"What the hell are you doing?!"

Dex groaned as Michael's voice stabbed his ears. His head continued to throb, aching in a way that he hadn't felt since he was active duty.

"Dex?" Michael boomed through the speaker, "Hello?"

"What…?" he muttered out.

"I told you to leave Kristina alone!"

"Oh my God-" he rolled his eyes.

"Did she take you home?"

"Yeah-"

"Oh God," Michael groaned, "Please don't tell me she spent the night too."

Dex remained silent, gently biting the inside of his lip.

"Dex, tell me what happened."

"Um," he rubbed his head, "she…she offered to take me home since I was drunk. She dropped me off and chose to stay the night."

"...Did you at least tell her to go home?"

"...No."

"Oh my God, what is wrong with you?! Why can't you listen to what I say?"

"Nothing happened-"

"I don't care that nothing happened; she shouldn't have been there in the first place! She should've dumped you on the couch and went home."

"Thanks, Michael. That's a really nice thing to say."

"I-" Michael took a deep breath, "What happened this morning?"

"Sonny showed up and lost his mind, yelled and dragged me out of bed and everything. He demanded we never see each other again then he and Kristina left."

"Good."

"Good?"

"You're messing with my sister; niceties won't be a thing until you stop bothering her."

"I'm not bothering her," Dex hissed, laying a hand on his forehead, "She offered to take me home since I was too drunk to drive. She stayed the night to take care of me."

"And that's the story you're sticking to? That's the complete truth?"

Silence.

"Dex…"

"...Yes."

"Would it surprise you to know that I don't believe you?"

"Of course you don't."

"I mean, you've given me no reason to. You've gone against my orders more than once, and you're constantly getting my sister caught up in your business-"

"Michael," Dex sat up, "did it ever occur to you that Kristina could…make her own decisions?"

"I know she can, and I'm not policing what she does. I'm policing what you do. You work for me, you're on my payroll, thus you'll do what I tell you to do."

"I'm not hurting anyone and I'm still following the mission. I've seen a bit of what goes on in Sonny's organization. Hell, I committed a major crime in jury tampering! As far as I'm concerned, we're on track to put Sonny in prison."

"Yeah? And what will messing around with Kristina achieve?"

"Hang on," Dex's spine stiffened, "are you implying that I'd hurt Kristina? That I'm spending time with her for some agenda?"

"Are you?"

"No," the answer was firm and deep, "Absolutely not."

"And you expect me to trust you?"

"I'm telling the truth!" the headache was sharp, "Gah!"

"Really, then maybe you could tell me another truth."

"Which is?"

"How do you really feel about my sister?"


Kristina read over the article a number of times, taking in each and every word her mother wrote. A familiar bitterness started to set in, and she looked up from the newspaper, unsure of what to think.

"Kristina?"

Brando Corbin took a seat at the bar, clasping his hands together on the surface. He gave her a soft smile, looking between her and the paper in her hands.

"Reading something interesting?" he asked.

"The new Invader article," she passed him the newspaper.

"Oh yeah?" he looked it over, "Pretty good piece."

"You think so?"

"Read it this morning," Brando scanned the page, "Kind of crazy that Sonny's employee is the eyewitness, huh?"

"A little."

"Well, thanks to him, Avery gets to keep her mom. He actually did a good thing."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I assume you know about what happened with him and Michael."

"I do."

"Yeah…that really didn't endear him to me. Going after the family is a big no-no."

"Well, Dad took care of that, and it won't happen again," Kristina ducked her head down.

"...Does that bother you?" Brando leaned in.

"It's just…Dex made a mistake, y'know?" she kept her head down, "Dad got on him and he hasn't done anything wrong since."

"Your decision to not look at me says otherwise."

Kristina slowly met his eyes, biting her bottom lip gently.

"Did Dex do something? Should I tell Sonny-"

"No, no," she put her hands up, "he didn't do anything. It's just Dad being aggressive and overprotective about things."

"About what, though?"

"Just…" she sighed, "He thinks he can police my life and the people I spend time with."

"Like Dex?"

She nodded.

"Wait," Brando put a hand up, "you're hanging out with this guy?"

"We've had a few run-ins, a few nice chats."

"I feel like there's more to that."

"...I ended up staying at his place last night."

"May I ask why?"

"The bar hosted the weekly Trivia Game last night. He got me to join in and we won. He drank a lot of Manhattans and couldn't drive home…so I took him."

"Okay, but how does that translate to staying?"

"He was too drunk to take care of himself."

"According to you."

"Yeah, yeah, according to me. I helped the guy out. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that the guy is new to Sonny's business and messed with your brother. I don't exactly think he's prime boyfriend material."

"Boyfriend material?" Kristina shot him a look, "Seriously?"

"You're sounding a bit defensive of the guy. I don't know, it just makes me think you have some feelings for him."

She froze in place, her cheeks flushing. She ducked her head down, looking away from her cousin. Brando looked her over, raising an eyebrow. She pulled her phone out of her pocket and swiped on the screen.

"Kristina?" he asked gently, "Did I say something?"

She kept her composure, pressing down on the white keyboard that popped up as she opened a text thread.

"Krissy," he tried again, "do you like Dex? Do you have feelings for him?"


The question took him aback. At first, Dex wasn't sure if he heard his boss correctly, and he opened his mouth to speak. He closed it almost immediately, processing every word.

"Dex?" Michael asked, "Hello? Did you hear what I said?"

"Yeah…yeah…um…"

"Do you have feelings for Kristina? Is that why you've been bothering her?"

"I'm not bothering her."

"Answer my question, Dex."

"And why would I tell you?"

"Why would you tell me?" Michael asked back, disdain in his tone. Dex slowly got to his feet in the meantime, seeking out ibuprofen and a glass of water from the kitchen. His phone was stuck between his cheek and shoulder, "Because Kristina is family, my family. She's my little sister and I care about her. The last thing I need or want is you hurting her."

"Overdramatic much?" Dex downed a few pills with some water, "Kristina isn't some wilting flower needing protection."

"I know she's strong, okay? I trust she can hold her own and deal with whatever comes her way. The issue is you."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously. You do know you're a hired gun, right? Have you forgotten your background, Dex?"

Dex bit the inside of his lip, an anger rising within him as Michael continued.

"I mean, be real with me. Who's going to want a hired gun with anger and impulse issues? A guy who hits his superior officer just because?"

"That's not what happened-"

"And with Kristina, do you honestly think you have a shot in hell with her? You're working to take her father down, to remove him from her life-"

"On your orders!"

"Do you think she'll fall for you knowing that, that she'll even entertain the idea of giving you a chance to be with her? Don't get me wrong, I'd love it if she didn't give you the time of day, but still. It's worth pointing that out."

"Enough, Michael," Dex growled, "Enough."

"It's really not, and it won't be until you finally learn your lesson."

A silence grew between them, each man waiting for the other to speak. Eventually, Michael opened his mouth.

"You'd be doing everyone, especially Kristina," he said, "a favor by keeping your distance. The sooner we nail Sonny, the sooner you can leave Port Charles behind and not look back."

Dex gulped, unsure of his next move. He leaned against the kitchen counter, taking in Michael's words as it fueled his rage.

"I know what kind of worker you are, what kind of man you are."

"You don't know anything about me."

"I know enough; you can thank your bosses for that. And I know that you're better…you're meant to be better than this."

"Stop it."

"Then answer my question: how do you feel about Kristina?"

Dex closed his mouth, his nostrils flared. A lump formed in his throat, a seemingly agonizing confusion filling the void his headache was leaving behind. He slowly walked back into the living room, looking over the couch.

The image of him and Kristina together flashed in his mind, a warmth growing as he thought about how she looked. Her ombre brown hair, her bright brown eyes, the sweetness in her face-

"Dex?"

The young man then made his way into his bedroom, eyes cast at the unmade bed. He could feel the electricity from the doorway as he recalled how close he was to her, how close he was to changing things between them.

Not like this.

"Dex? Hello?"

The line went dead as Dex hung up. He placed his phone down on his nightstand, slowly taking a seat on the mattress. Tears welled in his eyes, and he winced as he felt a jolt from his hangover. He felt a tugging at his heart just as the fog in his mind continued to settle.

The sound of his phone buzzing startled him. He glanced back to see Michael calling him once more, a text notification popping up at the same time.

From: Kristina (7:33 AM)
Are you OK?
Don't let my dad scare you.
Text me!

Oh God… Dex felt a pit in his stomach. His cheeks flushed slightly as he read each text, Michael's call eventually going away. There was a sickening lightness that coursed through his veins, a feeling that his brain tried to reject but his heart fully embraced. He slowly turned away from the phone, glancing down at the unkempt sheets. Part of him wanted to vomit, and yet, there was no bile climbing up his throat.

It wasn't fully formed, but deep down, he knew what the answer to Michael's question was. He knew even more that acting on it would mean the end for them both.


"You can't ignore me forever."

Kristina glanced at Brando for a brief moment before going back to her phone. She scrolled aimlessly, ignoring his gaze.

"Kristina, if I said something wrong, I'm sorry. I was just pointing something out."

"Yeah?" she finally looked his way.

"Yeah. I didn't mean to upset you, though. I should've just kept it to myself."

"...No," Kristina sighed, "it's fine. Like you said, you were just pointing something out."

"You can tell me anything, Krissy. It'll stay between us," Brando's smile was warm, "Do you like this guy?"

"Of course I do-"

"I don't mean as a friend."

Kristina shut her mouth, giving Brando a knowing look. They stared at one another for a moment, a silence weighing on them. She thought long and hard about the question, feeling herself going in a number of different directions. Her mind jumped to his apartment, his bright smile tugging at her the more she dwelled on it.

"...Kristina?" Brando asked.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"When you think about Sasha, or look at her, or…anything, how do you feel?"

"I feel like I've found my home, my person. I think about her and I feel this…" he gestured at his chest, "intensity and joy that I've never really felt before. I feel so happy and light when I come home and see her there, living her life and being the amazing woman I know she is. There really isn't anyone else I'd rather live with, spend time with, or love than her. I'm the luckiest guy in the world with her in my life."

"...Wow," Kristina sighed, her heart skipping a slight beat, "That's…wow."

"Yeah, I know," Brando smiled, "but it's the truth…is that how you feel about Dex?"

"Oh God no," she shook her head, "not even close."

"But it's getting there? Or it could get there?"

"...I don't know."

"But you like him, you want more."

Kristina looked off to the side, unsure of what to say. Part of her wanted to say yes, to force her mind to physically say the words that deep down, she knew were true. Brando smiled sadly at her, gently gripping her shoulder.

"I won't say anything," he whispered, "I promise."

"Thank you."

"Of course," Brando leaned back. Kristina's smile was wide and bright before she looked past him. He raised an eyebrow at her, "What's up?"

"Is it just you today? No Sasha or Gladys?"

"They're coming soon. My mom texted and said she was running late: wardrobe malfunction."

"Of course," Kristina giggled, rolling her eyes, "Do you want anything in the meantime?"

"Uh…just water for now," Brando scanned the bar behind him, "It doesn't seem like there's any open table for three."

"You'll get one soon, I promise."

"Hope so," just as he finished speaking, a loud clanging came from behind the building.

"What was that?" Kristina asked as Brando moved closer to the back door. Another bang sounded, as if someone was moving around by the trash cans and dumpster that existed in the back alley.

"Stay here," Brando's voice was stiff and firm.

"What? Your mom and Sasha are gonna be here soon. Brando-"

"Stay here," the man rushed through the back door of the bar, stepping into the alley. Kristina stared at the closed door before pulling out her phone, rapidly dialing a number. The phone rang a few times before going straight to voicemail.

"Kristina?"

The young woman turned around to see Sasha and Gladys, smiles on both of their faces. Kristina looked between them and the door, waiting for Brando to come back inside.

"Is something the matter?" Sasha asked.

"Uh…um…"

"Cat got your tongue?" Gladys laughed, "Happens to all of us."

Kristina forced a smile in response before looking at the back door again. The other two women followed her gaze.

"Is something out there?" Sasha questioned, stepping closer to the door.

"Brando's in the alley," Kristina responded.

"Why?" Gladys raised an eyebrow, "What's out there?"

"We heard a noise and he went out to see what it was."

"And he hasn't come back?" Sasha's eyes were bright with fear.

"No…" Kristina looked between the women before opening the back door. They stepped into the alleyway, adjusting their vision to the dimly-lit area. They didn't have to walk very far.

The sight before Kristina stilled her bones and stopped her heart. Her scream filled the area, loud and sharp and agonizing. Gladys and Sasha, sending off a cry of her own, rushed past Kristina and dropped to their knees. Brando laid in the middle of it all, a deep scar across his torso, his shirt ripped to show the injury off.

"Brando!" Sasha whined, shaking him, a hand on his wound. The man stared up at the sky, unmoving, "Brando!"

"Come on, son," Gladys grabbed his hand, pressing it against her cheek. She kept two fingers on the side of his neck, "stay with us."

"Oh my God," Kristina tried to catch her breath as she pulled out her cellphone, "Oh God…"

"911, what's your emergency?" the operator's voice was deep.

"Yes, h-hello," Kristina hiccupped, "my…my cousin was stabbed. There's b-blood and he's not moving and the scar is m-massive and-"

"Okay, okay. Take some breaths, ma'am. What's your cousin's name?"

"B-Brando Corbin."

"Where are you?"

"The back alley of Ch-Charlie's Pub."

"Does he have a pulse?"

"Y-Yes? N-No? I don't know; he's losing blood fast. Please…p-please hurry."

"EMTs are on the way."

The line went dead soon after. Kristina dropped to her knees, tears blurring her vision as she checked her cousin's pulse: faint. Her voice joined Sasha and Gladys's as they called the man's name, their shrill and broken voices echoing up the brick walls that surrounded them while they waited for help to come.