𝕊𝕆𝕃𝕀𝕍𝔸𝔾𝔸ℕ𝕋║[ᴅ. ᴡᴀʏɴᴇ]

ʀᴇᴛʀᴏᴜᴠᴀɪʟʟᴇꜱ

Dull, listless amber eyes stared out of the bus's cloudy, scratched window as the remaining landscape of Matera Valley faded out with every foot the transit navigated.

The boy sat in the very back. He was a strange sight on the small, minimum-fare bus. Maybe it was his upmarket clothing: a custom-tailored button-up shirt, a pair of perfectly ironed suit pants, and an old bomber jacket that had seen better days.

Or perhaps it was the visage he wore. The blank veil of someone who could discuss the weather just as well as they can mercilessly slash into a screaming, thrashing body.

Who is anyone kidding? It was definitely the... item strapped to his back. Or the long, inconspicuously rifle-shaped case resting across his lap.

Vin leaned away from the window, making the man across from him jump in fright from the minor movement, and rested his right ankle over his left knee and crossed his arms. He could feel the male's skittishness and mentally sighed. This was going to be a long bus ride.

Reaching into the inner slip of his jacket, he pulled out a butterfly knife and a small piece of a whetstone. Flicking his thumb against the trigger, he snapped out the blade and began sharpening the edge. He pointedly ignored how the man would flinch with every piercing slash that rang throughout the narrow space.

Vin scoffed to himself. Guy must be a tourist if he gets all worked up over a damn shiv.

Maria was bathing in the sun, bedecked in her favorite sundress and floppy hat with a wide pair of sunglasses resting over her eyes. She sipped lightly on her Bloody Mary and laughed as Katerina recounted the story of her twin's fifteenth birthday to the group.

"They were fighting over an ugly potted plant from their Uncle Reginald! Neither of them even wanted it!" The bronde-haired woman clutched her chest as she struggled to get the words out through her rather un-ladylike wheezing.

"Those twins of yours," Laurena shook her head fondly. "Always up to trouble."

"Speaking of trouble..." Amelia said slyly, looking at Maria with a smirk etched along her porcelain skin. "How are Vincent and that boyfriend of his?"

The Bertinelli matriarch sighed and placed her drained glass onto the patio table with a delicate clink. "Vincenzo is still being a ridiculous, dense boy cowering from his emotions like they're his grand-mère's slipper."

"Oh, that boy." Amelia frowned. "Well, keep your chin up. Don't want your crown slipping, dear." She clasped her hand over Maria's, soothingly patting the back of her palm.

Cressida made a noise of agreement as she delicately patted away the remnants of her cucumber sandwich from her maroon-painted lips. "She's right, Maria. We all know it's going to happen. It's just a matter of time. And when it does, we have an excuse to get together for wedding planning!" Her matte pink lips widened into a grin as she clapped her hands excitedly, bouncing in her lounge chair.

"I've seen that Damian Wayne. Quite the handsome young man. Vincent is going to be the envy of all the girls at school." Katerina covered her mouth in an attempt to hide her titters.

"And boys." Amelia tacked on. Katerina laughed, and they clinked glasses.

Maria exhaled with a smile. "Yes. You're right, girls. I suppose I just worry about Vincent. He's so confident and capable when it comes to the family business but self-destructs at the first sign of anything remotely pertaining to personal feelings."

Cressida rested her cheek on her open palm with a pained look. "I hate to break it to you, Mari, but I've known Vincent since he got his training knife. The boy is second to none when it comes to the Underworld of Gotham but chokes when it comes to one cute, green-eyed boy with black hair and a major attitude."