Pretending It Doesn't Exist Doesn't Make It Go Away [open]

[Rune Delacroix]

Rune ran a hand through his hair and yawned. It had been a long night and he was just plain tired. It wasn't just that the pub had been more crowded than usual, or the fact that it had been much louder than usual. It was the fact that there happened to be a bunch more attractive men than usual. And this was what Rune was tired about. He was tired of the shaking, the hyperventilating in the cooler, then the coming out and not making eye contact with anyone! What kind of life was that? He had to toughen up. 

He thought about some of the guys he saw tonight and a blush quickly crept up, causing Rune to scrub the bar harder with his washcloth, his eyes downcast and brows furrowed. He had to stop reacting like this! It was making him mad.

It was nearly 4 in the morning, the pub was closed down and Rune was finally finishing up cleaning for the night. He did a last sweep of all the table, picking up random objects that were left like wallets, cards, a sock? and putting them in the lost and found box in the back. He wiped his hands down and sighed, looking around. How was he gonna ever gonna get past his stupid irrational fear of attractive men?!

"Stupid!"

[Loki]

He couldn't sleep. Try as he might Loki was having a difficult time trying to get back to sleep. How could he? Given what woke him up in the first place. The boy tossed and turned in his bed for what seemed like an hour before finally giving up. That dream was still on his mind. Loki wasn't much of the dreaming type, for the most part he didn't dream, and what little he did was too simple and fragmented to comprehend or even remember afterwards. But every once in awhile he had very vivid and detailed dreams. Those were dreams that dealt with his past, almost all of them were about her. Loki sat up, his body still shaking from the nightmare that had woken him up. He hated having to think about her like this. He had really cared for Amalia, even now he still did but he could never remember the good times they shared. All he could remember was her death. Her death haunted him, not just in his waken moments but in his sleep too.

With a long, exhausted sigh Loki forced himself out of bed, got dressed, and headed out the door. It was obvious that the boy wouldn't get any sleep tonight. He was too shaken up to even try anymore, but he didn't want to sit there thinking about it. He needed to get out of the apartment, a late night stroll wouldn't help him sleep, but at the very least it might help him clear his head. Being careful not to wake up his roommate Loki sneaked out of the apartment and headed out into the streets. Where he was headed he didn't know. He had no set direction, nor did he seem to care much about the dangers that lurked this time of night. He was too worn out to care anymore. With the boy's mind too tired to bother focusing on where to go, so he just let his feet guide him instead. Hours seemed to pass by til he found his way around the bar district.

The bar district usually was a pretty active place during the later hours of the day, but tonight it seemed devoid of life. Man it must be really late if even this place is dead. Loki mused as his golden eyes scanned over the buildings from beneath his hood. It was a bit of shame that most of the places here were either already closed or were about to close for the night. Loki wasn't much of a drinker, he had only indulged in the activity once because his friend had dragged him into a nightclub for some fun. He could hardly remember that night. What he could remember was the hangover he got the next morning. It was bad enough to make him hesitate to touch the stuff again. Though he might not be a drinker a small, public setting might give him temporary relief from the dark memories that plagued him tonight. Sadly he wouldn't be able to go anywhere to run from his problems tonight. All he could do was keep walking these empty streets alone.

...or so he thought.

Though the streets seemed empty Loki was not alone. While the shifter was trying to focus on where he was going he failed to notice someone slipping out of a nearby alley towards him until they were only a few steps away from him. Before he could even think to turn around to see who it was he felt the sharp point of a blade pressed against his back and a dark, gruff voice whispering in his ear. “Give me all the cash ya got on ya kid.” Loki couldn't help but let out a soft frustrated sigh. Seriously? The one night when he was feeling like absolutely shit, and wanted time to himself he had to get robbed? Talk about shitty luck. What was he going to do? The boy did not bring his wallet with him, he knew better than to carry money around with him whenever he took late night strolls like this. If he told this bastard the truth though he was definitely going to get shanked. There was only one thing that he could do. He would have to fight back.

“Alright, alright. Take whatever you want, no one needs to get hurt alright.” Loki said as he reached into his pocket, pretending he was going to hand over his wallet while he was really reaching for the switchblade he kept for self defense. This was an incredibly risky move but it was his only option. What else was he suppose to do? He had no back up this time around, or anything to give to make this jerk go away. All he could do was hope all his self defense train would pay up, and that his opponent wasn't as fast as he was.

[Rune Delacroix]

As Rune finally finished all the closing procedures, he ran a frustrated hand through his hair. He just wanted to go home a crash, maybe a glass of milk before bed. A cat like grin stole across his face, yeah a glass of milk would just top the night off...or he could skip the milk and go straight for the rum.

"Probably best just to drink till the sunrise." Rune grabbed a bottle of Captain Morgan off the back shelf, making a note to stuff the money for it in the safe tomorrow evening when he came in. With his rum in hand, Rune went out the back door into the ally, flicking the last of the light switches before locking the door. He took a long swig of the rum, grinning. Oh this was good. He sighed and the troubles seem to float away in the quiet of the night.

Rune looked up, it wasn't exactly chilly, but he was glad to have his leather jacked on. With a stretch, he started to walk out of the ally and turned onto the street just to stop dead in his tracks.

The scene in front of him was one he did not normally see. His eyes were first drawn to the younger, yet attractive boy. He is way too good looking to be walking around at this hour..- This was the first thought to cross Runes mind, and that is when he felt his breath catch. He thought this boy was good looking! He couldn't be more than 16 or 17 years old and he thought he was ATTRACTIVE?!

As all these thoughts started swirling in Runes mind, his eyes caught the shine of the blade off a street lamp. He was facing the scene, and probably looked like an idiot standing there, just kind of gaping at them. Rune quickly determined this was a mugging, but he couldn't stop himself from taking quick short breaths, or his heart from pounding in his chest. Or the slight redness that tore across his cheeks at the thoughts in his head.

Shaking a bit, Rune pulled out his gun. "Why don't you just get out of here, dirtbag!" Runes voice betrayed the confidence he was trying to exude, coming out a bit more shaky then he intending and he mentally slapped himself in the forehead for it. He was trying to get this guy off the pretty boy but a voice like that wasn't gonna solve anything! He waited, the mugger didn't budge, in fact in almost looked like he pulled the knife closer. "Fuck off!" Was the only response Rune got and he frowned. That was not very nice. Rune had caught the flash of the switchblade that the pretty boy was pulling out of his pocket. If this kid could handle himself, Rune was gonna have to either applaud him or run for the hills, because he wasn't sure how much longer he could keep his aim steady at the muggers head.

[Loki]

Tonight was turning out to be one fucked up night for this little shifter. He couldn't sleep thanks to nightmares from his past, and now on one of the rare times he decided to step out of his apartment during the night he was being robbed. It was times like this that made the boy think back to his life before he had came to this world, back when he had been a prince trapped under the thumb of his controlling father. There had always been rumors of a curse that had fallen on his family that was said would bring misfortune on his father and the rest of his family line. Try as he might the old man couldn't keep those rumors from his son's ears. Loki wasn't as dismissive of superstitions like his old man was but he could see where others might believe those rumors. The loss of so many of his older siblings from war, disease, and child birth complications which took most of his father's wives lives, and other unfortunate events were bound to make people see truth in such things.

Moments like this made him wonder if he really was cursed. Maybe he really was doomed to a life of misfortune, maybe it was all just wild coincidences that he was reading too much into. Whatever explanation for this moment there was there was one thing Loki knew. He was in trouble, and he had to find a way out of it on his own. This mugger chose the wrong person to pick on tonight. Though Loki was young and looked weak he wasn't nearly as helpless as he looked. He had enough training by now that he could get the best of a simple mugger right? All he needed was an opportunity. For the moment he decided he would play along with this robbery, he'd pretend to give this guy what he wanted but would take that moment to strike. It was a big risk to take while the bastard was in decent stabbing range to get the feline good but he had no other choice.

Before Loki could follow through with his plan someone else walked into the scene. An awkward moment of silence went by as the three males looked on at one another. Loki dared to take a quick glance at his captor and notice the look of surprise on the man's face. Whoever this stranger was it was obvious that he wasn't in league with this mugger. He had to surpress the strong urge to smile at that. With his attacker's attention focused on the new guy the mugger was wide open for an attack. Loki drew out his blade to attack when the stranger pulled out a gun. What little happiness Loki felt at this strange turn of events vanished in an instant. The boy turned unusually pale as his gaze focused on that deadly weapon. The sight of the gun alone was enough to trigger back the memories of that tragic night.

“Fuck off!” It took the voice of his assailant to force the boy back to the present. Remember, he had to remember where he was. This was back a year ago when it was just him and Amalia surrounded by armed humans chasing after them because of his mistake. Right now he was being held at knife point. The gun wasn't pointed at him...the gun wasn't pointed at him. “Drop your fucking gun right now or I will slit this bastard's throat!” Just as the man was about to draw his knife to Loki's throat the shifter acted. The mugger let out a yelp of pain when Loki slammed his elbow into his rib cage. In one quick motion the kid was able to draw his own weapon as he turned around to place his own blade on his opponent's throat, using his free hand he grabbed for the wrist the mugger had holding the knife, keeping him from stabbing him.

“You won't be cutting anyone tonight buddy, though I might end up being the one to give you a nice red smile if you try anything.” A wicked smile spread across the young boy's lips as he glared daggers into his opponent. There wasn't anymore trace of fear in his golden eyes. As always Loki was very good at hiding his true feelings when he needed to when it mattered. “Now this is how things are going to go. You are going to drop that knife of yours, when you do you are going to back up and leave. If you don't I will kill you. Even if you try to overpower me before I slit your throat my friend over there will put a bullet right between your eyes. Got it? Let.it.go.” Loki could hear the knife drop to the hard pavement below. He kept his eyes on the mugger while he kicked it out of reach before he let him go and watched him run for the hills. When the mugger was out of his line of sight the boy let out a small sigh of relief. “You can put that thing away now...I don't think he's coming back.” He turned around to give the stranger a friendly smile, doing his best not to look at the gun so he wouldn't have a panic attack. “Thanks for helping. Things could have been a lot worse if you hadn't shown up.”

[Rune Delacroix]

The exchange happened so quickly. One minute, the mugger was threatening to slit pretty boys throat, the next, pretty boy was threatening the mugger. Something in his whole stance had changed and Rune frowned. How interesting one so young could flip the attack around like that. He shrugged it off in his mind, contributing it to some fancy defense class or something. Or the kid was crazy. The mugger went running to the hills, and it took the kid turning around and flashing him a smile, telling him to put away the gun for Rune to realize he still held it out, pointed towards where the mugger was.

He quickly averted his gaze from the pretty boys. He smiled at me...of course it is normal though! I just helped him escape a mugger...sort of....WHAT ARE YOU THINKING RUNE?

"Yeah..." Rune put the gun back in its holster under his leather jacket, popping the top off the his captain and taking a long swallow. He was trying to bring himself under control. This kid. All he did was flash a smile and all Rune could think about was how utterly cute the kid looked and it was distracting and Rune could not handle it. He was starting to feel a little pathetic.

After replacing the cap on the bottle, Rune gave the kid a quick glance. "It was nothing kid, you should run on home..." Rune was talking quietly, trying not to betray his pounding heart or his quick breaths. Stop it, you fumbling dolt! Pull yourself together! Rune took in a deep breath and immediately walked to the front door of the pub, walking past the kid while holding his breath so the kid wouldn't catch him nearly hyperventilating. He was in no shape to walk home right now and maybe once he had a few drinks and was away from this...pretty boy...he could relax again. He stopped, his keys in the lock of the door and let out his breath, his back still turned to the kid. "Look pretty boy, I dunno how old you are, probably only 16 or 17, but let me get you a drink....or.... some...something" Runes voice shook a bit, trailing off and betraying him as he finished unlocking the door.

Rune opened the door. He was flabbergasted! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! ARE YOU CRAZY?! YOU CALLED HIM PRETTY BOY?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! Rune was yelling at himself in his head, but he thought he would get the kid a soda or something stupid like that and send the kid on his way and it would be all over. How could he not be nice? The kid had almost been killed, even if he could handle himself.

Rune flipped on just the bar lights once inside the pub, not even checking to see if the kid followed him. He pulled out a shot glass, poured some rum in it and quickly downed it. He felt his heart slow down, and his breathing become slightly more normal. Thank whatever for that! He ran a nervous hand through his hair, still slightly freaking out inside.

Finally, Rune turned around to see if the pretty boy followed him or not, and if he did, to ask him what he wanted to drink.

[Loki]

In a flash it was over. Once Loki was able to snap himself out of his panic he was able to turn the tables around and chase off his attacker. It looked like all those hours training with Azazel had helped after all. Deep down Loki knew that he was capable enough at this point to take down a simple mugger. That guy wasn't in the same league as the things he had faced in the past. He wasn't a hellhound capable of ripping him to shreds with one bite, he wasn't a powerful demon with a lot of dark powers and superior strength or cunning to make him a serious threat. It was some human low life out for easy prey. He was nothing compared to what Loki had trained himself to take down. Still that didn't make the experience any less terrifying. It took all that the shifter had in him to stop himself from trembling. While Loki trained hard to be able to kill worse than that human he had never killed anyone before.

He was too soft to take a life. Deep down he knew that. He couldn't even take the life of someone who had made more than one attempt at his life even when he had the perfect opportunity to do so. He knew that one day he would have to do so if his life was in danger. At that moment he was prepared to do so but he didn't know that when the moment came he could follow through with it. It really did not help that he had a gun pointed in his direction either. Ah yes, the gun. Loki did not forget about that thing even when he was watching the human flee the scene. Even with his back turned he could still sense the deadly weapon being pointed at his back. His mind was still reeling from the experience. He couldn't bare having to look at that thing and the heavy memories it would bring back but he had to do it.

Loki couldn't show fear. The fear that gun brought was a highly exploitable weakness that could easily be used against him and he knew it. He did his best to hide it well, even Azazel had no idea of the terror firearms brought him, and he was absolutely not willing to show that fear to someone that he had just met. So Loki did what he did best. He donned his mask, turned around, and smiled. He might not be brave but he could at least pretend to be brave. Besides, he wanted to show some form of gratitude for the man that came in. It was plain to see that the stranger had came in because he was trying to help, even if his own actions almost made him choke up. The boy finally relaxed once the gun was put away. It didn't look like the other guy noticed any of the tension coming off the feline shifter at all. The guy was seemed a little nervous though which Loki found strange. Why would he be nervous after the threat was gone?

He quickly shoved those thoughts off. Maybe it wasn't all that strange given how things went down. The stranger didn't seem all that confident when he had tried to threaten the mugger. Even in Loki's inner panic he was able to detect how unsteady his 'saviour' was. Wouldn't anyone who was not used to life threatening situations still feel shaken up after an encounter like that? It wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Loki watched the man take a swig from his bottle before addressing him again. The boy gave a nervous chuckle of his own in response. “Yeah...after what just happened its probably a good idea to head back home isn't it?” logically it made sense yet he still hesitated to do so. Going home now meant having to deal with the same problems that drove him out here in the first, now with his deadly encounter on top of that he was too scared to go back. What was he suppose to do then?

While Loki was debating on if he should really head back home the man gave him a new alternative. The way he said it though was...interesting to say the least. It took the boy a moment to register what was said. Did he hear that right? Did he just call him a pretty boy? He couldn't help but laugh a little bit at that. “Well I can't deny the truth. I am known for my dashing good looks, though its pretty rare to hear other men openly address it to my face.” He chuckled some more. “But sure, I will take you up on your offer. After what just happened I think we could both use a drink.” It was hard to miss that there was something up with this stranger. Loki had always been pretty sharp when it came to reading people. Next to his cute and charming looks he was fairly talented in at reading behaviour. This man was nervous, that much was clear. His oddly soft spoken words and his body language seemed tense. He wouldn't even look directly at him.

Seeing this guy acting the way he was made the shifter feel bad for him. It was crazy to pin the blame on himself, but if Loki had been more careful, or decided to care about his own damn safety and stayed home he never would have been in the position to get attacked, and this guy would not have to save him. He would have to make it up to the man somehow. How he would go about it he wasn't sure so for now he decided to follow the stranger into the bar till he could figure something out. There was a brief period of silence as the man turned on the lights and headed over to the bar before asking Loki what he'd like. The boy had to think about it for a second. “I don't know, do you have any drinks that help you stay awake? Pop, coffee, or anything like that would be good thanks.” He wasn't sure if it was safe for him to try drinking anything alcoholic after everything that happened. The last thing he wanted was to get so drunk that he couldn't remember what he did afterwards like before. While waiting for his drink Loki took a look around the bar. “Well I see why you ended up walking in on us like you did.” the bar was literally two steps away from where the mugger tried to rob him. Man what an amateur that bastard was, a smarter man would have tried to drag that encounter to a more isolated spot. Luckily for him he ran into a dumb one. “Do you own the place , or do you just work here?”

[Rune Delacroix]

Pulling a glass out from under the bar, Rune watched the pretty boy sit down. Watched is used loosely, it was more, he kept glancing from beneath his eyelashes as he pulled out the soda gun and filled the glass with coca cola. The ice clinked softly as Rune placed the glass on a coaster in front of the kid. He had heard the chuckle, the kid admit he was good looking. This only caused Rune to turn more red, he couldn't believe he had said that! It had really just slipped out and here he was...paying for it. 

Rune poured himself another shot, downing it quickly and letting out a breath. His heart slowed down a bit more and he almost felt....well normal. Which was odd. He was tipsy, he knew that much. He could feel the alcohol affecting his brain, making it feel a bit fuzzy. He finally looked up at the pretty boy at the question he had posed. "huh? Oh...I just work here...more like a night manager." Rune grabbed a stool that was in the corner and sat down, his hand automatically running through his hair. He was still nervous, he was still confused. But with the alcohol in his system, he seemed a bit....numb? Calm? What was it? 

It was then that Rune discovered when he had answered the pretty boy, his voice hadn't really shook. It didn't slur like when he was drunk, but it hadn't been as shaky as when he first confronted the pretty boy with his attacker. What? What the hell was happening? 

It's like it doesn't affect me....but I know I am still attracted to him.....He is attractive yet my breathing is slowing down...

Rune felt so confused at this point he just looked at the pretty boy. "Why were you even out this late anyways?" Anything to get his mind off of the pretty boy, he grabbed a rag and absently started wiping down the already clean bar.

[Loki]

Loki followed the older man into what looked like might be his own bar. The Wandering Mule, this bar was one of the few well known bars in New Orlands. It was not known for its class but it was a popular spot for the average joes, and sometimes the more shady residents of the city to come for a cheap drink and good times. This little shifter knew this place well though he had never stepped foot in it before. The same could be said for a lot of places in this city. Loki had not been everywhere in New Orlands but he knew all that there was to know about the city. His line of business was all about knowledge. But Loki wasn't working tonight. Tonight he was nothing more than some teenager that got himself into a bit of trouble and was just mulling about before he finally went back home.

After looking around the place he turned his attention back on the man behind the counter. This guy certainly was an odd one. Loki didn't sense anything dangerous in the man's odd behaviour but he did feel like something was off. He seemed far too nervous than he should have been. Maybe he was still worked up over the whole robbing business. It was the only thing that made sense at first but for the life of him the boy had no idea why this guy was more shaken up about it than he was. The situation would rattle anyone that was not used to life threatening situations like he was, but this man was not the one that was held at knife point, or had a gun pointed in his face. So why was he so uneasy? For someone that was pretty good at reading other people Loki was having a hard time trying to figure this guy out.

Things got even more confusing after his little 'pretty boy' comment. It was a little odd having a guy comment on his good looks but Loki didn't get worked up over it. There was nothing wrong with acknowledging the physical appeal of others. He had been told many times in the past how handsome he was, mostly by women, but even his father admitted that his good looks was one of his few good traits. It was the sole reason the old man never struck him in the face when he beat him. He couldn't lower the value of his own son by scarring him could he? And hey, a man that couldn't see the good physical traits of his rivals would always have a harder time taking advantage of their own traits. Loki simply laughed off the comment, but the other man didn't seem as amused. For some reason he blushed.

Strange...

Loki was no stranger to this kind of reaction. Normally this was something he saw with shy girls. Not with guys though. Loki shook off the strange thoughts that were wriggling around his head. There was no way that this guy was getting all flustered dealing with him because he was just a shy guy who was attracted to him. Why would a guy be sexually attracted to another man for anyway? There had to be some other logical reason for this. To be fair Loki had a lot more experience dealing with shy women than shy men. Maybe they were more similar than he had realized? Loki was pulled from his thoughts when he was finally given his drink. The boy smiled and gave the man his thanks before he took a few swigs. Ah yes, this was exactly what he needed, something sweet with just enough caffeine to keep him up for a few more hours.

After drinking a bit Loki asked the man if the bar they were in belonged to him. The answer to the question was a no. He didn't own the place but he worked here as the manager. Or something close to that, he didn't specify. Loki couldn't help but find the whole thing a bit amusing. This guy was a manager for a bar when he seemed easily overwhelmed with human interaction. How in the world did this guy get by on a job like this? Maybe he didn't have to work the counter all that much, or once he was in the zone it became a lot easier to do his job. At least he seemed to be loosening up a little bit. After a bit of drinking he didn't stammer as much as he had done before, he even seemed more calm.

Now that the man was calm he asked the question that Loki knew was bound to come at some point. In the back of Loki's mind he had been pondering what he would say when the time come. There was no way that he was going to tell the whole story to someone he just met, but there was nothing wrong with telling him some truth. “I couldn't sleep.” the boy shrugged. “I know its a little silly, but sometimes I get night terrors. When that happens I can't get any sleep. I was feeling restless tonight so I decided to just...walk. Of course the one time I decide to risk going for a midnight stroll some asshole tries to rob me. I'm sorry that you had to see that. It's bad enough that my bad luck and poor judgment got me into that mess but getting you dragged into it too was not good either.” the shifter let out another sigh. He really was not having a good time tonight. The only thing that could make this night worse was if Guillotine or some other demon showed up to give him trouble....Man he needed to stop thinking about the worse possible outcomes before the actually came true.

Just when Loki shoved those dark thoughts aside it suddenly dawned on him that he had not introduced himself. “Geez, where are my manners. I never properly introduced myself yet.” The boy extended his hand and gave the man another warm smile. “My name is Loki. Now you have a name to this face so you don't have to address me as pretty boy anymore. Who are you?”

[Rune Delacroix]

Rune decided to slow down on the shots, instead pulling a glass out for himself and mixing some rum and coke. He took a drink as he listened to the kids explanation to why he was out so late...or rather so early. He kept his eyes on his drink, stirring it with one of the small black straws they kept on the bar for this thing exactly. How interesting that one so young as this could get night terrors. Rune was even more surprised that the kid had apologized. Why would he be apologizing? It isn't like he dragged me into it, I had just walked in on it. But he is kind of cute...KIND OF CUTE?! At least use better terminology....like handsome...or....something stupid like that! I disgust myself These thoughts had caused a frown to form across his face, which he instantly smoothed away. He did not want to be rude to the kid who was apologizing.

Some silence passed and Rune was so consumed with his thoughts he almost didn't catch that he was supposed to say something. SAY SOMETHING LIKE NO BIG DEAL OR SOMETHING IDIOTIC LIKE THAT!!! But the words refused to form as he took a quick drink and finally looked at the pretty boy. That was when he saw his outstretched hand and heard the introduction. Loki.

What kind of name is Loki? But then...what kind of name is Rune.....it fits him...in a....NOT CUTE WAY NOT CUTE! Just shove off!!!!! Rune felt another blush steal up to his cheeks as he looked at Loki's outstretched hand. He should take it. Just take the hand and shake it. No big deal right? Take the hand, shake it and say his name. Maybe even offer a smile....Rune caught Loki's warm smile and the blush brightened. What are you some STUPID SIXTEEN YEAR OLD SCHOOL GIRL!!!

It was at this time that Rune felt like time was up. It was either be rude or shake the pret--Lokis hand. He didn't feel like he was gonna hyperventilate at this moment so Rune decided to buck up a little bit and reached his hand out, grasping Lokis hand almost too firmly, his cheeks burning. He wished he could stop the humiliation and after holding onto Lokis hand for nearly 10 seconds, it felt much longer in Runes mind, he realized he hadn't even said his name yet.

"Uh...sorry. Rune...My name is Rune." Ok. He got that out. Good. It took another 5 seconds to realize he was still holding Lokis hand and quickly let go, leaping back like a scared cat and hitting the back shelves, causing a bottle of vodka to fall. Rune was almost too distracted and caught it at the last second near the ground just in time for a second bottle to crash on the floor, one piece flying straight into his forearm. "Mother fucking damn it all to hell!"

Rune stood up, placing the unharmed bottle on the bar and looking at his arm. He gently pulled the glass out and placed his discarded rag from earlier over the bleeding. What else could go wrong tonight at this rate. The blush on his face was gone and he could at least thank the heavens for that.

[Loki]

What was Loki going to tell this man. The shifter knew it was only a matter of time until he was asked the big question of why he was out so late in the first place. But how he was going to answer that he had to really think about it. Loki rarely told the truth if the truth was inconvenient for him or if it revealed too much weaknesses he possessed. The way he saw it, Loki was already weak enough as he was. He wasn't built enough to throw his weight around in a fight, his lack of muscles and short stature made him look weak and feeble. The one of the few things he had going for her was his ability to come across as confident and charming. He had sharpened his skills in those areas so he could take advantage of people. Whether it was screwing around with the minds of his opponents, or winning the hearts of those that could benefit him somewhere down the road he could get people to do whatever he wanted.

It was harder to manipulate those that knew his weak points. That was what his father taught him anyway. For all the man's faults Loki did learn some useful skills from him. Telling the whole story was a bad idea, but telling some of it didn't seem so bad at the time. Who was this guy going to tell that Loki the shifter had bad dreams? This man for all he knew had no association with Guillotine who might try to use that information against him. Even if he did Loki had enough personal information from the damn hound's own mouth to keep his mouth shut forever. As for anyone else he knew, the guys he had formed his information business were a lot like him, they were all teens, mostly shifters, that looked too young to be going to bars, even the older ones that could didn't go so unless it was business reasons. Amongst his friends, Blake already knew the truth...and Azazel? Well, if he ever met Azazel judging by the way he was acting now he wouldn't be able to speak long enough to him to say anything at all. His little 'night terror' story was safe with this guy. The details on what those terrors were about he would keep to himself.

The barkeep listened quietly to what Loki had to say. Maybe a little too quietly. He hadn't uttered a word when Loki finished speaking, even past the time that most people might have said something. Did he not believe him? No, he would have said something if he didn't. He was probably just silent because he didn't know what to say. The guy did seem pretty shy so it wasn't too much of a surprise. Loki took advantage of that silence to finish off his glass before trying to get introductions out of the way. This man might be one of those more quiet shy types but that didn't mean he was just going to let the man hide himself in a corner just because he was here. Loki gave the man a friend smile as he gave his name and offered his hand out to shake. It was a bit of a gamble attempting physical contact but he did it anyway.

It wasn't surprising that the bartender didn't take his hand at first. Loki watched curiously as the stranger stared at his outstretched hand. The blush on his face was oh so amusing. God he had never seen a man blush this much before in his life. The mischievous side of him wanted nothing more than to play around with this man just to see how red he could make his face get but for now he would try to hold back. Just out of respect. Finally, after what felt like an eternity the man took his hand. Eventually he gave his name too. “Rune huh? Never heard anyone with a name like that before.” It was a strange but interesting one for sure. It seemed a little odd for a human name though. Wait...was Rune human? It never occurred to Loki that Rune wasn't human until now. Because of how humans were the dominant species in this world Loki assumed most of the people he met unless he could see clear characteristics that would suggest other wise, were human.

That didn't mean they all were humans though. New Orlands did have a higher concentration of supernaturals than all the other cities he had been in. Maybe Rune wasn't human. There was only one way to find out. The boy would have found some way to subtly catch Rune's scent if he didn't suddenly freak out. Maybe physical contact was too much for the poor guy to handle. He must've suddenly snapped out of his daze and realized what he was doing too late because he flew back into the shelves behind him. Some of the bottles fell, one of them shattered and cut him. “Shit.” without a second thought Loki jumped over the counter to Rune's side. “Are you okay man? Let me see.” He didn't wait for permission to grab the man's arm. “Stop, don't put pressure on it yet until you are sure there is no more glass in it.” The scent of blood was enough to tell Loki what he wanted to know earlier. This guy wasn't human but a shifter! His scent was different than most of the others shifters he had come across. Most of them had the scent of a distinct animal they could change into. Rune's scent was less defined. Strange.

“I don't think there is any glass in it.” Loki casually tossed the old rag Rune was using to stop the bleeding. “Don't use something that dirty on an open wound. Even if the wound closes up faster than other people's might it can still get infected easily.” He would have to disinfect it quickly since Rune had used a dirty rag on it. The boy grabbed the unbroken bottle and opened it. “This is going to sting a bit but keep steady. Do you have any medical supplies around?”

[Rune Delacroix]

As Loki grabbed his arm, Rune blinked. He had never seen anyone move that quickly, especially for such a trivial thing as a cut on his arm. He wasn't thinking about what he was using to stop the bleeding, he had just grabbed the thing closest too him....which happened to be the rag he had used earlier. Rune could almost understand Loki's concern for the rag and being infected but he would be fine, even if it did leave a scar it was no big deal to Rune.

Of course, Rune never expected to sitting on the ground, leaning against the cabinets with a very attractive young man practically on top of him with blood spewing out his arm and the pretty boy, Loki, reaching for vodka to clean the wound. Rune blinked, even the pain of the vodka splashing over his wound (which caused him to cry out a bit through clenched teeth...he was practically human anyways even though he was a shifter, pain was pain) couldn't stop some of the blush from reappearing. 

In all honesty, Rune had never been this close to an attractive person before, even if he was younger. He always avoided the situation whenever it arose. And right now...the situation was staring into his face, worried about his arm and asking if there were medical supplies anywhere nearby. What was this...a hospital? Rune frowned at the pain, grateful he had so much alcohol in his system that the pain was numbed down a bit, but that was also unfortunate because now he was free bleeding all over the place, on himself, on Loki.

"No...there aren't any medical supplies here." Nothing useful anyways, he didn't usually need any and the other staff always carried some sort of wrap or rag in case they cut themselves on something, which pretty much never happened so eventually everyone just stopped carrying stuff and it came down to some band aids in the back office, which as a joke, were decorated in Hello Kitty. "I mean....there are some band aids in the back office but they are pretty much useless for this..."

You know how there are situations that make you sober up. This was not one of those. Maybe Rune felt a bit more sober, but he still felt the rum he had drank pounding through him. He looked at Loki. What an attractive kid he was. He was so close as Loki still held his arm in one hand, bottle of vodka in the other. So close, Rune could smell him.

Before Runes thoughts got any further, Rune took a long breath through his nose. What an interesting scent this boy had. He didn't smell like a normal human and Rune blinked. He wasn't human. In fact, he smelled like a cat. Rune looked up at him.

"I'll be fine, you don't have to do anything." Rune had never really been around many shifters, and most times if they didn't tell you, you had to be close enough to smell them to know. In which Loki was. But Rune was starting to come to his senses a bit, seeing how close in proximity they were. He felt red steal back up to his cheeks, and went to pull his arm away. He just needed to heal a bit, lay down or something. You could just let the pretty boy take care of you....but WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! Even if he is a shifter he is still years younger than me!!! I'm acting like a fucking pedophile!

As Rune tried to stand, he wavered a bit, grabbing the stool he had been sitting on for balance. He hadn't realized how much blood he had lost.

[Loki]

Old habits died hard. The moment that Rune got hurt Loki didn't think twice about jumping over to his side to help. It wasn't like Rune was mortally wounded for him to be so urgent about it but that didn't stop him from acting like a healer. It may have not been in the other man's best interest for Loki to do what he did, but Loki wasn't thinking. In that moment he completely forgot that the person he was dealing with was shyer than most. Rune didn't seem too comfortable with physical contact. Hell, it was physical contact that caused him to fumble and get hurt in the first place. Rune would not be okay with what he was doing now and he would have realized that if he wasn't focused on the injury. Like it or not Rune was going have to deal with Loki poking and prodding him until the cut was dealt with. The injury in question was deeper than he thought it was but at least there didn't seem to be anymore shards of glass embedded in it. There was no need to take him to the hospital for stitching at least, but he would still need some form of treatment.

First the cut needed to be cleaned out. Luckily for them there was plenty of alcohol lying around that could be used to kill any possible infection. After grabbing the nearest bottle Loki poured some of the booze over Rune's wound. The other man hissed in pain but he managed to keep still for the most part. Good. Now that the wound was cleaned he needed to wrap it up to help stop the bleeding. Unfortunately He didn't have any bandages on him so he asked Rune if he happened to have any in the bar. The answer he got was a no. “No, band aids definitely won't cut it.” There had to be something that he could use to temporarily wrap it up that wasn't a dirty rag. While Loki tried to look around him for something Rune tried to push himself back on his feet.

“Wow man, take it easy.” Loki tried to help Rune steady himself before he fell down or hurt himself again. “Don't be ridiculous. You are hurt and could use some help. I might not be a healer or anything like that but at least I know basic first aid. This isn't the first time I have had to patch someone up.” Loki had done something similar to this with Guillotine the first time they had met. The circumstances were very different, and unlike Rune, Gil would have died if it wasn't for him. Now that he thought of it he didn't have any bandages to patch Gil up at that time. He had to use his own clothes to do that. Well if it worked once it will work again. Loki took of his hoodie and shirt before tearing some strips from his t-shirt. At least he wouldn't need as much fabric like the first time he did this. That wouldn't stop his shirt from getting ruined but he didn't care. “It's not ideal but this will do.” he said. When he was finished with his work he grabbed the freshly made strip and walked back over to Rune. “Sit down so I can patch you up.” He would wait for Rune to do as he was told. Loki was not going to take no for an answer. “This might hurt a little bit again but it will be over with soon.”

[Rune Delacroix]

Shying away from Loki's touch, Rune got exactly three steps before grabbing the bar. He couldn't believe how weak he was! But the blood loss was getting to him a bit and he looked up at Loki as he was talking, and looking for something to wrap up his cut. The bleeding had finally slowed, the blood starting to coagulate which was good. Rune looked at his arm, how could he have mucked this up so bad. He was gonna have to taxi home...and he hated that. There was no way he could slink through all the short cuts as a cat, not with his arm hurt this bad. He looked back at Loki as Loki walked towards him. Except this time his shirt was gone.

Rune's eyes widened as Loki told him to sit down. Rune sank to the floor, his face glowing red. What was he going to do? Should he run? He felt his breath quicken and just stared. He was in shock. He was frozen in shock actually. WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!?! WHAT IS HAPPENING IN FRONT OF ME?!?!?! WHYYYYYYYY!!!!!!?? Loki's state of undress almost completely undid what the alcohol had done and Rune was looking at Loki reaching for him and he started to scoot backwards.

"Loki! I can do it myself!" Rune was desperately trying to grab a hold of any shred of rational thought, if he was trapped here much longer with Loki he might do something he could regret. He could lose all control of his actions and Rune did not want that. If he lost control, he didn't know what he would do.

His heart was beating fast. He felt his breath coming in short bursts. Much longer like this and he would just pass out at the very best. What am I going to do? This is crazy...I just wanna.....he is just so....oh man I am in trouble! Rune ran his good hand through his hair, his eyes slightly panicky as he tried to figure out a solution in which he didn't completely flip out and either run or do something incredibly stupid.

[Loki]

There was no time to waste. With Rune's injury Loki wasn't thinking much about the man's obvious social anxiety. The boy's mind was fixed on doing something to stop the bleeding. The problem was there was nothing that he could use to do the job. He was running out of time, and with no other solutions to help solve this problem all he could do was think back on what he had done in the past in similar situations like this to help fix the problem. It was then that he realized that he had the material he needed to bandage Rune's wound right on him. Loki had no idea what kind of trauma he was putting the other shifter in by doing what he did. How could he? He had no idea that Rune was attracted to him, and he had lived with a fallen angel that didn't think twice about stripping down once in awhile in his presence for him to see himself being topless for awhile as an issue to anyone else. So when he approached Rune and the man backed away in terror he was extremely confused.

He didn't know how to react to this. You have got to be kidding me! the boy thought as he stopped in his tracks. Never in his life had Loki ever met someone that confused him so much. Here Rune was, bleeding out, in desperate need of medical attention, trying to get away from said medical care. The guy was acting as if Loki had been the one to hurt him in the first place. The boy let out a soft sigh. He should consider himself lucky that he wasn't the one that did anything to him. If Loki was more like his old man he would have hurt him more for trying to run away from him. He was trying to be kind and gentle to the man but it was clear he would have to be a little more forceful if he was going to get anywhere.

“Really? You can take just...take these strips from my hands, and wrap your arm up properly to stop the bleeding, with only the use of one hand, while tipsy.” he replied flatly. “Look, I understand that you are a little uneasy. Maybe you don't trust me or something but I am not a bad guy. I am not going to hurt you, but you are doing yourself no favors by fighting me here. The way I see it you have two choices. You can either grit your teeth and let me patch you up now or cower in a corner till you pass out. That wound isn't serious enough to kill you but you will faint. What am I suppose to do then? You are too big for me to carry on my own to take you to the hospital. I could call my roommate to help, though that will raise a lot of questions, or I could call the ambulance. But then who is going to lock up the bar so no one will rob it in your absence. The choice is yours, what do you want to do?”

[Rune Delacroix]

Rune looked at Loki, his face going paler, and he thought over his options. Loki was right of course...but if he could just...hold out till he got home. Rune frowned, his good hand going through his hair and finally stopped, leaning against the back of the bar. He was out of options....he couldn't leave the bar unlocked and he couldn't afford to pass out. Loki couldn't drag him back to his apartment...he was right. Fucking eh.... Rune glanced over at Loki, closed his eyes and took a very deep breath, nodding his head. "Alright Loki....just...fucking do it."

It hadn't occurred to Rune that Loki did not even know what was happening in Runes inner thoughts. As Loki knelt next to Rune, wrapping his arm, Rune tried to think of a million things to distract him from the shirtless Loki kneeling next to him. THE OLD LADY NEXT DOOR WHO LEANS OUT HER WINDOW "ACCIDENTALLY" IN HER BRA!! THAT GROSS TRANNY WHO HAS A BEARD AND A MOLE!!! DOGSSSSSS!!!!!!!! Rune then started concentrating on his breaths. He was concentrating so hard to not just jump Loki, he barely felt the clothe being wrapped around his arm tightly.

Without wanting it, Rune has his eyes on Loki. Man he was cute...even if he was younger...WHAT ARE YOU THINKING RUNE?! YOU CAN'T JUST... Rune hated the way his thoughts were turning, the way his heart was beating. He had never been this close to another man before, especially not one as cute as Loki. He couldn't stop his hand from reaching out and brushing against Loki's cheek. It was soft. He froze. What did he just do...he just...brushed Loki's cheek. But...it was so good. He took a breath. This was wrong...this was so wrong..he couldn't...He had to stop or else he would do something he would regret.

Rune's face was that of almost anguish...he couldn't figure out what to do. He was frozen, his hand on Loki's cheek. How was he supposed to proceed from here. He leaned up a little bit...he was so close...he froze. Rune blinked. He pushed ahead, he had to. He had been fighting against his attraction for longer than he ever had before. He had never been in this proximity with a half naked man...it was too much for him as Rune pushed forward, pressing his lips against Loki's. What have I just done..... Runes eyes widened a bit, as he pulled away. "Oh..my..god...man..I..." Rune couldn't make a full sentence as he tried to back up, which was impossible with the back of the bar against his back.