Disclaimer: The characters belong to Baz Luhrmann and co.
Notes: I kind of wanted to do the 'modern day' MR fic, but I know there are quite a few people who have done them already and I didn't think I'd be able to pull out an original idea. So, my MR fic doesn't take place in 2002, it takes place in 1951. :) This was inspired by the horrifyingly awful movie 'Deuces Wild'. Only waste your money on this movie if you are a huge, Huge, HUGE fan of Stephen Dorff or Fairuza Balk as they are the only two worth seeing in this train wreck of a movie. (And being a HUGE fan of Stephen Dorff, I still refuse to admit I wasted my money.)
More Notes: I couldn't make Toulouse have a lisp, it just didn't work with the 1950's gang slang. I'm also blatantly ripping off the gang names from 'Deuces Wild' because I'm too unimaginative to think of my own. :)
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Downtown Brooklyn . . . a place Christian thought could offer him the world. His insatiable need to escape his overbearing father was overwhelming and he felt he had to leave his home in Staten Island. He came to Brooklyn, thinking he would be able to be his own man, to start a life of his own without having his father staring over his shoulder. All he wanted was to have a rich, full life and find a woman he could truly love.
Brooklyn, his father said, was not the place to find a respectable woman. Well, who the hell ever said he wanted a respectable woman? He wanted someone who could love him without any inhibitions, someone who would admit to themselves that they needed him. All he really wanted was someone to freely love him.
Christian had come to Brooklyn to live a penniless existence if he had to, he came to find what the world was truly about. New York had been overwhelmed by drug dealers and gang wars, shooting in the streets, violent fights like no one had seen in years. He knew what happened in Brooklyn, but he also knew it didn't just happen there. His father was too blind to see the wars going on all over New York.
He found an apartment downtown, a tiny place really, but it was good enough for one man. He had his home, he just had to find a job, somewhere he could make enough money to keep his apartment and keep his stomach full. There was a little problem with his plan though; he'd never been in Brooklyn, he didn't know the streets or the gangs, he didn't know where he could look for a job and what areas he should stay away from.
As Christian stared around his unfurnished an apartment he wondered for only a brief moment if his father had been right. Did he make a mistake in coming to Brooklyn? Did he really know what he was getting himself into?
A sharp rap at his door shook him out of his reverie and before he could reach for it, the door burst inward and a tall, dark man strode into, staring at Christian intensely.
"You are new here!" the man exclaimed and Christian nodded meekly.
A terribly short man followed the terribly large man a moment later and smiled at Christian. "Good morning," he said. "My name is Henry Raymond Lautrec. Call me Ray. Sorry 'bout the Argentinean here, he gets a little hot under the collar, if ya know what I mean."
Christian nodded slowly and smiled. "My name is Christian . . . uh, Chris. I just moved in."
Ray pointed upward. "Some of us live upstairs. We watch the neighbourhood from this building. We gotta make sure you're not part of them."
Chris frowned. "Part of who?"
"The Cobras," the man known only as the Argentinean said. "They are our rival gang."
Chris stepped backward. "Whoa, okay, gang? I just came here to-"
"To what?" Ray cut in. "To hang out? You fuckin' stupid? You moved into downtown Brooklyn and didn't expect to be caught in the middle? Geez, if I didn't already think you were a half way decent guy I'd get Zidler to toss you out on your ass."
Chris took another step back and shook his head. "Look, I'm really confused. I kind of expected Brooklyn to be like this, but you need to explain some things to be before throwing me out of my apartment."
Ray smiled slightly, "I like you, you've got guts. I'm thinkin' Zidler might accept you pretty quick. What do you say? Wanna meet the big boss?"
The Argentinean leaned down. "He will never agree to admitting a man we just met Raymond."
"Look, you're the muscle, I call the shots," Ray said, holding up his hand. "Zidler trusts me. And if he doesn't like him, we'll make sure Satine does."
Chris frowned again. "Satine?"
Ray smiled at him. "Yes, Satine."
"Who's Satine?" He asked.
"Oh Chris, you got a lot to learn here." Ray smiled wider. "C'mon upstairs. I'll explain it all when we get there."
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Notes: I kind of wanted to do the 'modern day' MR fic, but I know there are quite a few people who have done them already and I didn't think I'd be able to pull out an original idea. So, my MR fic doesn't take place in 2002, it takes place in 1951. :) This was inspired by the horrifyingly awful movie 'Deuces Wild'. Only waste your money on this movie if you are a huge, Huge, HUGE fan of Stephen Dorff or Fairuza Balk as they are the only two worth seeing in this train wreck of a movie. (And being a HUGE fan of Stephen Dorff, I still refuse to admit I wasted my money.)
More Notes: I couldn't make Toulouse have a lisp, it just didn't work with the 1950's gang slang. I'm also blatantly ripping off the gang names from 'Deuces Wild' because I'm too unimaginative to think of my own. :)
§ § § §
Downtown Brooklyn . . . a place Christian thought could offer him the world. His insatiable need to escape his overbearing father was overwhelming and he felt he had to leave his home in Staten Island. He came to Brooklyn, thinking he would be able to be his own man, to start a life of his own without having his father staring over his shoulder. All he wanted was to have a rich, full life and find a woman he could truly love.
Brooklyn, his father said, was not the place to find a respectable woman. Well, who the hell ever said he wanted a respectable woman? He wanted someone who could love him without any inhibitions, someone who would admit to themselves that they needed him. All he really wanted was someone to freely love him.
Christian had come to Brooklyn to live a penniless existence if he had to, he came to find what the world was truly about. New York had been overwhelmed by drug dealers and gang wars, shooting in the streets, violent fights like no one had seen in years. He knew what happened in Brooklyn, but he also knew it didn't just happen there. His father was too blind to see the wars going on all over New York.
He found an apartment downtown, a tiny place really, but it was good enough for one man. He had his home, he just had to find a job, somewhere he could make enough money to keep his apartment and keep his stomach full. There was a little problem with his plan though; he'd never been in Brooklyn, he didn't know the streets or the gangs, he didn't know where he could look for a job and what areas he should stay away from.
As Christian stared around his unfurnished an apartment he wondered for only a brief moment if his father had been right. Did he make a mistake in coming to Brooklyn? Did he really know what he was getting himself into?
A sharp rap at his door shook him out of his reverie and before he could reach for it, the door burst inward and a tall, dark man strode into, staring at Christian intensely.
"You are new here!" the man exclaimed and Christian nodded meekly.
A terribly short man followed the terribly large man a moment later and smiled at Christian. "Good morning," he said. "My name is Henry Raymond Lautrec. Call me Ray. Sorry 'bout the Argentinean here, he gets a little hot under the collar, if ya know what I mean."
Christian nodded slowly and smiled. "My name is Christian . . . uh, Chris. I just moved in."
Ray pointed upward. "Some of us live upstairs. We watch the neighbourhood from this building. We gotta make sure you're not part of them."
Chris frowned. "Part of who?"
"The Cobras," the man known only as the Argentinean said. "They are our rival gang."
Chris stepped backward. "Whoa, okay, gang? I just came here to-"
"To what?" Ray cut in. "To hang out? You fuckin' stupid? You moved into downtown Brooklyn and didn't expect to be caught in the middle? Geez, if I didn't already think you were a half way decent guy I'd get Zidler to toss you out on your ass."
Chris took another step back and shook his head. "Look, I'm really confused. I kind of expected Brooklyn to be like this, but you need to explain some things to be before throwing me out of my apartment."
Ray smiled slightly, "I like you, you've got guts. I'm thinkin' Zidler might accept you pretty quick. What do you say? Wanna meet the big boss?"
The Argentinean leaned down. "He will never agree to admitting a man we just met Raymond."
"Look, you're the muscle, I call the shots," Ray said, holding up his hand. "Zidler trusts me. And if he doesn't like him, we'll make sure Satine does."
Chris frowned again. "Satine?"
Ray smiled at him. "Yes, Satine."
"Who's Satine?" He asked.
"Oh Chris, you got a lot to learn here." Ray smiled wider. "C'mon upstairs. I'll explain it all when we get there."
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