The Bond Between (1x1 Ivory_Coated_Stars)(DISCONTINUED T-T)

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

A tingle went through Alistair's spine, though it seemed to come more out of rage than fear. He wanted to know where Nico was, and he didn't even think to let anyone get in his way of finding him, much less this guy. "I can say the same about you mercenaries. How many times is it going to take before you just leave him alone?!" Alistair retorted, looking down at the hand rested on the mercenary's blade. Alistair simply narrowed his gaze at the other. "So what, now you're going to kill me? You brutes are all the same." He said, poison lining his every word. Alistair looked as Kress put a blade in front of him, as if trying to separate him and the mercenary ahead. "And you. I thought you cared about him. Why did you bring him back here?!" With the silence he had gotten, the blonde simply glared at the mercenary that kissed Nico. What was that about anyway? Alistair wanted to know, but he was well aware that the answers wouldn't come from him. "I want to see him." The blonde demanded, his firm demeanor and stubbornness probably the only things keeping him from realizing the fact that someone wanted him dead.

-

As the two began to argue, Kress pulled his sword, placing it in between the two. "Calm down." He said in a collected manner, just doing what he could to keep him alive until the mission was complete. He thought back to Nico, wondering how he would feel when he found his aristocrat locked away, yet only Shadow had the key. "Shadow." He already knew what he needed to know from the story he was told, now the only question that remained was, 'what was he to Nico now?' Kress sighed as he thought of his brother and what he had gotten himself into. When the raven haired male heard the blonde speak to him, Kress simply disregarded him, though when he claimed he wanted to see Nico, Kress pondered on it as he looked to Shadow. The ultimate question was, would he even allow Nico the key to see him?

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[chibi_blue_mouse]

Darien growled. "If I was allowed to kill you, you would already be dead." he hissed angrily before the lord was demanding to see Nico. He smirked and was getting ready with a retort when Kress interfered. He glared at Kress before continuing regardless. "You don't have any power here. Nicodemus will be kept well away from you. You are not going to have control of him any longer." he hissed, a smug smirk on his face.

Nicodemus woke slowly, taking a bit to register his surroundings. The first thing he noticed, he was not in a room he recognized, a bad sign. The second thing, Alistair was not there. He shot bolt upright. "Where's Alistair!" he demanded, the memory of his brother and Darien bursting into the room, Darien kissing him, Alistair punching Darien, and getting knocked out by his brother all flooding back to him at once.

Kaitlyn was quick to lay her hands on his shoulders, try and calm him down. "Calm down kid, panicking isn't going to help anyone. You're safe. Kress and Shadow brought you back to headquarters. Why, I don't know, but I'm looking after you now and you're safe. Understand?" she said, doing everything except answering Nicodemus's question.

Nicodemus moved Kaitlyn's hands off his shoulder. "Kaitlyn, where is Alistair?" he asked, glaring at the other.

Kaitlyn shivered. Never had the family resemblance between Kress and Nicodemus been so pronounced. She sighed. "You aren't going to like the answer. He's alive, for now. But he's . . . well . . . here. In headquarters. I don't know where they've taken him, Kress or Shadow might know, but he's a target Nico. Someone wanted him to be kidnapped. Now it's all a matter of if his father will pay to get him back or not." she said, trying to explain the situation as best she could.

"I want to see him." Nicodemus said, frowning down at the bed.

Kaitlyn sighed with exasperation. "I just told you kid, I don't know where he's-"

"Then take me to Kress's room and we'll wait until he gets back! I don't care what it takes but I'm going to see him and I'm going to get him out of here ransom or no ransom!" he snapped, a determined fire in his eyes.

Ivory_Coated_Stars

 

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

As Alistair listened to the smug words of the one across from him. "Forced, yeah right. I couldn't get him to live a normal life in the city if I tried." For a moment the male looked down, realizing his thoughts. For whatever odd reason, one that he had only recently discovered, Nico never wanted to leave, no matter how many chances he had to escape. The blonde's silver gaze shot toward the mercenary, his smug smile only matching the other's. "Funny. From the way you make it sound, it seems like you're the one trying to control him." Alistair said bitterly, his tongue still sharp.

-

"Enough." Kress said to the both of them as they were bickering like children. Crow glared at Shadow before walking past him. "Come on." He said calmly. "Unless you have further business here, I suggest we leave before you kill him." The raven haired man said before walking away, heading down the corridors to find Kaitlyn's room. Upon reaching it, he knocked firmly on the door, wondering if anyone was there. It was within that moment that he heard the two speaking on the other side of the door. "I suppose that this means that the smelling salts wore off." Kress sighed as he waited on the door.

chibi_blue_mouse

 

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Shadow scowled, but allowed himself to be led out of the room by Crow, locking the door behind him. He followed the other to Kaitlyn's room, waiting anxiously, wanting to see Nicodemus again.

Kaitlyn opened the door, sighing a bit as she saw Kress. "Thank goodness. He wants to see Alistair, and won't accept 'no' as an answer." she said, sending an odd glance as Shadow suddenly looked like he had swallowed a fly. Why was Shadow there anyways? "Five coins please." she said with a smirk, holding her hand out towards Kress. She'd get her payment before she'd be letting them in.

Nicodemus was pouting in Kaitlyn's bathroom where she had shoved him into when she heard the knocks on the door. He didn't want to have to go against Kress and Darien, but he was going to get Alistair out of there. He wouldn't see his friend, his . . . love? He wouldn't see his friend be hurt again.

Ivory_Coated_Stars

 

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

Upon the door opening, Kress smiled as he saw Kaitlyn, his lips twitching in the slightest when she asked for her coins. Kress felt around his pockets, managing to find the gold he had thought he left in his room. With that, the male walked in, his gaze darting around. Before he could ask where Nico was, he looked to the bathroom door. He lifted his hand before slowly knocking on it. "Nico?" Kress asked, though he would feel quite foolish if he wasn't in there. "You didn't give him alcohol again did you?" Crow asked Kaitlyn jokingly, knowing that if he was in there, it was only to hide him.

chibi_blue_mouse

 

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Nicodemus opened the door quickly once he heard his brother's voice, not giving Kaitlyn time to answer save for a raised eyebrow. "Kress! Where's Alistair?!" he asked, before noticing that Darien was also in the room. He blanched. Darien looked . . . well he looked like he was trying to hide a pain. "Dare? You okay?" he called to the other softly.

Darien felt . . . betrayed. Yes, that was good word for it. He'd had eyes and ears out searching for any sign of Nicodemus and now that he finally found the other . . . all he could think about was his stupid master. "Brainwashed . . ." he muttered, shaking his head. It was the only thing that made sense. He glared at Nicodemus, the other taking a step back. "Why do you care so much about that a*****e?! He's a master Nick! You don't have to serve him anymore. You're free now. You're, you're here and you'll never have to be a slave again!" he exclaimed, not understanding Nicodemus's loyalty towards Alistar.

Nicodemus sighed and looked at Kress. His brother had been confused about his loyalty to Alistar too. He moved past the crow to close some distance between him and Darien. "I'm not serving him. I . . . I care for him, Darien. I . . . He treats me like I'm not a slave, like I'm a person. Not property. He paid more than what I'm worth to get me back, and his father whipped him for it. I . . . I . . ." Nicodemus started having problems getting words out again.

These words were not a comfort to Darien. The fact that Nicodemus was stumbling over his words only served to sour his mood further. "Here comes the confession . . ." he muttered bitterly.

Nicodemus blinked. "What?" he asked.

Darien chuckled. "You always stammer like that when you're getting something off your chest." he said, torn between fond memories and the bitter reality. "Just . . . tell me one thing. Does he know. About your brother. Did you tell your master that you have a brother?" he asked, frowning deeply.

Nicodemus was at a loss for words again. "Yeah . . . I did." he finally said after a long pause.

Darien's expression only darkened before he stormed out of Kaitlyn's room, slamming the door behind him.

Nicodemus flinched before sighing. Darien . . . He didn't know how to deal with his first crush returning back to his life. He looked at Kress. "Can I go see Alistair now?" he asked softly, his anger from before very subdued now.

Ivory_Coated_Stars

 

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

Kress watched carefully as the two spoke to each other. It seemed to be a heated discussion, one in which displayed how Shadow had gotten his hopes raised high. In a sense, Kress understood how he felt, seeing as how he had gone through the same thing a few days before, but still. Crow's thoughts were soon broken by his brother's question. With a soft sigh, Kress looked at him concerned. "I can't. The only person with a key just stormed out of the room." Kress looked at Nico with slight exasperation on his features. "What are you going to do when you get there anyway Nico? Both Shadow and the aristocrat are at each other's throats."Crow sighed.

chibi_blue_mouse

 

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Nicodemus groaned, sitting down on Kaitlyn's bed. "I dunno . . . I need to talk to Alistair, I need to . . . I don't know what to do Kress. I never thought I'd see Darien again. The last I saw him, he was being whipped within an inch of his life." he said, wincing at the memory.

Kaitlyn pursed her lips. "Awkward . . ." she mumbled, feeling like she really didn't belong in the conversation. "Nico, you may want to curb your freedom with names. Mine is fine, everyone knows it. But Kress's and . . . Darien's names aren't. I didn't know Shadow's name until you started speaking. There are reasons why some people hide them." she said, glancing over to Kress. "I'm gonna . . . go get a drink. I don't mind if you just decided to take this drama . . . elsewhere." she said, ducking out of her own room.

Ivory_Coated_Stars

 

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

Kress watched as Kaitlyn left before realizing that this was her room, and the two inside it were most certainly imposing. Kress grabbed Nico's wrist. "Come on." He said as he began to pull him towards his room, stopping him every now and then to make sure no one was watching. Upon reaching his room he pulled Nico in, locking the door. Kress put two fingers to the bridge of his nose. He would apologize later. Back to the matter at hand. "Kaitlyn's right Nico. Some people choose to hide their names, so be careful using them around others." Kress sighed slightly before looking down at Nico as through he were scolding him, but closed his eyes for a moment before he gave up. "I might be able to help you." Kress said. Breaking into a locked room wasn't hard for Kress. His only problem was that the only one who would know that the room was broken into was Shadow, considering the fact that stealth was his specialty. In retrospect, that was probably the real reason that Darius gave him the key rather than simply keep it for himself. In any normal occasion, he would report it as was protocol for missions like these, but of course Darius didn't know how close Shadow was to Nico. If anything, the only real consequence Kress would have to face was Shadow. "Just promise me one thing Nico. You have to be SURE that this is what you want. Kress said, his demeanor serious, not changing much from when they were kids and times like these occurred, except on a much smaller scale, like a game or something of the sort.

chibi_blue_mouse

 

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Nicodemus looked up at Kress and nodded, his face determined. "I need to get him out of here Kress." he said softly. "I can't . . . If anything happened to him I . . ." he was stumbling over words again. "I want to see Alistair." he said with conviction, standing from Kress's bed. "Please Kress." he asked the other softly. Nevermind, that his brother had already said he would help. Nicodemus knew this had to be difficult on his brother. He wasn't much happier about the situation. He wanted to stay with his brother, but at the same time he needed to make sure Alistair was alright.

Ivory_Coated_Stars

 

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

Kress's eyebrows furrowed before his features relaxed. Why couldn't his brother just want to be free? What was it that kept driving him back to that blue blood, that master? The male could only shiver at the thought of the word. Different or not, it didn't change the fact that Kress still held spite for the nobles. If it were his choice, he would hand Alistair off to the superiors without a second thought, but Nico seemed determined. Something that still hadn't changed over the years.

Kress simply sighed as he rummaged around, looking for his lock picks before he had eventually found them, looking down at them then back at Nico. He smiled at him before ruffling his hair a bit. "Fine. Just stop looking so concerned." He said before opening up the door, following the corridors to the room, remembering the door and strategically avoiding the main room to keep out of Darius's line of sight. He looked around, eventually reaching the door. It was there that he picked at the lock until it eventually opened. "Okay, you can speak, but I won't untie him for you." Kress said as he stepped aside, allowing Nico to enter the room.

chibi_blue_mouse

 

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Nicodemus followed Kress, hugging the other when he was led to the room and told he could speak to Alistair. "That's fine. I can untie him on my own." he said with a bit of a smirk before he entered the room. He spotted Alistair rather quickly and he smiled, seeing him basically unharmed. He crossed to the other, kneeling down next to him to start working on untying him. "They didn't hurt you did they?" he asked, needing to be certain. After all, he didn't know if there were wounds he couldn't see . . .

Ivory_Coated_Stars

 

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

Alistair sighed as he looked around the room. It was bleak, and relatively dark despite a slight bit of sunshine coming through the bars lining the top of the wall behind him. The blonde tugged slightly at the ropes, only to feel his wrists burn with every attempt to escape them. He winced slightly before closing his eyes in acute irritation. "I have to get out of here and find Nico." He thought before the kiss with the mercenary waved through his mind. Alistair looked down. What was that about anyway? Where did he even come from? He couldn't help but wonder. Despite that, he also felt a slight bit of pain. Had Nico been keeping something from him?

Alistair shook his head, his thought process being interrupted with the creak of the door ahead of him opening. The blonde's eyes widened as he saw a familiar face come through the door. "N-" Alistair halted his words, thinking about the events that took place. His excitement soon turned to anguish as he looked away from the other, his hands free from the ropes. "They didn't." He said, his tone the shadow of a whisper. Alistair stood, though his eyes clearly expressed faint traces of jealousy and pain as he thought about the kiss. It was obvious that he wanted answers, but couldn't bring himself to ask about it directly. "I appreciate your assistance, but why are you here Nico?" The aristocrat asked, his tone distant and formal as it was with all of the other people Alistair put up a wall with.

chibi_blue_mouse

 

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Nicodemus blinked, not understanding where this sudden distance was coming from. "Why am I . . .?" he repeated, standing up as well, his confusion evident on his face. Oh! Maybe Alistair didn't realize they'd both been kidnapped? "They took me as well. It's okay though, we're gonna get out of here." he said, smiling. He could tell something was off, but he could't quite pinpoint what was bothering Alistair. "Are you sure you're alright?" he asked, reaching for the other's hand. If Nicodemus was truthful with himself, he didn't want to speak about the kiss with Darien to Alistair. He was worried about the reaction the other would have.

Ivory_Coated_Stars

 

[Ivory_Coated_Stars]

As Nico reached for his hand, Alistair pulled away, his silver gaze looking into Nico's as he wondered slightly if the other was playing around the matter or was truly oblivious. Alistair's eyebrows furrowed as he answered Nico's question. "I said I'm fine, though your mercenary boyfriend was rather eager to drive a knife into my throat." Alistair said, a slight coldness adorning his features, though if anything it was out of jealousy. He didn't like the idea that there was someone else. Though it may have been childish, Alistair was spoiled, some would even say rotten, so the thought of the mercenary stealing the only person the blue blood ever truly had any feelings for away from him was foreign, and didn't sit well with him. The blonde tore his gaze away from Nico before closing his eyes in slight irritation, realizing how childish he was being about the situation, though a part of him didn't care. "So, who is he?" Alistair asked, his gaze slowly making its way back to Nico as he was curious to know why the mercenary would suddenly kiss him out of no where.

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