Private Tales Money Talks

[Lailah]

"Mhm.. I'll talk. Just let me sleep first.." her voice trailed off to a whisper and her eyes drifted heavily, but she held his gaze with a delirious half smile as he tilted her head. "I'm ok Van." she assured him, seeing his worry. Feeling it. It was about all she could feel right now.

Her brow furrowed as his hand lifted from her cheek and she reached to draw it back to her face with a huff in protest.. "That's warm." she forced a small twitch of a smile and sleep gripped hold of her and dragged her under. She hadn't plunged quite deep enough to ignore the 'sting' that Vincent had warned her about. Her entire body seized up with the shock of it, fists hit the table as a sharp cry stuck in her throat and caused her eyes to tear up as she swallowed it and slowly eased back down, her chest rising and falling quickly as the pain was now very real.

Her breaths slowed as the two worked on dressing the wound, and at some point, sleep claimed her and she fell fast and deep.

Ren grabbed hold of Vincent's wrists, panic stricken and lapsed into a terrified silence until he was shaken.. "I'm sorry! Please, I panicked, I I wasn' thinkin'. I didn't mean to hurt her - please, I'm sorry!" he stuttered, his eyes wide with fear. "Will she be alright?" he asked frantically.

 

[Vincent]

"Oh, you're sorry!" Vincent dropped the kid on his feet and tightly grasped his face. He wanted to bash his head against the counter. Again and again, until the kid stopped struggling against his grasp. His patience was like a tight string threatening to snap.

Darmian hurried to Vincent's side, grabbing his wrist and pulling his arm back from Ren's face. There were bloody smudges on the boy's face from where Vincent grabbed him.

"Fuck off," Vincent yanked his arm away from Darmian and stomped away, going to Lailah's side. He carefully scooped her up and carried her to their shared room.

Darmian, who had been holding his breath, finally let out a heavy sigh. He apologetically looked down at Ren. "They've been through a lot together," he said and moved around the counter. In just a few minutes, he slid a warm cup of sweetened tea across the counter. "Hop up, kid. Can't let you go yet. I reckon when he's calmed down, he'll have questions for you."

Above, Vincent gently laid Lailah on the bed and covered her with a blanket, just as she'd asked. He knelt at her side, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Be strong for me, Lai," he whispered, and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Be strong..."

 

[Lailah]

Ren paled, lapsing into a terrified silence as he witnessed the fury in Vincent's gaze, his own brown eyes wide with fear. There was nothing more he could say, the apology didn't matter, not now he'd done what he'd done. The boy was glad of Darmian's intervention, and he pressed his hand over his thundering heart and let out a breath as he watched Vincent lift Lailah and carry her away.

He'd been about to leave when Darmian told him to stay, and for a moment he hesitated before his shoulders sagged and head bowed, and he pulled himself up into a stool to rest his head in his hands.

"You shoulda let him beat me. I deserve it. She, was tryna hug me.. I wasn't thinking' right.. She were always so nice... She din't deserve what they done to her. What I done to her." he lifted his head, his face wet with tears, and his eyes looked over the blood on his hands..

"F-fuck.. If she dies.. Fuck." the boy broke down, fingers pulling at his hair until it hurt.

Lailah didn't stir, but Vincent's voice and the kiss to her head must have registered on some level of her subconscious as she breathed her first deep breath, her features soft and without pain or discomfort.

 

[Vincent]

Darmian remained quiet as the boy panicked and cried.

"If she dies, ain't any stopping him." Darmian grimly stated. He sighed again. "Drink, kid."

After several uncomfortably quiet minutes, Vincent came down the stairs and took a seat some ways down the counter from Ren.

"What's your name?" He said after another painfully long silence.

 

[Lailah]

Ren stared at Darmian for a moment before giving a slow nod and wiping at the tears on his blood-smeared face before he picked up the cup and took a shaky sip. A chill rushed over the boy as Vincent appeared back in the room, and he stared at him, reading his face for a verdict, and when he was not confronted with unshackled rage he let out the breath he hadn't realised that he'd been holding, in assumption that Lailah was still alive at least.

His gaze followed Vincent as he came to sit, and his fingers tapped nervously on the cup.. "Renly, sir." he answered quickly, a quiver in his voice. "Sh-she told me about yer plan, an' she asked me to talk to a couple others, a-and I will.. If yer fightin' against La Puta Madre then I, I'm on your side.." he assured, in hopes that Vincent would spare him to carry out his promise.

 

[Vincent]

"That right? You're gonna help us, Renly?" He turned to stare the kid down. "You're gonna help us instead of telling everyone about this place, right?"

It was probably the worst situation, to be discovered like that. They'd tried so hard to remain unseen. Unheard. The best-laid plans have the highest chance of falling apart, it would seem. Of course, it had to be a kid. The more he considered silencing the kid for good, the deeper his stomach sank. Simply thinking about it made him writhe within himself.

And what would Lailah think?

Vincent clenched his jaw for a moment, and let out a heavy sigh. The thought was completely pushed out. "How do you know her?"

 

[Lailah]

Ren faltered as Vincent looked at him, but the boy forced himself to keep his gaze, as intimidating as it was. "I.. don' expect you to trust me. But she does. I'd do anythin' to take back what I did. Thats why I'm here." he frowned. He didn't care what happened to him, he hadn't known what he'd be walking into and he half expected to be beaten senseless or worse for what he'd done, but he couldn't leave her there.

Ren rubbed at his face at Vincent's question.. "My da got himself killed after some bad business with the Matones. Only reason I ent dead too was cos she stepped in an' convinced Alvaro to let me work fer him instead.." Just telling the story caused his guilt to surge so fast that he turned and threw up onto the floor..

"Fuck.. What'd I do?.." the boy sobbed, his arms folding on the counter and his forehead resting atop them. "I'm jus' an errand boy. I do the collections an' drop offs. They don' give a fuck what happens to me so long as I get the work done, an' if I fuck up." his head shook. "I jus' fuckin' panicked. Worried about my own skin when she saved mine so many fuckin' times.." he looked up.

"Look I won' say anythin' about any of this. I dunno you but I owe her.. An' if I don' go soon they're gonna suspect somethin's up.." he frowned, his eyes glistening with worry.

 

[Vincent]

Vincent grimaced as the boy regurgitated the contents of his stomach. Darmian audibly sighed.

"You fucked up, is what you did." He let out a quiet sigh. "Make up for it."

Vincent folded his arms as he looked the kid over. After a painfully long minute, he waved his hand, dismissing Renly. "I'm sure she'll seek you out again. Don't stab her next time."

After Renly left, Vincent helped Darmian clean the floor, and the two went to their respective rooms. Concerned, Vincent knelt by Lailah's side. He gently laid his hand on his cheek and sadly smiled.

 

[Lailah]

The boy wasted no time in getting up from the stool and backing away the moment he was dismissed.. "I won' let her down again.." he assured, dipping his chin to Darmian in mute apology before he turned to leave in a hurry.

The warmth against her cool skin caused Lailah to stir, and her eyes opened on his face and the sad smile that he wore.. Her dark eyes seemed to brighten slightly as she smiled drowsily at him. "Hi.." she sighed deeply, her brow furrowing as she reached to rest her hand over his, her head turning slightly to press a kiss to his palm.

"Sorry if I scared you." she huffed. "Where's Ren?.."

 

[Vincent]

"You did scare me," he laid his head on her shoulder, "No more scares."

Vincent remained silent for a bit and held her hand tightly in his.

"I sent him away... Didn't harm a hair on the kid. Might've given him a scare, but..." Vincent trailed. "You're lucky that he missed anything important. Still... You're even luckier that you weren't too far from here."

 

[Lailah]

“I know...” she rumbled apologetically and nuzzled her cheek against his hair. “Alvaro must have them so afraid. He’s not a bad kid.. Thank you, for not hurting him. I know that must have been difficult..”

She knew if she’d died it would have likely been a very different story. She could still conjure the rage she’d felt right after the pain of trying to shake her brother’s dead body to life again. She could still remember the aching need she’d had to make the bastard who’d killed him pay, and she’d never regret it.

“I know how lucky I am.” Lailah pressed a kiss to his head and squeezed on his hand. “Come to bed.” she whispered sleepily into his hair.

 

[Vincent]

Vincent nodded into her shoulder and carefully crawled over her. He laid next to Lailah and scooped her into his arms, mindful of her fresh wound.

Perhaps they were entangled in something they should have just avoided. Vincent had set out on a vengeful path, and the woman he loved supported him unconditionally. And look where it had gotten them, he thought as he held her. He had never ignored the risk in what they were doing, yet her injury had cemented the reality of their situation. One wrong misstep, and he could the single thing he held dear.

"Don't ever leave me," he whispered into her soft, white hair.

 

[Lailah]

Lailah didn’t need to be an empath to feel what he felt. She’d have felt the same had it been him who’d been hurt.

“Hmm.” she smiled as he pulled her into his arms and she moulded herself against him, feeling his chest rising and falling against her back, their breaths in unison. She held his arms tightly around her like a blanket, soaking in his warmth. The pain felt irrelevant, like she could physically feel herself healing from his comfort alone.

“I won’t. I promise.” she answered in a whisper. It wasn’t a promise she could make, though he knew that too, but as long as she could help it she would be right here.

Her eyes drifted closed with a deep sigh, but her hold on him wouldn’t ease. She couldn’t calm him in the way she could calm others, but she’d tried to assure him, tried not to look afraid, tried not to appear as though she was in any sort of pain in effort to spare him panic or fear. But she’d been afraid, she was in pain, and now she felt safe, now he was the one making her feel calm, and she slept soundly in his arms.

 

[Vincent]

Vincent was the first to wake when morning came. In his arms was all that mattered. How easily and quickly his precious little dove was nearly taken from him. He nuzzled the back of her neck to prove to himself that she was still here. He took in her scent, felt her warmth mix with his.

From the day they met, she had always been the one to take the most punishment. From her head, which had been nicely split open to being nearly gutted in the streets, it seemed one misfortune came after the other. Vincent kissed the back of her neck and carefully left the bed.

He snuck downstairs, dressed in loose, comfortable clothing, and prepared breakfast for three. At least in the city, he had easy access to more ingredients. Vincent quietly hummed a soft tune as he cooked.

 

[Lailah]

The kiss to the back of her neck sent a pleasant shudder racing down her spine, and even in sleep she smiled and sighed softly in response. But without him, the cool air tickled at her back and her brow furrowed as she realised that she was alone. Her eyes opened and she rolled into the empty space with a grimace that came with the tenderness of her healing flesh. The smell of cooking breakfast was enough to mollify any chagrin she'd felt however, and her stomach answered with a growl of approval.

She could hear Van humming to himself from downstairs and she smirked to herself, her hand pressing to the linen that wrapped her wound as she gingerly slipped out of bed, and into one of his shirts. She wasn't moving as quickly as she'd like. Her body felt rigid, like her limbs didn’t really belong to her and each step felt like a negotiation rather than an order but as she got to the bottom of the stairs they had eased off a little.

"What's for breakfast?.." she asked, her voice gritty and tired, and she moved to lean against the counter to watch him as casually as she possibly could.

 

[Vincent]

"Omelette and tomatoes," Vincent casually answered, "Do you want any ham?"

He glanced at her and smiled. One could have forgotten that she'd nearly bled out the night before with the way she stood there in his shirt (with the way she normalized wearing articles of his clothing, his wardrobe could be considered a shared one). As always, she stole the breath from his lungs. No combination of words could express how he felt for her in that moment.

"How d'you feel, love?" He tilted the pan and slid the spatula under the omelette. Vincent deftly moved his arm in a short semicircle, flipping the egg over. He shuffled his feet slightly and repeated the process with a second pan. "Tea's ready, too."

 

[Lailah]

"Mm-mm." she answered with a shake of her head as she gingerly stretched and padded silently to stand behind him. Her arms snaked around his waist and she hugged him as tightly as she comfortably could, her cheek pressed against his back and her eyes closing as she held onto him.

"A little sore, little tired.. but I'm alright." she sighed and smiled. "Tea sounds good.."

Lailah held onto him for a little while longer before finally letting him go to pour tea. "He'll speak to a couple of the other boys.. They can feed us information, or feed them false information whilst we make our plans. I trust them." she frowned gently, realising that from last night's incident that it would seem her trust had been misplaced.

"Van.. Alvaro is alive." she swallowed, unable to look at him as she spoke. "If we don't get this right. It won't be just another bad beating and a lockdown. I don't have any more chances. They've been told to bring me in, perhaps even kill me on sight, then bring me in..They know what I can do, I assume they've been warned not to let me touch them."

She chewed anxiously on her lip, stirring the tea in her cup. "We need to make sure we have it right."

 

[Vincent]

"Mm," Vincent nodded and stared down at the omelettes. He quietly sighed and put the food on plates. He moved about, staying quiet as he set the plates down at a nearby table. "Sit down," he quietly said. "Eat."

Vincent ate half of his breakfast in silence.

"We'll get it right," he flatly stated. "If we have to, we'll kill them all. I don't care. We will get it right."

He set his fork on his plate, a bit more forcefully than he'd actually intended to.

"You won't be taken from me."

 

[Lailah]

Lailah did as he asked, grimacing as she lowered herself into her chair, and she watched him nervously over her cup as she carefully sipped at her tea, his silence making her too anxious to eat more than a mouthful.

She gave a tight-lipped smile at his words and winced slightly as his fork clattered against the plate. She stared at him in utter adoration and mute apology, wanting nothing more than to go, rest her hands on him and make him feel safe and take away the fear he felt. But she knew, even if she could, that this was something that he had to feel, and she knew that fear was a good thing. Still, it was difficult not to want to comfort him in some way, and so she pushed herself out of her chair and moved to the back of his to wrap her arms around him, burying her face into the crook of his neck.

"I won't.." she muffled, and kissed affectionately at his warm skin. "I love you."

"We will get it right.." she nodded.

There was a tap at the door, and Lailah tensed, her attention snapping toward it. She was straightening up when Darmian wandered in and past them to unlock it, and open it just enough for him to peek outside.

"Is she alright?.." came Ren's voice, and Darmian looked to Vincent with a quirk of his brow in question.

 

[Vincent]

Her scent was intoxicating. It alleviated his worries and calmed his nerves. For what Lailah's magic couldn't do for him, her mere presence made up for in heaps. "I love you," his head tilted to rest against hers for a short moment before they were disturbed.

Vincent turned in his seat, and sternly assessed the boy. He relented and raked his fingers back through his messy hair.

"She's fine. Lucky for you." He glanced up at Lailah then back to Ren. "Hungry?"

 

[Lailah]

Lailah chewed idly on the inside of her cheek as she looked between Vincent and Ren, her grey eyes narrowed with a soft smile as Van met her gaze, and the smile broke brightly across her face as he invited him in. It'd been for her sake and she knew it. She pressed a kiss into his hair and squeezed at his shoulder before turning to Ren who stepped inside, his face pale as he looked her over. Words seemed to escape him and she laughed under her breath.

"I know. I look like shit... But I'm alright." she nodded in reassurance, and the boy removed his hat as he wandered toward the table, giving Vincent a wide berth.

"Thanks.." he said quietly, his eyes darting between the two men. His attention settled back on Lailah, and she gave him a stern look for looking at her with the pity that he did, and so his throat cleared.

"I spoke wi' the lads. An' we're on your side, got four of us. The only ones I trust enough.. We're raidin' the Golden Oak tavern on Market street in four days from now. They've been holdin' out an' runnin' dodgy deals behind Alvaro's back so.. I jus' thought y'should know. M-maybe that's when y'could strike. He's got' be there himsel'. Old boy that owns the place gave him a bit o' lip so he wants to make sure it's done right.."

 

[Vincent]

Vincent intently stared at the kid, processing every word he just said. He raised a finger next to his face, and then pointed it at Ren.

"You'll need help. Four kids can't pull off a raid on their own. If Alvaro will be there, so will Vigo. You won't have a chance." Electric blues darted between Ren and Lailah. "But with help, you will."

Vincent nodded matter of factly and rose from his chair. In a few minutes, a steaming omelette was set in front of Ren. He watched the kid eat.

"We have allies of our own. We'll have them gathered in four days."

A million things- doubts, questions- raced through Vincent's mind. He didn't let them show on his face.

"Go on, once you've finished." He folded his arms. "And be safe. Anything happens, you'll make her upset. Can't have that happen, now."

 

[Lailah]

Four days.

Her hand drifted subconsciously over her side. Right now she felt as weak as she looked, and every movement she made was lanced with searing pain. She had four days to be ready, and she nodded as she looked to Vincent and lowered herself back into her chair, trying not to wince as she did so.

"I assume, Alvaro and Vigo will be taking you four as the back up? How many others?.." she asked. Ren looked up from his plate, chewing frantically.

"He wants to cause a scene. He's takin all of us. So with us four on your side, leaves twelve, includin' Alvaro an' Vigo." he looked between Lailah and Vincent, giving the latter a firm nod in assurance before jolting at a realisation.

"Oh!" he fished in his pockets, three bags of herbs and a glass jar. "I though', these migh' help with the pain. A-and this helps the healin'...." he pushed the lot toward her. She smiled weakly as she settled her gaze on the items. She'd lost count of the times she'd been wounded, she'd have to try hard to stomach the taste of the tea and the smell of the salve, but they'd help.

"Aye.. I remember.." she cleared her throat and smiled warmly to him. "Thanks Ren." she nodded.

After he'd finished his meal he did as instructed, giving assurance that he'd be careful and tipping his hat before he slipped outside and disappeared into a throng of people.

 

[Vincent]

Vincent watched the kid scamper off. After a while, he turned his attention to Lailah.

"Four days is hardly enough time to recover," He met her gaze and held it.

He absently drew a circle on the table with his finger as he thought.

"It's as good of a chance as any," Vincent mused aloud, "but four days is too soon."

 

[Lailah]

Lailah fell to the mercy of his crystalline gaze as it pulled her back into the room and pinned her there. Her own stormy grey pools softened, and she reached a hand to comb her fingers back through his dark tresses.

"Four days is long enough. I can be strong enough by then." she assured, her voice void of the slight hesitance she felt at her own words. Regardless, she'd be there by his side in four days. Her hands slipped to the underside of his jaw to tilt his face toward her, offering him the warmest and most assuring smile that she could muster before pressing a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

"We have some planning to do."