High [Boy X Boy]

27 - Intoxicated With The Truth

(Song Recommendation: Jane XØ - Love Me.)

"... What did she tell you?" Vulture asked softly, carrying the younger male through the streets. Link paused and glanced away. "... S-She told me that you were her divorced husband... A-And you killed two of her children for your reputation-" The gang leader cut him off almost instantly. "Bullshit. I've never been married for a start and if I made a girl pregnant, to which I have never, as a matter of fact, I wouldn't tell her to have an abortion. I'm not going to stop her but I wouldn't be able to care for that child... I think she's trying to lie to you so that you'll hate me more."

"... I-I didn't hate you anyway... B-But she had scars on her arms?"

"Attention-seeking through self-harm... She's always been quite the attention-seeker and uses fake suicide attempts and harm on her arms like this as a form of recognition from others." Vulture explained with a shrug. "You're going to meet a lot of girls that try to brainwash you. They're going to try ever so hard to make you hate me more than you already do. Don't deny your hatred for little me. It makes me feel left out." He chuckled. Link tilted his head. "I-I already said I-I didn't hate you anyway... B-But... B-But do you hate me?" He asked nervously.

"... No... N-No, I don't hate you." Vulture stopped in the middle of the street to put Link down and take a pack of cigarettes from his pocket. "... I have a lot of things to ask you... W-Wait, what about your chest and your leg? Y-You were shot, right?" Link choked out, pressing his hands to where he remembered a bullet going through the taller male's shoulder. "I called a friend over... She's been with me since I was little and she's been patching me up. She took out the bullets for me... Not in the kindest way though, she was so mean..." Vulture chuckled, taking a cigarette from the small box and then offering one to Link.

Link sighed and took one of the cigarettes. "That's the first time you've taken a cigarette from me." Vulture smiled, shoving the cigarette box into his jacket pocket to take out a lighter. "... What else do I need to ask you...?" Link tapped his foot on the ground, thinking for a few moments. "Well, I don't know. What do you need to ask me?" The gang leader smirked.

Link silenced himself when Vulture lit his own cigarette and then held the warm flame beneath the end of his. Link coughed, choking on the first smokey inhale. Vulture's chuckle proceeded and he left a warm tap on his shoulder."You'll get used to it." He reassured him and leant down to kiss his cheek.

"... Y-Your name is Sean." Link spoke blankly.

"... I-I... Well, yeah..." Vulture murmured and looked away. "... Why would you hide something as silly as that...? Vulture, I-I've known you for a while now... L-Like... L-Like a good few months, I-I think... And you've kept your name from me? Sean Venus? Are you kidding?"

"... Link, not even my childhood friends know my real name... My colleagues and gang members refer to me as Vulture, just as you have done... Chester knew my real name when she found my passport from when I was younger... Look, I can explain why I kept it from you but... Not here."

"... Fine." Link sighed and crossed his arms. "Do I have to keep referring to you as Vulture?"

"Only when other people are around or when we're in public."

Link smiled a little and rubbed his arm. "... Sean is a nice name." "Don't go on about it..." Vulture glared down at him and tied an arm around his waist. "... How did you know where I was?" The teen asked softly, leaning into Vulture's warm and delicate touch. "Chester has been taking my colleagues for years... Talking them into joining something called the resistance." The gang leader rolled his eyes as he spoke. "Before you ask, she called it the resistance because of the Liquid Vulture rumours... About how people were tortured in the gang and murdered for their wrongs. The first part was wrong, of course, and she tortured people like you to brainwash their innocent minds... She's like a psychopathic ex-girlfriend, one could say." He continued, his fingers shakily moving over Link's waist.