Chapter Text
He was watching you again. He had been watching you for months. Nicolas was aware that you saw him. It wasn’t a secret he was trying to keep. If it had been, no one would ever have known exactly where his keen dark eyes were fixated. By keeping an eye on you from time to time, Nico was letting people know who they would have to fear if they chose to bother you.
The city of Ergastulum was filled with trash. Criminals, prostitutes, dirty cops, mafia—any type of miscreant you could imagine lived in this city. The whole reason the city existed was to keep unwanted humans away from the rest of the world. Scum of all sorts haunted back streets, waiting to take out any light that managed to squeeze its way inside. Any bright source of kindness, comfort, or joy was constantly in danger of being snuffed out, ensuring anything good that had managed to grow would stay crushed under foot. For the Twilight community, the people most in need of some light in this cursed city, you might as well have been the sun at midnight. This was especially true as far as Nicolas was concerned.
You had heard all about Nicolas Brown and Worick Arcangelo from one of your boarders, Nina, a young nurse-in-training that worked for Dr. Theo in the 8th District of town. It was an area heavily populated by people that didn't mind conducting business in the Restricted Zone, but Nina didn't mind going to work every day. She enjoyed it. The way the precious child spoke of those two men told you that there was nothing to fear from them. She had only positives to say, and her sweet face lit up especially when she mentioned her dear Nico.
Though Nina’s was not the popular opinion, you agreed that Twilights should be afforded more rights, not just in Ergastulum, but all surrounding areas. The Three Principals were not good enough. The minimum protection afforded to them made Tags little better off than when they had all been enslaved. It was a desperate desire of yours to help people see the need for equality between the different races in Ergastulum.
Running the only inn of the city that would house their kind, you had become more than familiar with exactly the type of people these Twilights were. They had families. Some had hopes and dreams. They had compassion and honor, but they were constantly having all of their basic human rights stripped away from them. Tested on, drugged, forced into a life of slavery and submission, discouraged from engaging in any “human” emotion from an early age, many of them had grown up little more than dogs by the time they arrived to your inn. Strays from the Gate cities were your usual clientele. With the help of Dr. Theo and Nina, you patiently helped countless Twilights adjust to having a life without being a slave.
The Tagged children of today didn’t fare much better. Many were the product of Twilight mothers raped by despicable “humans” (who had every legal right to use Tagged women in that way). Twilights that didn’t belong to a guild or had been forced out had nowhere else to go. They had no idea how to make a way for themselves in a world dominated by Normals who saw them as subhuman vermin.
You often accepted these young desperate women and their children on good faith alone, not charging them a fee to stay as they found the best ways to manage the backstreets of Ergastulum. It was tedious and difficult, especially since the majority of Normals still saw them as animals and didn’t allow them inside their establishments. Convincing them that they had any ability to live on their own took every effort on your part. Though you weren't fond of the Three Principals, getting Twilights to affiliate with a Guild was really the only option once they reached a certain age, and you tried to make it seem appealing.
It was a pull on your spirit to help them that you couldn’t deny, and that put you in an extremely dangerous position. Normals and Corsican affiliates targeted you fairly regularly because of your choice to help these lost souls. Damage to your boarding house happened almost daily. People would refuse to sell you their goods or allow you inside their stores. Jeers and threats were the nature of the beast as you walked from place to place in town.
Admittedly, those instances had slowed considerably since the city's residents were becoming more aware that you were under Brown’s strict protection. There weren’t many who wished to challenge that particular Tagged demon.
********
The first time you had been physically attacked more seriously than a backhand to the face or an object thrown at your person, you were walking home from Granny Joel’s with a few simple conveniences. She was one of the few merchants that would sell to you who also had cheap enough wares to buy. Still several blocks from your boarding house and not in a business district any longer, you felt slightly nervous, as if someone was following you—someone who wanted to harm you.
“That’s the one,” you heard a voice from behind you, as you passed through a narrow alleyway into an adjoining street.
Turning, you saw two men approaching you, evil glints in their eyes. You felt your heartrate increase and turned back towards where you had been heading. Two more men were now stalking your direction, one with a piece of pipe, the other had brass knuckles. Trying to steel yourself, you turned the one direction left to you that wasn’t blocked by assailants or a wall. As you did, your (e/c) eyes widened in panic finding yet another angry man coming at you.
Voice shaking, you clutched your groceries and said, “What can I help you gentlemen with today?”
The man with the pipe sneered, “You’re that bitch with the boarding house, ain’t you?”
Dr. Theo had warned you that you would become a greater target if you chose to continue aiding Twilights, but this was the first time you’d actually been confronted so violently.
“Yes. Are—are you looking for some place to stay?” you asked, knowing the answer but searching frantically for a way to escape.
One of the men behind you spit at the back of your head. You were shaking too hard to even reach up and wipe it away as he replied, “Why would we stay with Tag-loving trash like you? You think we’d actually give you our hard-earned money?”
The man at the side grabbed one of your wrists forcefully and twisted. You winced at the shooting pain. Without thinking, you slung your grocery sack at the man with the pipe and flinched as dark purple exploded everywhere. The bottle of red wine you had purchased for Theo had shattered against the man’s skull and the rest of your supplies rolled around in the street.
“Fuckin’ bitch!” he yelled. “You’re gonna pay for that!” He wiped his eyes and touched his hand to the bleeding gash you had created on his head.
"No! It was an accident!" you pleaded, almost pulling free of your captor's hold, knowing that striking one of them had been the worst possible mistake.
“Oi, hold her the fuck down!” shouted the pipe's owner.
The tallest of the men behind you grabbed a fistful of your hair and yanked you to your knees. The pain caused tears to spill from your eyes. You thought about begging, offering them anything, but you knew these were terrible humans intent on doing terrible things. The shortest of the five assailants, one that had approached from the rear, addressed their apparent leader, “I heard she feeds ‘em and cleans ‘em and helps ‘em get work. Hell, she’d probably spread her legs for ‘em if they asked, the nasty whore. She don’t even care how Twilights kill us Normals for no reason,” The disgusting irony was not lost on you. “What are we gonna do with this sick Tag humpin' bitch, boss?”
The guy with the pipe tapped it on the ground a few times and said to his gang, “First, I’m gonna beat her. Then... we’re gonna fuck her. She looks like she could take us all." The others laughed shortly, before their leader continued. "Then you all get a turn to pound her stupid ass to the pavement. And then Graves,” he pointed to the deranged looking man still gripping your wrist, “he’s gonna slit your damn throat, honey.”
All five of them laughed disturbingly as the brass knuckles’ owner grabbed your other arm and forced it behind your back. “I call firsts on this Tag-lovin’ whore,” he jeered.
You shook your head rapidly, but the man called Graves gripped you by the chin. "Boss, anywhere but the face, huh? I don't wanna bone some bitch that looks like ground beef."
All the men cackled loudly while agreeing and the boss nodded with acceptance. You felt yourself begin to hyperventilate at the thought of what was about to come.
Tapping his pipe against the concrete again and pointing it in your face, its owner said, “You’re about to find out exactly what happens to Tag-lovers in this town.” As he swung his pipe completely behind him and began arching it rapidly towards your face, you squeezed your eyes shut and clenched your jaw preparing for impact.
A blood-curdling scream filled the streets, and you heard the sound of metal hitting pavement. You breathed heavily, surprised the scream had not been from your own lungs. As you opened your eyes, you saw the long piece of pipe lying directly in front of you. A hand gripped it tightly without its wrist being attached to the body where it belonged.
You felt like your eyes couldn’t take in what was happening fast enough. “Fuck!” screamed the man who had been holding the pipe, his wrist pouring blood where his hand was removed. A short ebony-haired man stood just off-center in front of you, a katana gleaming silver and dripping deep red was in his grasp.
“Tag!” shouted Graves. “Kill that bastard!”
Turning his head to the side and taking in your four other attackers, a devilish grin graced your savior's face. “Hn,” he laughed shortly. As he turned to face you, one subtle swipe of his sword sent the bleeding lead attacker’s head flying. His lifeless form collapsed on the ground.
“Shit!” said one of them as he began bolting away. “It’s that Asian Tag! Fuck this!”
Dark brown eyes connected with yours and the word, “Move” clumsily left his mouth.
You weren’t sure how or when you’d been released but you immediately did as ordered and backed rapidly against the wall.
In a fury of glinting steel, spraying crimson, and heart-stopping screams, your assailants fell one by one. When five bodies littered the road around you, the impressive swordsman drug them into a neat pile in the alleyway. It had been almost effortless on the part of this skilled Twilight. He barely even seemed out of breath. Light sweat beads were on his forehead and he lifted the bottom of his black t-shirt to use as a towel, revealing a heavily sculpted torso bearing a long diagonal scar. His tags clinked quietly around his neck.
You trembled as the anxiety of what you’d just experienced smashed into you, vomiting at the thought of how close you had just come to rape and death. Wiping the back of your hand across your lips, you tried to push those men out of your mind. You were immeasurably grateful for the appearance of Nicolas Brown.
You knew it was Nicolas. You had asked Nina after you noticed that he’d been watching you. She told you everything she knew about her deaf Twilight friend and his companion Worick. You almost felt like you had already known the men, after the detailed review the young nurse had given you. “You’re really lucky, (f/n),” she said cheerfully to you one day. “If Nico is keeping an eye on you, he likes you.” She laughed at the strange expression on your face. “I bet he can see how special you are for Twilights like him.” As you sat absorbing her words that day, Nina added seriously, “I’m glad you’ll be so safe, (f/n). You couldn’t ask for a better guardian.”
Now, here stood Nicolas holding his hand down for you to get to your feet. You immediately grasped it, expecting he would pull you upward—but nothing happened. Nico had never had anyone accept his hand without hesitation. He had expected at least some pause on your part, some trace of fear over what you’d just witnessed him do. There was none. Dead bodies weren't unusual in this part of Ergastulum and you had personally witnessed death more times than you cared to count before even arriving in this city. You gave Nic a puzzling look and finally he awkwardly removed his hand, placing it in the pocket of his green military trousers. Pursing your lips together and narrowing your brows, you accepted his odd behavior as part of what Nina had described.
Remembering the reason you had gone to the market to begin with, you gasped. You got on your hands and knees and began crawling around the bodies, trying to salvage any of the purchases you made at Granny Joel’s that had been scattered to the ground. Money was tight and hard to come by, seeing how you spent most of your time taking wayward Twilights on as tenants. Two tins of canned meat and a wine covered newspaper were all you had saved. Picking up some of the squashed fruits from the pavement you sat back and sighed in frustration. Tears threatened to spill from your eyes again.
The whole reason for your errand that day was now completely worthless. There were two Twilight children staying with you currently, and they had never had fresh fruit before. Their mothers had spent most of their early lives accepting cheap handouts or digging food out of waste bins. You had used your remaining funds for the month to buy these few groceries as a treat, and now bruised apples, dripping cherries, and squished oranges lay scattered around you. “Damn,” you said to no one.
Turning to collect your remaining three items, you came face to face with two of the softened oranges. Nicolas was squatting in front of you, motioning for you to take them.
“They’re squished. They’re no good now,” you said slowly, not sure how well he could read your lips.
He rolled his eyes at you and furrowed his brow. “Too slow for you?” you asked at a normal pace.
Still looking annoyed, he nodded and continued to shove the fruit in your direction.
“Thanks, but I can’t have the first fruit those kids at home taste be this bruised junk,” you said.
You got to your feet and Nicolas rolled his eyes again and huffed in frustration. “Tch.”
As he stood, you asked, “Nicolas, right?”
Another nod and a mumbled, “How?”
You smiled faintly and answered, “Nina.” You paused before adding, “I’m (f/n)(l/n). Thank you for this, Nicolas. All of this,” you said as you motioned to the bodies littering the street. Death and crime were nothing new in Ergastulum, and you were aware the police would handle the clean-up for this. You also knew there had been no reason for Nic to stick out his neck for you as he had. Twilights killing Normals was against the Three Principals. However, you got the feeling this imposing man in front of you played by his own set of rules. Smiling, you replied, “Really. I owe you one.”
He gave you a mischievous look that sent a shiver of excitement down your spine. Blinking the feeling away, you wished him goodbye and headed on towards your inn. Before you had made it very far, Nico appeared beside you with a large white handkerchief held like a bag, something red leaking through the fabric. Raising one eyebrow at him, he opened it slightly to allow you a peek.
You were surprised to see it contained the damaged fruit. Giving him an amused side eye, you commented, “I told you I can’t use those. Look at them!” Smiling you shook your head.
As you approached the short steps leading into your boarding house, he tugged gently on your sleeve. Turning to face him, you noticed that same mischievous smile playing on his lips. “You owe me one,” he mumbled slowly.
You smirked and stared at him in bewilderment for a minute before shaking your head and gesturing for him to follow you inside. Nicolas trailed after you as you walked through the front entry and dining area into the small kitchen where you prepared meals. Setting down your damp burgundy newspaper and food tins, you watched as Nico put the fruit filled cloth in the little sink and turned on the water to gently rinse away the dirt.
He couldn’t possibly expect you to serve it to anyone in its current state. While the water drained over cherries, apples, and oranges, Nicolas began opening your cabinets. Finally he seemed to spot whatever it was he’d been seeking. Standing, he placed your blender in your hands and it finally dawned on you that he’d had a solution the whole time.
“Juice!” you exclaimed.
“For now,” he said as he signed the words.
“I feel like an idiot,” you laughed at him. He smiled subtly, and you marveled at how it changed his face from menacing to almost innocent. “Quick thinking. It’s a really good idea, Nicolas. It would seem I owe you another one.”
Nico held up his hands and shook his head. He leaned casually against the far wall and waited for you to fix the drinks. You smiled warmly at him and began to reach for the cleaned produce. As you grasped a large handful of cherries, the wrist you’d been restrained by earlier throbbed, and you dropped the berries onto the counter. Jerking your hand back to cradle the injury, you watched strong masculine fingers reach from behind you and gingerly support your thin but swelling wrist in his hand.
“Nico-“ you began as you spun around, “-las.” The last part of his name hung in your throat when you saw how close he now stood to you. Your pulse sped up and you felt heat spread down the back of your neck as you looked into his deep brown eyes. “It—it’s okay, Nico,” you blushed as the casual name left your lips. Nina always referred to him that way and it had slipped. Nicolas grinned over your embarrassed expression but still gently held your wrist in his large, calloused hand.
"Nico?" he repeated.
"Sorry. Nina always..." you began, but he shook his head.
"'S fine," he said, not doing a great job concealing the enjoyment he got from your sudden bashfulness.
Ignoring the way his sly grin was making you reel, you motioned towards his hold on your wrist, saying, “Really. I think it’s just a sprain.”
He smirked, suddenly raising you effortlessly to the countertop next to your refrigerator. “Nic-!” you exclaimed. “What are you—“ you stopped talking as he reached inside the freezer, knowing he could no longer see your lips. As he shut the door, his hands held a bag of frozen vegetables. He placed it over your injury as he continued tenderly supporting it from below. You winced at the sudden icy bag on your skin. As his eyes returned to yours, you realized his teasing grin had been replaced with a look of genuine concern. With your heartbeat thudding loudly in your ears, you whispered, “I really don’t think this is necessary. I don't want to cause you any more trouble, you know? You’ve helped too much as it is.”
He shook his head slowly as he carefully chose the words, “No. It's you who helps too much. Look at the trouble it brought you.”
Blushing again, you now knew for certain that he had protected you and guarded you these past few weeks out of gratitude for how you treated his kind. You felt your chest swell at his gesture and wished for the right words to tell him that you didn’t need ‘payment’ for caring after Twilights. You didn't feel you deserved that at all after what you'd done in your life. Nicolas didn't know anything about that, though, and you didn't want to say anything to offend him after he had just gone out of his way to save your life.
His gaze on you was intense, and you felt light-headed as a fluttering sensation filled your abdomen. You weren’t sure how to break the stare until you heard your front door open. You looked up towards the dining room.
“I’m home!” came a familiar young woman’s voice. “Is anyone here? (f/n)?” she called.
“We’re in the kitchen, Nina!” you shouted. Still cradling your wrist, Nico turned to watch her enter.
“Did you say ‘we?’” she asked as she pushed the door open. “Nico!” she exclaimed excitedly. He released you as she flung her arms around the imposing man as if he were a cuddly plush bear. He turned to her further and gripped her nose between his thumb and forefinger.
“Not again!” she shouted. “Nico! Let go, Nico!” You couldn’t help but smile at the playful pair. Noticing you on the counter, frozen bag on your arm, Nina cried, “(f/n)! What’s happened?”
“It’s fine,” you started once more, but the child nurse wasn’t paying attention as Nic was signing his own answer to her. It seemed to be a much longer explanation than you would have offered a child, even if she was a nurse-in-training.
“Oh?” she started as she signed back. “It does sound like a sprain. Good work on the ice, Nico! I’m impressed.”
He threatened to grab her nose again after her somewhat condescending comment, and she flinched away. Reaching in the bag that hung from her shoulder, she pulled out a stretch bandage and checked your injury. “It’s definitely a sprain,” Nina said as she began to wrap it carefully. “What a day you’ve had, (f/n)! Those men should have known better than to treat a lady that way! Didn’t I tell you it was lucky Nico was keeping an eye on you?”
You felt the hot blush race to your cheeks again and flicked your eyes to Nicolas. “Yes,” you admitted, “very lucky.” Though you were sure he had not heard Nina or seen her lips, you swore there was a pink tinge on Nic’s own cheeks as your eyes met his again. He looked away and then walked out of the kitchen.
As Nina finished up, you heard your two Twilight children boarders shout “Nicolas!” excitedly. They shouted to their Tagged friend, “Miss (l/n) promised us fruit, Nico! Real red apples and juicy cherries!” You frowned, feeling that you were about to disappoint the pair. After a short silence, you heard one of them shout excitedly, “Fresh squeezed juice!? No way!” You felt your grin widen once more as you realized Nico must be making quite a deal of the unexpected change of plans.
Nina excused herself to join the others. While the children played with Nico, you finished making the fruits into a deliciously tart juice and poured it into glasses for everyone. There wasn’t quite enough for you to have a glass but you didn’t mind that in the least. Loading them onto a serving tray and lifting it carefully with your uninjured hand, you balanced them all as you backed through the kitchen door and walked out to the front steps.
The children were laughing as Nicolas chased them rapidly around the streets. The two Tagged children were exceedingly fast, and it was quite an amusing site. The joy they felt from being near this man transferred itself to you, and you couldn’t contain the smile as you watched him genuinely entertain these kids.
Nico spotted you standing with the tray and quickly strode over to you, taking it so you wouldn’t have to balance the weight. He cleared his throat loudly and all of his playmates dropped what they were doing and rushed to get their special treats.
You handed the three children their glasses which they greedily gulped down with excitement. The Twilight boys' mouths were dripping with the pulpy remnants from the bottom of their glasses and they rubbed themselves clean with the backs of their hands. The previously homeless children looked enthralled at the flavors they had just experienced. The expressions on their faces were more than thanks enough, but they offered you words of gratitude anyway. Then Nina began trying to teach them a new game they could all play.
Nico tried to offer you the last glass and you refused. He tried again, seeming set on not taking no for an answer. It was too much of him. He was being far too nice to someone like you. You pushed the glass against his chest and held it there. The pair of you looked stunned by your forceful movement but neither of you moved.
“Please,” you requested softly. “Please accept it, Nico.”
“Tch,” he huffed as he pulled the glass from your hand and drained it. You smiled faintly as he used his forearm to wipe clean his upper lip, the same as the children had done.
“Thank you,” you mouthed.
A few minutes later, Nicolas wished everyone goodbye and headed off towards his home signing to Nina that Worick was probably angry that he’d been out so long today. You watched him go and then returned to your nightly duties of making dinner for your guests and tending to their needs before bed. As night fell and you relaxed alone in the sitting room, you found yourself unable to concentrate on the book in your hands.
Your mind kept drifting to the terrifying men that had tried to harm you, but more than that, you focused on a certain handsome Twilight with the body of a god and a heart seemingly twice as great. Trying desperately to push a man like that out of your head, you heard a light knock at the front door.
Pulling it open, you saw no one but felt the familiar sensation that eyes were following you. Looking down at your stoop, you saw a huge box filled to capacity with melons, apples, oranges, bananas, and berries of almost every kind. Your eyes glistened with thankfulness in the moonlight, and you mouthed “Thank you, Nicolas,” up into the darkness. You knew you would never be able to get him out of your head now.
To Be Continued...