characters Vincent, Nijinsky
Summary It's never really a choice - but it's still better than nothing at all.
Author Notes This is part of my head canon about how Jin gets recruited. I will go into more depth (eventually) in my Vincent epic, Descent. But for now - this bit. Since he has not joined yet, he is still referred to as Shane.
It's all decided in an instant – surprisingly quick and no need for a second option.
Kill him – or bring him in.
He'd brought him in.
"You expect me to live here?" Were the first words he'd spoken since the incident, and they sounded just as angry and bitter and hateful as was to be expected.
"Yes," Vincent replied, wanting nothing more than his bed. But he knew sleep was a luxury he wouldn't have for quite some time – not unless he drugged the Asian kid and somehow managed to avoid Caligula. He had answers to give.
"Absolutely not, this place is a sty." Shane stood with his back to the wall, frown on his lips. He was still in shock. Twelve hours ago he'd been planning dinner (though it had taken an hour, he'd finally decided they were going to try the French restaurant) and had been on his way back to their suite to change. Then he'd walked into the room and everything had gone to hell. He was a little ashamed to admit that his first thought had been that Clarence was fucking the other guy – jealousy was a beast that roamed a little more freely in his head than he wanted it to. Now though, he'd willingly accept a cheating boyfriend over a dead one.
Dead. Clarence was fucking dead.
"If you do well in your training, you'll be allowed to maintain off-site living quarters," Vincent replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table. He was hungry, but wasn't about to go looking for food. Caligula was just as bad at stocking groceries as he was.
"What?" Shane asked, focusing his gaze on the other man. The man who'd shot his boyfriend. He should be angry (he was angry) but he kept coming back to Clarence's last few seconds. His last words. "You need to trust Vincent, Shane. Don't die for me." Who the fuck was this asshole?
"If you do well in training-"
"I heard you!" Shane interrupted, fingers digging into his arms. "But what the fuck is this? Who the fuck are you?" He didn't mean to yell. He didn't want to break down into hysterics – it was so stereotypically homosexual, and he wasn't a queen. That was why Clarence had taken him in, after all, why they'd been together. Because he could handle himself when things went to shit. But this? He was still in shock.
Vincent was silent for a moment, eyes staring up at the Asian kid. "My name is Vincent, and I belong to an organization that goes by the name of BZRK."
"I know that," Shane said, because he remembered that much. "But who are you?" He wasn't even sure what he meant by the question. Maybe what are you would have gotten his feelings across more clearly.
Vincent didn't reply, because he had a feeling that Shane needed to vent. He would wait him out.
"I'm sorry," Shane said, shaking his head and digging his hands into his face. "This is just really hard for me."
"I understand," Vincent replied, even though, in honesty, he didn't. He couldn't.
"You shot my fucking boyfriend," Shane said, not able to look up. "You just killed him. And he was okay with it." Neither of them said anything after that, not until Shane broke the silence a few minutes later. "Why was he okay with it?" He looked up, finally meeting the other man's intense gaze. Vincent had dead eyes, Shane noticed – eyes that were devoid of any emotion. They were chilling.
"Clarence knew what was at stake," Vincent began, "He was aware of BZRK and he knew what we do. He knew why he was targeted and he knew why I shot him."
"He told me to trust you," Shane said, still wondering if he should. Wondering if Clarence had known Vincent as well as he thought he had. If only he could have asked him why.
"He did," Vincent replied, wondering if that would be enough. If it wasn't? If Shane refused to join? "But whether you choose to trust me or not is entirely your choice."
"What happens if I don't? What happens if I refuse?" Shane knew knew the answer, but he still asked the question.
"You'll die." That was the nasty truth of the matter. As far as BZRK went you were either in or you were dead – there was no in between. Lear had friends, of course, but they all took measures to keep themselves separate. Shane didn't have that luxury.
"What a choice. Live with a murderer, or die by his hand. It's like being stuck between death and madness," Shane replied, looking down at his hands. They were shaking.
"That's exactly what this is, Shane. Death or madness," Vincent said, wishing he could explain everything that easily.
Shane closed his eyes for a moment, remembering the look on the older man's face before he was killed. Remembering the look in his eyes, the desperation – trust Vincent, Shane – and he opened his eyes again, meeting the other man's dead stare.
"Madness it is."
