Night Marauders

Chapter Ten: Don't Leave the Light On

It was an out of body experience, Angel was aware of every single thing that was happening, but it was like someone else had seized the controls and was putting words in his mouth, most of which he regretted, but had no power to stop or take back. He went on like this for days, walking around in this haze because it was comfortable to be so utterly closed off, until all of it culminated in a set of boxes at the foot of the stairs and Six sitting on the couch with his arms folded across his chest and a broken look on his face.

"You either talk to me about this, or you get out, because I can't do this anymore."

Angel knew that he should sit down, that he should talk to Six, to sort this all out, because god dammit, Six was the best thing that had ever happened to him and he deserved the courtesy of a conversation. But Angel also knew that he was drowning, he was neck deep in a whole load of unsavory things and he was sinking faster than he could swim, and he knew that if he gripped Six any tighter all he would do was drag him down with him. Six deserved so much more than Angel could give, Six deserved the world and then some, and all Angel had to offer was a drug ring and a tenth grade education. So that was why Angel only reached for his key ring, tugging his housekey free and setting it down on the table in front of Six.

"I'll have someone come back for my stuff."

And that was that. Angel was turning on his heel and exiting the house, trying so hard not to notice the stray tears that made their way down Six's cheeks as the door shut behind him. He stood on the doorstep for a little while longer, trying to ignore how permanent this was all feeling, trying to ignore how much it hurt.

~~~~

She questioned it sometimes: what her life would be like if she'd stayed in England, if she'd never chosen the semester abroad, if she'd managed to graduate Oxford. She'd still be speaking with her parents, that's for sure, she'd have a legitimate job, and she wouldn't be three steps away from a panic attack every time she heard a police siren, but she wasn't sure of much at all anymore. Everyone had their own reasons for turning to the fight club; some came there as a last resort, some came because that was all they knew how to do, but there was this little group of people who came for a reason quite different from the other two. These people came because fighting was in their very nature, because the smack of knuckles against skin was practically music to their ears, these people came because the only time they felt truly alive, was when they were in the ring. Ginny fell into the category; she knew that she'd had other options when money got short. Any normal person would have taken a job at a retail store or at a coffee shop, leaving illegal fight ring right off the list, the thought wouldn't have even crossed their mind, but it had been her first. She'd told herself it was just for a little while, that she would make enough to sustain her through the end of her term, but that end never came. She'd fallen down a rabbit hole of fight nights, split lips, purple bruises, and an endless stream of money, and the scariest thing about all of that was that she was so content to stay right where she was, take one step right after another in direct opposition to the law. The end of Oxford's second term came and went and Ginny had stayed right where she was, taking another man's name in a contract that was binding her for life, just so she could continue her rampage of self destruction, loving and despising how much it all appealed to her. Jae sat with her after they'd signed the papers, listening to every word out of her mouth as she unwound the story of how her life had managed to find this exact moment in time, when throwing punches in the ring mattered more than her own parents did. He held her when she cried, delicate fingers running through her hair after she'd finally stopped crying. It was in that moment, when she could hear Jae's heart pounding out a rhythm against his ribcage, that she realized that things might be ok, that she might be happy.

~~~~

Six had tried to stop him, he really had. There had been so much fight in him as he trailed after Angel, hating how desperate he sounded when he grabbed at the other man's wrist, and then hating how much it hurt when Angel pulled away, Six's fingers going limp around thin air. He caught the tears barreling down Angel's otherwise stoic face, he knew that Angel didn't want to go, but Six just couldn't stop him as he struggled through the door. They'd made it out into the driveway, Angel had unlocked his car and was standing behind the driver's side door, taking one last look at the house, giving Six one last opportunity to make him stay.

"At least talk to me about all of this" he said, hand against the door to Angel's car, and ugly tone of desperation striking through his voice. Angel just ran a hand through his hair, tossing his keys onto the passenger's seat, "Will you just stop...I'm not worth any of this."

Six let out a breath, the motion rattling his body because his heart was positively crashing in his chest, "You're worth all of this. You always have been, you always will be."

And there it was, the little wobble in Angel's lower lip, and his act came apart as he shut the car door and collapsed onto the driveway, legs splayed out in front of him, head in his hands. Six followed, sitting down next to Angel, their backs up against the blue BMW, the only sound was the little hiccups escaping the back of Angel's throat as he pulled his head up from his hands, "I killed the Raven." he said, voice worn through. Six took his hand, "Doesn't matter, we can fix it, we can get through it." Angel heaved a sniffle and then he was surging forward, lips crashing down onto Six's, fingers carding through his hair. Six's heart was thundering in his chest and he was gathering Angel as close as he could get him, their leg tangling together as they sat there, lips moving against each other, for what felt like an eternity, neither of them wanting to be the one to pull away first, but when the finally did, they did it slowly, foreheads still resting against each other.

~~~~

He cried all the way to the police station, his hands gripping the wheel so tight he was afraid he may never be able to let go. Tears were getting caught in his throat and everything came bubbling out in these pathetic little coughs, the action seeming inadequate compared to the sheer amount of tears streaming down his face. He stayed in the car for a while once he got there, trying to calm himself down, only managing to work himself up again once he replayed the situation over again in his head. He'd hated it, seeing Kiki shoved up against the police car, hands cuffed behind his back as he stared over at B with wide eyes. The officer had said it loud and clear, but B was still having trouble believing it: murder. He stepped out of the car, scrubbing tears from his cheeks with the cuff of his sweatshirt, shaking hands wrapping their fingers around the handle of the door.

Kiki sat at the booking desk, cuffs still on, a red mark on his chin from where his face had hit the police car. The officer looked up from his papers, "You family?"

"Yes."

The officer stood from the desk, giving them ten minutes alone before Kiki had to go into formal booking, where his fingerprints would be taken down, where all of this would go on record.

"You didn't have to come." Kiki said. B shook his head, "I did, you know I did."

"I never wanted this to happen, I never wanted you to know what I did."

"Will you at least try and tell me?"

Kiki ran his hands down his face, "I don't even know where the hell to start."

"The beginning's usually the best place."

That's where Kiki started, explaining the reason behind all of this. All of the years of abuse, all of the things no twelve year old should ever have to go through, every single belt across his back, every single invasion of his bedroom by a man who was supposed to do nothing but protect him, everything culminating in a broken bottle and fifteen stab wounds and eventual patricide because the thing that ended it all was his father's threat upon Jae, that he would move onto him next. B watched as Kiki talked, listening to him as he went through every single detail, face utterly stoic.

"I don't know what I was thinking, taking Jae on the run like that. I should have just turned myself in when I had the chance."

"We can fix this. We can get you out of this, I'm sure that there's still something we can do." B said, hating how quiet his voice was coming out. Kiki just shook his head, pressing a kiss to the corner of B's mouth, "I'm not sure there's another ending to this."