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“No! No, no, nonono!”
His words muddle together in a tight scream. He holds the smaller woman in his grip, an attempt to protect her as old coworkers and higher ups walk to him, and she squeezes his arm. He feels her own heart pounding in her chest, and he can't calm his own heart, either.
“Venus, Venus—”
Her voice is shaking, and he tenses up, staring at the group of men and women that are currently trying to rip the woman from his arms, her tears hot on his skin. They continue to walk towards him and the woman in his arms, and his breath hitches. “Don't you fucking dare take her from me!” He screams, the cry ripping from his throat as he begins stumbling back, he holds her even tighter. “Don't even fucking touch her! Don't fucking look at her! She's mine! Fucking mine! My baby sister, touch her and I'll fucking tear you apart!”
His throat hurts due to how he screams.
“Venus,” she whimpers, and he holds her tighter, “Venus, please—”
“Don't hurt her, please.” He turns to begging. He's begging. God, he's begging. “She didn't do anything, she didn't do anything, she doesn't deserve it.” He whimpers, looking at those that used to be his coworkers, those that used to be his friends. “Please. Please. Please.”
The men smile.
“And to think people screamed that they didn't deserve it when you and your little gang killed them, Venus.”
His eyes widen slightly, the slow realization dawning on him that—
That they left him last for a reason. They left him last to hear him beg and scream for forgiveness not for himself, no, for his “family”, they left him for last to force him to watch as each one of the people in his "family" are tortured and killed, and now they're about to take away his baby.
Because that's what this woman is in his arms. His baby sister. Biological? No, not at all, but he's taken her under his wing and gave her unconditional love, something her own family didn't do—
They touch her.
They touch his baby.
“Fuck off!”
His nails dig into the woman beneath him, tightly in his hold, safely tucked into his chest, her blonde hair messy, brown eyes full of tears, her hair clips messed up and her bow destroyed. “Venus, you promised you’d protect me,” her voice cracks, and he takes another step back, “Venus, I’m scared, I wanna go home.”
(“You know, V,” he looks up, “you give big brother energy.”
Devi’s leaning on her vanity, a smile on her lips as she applies her signature red lipstick, pulling away as she taps her lips a bit. “Do I?” He replies, amused, and she turns to look at him.
“You're protective, caring, and you take such good care of us. This is like a found family, y’know?” She walks over, acrylic nails tapping over his arms before she intertwines her fingers to his. “Always playing bodyguard with me out in public.”
“You're a celebrity. You’d get hurt.” He reasons and she giggles.
“Big brother energy.” She teases, and Venus clicks his tongue, shaking his head.
“I guess it makes sense. I did have a younger sister.”)
“I’ll fucking kill you!” Venus screeches, pressing up against a wall, holding Devi just that much closer, with her breath hitching. “I’ll fucking kill all of you! Devi didn't do anything wrong!” Venus screams, but his cries and pleas fall on deaf ears as he’s grabbed by too many arms for him to fight—
“You're not acting right, Venus,” Devi whispers, smiling weakly. “Venus. Hold your head high. You're supposed to be the one that takes no shit, right? It's my fault we got caught. I'm sorry.” She whispers, getting yanked out of his grip, yet she holds his hand—
“Devi!”
“You’re a great leader, a great friend, a great older brother. Never forget that you're amazing.”
“Devi—!”
.
.
.
.
.
.
“You got older brother energy, you know that?”
DogDay looks up, blinking in surprise. One of the workers is patching him up after he startled CatNap on accident, getting sliced up by their black claws. It was an accident, he knows that, and he isn't mad. Why would he be? He watches the worker with a close gaze before humming. “Do I?” He asks, amused. “What gives you that idea?” DogDay teases, poking the staff member with a harsh jab from his paw. The worker clicks his tongue.
“It takes an older brother to know one. You're caring, kind, protective over the other Critters, and you take good care of little kids.” The staff member replies casually. “It's nice to see, especially knowing you're a demon.”
(“What?!” Devi squeaks, slamming her hands on her vanity, and some of her lipstick and mascara try and roll off but Venus grabs them, who is quickly shaken by the other. “You never told me! Can I meet her?” She asks in a squeal, and Venus gives a sad smile, handing her the makeup he caught.
“After you're done getting dressed we’ll go to the cemetery,” her face falls, “Moyra would have loved you, Devi.”)
“Yeah?” DogDay looks at his stitched and bandaged arm, eyes softening. It's weird to hear that phrase again, he realizes, I almost miss hearing it. But looking at his bandaged arm, way too many memories come back—
If he tries hard enough, he can see little hands holding his arm, squeaking Venus, Venus!
(“Venus! Venus!”
“I'm right here, Moyra.”
The hospital. Again.
Venus was always called “a little miracle” due to his mother's past children either not making it to the due date or not living long.
Venus has made it to twelve with little to no health complications, minus getting his tonsils removed due to really bad strep throat.
His little sister is five.
“Venus! When I get outta the hospital again, can we play with the new line of dolls that's out?” She asks, excited. Venus beams at her.
“Of course we can, Moyra! Mom and dad will be buying us all the toys!”)
Those big, warm hands that gripped him so, so weakly.
(“Venus, my baby, my angel!”
His mother is holding him tightly, hysterically crying. The loud, uninterrupted “beep” tells him what he needs to know.
Flatline, if he remembers, it's called a flatline.
“God! God please don't take this one from me!” His mother sobs, holding him even tighter. “Please don't take my son! I'll do anything! I'll do anything! This is the first baby that you've given me that hasn't died right when they were born or suffered while living! Please, God! Please!"
He stares at the unmoving body of Moyra on her hospital bed, his mother's screams a distant echo in his head.)
If he tries hard enough, he can feel acrylic nails digging into his skin—
(“Hey, Venus? You're cute, y’know?”
“Odd way to start a conversation while I’m covered in blood, but go on.”
Venus sits on the chest of an adult man, one in high power. Government or something. He had been given a slap on the wrist for trying to have an intimate relationship with a sixteen year old after grooming her for a good six years. He’s still alive, his skin slowly being mutilated by Venus, taking care of each of this scumbags favorite features and ruining them in front of a mirror, forcing the man to watch. Eva was off somewhere else in the house gathering evidence with Levi and Paulette stealing things. Merylyn and Zeke aren't around, the two at their day jobs. Or “actual” jobs.
“I mean, seriously. Look at yourself.” Devi coos, grabbing his jaw with her own bloodied hand and making him look at the mirror.
His heterochromatic eyes.
Dark brown hair.
Freckles cover his face.
“You're attractive as hell.” She drags her index finger across his jaw, humming. “Yet you have no girlfriend? What's up with that?”
Venus blinks, blinks, blinks.
And then he laughs, he has to hang his head low and laughs.
“Thank you for your compliments,” he speaks after he calms down, wiping his hand free of blood as he presses a thumb to his eye, brushing the tear away that formed during his laughing fit, “but I’m telling you this because you can relate, in a way. No one else can know. Okay?”
Devi’s eyes brighten and she nods, bouncing on her toes in anticipation, the blood squelching under her platforms. “Tell me! Tell me! I’ll take this secret to the grave!”
He presses a finger to his lips, and she sits down, dirtying her brand new skirt in the process.
“Just as…”
God. Is he admitting this?
Admitting this while in the middle of killing a guy? Sitting on his chest?
“Just as you're bisexual, I—”
He bites his lip. Her features soften and she gently grips his arm, reassuring him.
“... I'm gay.”
It feels like a boulder off of his body, to finally say it. He always just said he didn't want to marry someone, not in this economy, or he was too focused on work to want a relationship. But saying it, finally telling someone, looking them in the eye—
“I'm gay.”
Devi’s eyes soften, hugging him tightly. He slowly takes a breath, relaxing into her touch, looking at the bleeding body below him.
He’s always wanted to tell them, his family—both his found family and his parents. But he doesn't want to, he wants to present all of his best qualities. And being… Isn't perfect. But feeling Devi’s arms around him, he feels soft, vulnerable, almost.
“We’ll be disappointments to the world together.”)
—the wetness on his arm—
(He stares at the corpses in front of him.
Zeke’s dismembered limbs. Levi’s frozen corpse. Paulette’s boiled skin. Merylyn’s busted body. Devi’s melted and charred remains.
“Remember. You caused this, Wyatt.”
He’s so happy he sent Eva back to her home country.
She's safe.
He wipes his tears on his arm and smiles, glaring up at them.
“I’ll see you asshats in hell.”)
—and can even remember the added warmth from a few months back.
(He's laying on the floor staring up at the fake clouds. He's been stuck here for almost an entire year now, with no real answer to if or when he can go home. It's odd to say he almost misses that place, really.
A jingle of a bell makes him look up, and CatNap plops themselves onto his arm. Before he can ask, a chorus of “DogDay!” enters his ears, and the other six join him on the floor, their limbs tangled over each other in a big cuddle pile.
It's suffocating.
He loves it.)
“I expected the Sin, the Lord, of Pride to only care about himself and let everything else around him rot, but you're not like that. Makes me wonder about your family life.”
DogDay blinks and looks over, looks over at all of his friends, the other Critters;
He looks at KickinChicken sitting on the floor and playing with Hoppy’s ears, with Hoppy smiling and having her paws tracing his thighs.
He looks at Bobby braiding CraftyCorn's mane, with CraftyCorn fully relaxed, a small smile on her face.
He looks at Bubba and PickyPiggy, looks at how they are holding back laughter, and DogDay glances over as a bunch of kids are dressing up CatNap, while they look confused and slightly concerned.
“My family's here,” DogDay hums, looking over at the staff member with a hum, “I have them.” His tail wags as he’s let go, let free, his arm fixed up. DogDay walks over to the other Critters, walks over to the group and sits down, specifically next to Bobby to watch CatNap being dressed up with Hoppy and KickinChicken nearby. He leans back, but nearly jolts as Bobby immediately places her paw on the part that's bandaged and frowns.
“Hopefully that didn't hurt too much?” She murmurs, looking up at him, and he softly chuckles, putting his walls down, if only slightly.
“Didn't hurt as much as my execution or watching you all get executed.” He mumbles, watching CraftyCorn tense as Bobby huffs a breath and ruffles the chaotic patch of fur on the top of DogDay's head, DogDay laughing.
“Don't talk about that.” Bobby mumbles, upset. “We’re… Kind of safe here, at least. Nothing can hurt us. Not like they hurt us.” She murmurs, tapping the taller Sin. DogDay hums, taking his own paw and brushing against Bobby's cheek, watching her continue to braid CraftyCorn's mane.
“You're safe. Everyone else is safe. You think I’d let anything happen to you guys again?” He asks, glancing at the others, smiling. “I’m too great of a person for that, I mean, really, look at all the shit I’ve done.”
“Oh boy,” CraftyCorn finally speaks up, “here comes the ego.”
“Ego? CraftyCorn, this isn't ego,” DogDay stands and bows, “I'm just telling the truth. All the things I’ve done? All the things I’ve accomplished? I got a track record of greatness, baby!” He winks at her, and she groans and rolls her eyes.
“Whatever, V, cut your heart out.”
“Well, since you asked so nicely!”
He grabs the zipper on his chest, and the two girls scream, causing him to laugh and laugh—
Yeah.
Family.
A family, one he's happy to have, one he's happy to exist in. He closes his eyes and leans on Bobby, huffing a breath as he feels familiar tiny paws on his shoulders, signaling he's gained a kitten. He looks back at CatNap, who purrs, their long tail draping over his shoulder.
Family… he likes the sound of that.