Forever or Never

Forever or Never: 04

"You visit the hospital often?"

"What? No. Why would you say that?"

"You know the quickest route." Igor said slowly while looking about himself. Everything seemed so new to him, and so amazing.

Mercy sighed and patted his arm gently. "When you live here long enough, you'll learn all the best routes to places."

Igor merely nodded over that. He supposed he would, eventually. He guessed he was going to be in this part of the city for the foreseeable future. "Can I ask you something?"

"Hm?" Mercy had withdrawn to her thoughts, yet she looked to him when he piped up.

"How do you know Victor?" Igor frowned and looked at her with a curious smile. "You seem like such unlikely friends."

"Acquaintances." Mercy held a finger up and pointed it at him. Igor rolled his eyes at this, like he was going to believe that. They were friends, clearly, just very odd ones. "We have something in common, Igor." He looked curiously at her again at this. "I was a performer too. A dancer for many, many years. Ballet, specifically. I used to always perform with others of course in theatres around the city. Much like...you know, your past dealings, you never really stay in one place." She rolled a hand thoughtfully in the air. "One night, my brother, who may I just say had come down for the occasion. He was in another part of the city for some such business or rather, but he had come down to see me. Afterwards as we travelled home, it was such a rainy night, the carriage we were in...I still don't know how it happened...but it careered off the road. It was carnage apparently because not only did it crash into another, but it also hit a few people." Mercy sighed heavily and pulled Igor gently across the road, avoiding traffic as they went. "I woke up in hospital. Irony would have it the same your friend is in. My leg was broken, my brother...shrapnel and a hit to the head, he died in seconds apparently. Not painful, he just...went...but, how does Victor come into this you wonder? He is training to be a doctor, and him and his fellow students came to pay a visit. Now, I am not sure whether you have noticed this yet or not, but he is one for wishing to point out when one is in the wrong. So him being typically him, came over, rather bluntly said that if they didn't set my leg right I'd lose it within a few days. If that wasn't enough: I was likely to get some sort of infection, and then because – and I quote – 'the doctors seem incapable' I was likely to die of aforementioned infection." Mercy smiled wryly and looked up at Igor at this. "His bedside manner is a little to be desired. But the doctors listened, sure, I walk with a slight limp and have never danced again. But at least I am alive." Pausing she nodded forwards when she realised she'd bought them to the hospital. "I managed to track him down when I was better and thanked him. Yet again, him being him was so flippant and nonchalant on the matter that it seemed to make the whole moment pointless." She unlinked her arm and went to lean against the wall. She had no intentions of going in there. "Ah, I know your next question: how did it get to the point of having a key? Simple: I have a key simply because former Igor was useless. Remember I said I had caught Victor near dead from overworking, or something along those lines? Former Igor had done a disappearing act, again, and he'd dropped the key on the doorstep like the apparent idiot he is, and I simply took it. True, yes, it wasn't mine to take and I did try and return it...but Victor said to keep it." Mercy shrugged and waved a hand at him. "Go, go see your friend. I'll wait here." She watched him as he awkwardly seemed to dither about before moving into the building. Mercy looked up at it with a frown. It was foreboding, grimy windows and a dark atmosphere seemed to just exude from it. With a roll of her eyes she looked about just simply minding her own business. It just so happened that she wasn't waiting for long. "That was quick." She couldn't help but comment. He was gone five minutes if that.

Igor nodded awkwardly. "Asleep." He explained simply while nodding to the side. Getting the hint, Mercy moved from the wall and walked by his side. "What else is there to do until six?"

She laughed, "Dinner at six, by any chance? How prompt." Shaking her head she slowly shrugged and went to reply only to notice that his attention had rather quickly diverted to a wall plastered with wanted posters. "Jesus..." Mercy muttered and put a hand over her mouth. "Move, Igor." She placed a hand against his shoulder and tried to nudge him along. He was stronger than he seemed because he stuck his heels into the ground and seemed to refuse to move. He walked forwards and inspected the drawings on posters before reaching up and ripping one off of the wall.

----

Rolling the sleeves of her cream coloured shirt up to her elbows, Mercy looked about the room sceptically. It was a mess. The kitchen was a mess. Needless to say, she wasn't surprised. The whole house was a mess. Narrowing her eyes she quickly cleared a space to work, she guessed the place was bound to be a mess when only males occupy the space.

She had to be honest, she didn't trust Victor to cook. Knowing him food he'd make would sprout legs and run off down the road. The thought did make her laugh, she had to admit.

"Something funny?" Turning at the sound of the voice, her smile slipped and she leaned back on the counter. Needless to say, Victor looked at her oddly. For one: why was she standing in his kitchen? For two: where was Igor hiding? Seeing as how the two were clearly now best friends, Victor was surprised he wasn't here too.

"Nothing you'd understand."

"You'd find actually that I am capable of understanding the simplest of things." He said while pointing a finger at her before moving more into the room.

Mercy frowned and scrunched her nose up. "Dearest Victor, that doesn't sound good. That honestly does nothing for your intelligence."

His eyes widened suddenly as if he'd suddenly seen something truly magical. "Intelligence that you finally register!"

"I still think you're an idiot."

His eyes darkened and narrowed at her. "Where's Igor?"

"He's in the main room," Mercy said. She couldn't class that large space through the small corridor a living room, or anything else. "He isn't exactly in a cheery mood. So please be nice."

"When am I not nice?" Victor asked while watching as she started to go through his cupboards. She did however peek out from around a door and look at him with a blunt look. He merely sighed, fine, his question may have seemed partly rhetorical. "Staying for dinner then I take it, Mercy?" He picked at some crumbs left on the counter and tried to look rather unaffected, or disinterested by this, but he did flick his gaze up to watch her.

Mercy straightened up with ingredients in her arms. "I'm not going to even answer that question."

"What about the second?" He asked curiously while leaning against the counter and watching as she moved over and dumped the load on it before blowing a stray copper curl out of her face.

"Are you inviting me to stay for dinner, Victor?"

"You don't seem to wish to leave."

Mercy's eyes narrowed, and her expression turned to one of annoyance. "Do you wish for me to leave?" She asked bluntly and got a look sent her way which was meant to convey: of course not.

"Anyway, what's wrong with Igor?" He hoped the young man wasn't still in some sort of idiotic stupor.

"Just go, Victor." Mercy pointed to the door. "What's the point of me explaining, and then him? Do you really want to hear the same thing twice? I imagine not. So go."

"Try not to make too much of a mess," Victor waved a hand casually and got a short laugh in return. He merely sent a smile over his shoulder at her and wandered off in search of the other occupant of this home.

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(A/N: Happy New Year to whoever actually reads this! xD)