[Multichapter] Our life is a Dance with Death - Chapter 2, Stone Cold.
Title : Our life is a Dance with Death - Chapter 2, Stone Cold.
Author: rainbowdots888
Pairings: Ryo x Ohkura, Ohkura x ???
Rating: PG 15 (swearing, blood)
Length: Multi Chapter ( 2 / ? )
Words: 2379
Genre: AU, angst, romance
Disclaimer: Too bad for me, I don't own these men... just these stories.
Summary: 8UPPERS AU. Expect fights, blood, irreverence, but also romance, I'm a softy. "Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again."
****************
The boxing bag chain was creaking loudly in the lounge as Ace tested his recently healed knuckles. It hurt quite a lot still but he wanted to prove the others that he could finally go back in the field with them. Their investigations had led them on the trail of some serious gangs who could have wanted them dead. It was time for him to be useful again. He threw his fists forward, hitting the bag with tremendous strength, getting his muscles back in shape with a grimace that showed how painful it was. He had never been hurt that seriously before and he still didn't get what had gotten to him on that day. His fury had come from another world making him hit blindly, without thinking, hence without convincing effect, as Johnny was suffocating. Since then he had sworn to himself that every single blow he'd throw would be meant deadly... It wouldn't happen twice.
The club was rather quiet, all of them kept busy by their own activities. Arsenal was reading a report in the same room but was as usual dead silent, taking a glimpse of Johnny and Gum's trump cards game from time to time. The two men where chuckling and exchanging murmurs regularly, the sound of their voices drowned in the rythmic creaking of the boxing bag. A loud bass could be heard from Toppo's room, as he was re-arranging his set for some special themed night to come. Jacky walked into the room wearing glasses that aged him greatly and holding thick files. He stopped next to Ace and with a single hand blocked the boxing bag.
“Won't you stop this ? The noise is annoying as hell...”
“What ? But I need to...” said Ace in disbelief. It had never been a problem until then to train among the others, why would it be now ?
“Jacky's right. Cut it out.” Johnny stood up and kept talking calmly as he left the room, slowly, conscious that everyone present was looking at him. “You're hurting yourself on that bag, stupid. Having an eye problem is not enough ? Do you want to break your hands for good ?” He stopped at the door frame and turned towards Ace, impassible.
“We won't keep someone who's not useful anymore to the group. And what are you without your fists ? A troublesome brat, that's all. You'd better think about it twice.” Letting his words float in the thick air of the lounge, Johnny turned heels and left his friends abashed. Except for Ace who was clearly fuming, already removing the bandages he had rolled around his hands. He threw them on the floor and leapt forward in anger, ready to get to that punk who dared talking to him that way. Friends or not, he would show him what respect was. He found him in the central hallway, opening his room's door quietly. He caught Johnny by his loose shirt and hurled him against one of the bedroom's walls, slamming the door behind them. The other didn't even looked surprised, a mocking smile adorning his beautiful face. Ace put his hands on both sides of Johnny's head, imprisonning him between his own body and the wall. He could feel his veins pulsating in fury in his arms and neck as his inner self was wondering why the hell the other guy was always so good at making him enraged.
“Would you be able to repeat what you just said to my face, fucker ?”
“Sure. You're a brat. Your little boxing bag frenzy is annoying and it's damaging your hands. We need your hands for the fights. Not a useless mouth to feed.”
“Show some damn respect to the people who saved your crappy life !”
“Well, I remember telling you that it was unnecessary.”
“Oh... Boy, you don't know me that well in the end. I won't let you die. Why ? 'cause we're kind of tied together. You're from my pack, and the others would be devastated by your death. I'm not letting my pack down. I saved your fucking ass and it hurt. Show respect.”
“Aaaw. You're such a sweetheart !” Johnny was convincingly mimicking a girl's fainting, as his eyes remained blank. Ace had to contain the rage inside, a fist already in the air, ready to hit the other.
“Beware. I could make your face a living nightmare with those hands you need so much. And what would happen if you're disfigured ? Oopsie. You wouldn't be useful to our group anymore. Because you're the whore here, you can gather some information but if... Say I break your nose and tear that pretty mouth in several pieces... Will we keep you ? Mmmm...I wonder.”
He could finally see some human reaction in Johnny's eyes as he purposely used the word 'whore'. All of them had tried to avoid the topic for years, knowing perfectly what kind of tricks the young man used to extort information from their targets, blindfolding themselves. And suddenly he saw in those luminous eyes the emotional wall patiently built case after case collapsing. A shiver shook Johnny's face before giving way to a mad smile.
“You won't do that.”
“Oh. And why not ?”
“Because you want me so badly.” The young man's face was now very close, the tip of his nose brushing lightly Ace's cheek. The boxer could feel the other's warm breath at the corner of his lips, as his guts clenched in a desperate attempt to remain collected. He could have backed off, he could even have left the room before something happened. But his hand was glued to the wall, his body weighing a ton, keeping him in place, mesmerized by the soft tongue that had just licked his lower lip. When Johnny kissed him roughly, madly, he couldn't hold it anymore and pinned the other's body to the wall, his hips coming up on their own to get some of the delicious friction he craved for. Their embrace was rough and incredibly sensual, a tailor made fight for dominance as Ace's senses went wild. Overwhelmed by his urges he finally tore the other's shirt open, unveiling a perfectly shaped torso he had just caught a glimpse of several weeks before, in the darkness of the night. And something on this body struck him hard. Johnny's chest was marked with burns and red scars, some of them large enough to have been extremely painful wounds. He stopped his movements, his desires scalded by the view. Coming back to his senses, Ace took two steps back and looked at the young man with horrified eyes.
“Who... How ?”
The other laughed, his head thrown backwards, the sounds produced by his throat full of self loathing and sufferings. He finally stopped and looking at the boxer in the eyes, stated :
“... Those are the consequences of whoring, my friend. Oh, don't tell me you thought I was having fun with all those people. We all have our scars, Ace. The thing is that you only found out about mine. Will you be able to put up with them ? Leave... please. I'm tired.” His voice had turned small, exhausted, almost like a child's. Ace walked up to the entrance and left the room without a word, closing the door softly behind him. His naked back against the hard wood, he suddenly felt empty of all might and slid down on the floor, sobbing like he hadn't in years, the rhythm of his body's tremors in sync with the loud bass of Toppo's mix.
*****************
Mac found him at that same place, his eyes red and dry after hours by himself. No noise could be heard behind the door as if Johnny had vanished for good. Mac kneeled next to him and removing Ace's bangs from his eyes with a tender touch, spoke up.
“The others told me … What happened ? Did you guys fight ?”
“Wow. Such questions you have.” Ace had the saddest smile Mac had seen since they'd left the orphanage many years ago. “ We fought. And... we also kinda made up. But...”
“But... what ?”
“Nothing. Don't mind us. You know, we're still children after all.”
At Mac's stupefaction, Ace stood up as if nothing had happened and left, patting his shoulder in a reassuring way. It seemed like his brotherly love couldn't solve all the problems in the end.
****************
The days following his discovery were the gloomiest Ace had lived among his friends, his only family. Everybody behaved strangely, and avoided him when they were not on a mission. Johnny didn't even try to be nice to the others and slowly drowned into a confused state, halfway between his duty and his inner questioning. They automatically met the deadlines of their different jobs, without passion, but with extra caution. Their attackers were still unknown and running free despite the efforts they'd put into the investigation and the few hints they'd gathered didn't sound good. Too many persons wanted them out of circulation, from the notorious gangs to some of the corrupted officials of the government. Finding the most vicious ennemy in that viper's nest wasn't an easy task. Especially when they couldn't figure out how to communicate properly within their own group...
Ace had found a perfect place to chew his problems over, a secluded part of the club, on the roof, that he had never noticed before. The december downpours would discourage anyone to stay there or even have a look, and he didn't care about being wet anyway. Smoking the last cigarette of his pack, he was reading again a document Johnny had brought back to them earlier, when Arsenal appeared through the door leading to the roof. The boxer had no will to be found here pondering by himself and dove quickly behind a low brick wall, putting his cigarette out on the way. The other seemed deeply uncomfortable and kept cracking his knuckles, checking from time to time if someone was joining him. Seeing his friend so embarassed was new to Ace and he almost came out of hiding in order to ask what was wrong. But as he debating with himself on the matter, someone else finally showed up. Arsenal seemed incredibly relieved when Johnny sat next to him on an old chimney. Both of them remained silent for a while before Arsenal finally broke the silence.
“I wanted to see you... cause... well, all that's happening right now, don't you think that...”
Johnny took the cigarette from the other's lips and after inhaling deeply the stinky smoke of the gunman's drug, looked at him.
“That … what?”
“That it may be... your guy ?”
“Oh, so subtle from you to bring back that story just when we had eventually reached a balance. No need to be jealous anymore. I'm no longer 'yours'”
Arsenal seemed taken aback and hurt by the coldness of the young man's words.
“Are you going to keep attacking anyone who wants to help you ? I got the 'no longer mine' thing very well, don't worry. But it does not mean that I shouldn't care about you anymore. The guy attacked you, especially. He could have tried to kill Ace, on that day. But he went to you.”
“He only had noticed I was the weakest in the room, an easy victim.” At that, a sad laugh escaped his mouth, as he was lost in the contemplation of the small cigarette butt he held between his fingers.
“I don't think so... I'm sure he had orders to kill you. It was his mission... Thankfully we were there. But please be careful when you're going to work alone.”
“Keisuke sure had his bad moments but he would never kill me. Never.”
The older man looked at the other with the saddest eyes Ace had ever seen and placed his scarred right hand on the other's thigh lovingly.
“He almost did, several times. You need to talk about this to the others. I won't. It's your story, and as you said, you're not mine anymore. And believe me, it's hard to live with this everyday, next to you...” Silence fell between them, Johnny's face as cold as a stone. Looking at his profile, from his hiding place, Ace felt the burning of the other's breath against his cheek again, the softness of his lips on his. The sensations came back suddenly, flooding his heart and mind as his brain understood what had taken place in front of him. His breath short, he caught the wall next him to support his weak body just long enough for him to process information. Johnny and Arsenal. They'd been an item. And he had never noticed a thing in the serious face of the younger nor in the rude allusions of the older.
“I won't tell the others, because this is nonsense. Anyway, Ace saw the... my chest.”
“What ? How come ?”
“We kissed passionately and it was really hot. He ripped my shirt open.” Johnny was looking at his interlocutor in delight, stressing every single word to emphasize their meaning. He obviously enjoyed the shock experienced by his ex partner. “It's time to go after someone else, dear. Try Toppo, he would add a bit of color to your world.”
“Ace is violent, rough... Is it what you like in the end ?”
“Maybe. And... what if I wanted to drown my sorrow into his darkness ?” Johnny then got to his feet, brushing gently Arsenal's hand off his thigh. He slowly left the roof, followed by the broken other, in silence.
Ace could breathe normally again when the door to the roof closed behind the two silhouettes. Too many things had happened within those five dreadful minutes. His 'friends' thought of him as a dangerous and abusive person. Johnny wanted him as badly as he wanted Johnny. Someone else was trying to target them. And all of this would drag them all directly into hell.
***************
Hey ! Chapter 2, up. I hope you'll like it !
Author: rainbowdots888
Pairings: Ryo x Ohkura, Ohkura x ???
Rating: PG 15 (swearing, blood)
Length: Multi Chapter ( 2 / ? )
Words: 2379
Genre: AU, angst, romance
Disclaimer: Too bad for me, I don't own these men... just these stories.
Summary: 8UPPERS AU. Expect fights, blood, irreverence, but also romance, I'm a softy. "Yield to temptation. It may not pass your way again."
****************
The boxing bag chain was creaking loudly in the lounge as Ace tested his recently healed knuckles. It hurt quite a lot still but he wanted to prove the others that he could finally go back in the field with them. Their investigations had led them on the trail of some serious gangs who could have wanted them dead. It was time for him to be useful again. He threw his fists forward, hitting the bag with tremendous strength, getting his muscles back in shape with a grimace that showed how painful it was. He had never been hurt that seriously before and he still didn't get what had gotten to him on that day. His fury had come from another world making him hit blindly, without thinking, hence without convincing effect, as Johnny was suffocating. Since then he had sworn to himself that every single blow he'd throw would be meant deadly... It wouldn't happen twice.
The club was rather quiet, all of them kept busy by their own activities. Arsenal was reading a report in the same room but was as usual dead silent, taking a glimpse of Johnny and Gum's trump cards game from time to time. The two men where chuckling and exchanging murmurs regularly, the sound of their voices drowned in the rythmic creaking of the boxing bag. A loud bass could be heard from Toppo's room, as he was re-arranging his set for some special themed night to come. Jacky walked into the room wearing glasses that aged him greatly and holding thick files. He stopped next to Ace and with a single hand blocked the boxing bag.
“Won't you stop this ? The noise is annoying as hell...”
“What ? But I need to...” said Ace in disbelief. It had never been a problem until then to train among the others, why would it be now ?
“Jacky's right. Cut it out.” Johnny stood up and kept talking calmly as he left the room, slowly, conscious that everyone present was looking at him. “You're hurting yourself on that bag, stupid. Having an eye problem is not enough ? Do you want to break your hands for good ?” He stopped at the door frame and turned towards Ace, impassible.
“We won't keep someone who's not useful anymore to the group. And what are you without your fists ? A troublesome brat, that's all. You'd better think about it twice.” Letting his words float in the thick air of the lounge, Johnny turned heels and left his friends abashed. Except for Ace who was clearly fuming, already removing the bandages he had rolled around his hands. He threw them on the floor and leapt forward in anger, ready to get to that punk who dared talking to him that way. Friends or not, he would show him what respect was. He found him in the central hallway, opening his room's door quietly. He caught Johnny by his loose shirt and hurled him against one of the bedroom's walls, slamming the door behind them. The other didn't even looked surprised, a mocking smile adorning his beautiful face. Ace put his hands on both sides of Johnny's head, imprisonning him between his own body and the wall. He could feel his veins pulsating in fury in his arms and neck as his inner self was wondering why the hell the other guy was always so good at making him enraged.
“Would you be able to repeat what you just said to my face, fucker ?”
“Sure. You're a brat. Your little boxing bag frenzy is annoying and it's damaging your hands. We need your hands for the fights. Not a useless mouth to feed.”
“Show some damn respect to the people who saved your crappy life !”
“Well, I remember telling you that it was unnecessary.”
“Oh... Boy, you don't know me that well in the end. I won't let you die. Why ? 'cause we're kind of tied together. You're from my pack, and the others would be devastated by your death. I'm not letting my pack down. I saved your fucking ass and it hurt. Show respect.”
“Aaaw. You're such a sweetheart !” Johnny was convincingly mimicking a girl's fainting, as his eyes remained blank. Ace had to contain the rage inside, a fist already in the air, ready to hit the other.
“Beware. I could make your face a living nightmare with those hands you need so much. And what would happen if you're disfigured ? Oopsie. You wouldn't be useful to our group anymore. Because you're the whore here, you can gather some information but if... Say I break your nose and tear that pretty mouth in several pieces... Will we keep you ? Mmmm...I wonder.”
He could finally see some human reaction in Johnny's eyes as he purposely used the word 'whore'. All of them had tried to avoid the topic for years, knowing perfectly what kind of tricks the young man used to extort information from their targets, blindfolding themselves. And suddenly he saw in those luminous eyes the emotional wall patiently built case after case collapsing. A shiver shook Johnny's face before giving way to a mad smile.
“You won't do that.”
“Oh. And why not ?”
“Because you want me so badly.” The young man's face was now very close, the tip of his nose brushing lightly Ace's cheek. The boxer could feel the other's warm breath at the corner of his lips, as his guts clenched in a desperate attempt to remain collected. He could have backed off, he could even have left the room before something happened. But his hand was glued to the wall, his body weighing a ton, keeping him in place, mesmerized by the soft tongue that had just licked his lower lip. When Johnny kissed him roughly, madly, he couldn't hold it anymore and pinned the other's body to the wall, his hips coming up on their own to get some of the delicious friction he craved for. Their embrace was rough and incredibly sensual, a tailor made fight for dominance as Ace's senses went wild. Overwhelmed by his urges he finally tore the other's shirt open, unveiling a perfectly shaped torso he had just caught a glimpse of several weeks before, in the darkness of the night. And something on this body struck him hard. Johnny's chest was marked with burns and red scars, some of them large enough to have been extremely painful wounds. He stopped his movements, his desires scalded by the view. Coming back to his senses, Ace took two steps back and looked at the young man with horrified eyes.
“Who... How ?”
The other laughed, his head thrown backwards, the sounds produced by his throat full of self loathing and sufferings. He finally stopped and looking at the boxer in the eyes, stated :
“... Those are the consequences of whoring, my friend. Oh, don't tell me you thought I was having fun with all those people. We all have our scars, Ace. The thing is that you only found out about mine. Will you be able to put up with them ? Leave... please. I'm tired.” His voice had turned small, exhausted, almost like a child's. Ace walked up to the entrance and left the room without a word, closing the door softly behind him. His naked back against the hard wood, he suddenly felt empty of all might and slid down on the floor, sobbing like he hadn't in years, the rhythm of his body's tremors in sync with the loud bass of Toppo's mix.
*****************
Mac found him at that same place, his eyes red and dry after hours by himself. No noise could be heard behind the door as if Johnny had vanished for good. Mac kneeled next to him and removing Ace's bangs from his eyes with a tender touch, spoke up.
“The others told me … What happened ? Did you guys fight ?”
“Wow. Such questions you have.” Ace had the saddest smile Mac had seen since they'd left the orphanage many years ago. “ We fought. And... we also kinda made up. But...”
“But... what ?”
“Nothing. Don't mind us. You know, we're still children after all.”
At Mac's stupefaction, Ace stood up as if nothing had happened and left, patting his shoulder in a reassuring way. It seemed like his brotherly love couldn't solve all the problems in the end.
****************
The days following his discovery were the gloomiest Ace had lived among his friends, his only family. Everybody behaved strangely, and avoided him when they were not on a mission. Johnny didn't even try to be nice to the others and slowly drowned into a confused state, halfway between his duty and his inner questioning. They automatically met the deadlines of their different jobs, without passion, but with extra caution. Their attackers were still unknown and running free despite the efforts they'd put into the investigation and the few hints they'd gathered didn't sound good. Too many persons wanted them out of circulation, from the notorious gangs to some of the corrupted officials of the government. Finding the most vicious ennemy in that viper's nest wasn't an easy task. Especially when they couldn't figure out how to communicate properly within their own group...
Ace had found a perfect place to chew his problems over, a secluded part of the club, on the roof, that he had never noticed before. The december downpours would discourage anyone to stay there or even have a look, and he didn't care about being wet anyway. Smoking the last cigarette of his pack, he was reading again a document Johnny had brought back to them earlier, when Arsenal appeared through the door leading to the roof. The boxer had no will to be found here pondering by himself and dove quickly behind a low brick wall, putting his cigarette out on the way. The other seemed deeply uncomfortable and kept cracking his knuckles, checking from time to time if someone was joining him. Seeing his friend so embarassed was new to Ace and he almost came out of hiding in order to ask what was wrong. But as he debating with himself on the matter, someone else finally showed up. Arsenal seemed incredibly relieved when Johnny sat next to him on an old chimney. Both of them remained silent for a while before Arsenal finally broke the silence.
“I wanted to see you... cause... well, all that's happening right now, don't you think that...”
Johnny took the cigarette from the other's lips and after inhaling deeply the stinky smoke of the gunman's drug, looked at him.
“That … what?”
“That it may be... your guy ?”
“Oh, so subtle from you to bring back that story just when we had eventually reached a balance. No need to be jealous anymore. I'm no longer 'yours'”
Arsenal seemed taken aback and hurt by the coldness of the young man's words.
“Are you going to keep attacking anyone who wants to help you ? I got the 'no longer mine' thing very well, don't worry. But it does not mean that I shouldn't care about you anymore. The guy attacked you, especially. He could have tried to kill Ace, on that day. But he went to you.”
“He only had noticed I was the weakest in the room, an easy victim.” At that, a sad laugh escaped his mouth, as he was lost in the contemplation of the small cigarette butt he held between his fingers.
“I don't think so... I'm sure he had orders to kill you. It was his mission... Thankfully we were there. But please be careful when you're going to work alone.”
“Keisuke sure had his bad moments but he would never kill me. Never.”
The older man looked at the other with the saddest eyes Ace had ever seen and placed his scarred right hand on the other's thigh lovingly.
“He almost did, several times. You need to talk about this to the others. I won't. It's your story, and as you said, you're not mine anymore. And believe me, it's hard to live with this everyday, next to you...” Silence fell between them, Johnny's face as cold as a stone. Looking at his profile, from his hiding place, Ace felt the burning of the other's breath against his cheek again, the softness of his lips on his. The sensations came back suddenly, flooding his heart and mind as his brain understood what had taken place in front of him. His breath short, he caught the wall next him to support his weak body just long enough for him to process information. Johnny and Arsenal. They'd been an item. And he had never noticed a thing in the serious face of the younger nor in the rude allusions of the older.
“I won't tell the others, because this is nonsense. Anyway, Ace saw the... my chest.”
“What ? How come ?”
“We kissed passionately and it was really hot. He ripped my shirt open.” Johnny was looking at his interlocutor in delight, stressing every single word to emphasize their meaning. He obviously enjoyed the shock experienced by his ex partner. “It's time to go after someone else, dear. Try Toppo, he would add a bit of color to your world.”
“Ace is violent, rough... Is it what you like in the end ?”
“Maybe. And... what if I wanted to drown my sorrow into his darkness ?” Johnny then got to his feet, brushing gently Arsenal's hand off his thigh. He slowly left the roof, followed by the broken other, in silence.
Ace could breathe normally again when the door to the roof closed behind the two silhouettes. Too many things had happened within those five dreadful minutes. His 'friends' thought of him as a dangerous and abusive person. Johnny wanted him as badly as he wanted Johnny. Someone else was trying to target them. And all of this would drag them all directly into hell.
***************
Hey ! Chapter 2, up. I hope you'll like it !