HOME | DD

Description

set in the 1950's
warning: some violence, profanity
mafia au
________________________________

    The sound of the rain slapping the roof above the interrogation was almost as hostile as the ambiance in the room. Two men loomed over a girl on her knees. Her face dropped towards the ground, and each time she inhaled for a breath, it became harder for her not to throw up. Hands and feet were bound together and the cries she let out were only muffled through the dirty rag that was forced into [Name]'s mouth.

    Their raspy, icy voices filled her ears for the umpteenth time that night. "Where is he?"

    She used most of the strength she had to raise her head up; then she glared at them through puffy eyes, saying something that couldn't be understood. One of the men roughly ungagged her and she spit on the ground.

    There was silence, and the two men waited for her to say something after she had collected herself - but she just looked at them. A smile tugged on her lips and her mouth opened to form the words that filled the concrete room.

    "Fuck you."

    A sharp pain shot through her stomach, and the noise that erupted from her lips was a mixture of laughter and a gasp for air. The pain was familiar - and she wasn't afraid of it anymore.

    "There's no way in hell that I'm ratting on him," she managed to wheeze out as her body crippled in reaction to the blow. The tough act didn't serve her well. It was too obvious that she was getting near her limit, but all the same, the look on her face told the men there was no way to break her. Blood stained either side of her lips and every inch of her exposed skin was dusted with dirt.

    The last thing she saw was the blur of a cane approaching her face - and then blackness.

-

    Kuroo was no mastermind, but he knew when something was up. [Name] hadn't returned home that night, leaving Kuroo seated on the patched-up couch with a glass of whiskey in his hands and an unsettling look on his face.

    He had tried calling the law firm she worked at several times; however he only managed to gather that she had left at 7 o'clock. It was 9 when he called.

    He drummed his fingers against the coffee table covered in Kuroo's business papers while he thought of all the places she could be. The itching thought that she might be in trouble was always added to whatever excuse he could come up for her, and he soon grew weary of waiting for her.

    The trench coat that was thrown on the coat hanger was soon wrapped around Kuroo Tetsurou, and his hat that was seated neatly on the chair next to the door was dropped onto his head. He didn't know where he was going - but he was going to find her somewhere.

    His feet pounded against the puddles on the sidewalk, soaking his pants and shoes, but he didn't notice, nor did he care.

    Disturbing images of the state [Name] could have been in pried their way into Kuroo's mind, making him ball up his fists and increase his speed. He should have known that dragging her into all this would result in something dangerous for her. How could he be so selfish?

    The only light that was seen at that hour were those that emanated from the street lamps, but they were weak and flickered often. He had no idea how he was supposed to find her.

    He knew it wasn't safe for her out here; that's why he advised [Name] to come home as soon as possible. She didn't like that idea, of course. She wanted to take care of herself, which is why everytime Kuroo would so much as mention walking her home, she would dismiss it right away-

    -but he should have known this would happen.

    His field of work wasn't exactly danger-free, and [Name] was fully aware of that when she continued seeing him at that same booth in the same coffee shop. He remembered the first time he met her, and due to the recent happenings, he wished that he would have had the backbone to walk away from her then.

    "The Old Man and the Sea, huh?"

    [Name]'s head shot up to be fully inspected by the dark eyes that belonged to Kuroo. She dropped her eyes from her once interested face, to an annoyed glare.

    "What about it?" she asked, not even bothering to hide the hostility in her voice.

    "It's a good book." He sat down on the other side of the booth, mindful of the fact that she didn't want to carry on a conversation with him, but smiling all the same. She pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side, a habit that Kuroo would soon seek out actively whenever he talked to her, and set her book down.

    "Have you even read it?" Her voice reeked of condescension and her face assumed a frown.

    "Nope." Shamelessness out of his voice and evoked a smile on the former annoyed face of [Name]. He dropped his hands on the table in front of him. "But I wouldn't mind hearing some of it."

    She raised her eyebrows and picked the book up hesitantly. Why she decided to read Ernest Hemingway's classic to an absolute stranger was a mystery to her, but she did it anyway. She wasn't even quick enough to come up with a comeback for Kuroo's abrupt request to meet at the same place the next day at 9 am; all she did was sit at the booth and watch the boy smirk, drop his hat on his head and stride towards the exit.

    Why in the hell did he ask to meet her again? If Kuroo had to pick one moment in his life where he felt he was the most selfish, he would pick that moment with no hesitation. He was lonely - granted - but that's what he signed up for when he accepted the exclusive job to 'hunt' the mafia which had infested the city he lived in. He had been warned that his personal life would be affected by this job severely, but he didn't pay much attention to that. The only time he was disappointed by that term of agreement was when he met [Name] - but that didn't stop him from getting involved with her.

    A shiver ran up his spine and he could feel his heart palpitating in his aching chest. He had a feeling that he would stumble upon her anytime now, but he didn't know why he felt that way.

    He couldn't help staring at the familiar building he had visited numerous times, an innocent coffee shop on the corner of Main Street, and for the first time - he lost his cool. The window's of the shop had been smashed in, shattering the innocent lens in which Kuroo viewed it. His first instinct was to investigate it, and he always went with his first instinct.

    By this time, Kuroo was more wet than he was dry. His long, purposeful strides had enabled the water on the streets to soak most of his clothes; however, he had only one thing in mind - to find [Name].

    "[Name]?" His desperate voice rang out in the seemingly empty coffee shop as well as the dull bell that was placed over the door. The glass crunched and cracked under his feet as he took cautious steps into the shop and repeated her name. He didn't know why he was convinced that he might find her there - but his chest was throbbing and he had to find the one person who might bring tranquility to his anxiety.

    Although, he didn't really know what he was expecting. It felt like his heart had burst in the worst way when he found her. She had ensconced herself in the far corners of the shop, and Kuroo could see more blood than he could skin. Her hand was tightly wrapped around a necklace that Kuroo quickly discerned to be the one he had given to her on their sixth meeting; one that held the figure of a simple black cat. He would never have guessed when he gave it to her that she would be holding on to it for dear life. The color in her knuckles had gone and they shook with a vigor that Kuroo was afraid of.

    "Shit."

    He was by her side before she could let out another shaky breath, holding her even closer than the first time their lips met. Wondering if the recurrent quivering was himself or the casualty he was clinging to, Kuroo made every attempt to assist her health in any way that was necessary.

    "Tetsu... I-"

    "[Name]," he stuttered nervously, taking out a tissue from his pocket and vainly wiping the dried blood from her face, "don't try to talk yet."

    "Tetsu, it's too-"

    "Please, [Name]!"

    She looked at him through sympathetic eyes and winced at the pain she was trying unsuccessfully to hide in her abdomen.

    Although the flinch didn't go unnoticed.

    The wound on her stomach was bleeding profusely, and it was more than Kuroo could handle. [Name] witnessed him lose more and more of his control the longer he looked at her.

    "Tetsurou," she managed to croak, "It's too late."

    "What are you talking about? W-where's the phone-"

    "Tetsurou," she repeated, maintaining a firm tone despite the hoarseness of her voice. She let go of the necklace just to grip onto his hand just as tightly. They were cold and dry. Her skin had receded from it's usual finesse, but it didn't lose the power it had over Kuroo.

    "I love you. You know... you know that... right?" Her voice still coursed through his being like the blood in his veins, giving him life and color in his cheeks.

    "[Name], don't you dare leave me."

    "You... know I love... you," she tried to confirm, acknowledging his last statement, but pursuing her own question.

    The burning sensation of unwelcome tears seared his eyes, making him use his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and rub his face. When she still looked at him, waiting for an answer, he nodded once. A weak smile inhabited her faded lips. Despite how beautiful it was at that moment, it was merely a ghost of her past smiles. They were so rare and so deeply revered by the boy who didn't deserve them.

    "I'm going to fucking kill those sons of-"

    "Tetsu, it's o-" she closed her eyes and grit her teeth, trying to cope with the pain in her stomach.

    He had lost all control completely. His hands were entwined with her pallid ones, and his breaths were heavier than usual. Hers, on the other hand, grew more enfeeble with each breath she took.

    "Don't leave, don't leave, don't leave." He repeated the phrase until it dropped to a whisper.

    Police sirens could be heard faintly, and Kuroo instinctively looked behind him towards the noise. Her hand squeezed his ever so slightly, which made him turn right back around.

    Her eyes had fluttered shut and a smile somehow found its way on her face. He didn't know how she could be smiling at a time like this. He felt helpless. The eyes he had once allowed to look deeply into his own had begun to lose their shine.

    "[Name], open your eyes, t-the police are... th-they're almost here please hang in there." His attempts to strengthen her were all in vain. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, [Name] was far from the point of recovery. He knew it, and it perforated him and spread a new kind of desolation that he had not met before. It inhabited all of his memories, and it dredged them with despondence until he felt that he was drowning in his sadness. She hadn't even gone yet, but the feeling moved in and made itself at home.

    "Tetsu..."

    His head shot up and his tears were made manifest to [Name].

    Her smile remained. Her last words that were incomplete fell upon her lips and joined the despondence that was developing inside of Kuroo, showing no signs of leaving him.

    "Kuroo, I..."

    What he would have given in order to hear the last two words once more; to grace his ears with their bona fide love and allow him to live knowing them to be true. How he wished that he could have responded sooner-

    -and oh, how he wished she was still with him.

Description

set in the 1950's
warning: some violence, profanity
mafia au
________________________________

    The sound of the rain slapping the roof above the interrogation was almost as hostile as the ambiance in the room. Two men loomed over a girl on her knees. Her face dropped towards the ground, and each time she inhaled for a breath, it became harder for her not to throw up. Hands and feet were bound together and the cries she let out were only muffled through the dirty rag that was forced into [Name]'s mouth.

    Their raspy, icy voices filled her ears for the umpteenth time that night. "Where is he?"

    She used most of the strength she had to raise her head up; then she glared at them through puffy eyes, saying something that couldn't be understood. One of the men roughly ungagged her and she spit on the ground.

    There was silence, and the two men waited for her to say something after she had collected herself - but she just looked at them. A smile tugged on her lips and her mouth opened to form the words that filled the concrete room.

    "Fuck you."

    A sharp pain shot through her stomach, and the noise that erupted from her lips was a mixture of laughter and a gasp for air. The pain was familiar - and she wasn't afraid of it anymore.

    "There's no way in hell that I'm ratting on him," she managed to wheeze out as her body crippled in reaction to the blow. The tough act didn't serve her well. It was too obvious that she was getting near her limit, but all the same, the look on her face told the men there was no way to break her. Blood stained either side of her lips and every inch of her exposed skin was dusted with dirt.

    The last thing she saw was the blur of a cane approaching her face - and then blackness.

-

    Kuroo was no mastermind, but he knew when something was up. [Name] hadn't returned home that night, leaving Kuroo seated on the patched-up couch with a glass of whiskey in his hands and an unsettling look on his face.

    He had tried calling the law firm she worked at several times; however he only managed to gather that she had left at 7 o'clock. It was 9 when he called.

    He drummed his fingers against the coffee table covered in Kuroo's business papers while he thought of all the places she could be. The itching thought that she might be in trouble was always added to whatever excuse he could come up for her, and he soon grew weary of waiting for her.

    The trench coat that was thrown on the coat hanger was soon wrapped around Kuroo Tetsurou, and his hat that was seated neatly on the chair next to the door was dropped onto his head. He didn't know where he was going - but he was going to find her somewhere.

    His feet pounded against the puddles on the sidewalk, soaking his pants and shoes, but he didn't notice, nor did he care.

    Disturbing images of the state [Name] could have been in pried their way into Kuroo's mind, making him ball up his fists and increase his speed. He should have known that dragging her into all this would result in something dangerous for her. How could he be so selfish?

    The only light that was seen at that hour were those that emanated from the street lamps, but they were weak and flickered often. He had no idea how he was supposed to find her.

    He knew it wasn't safe for her out here; that's why he advised [Name] to come home as soon as possible. She didn't like that idea, of course. She wanted to take care of herself, which is why everytime Kuroo would so much as mention walking her home, she would dismiss it right away-

    -but he should have known this would happen.

    His field of work wasn't exactly danger-free, and [Name] was fully aware of that when she continued seeing him at that same booth in the same coffee shop. He remembered the first time he met her, and due to the recent happenings, he wished that he would have had the backbone to walk away from her then.

    "The Old Man and the Sea, huh?"

    [Name]'s head shot up to be fully inspected by the dark eyes that belonged to Kuroo. She dropped her eyes from her once interested face, to an annoyed glare.

    "What about it?" she asked, not even bothering to hide the hostility in her voice.

    "It's a good book." He sat down on the other side of the booth, mindful of the fact that she didn't want to carry on a conversation with him, but smiling all the same. She pursed her lips and tilted her head to the side, a habit that Kuroo would soon seek out actively whenever he talked to her, and set her book down.

    "Have you even read it?" Her voice reeked of condescension and her face assumed a frown.

    "Nope." Shamelessness out of his voice and evoked a smile on the former annoyed face of [Name]. He dropped his hands on the table in front of him. "But I wouldn't mind hearing some of it."

    She raised her eyebrows and picked the book up hesitantly. Why she decided to read Ernest Hemingway's classic to an absolute stranger was a mystery to her, but she did it anyway. She wasn't even quick enough to come up with a comeback for Kuroo's abrupt request to meet at the same place the next day at 9 am; all she did was sit at the booth and watch the boy smirk, drop his hat on his head and stride towards the exit.

    Why in the hell did he ask to meet her again? If Kuroo had to pick one moment in his life where he felt he was the most selfish, he would pick that moment with no hesitation. He was lonely - granted - but that's what he signed up for when he accepted the exclusive job to 'hunt' the mafia which had infested the city he lived in. He had been warned that his personal life would be affected by this job severely, but he didn't pay much attention to that. The only time he was disappointed by that term of agreement was when he met [Name] - but that didn't stop him from getting involved with her.

    A shiver ran up his spine and he could feel his heart palpitating in his aching chest. He had a feeling that he would stumble upon her anytime now, but he didn't know why he felt that way.

    He couldn't help staring at the familiar building he had visited numerous times, an innocent coffee shop on the corner of Main Street, and for the first time - he lost his cool. The window's of the shop had been smashed in, shattering the innocent lens in which Kuroo viewed it. His first instinct was to investigate it, and he always went with his first instinct.

    By this time, Kuroo was more wet than he was dry. His long, purposeful strides had enabled the water on the streets to soak most of his clothes; however, he had only one thing in mind - to find [Name].

    "[Name]?" His desperate voice rang out in the seemingly empty coffee shop as well as the dull bell that was placed over the door. The glass crunched and cracked under his feet as he took cautious steps into the shop and repeated her name. He didn't know why he was convinced that he might find her there - but his chest was throbbing and he had to find the one person who might bring tranquility to his anxiety.

    Although, he didn't really know what he was expecting. It felt like his heart had burst in the worst way when he found her. She had ensconced herself in the far corners of the shop, and Kuroo could see more blood than he could skin. Her hand was tightly wrapped around a necklace that Kuroo quickly discerned to be the one he had given to her on their sixth meeting; one that held the figure of a simple black cat. He would never have guessed when he gave it to her that she would be holding on to it for dear life. The color in her knuckles had gone and they shook with a vigor that Kuroo was afraid of.

    "Shit."

    He was by her side before she could let out another shaky breath, holding her even closer than the first time their lips met. Wondering if the recurrent quivering was himself or the casualty he was clinging to, Kuroo made every attempt to assist her health in any way that was necessary.

    "Tetsu... I-"

    "[Name]," he stuttered nervously, taking out a tissue from his pocket and vainly wiping the dried blood from her face, "don't try to talk yet."

    "Tetsu, it's too-"

    "Please, [Name]!"

    She looked at him through sympathetic eyes and winced at the pain she was trying unsuccessfully to hide in her abdomen.

    Although the flinch didn't go unnoticed.

    The wound on her stomach was bleeding profusely, and it was more than Kuroo could handle. [Name] witnessed him lose more and more of his control the longer he looked at her.

    "Tetsurou," she managed to croak, "It's too late."

    "What are you talking about? W-where's the phone-"

    "Tetsurou," she repeated, maintaining a firm tone despite the hoarseness of her voice. She let go of the necklace just to grip onto his hand just as tightly. They were cold and dry. Her skin had receded from it's usual finesse, but it didn't lose the power it had over Kuroo.

    "I love you. You know... you know that... right?" Her voice still coursed through his being like the blood in his veins, giving him life and color in his cheeks.

    "[Name], don't you dare leave me."

    "You... know I love... you," she tried to confirm, acknowledging his last statement, but pursuing her own question.

    The burning sensation of unwelcome tears seared his eyes, making him use his hand to pinch the bridge of his nose and rub his face. When she still looked at him, waiting for an answer, he nodded once. A weak smile inhabited her faded lips. Despite how beautiful it was at that moment, it was merely a ghost of her past smiles. They were so rare and so deeply revered by the boy who didn't deserve them.

    "I'm going to fucking kill those sons of-"

    "Tetsu, it's o-" she closed her eyes and grit her teeth, trying to cope with the pain in her stomach.

    He had lost all control completely. His hands were entwined with her pallid ones, and his breaths were heavier than usual. Hers, on the other hand, grew more enfeeble with each breath she took.

    "Don't leave, don't leave, don't leave." He repeated the phrase until it dropped to a whisper.

    Police sirens could be heard faintly, and Kuroo instinctively looked behind him towards the noise. Her hand squeezed his ever so slightly, which made him turn right back around.

    Her eyes had fluttered shut and a smile somehow found its way on her face. He didn't know how she could be smiling at a time like this. He felt helpless. The eyes he had once allowed to look deeply into his own had begun to lose their shine.

    "[Name], open your eyes, t-the police are... th-they're almost here please hang in there." His attempts to strengthen her were all in vain. He knew that no matter how hard he tried, [Name] was far from the point of recovery. He knew it, and it perforated him and spread a new kind of desolation that he had not met before. It inhabited all of his memories, and it dredged them with despondence until he felt that he was drowning in his sadness. She hadn't even gone yet, but the feeling moved in and made itself at home.

    "Tetsu..."

    His head shot up and his tears were made manifest to [Name].

    Her smile remained. Her last words that were incomplete fell upon her lips and joined the despondence that was developing inside of Kuroo, showing no signs of leaving him.

    "Kuroo, I..."

    What he would have given in order to hear the last two words once more; to grace his ears with their bona fide love and allow him to live knowing them to be true. How he wished that he could have responded sooner-

    -and oh, how he wished she was still with him.