Author's Note: It's a super-secret interlude! This time, for Vivien. Here's a little glimpse into what's happened in his past...

LEGACY

Interlude

Vivien hadn't managed to finish stripping fast enough to get in the shower to avoid answering the timid knock that sounded at the door. Renata must've been waiting up for him. "Come in," he called, whipping the towel off the rack and wrapping it tightly around his shoulders.

Renata's little hand appeared around the edge of the door, wrestling with it for a moment before he was able to get it open far enough. His short brown hair was sticking up in all directions. He shuffled into the bathroom, keeping his eyes on the grubby tile floor. Vivien absently added cleaning it to his list of things to do. Mold was starting to reign supreme.

"Well?" Vivien prompted when Renata's silence persisted. "What is it?"

"You went out again."

"Yeah. I go out sometimes."

"But you went out last night, too."

Vivien chewed his lower lip impatiently. He could feel something running down the inside of his leg. Blood, probably. "What's your point?"

"I don't like it when you go out at night. You come back really late." Renata peeked up at him through his long bangs. Vivien would have to trim them. "And sometimes you're really weird when you get home."

"What do you mean, I'm weird?" Vivien asked hesitantly.

"I dunno... You're just... not normal. Weird. I don't like it."

"Am I weird now?"

"I don't think so," Renata whispered. "I don't know."

So, Renata had noticed. The kid had always noticed more than Vivien had given him credit for. "Renny, it's late, okay? Go back to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning—"

"No!"

The outburst seemed to echo through the dingy bathroom.

"That's what you always tell me; we'll talk about it later. But you never do." Sniffling, Renata lifted a hand to wipe at his eyes. "I know what you're doing, okay? You're going out and you're doing something that you aren't supposed to for money."

Vivien narrowed his eyes. "How do you know about that?"

"Belle told me. He told me that you told him that you'd rather sell yourself on the streets than wait around at the orphanage and that's what you're doing, isn't it?"

"Renata—"

"You've been promising me everything is going to be okay, but it isn't, is it? It's not okay! Nothing is okay!" The tears flowed freely and Renata spoke between heaving sobs. "Belle said you'd get hurt if you tried, a-and you're getting hurt, aren't you?"

The blood had reached his ankle, but Vivien wasn't about to look down and check if it was pooling on the floor. "I'm fine, Renny."

"You're not fine!"

Vivien wasn't quick enough to pull away when Renata reached for the towel. He yanked it back, but it was too late. Renata had seen the bruises splattered on him. A heavy silence descended, punctuated only by Renata's hiccuping sobs.

"Wh-why?" he asked, voice trembling. "Why do you let them do this to you?"

"It pays well."

"That's not—"

"Shut up! You don't know anything. It's my body, I can do whatever the hell I want with it," Vivien spat hotly. "Maybe I'm good at it. Maybe I like it because I'm wanted for the first time in my life, even if it is just for sex. And here I am, letting my body get bruised and abused for you. I hate you!"

"Vivien, I didn't mean..."

"Just shut up, you stupid, selfish brat!" The nearest thing on the counter, a can of hairspray, found its way into Vivien's hand and he lobbed it at Renata. The can clipped Renata in the shoulder, eliciting a shriek from him. Trembling, Vivien lifted a hand to his mouth. "O-Oh, goddess, I... Baby, I'm sorry..."

Renata willingly accepted Vivien's embrace and allowed himself to be pulled to the floor. Vivien leaned up against the vanity, holding him and biting back tears of his own.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," he whispered. "I love you, Renny. I'll always love you. It's just hard, okay? I promised that I would take care of you and I'm doing everything I can to make sure I keep that promise."

Renata nuzzled into his shoulder. Vivien could feel wet teardrops against his bare skin. "I don't want to lose you, too..."

"I'm not going anywhere, baby."

"But what if—"

"Shh." Vivien rested his chin on top of Renata's head. "Don't think about the things that might happen."

"I want you to stop."

Vivien sighed, pressing his cheek against the cabinet door. It was easy enough to pass himself off as sixteen—seventeen if he did his makeup just right. Men were lured with nothing more than a bat of his false eyelashes. They would buy him drinks, sometimes slip him drugs, and take him home. Sometimes, he enjoyed it. Sometimes, he was wasted enough to pretend he enjoyed it. Sometimes, as he was kissed and touched, he wondered why he hadn't started doing it sooner when no more than a flick of his hips could have him drowning in undivided attention. He wondered why, when his hooks sank so deeply and securely in everyone else, Belle had never fallen for it.

"I know, Renny. I know."

A/N: Vivien was a hooker. Are we surprised.

Thanks for reading!

RegenesisX