ѕнαттєя мє

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick let out a slow breath of air and nodded to Luke at the statement that the man was going to be there, ready to help him out as he needed. He leaned over the chair and went limp the best he could as he closed his eyes to try and keep himself relaxed. However, the second he felt his back shifting, he lashed a hand out and grabbed onto his best friend in an iron grip as he let out a silent cry. If there hadn't been so little muscle, healing his back would have caused complications but with his muscle mass so lean and injury in his nerves, it spared them both the complications. The man wasn't spared any pain though.

This round lasted far longer than the first, but after his back was healed, it was far less painful. His knee was more an obnoxious tingling than anything as his exhaustion and pain killers seeming to decide to kick in right then. With Tyler finally relaxed, Nick's grip died down on his friend's shoulder while he just slumped forward in his chair. He knew he hadn't done much in this situation, but he felt it as if he had been the one forcing his body to heal. Maybe he wasn't tired and just confused as he hadn't been this pain free in years so now that his body wasn't screaming, he didn't know how he felt.

"I'm honestly not sure. My body hasn't been working right in years... To feel myself even breathe without ribs screaming or muscles aching is really strange now. Thank you," Nick told him as he slowly climbed back out of his chair. He was uneasy first as he wanted to limp, but found his body to work just fine without the sling or crutch. Now, he held a hand out to Tyler with a smile on his face. "I owe you one, feel free to call upon it as you need."

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


When Nick latched out onto Luke at the beginning of the healing process, the man simply accepted his friend's iron grip - not at all complaining or worrying about how tightly Nick was gripping his shoulder. It didn't really hurt, but was simply more of a consistent pressure, and he didn't mind at all if it was helping Nick. After what seemed like ages watching his friend in pain, both men slumped in their chairs - Nick's hand releasing Luke's shoulder as his body seemed to relax. Luke only glanced over in time to see the way Tyler's eyes rolled back in his head - not nearly as phased by the oddity this time as he had been the first time around. Soon enough Tyler was asking how Nick felt and Nick shortly replied, seeming a bit confounded by his newly healed body. Luke knew very well that the sensation was a strange one, having an injury and then it simply (or maybe not so simply) disappearing like it was never even there.

Tyler shook his head and smiled back at Nick when he mentioned that he owed him a favor, believing in no such thing. He took the other man's hand and shook it, saying "You don't owe me anything, I'm happy to help. I'm glad that I was able to." He released Nick's hand and moved to stand, pushing his chair back into position around the nearby table. "I desperately need some rest now however, so I'll see you two tomorrow." Tyler commented, saluting them casually before he turned on heels and headed down the hall to his own room. Despite his seemingly cheerful mood, exhaustion was evident on his face and it was obvious that he really did need the sleep immediately. He was a friendly guy and would've loved to stick around if healing didn't take so much out of him.

Once Tyler disappeared down the hall, Luke turned to Nick, a grin lighting up his features. "I know that wasn't easy, but it was worth it, right?" he asked, searching his friends face eagerly. Just hearing Nick's comment about how he hadn't been able to do something so simply as breathe without pain before Tyler's help made Luke know for sure that he had done the right thing by having Tyler help Nick out. He was glad that all went well and that Nick wouldn't have to struggle getting around or be antsy to train while he was healing. And Haley was going to be thrilled to see their friend in much better shape as well. Speaking of which, his sister probably should've been home by now.

As if on cue, Haley pushed through the doors to Nightingale, the door closing roughly behind her. Luke immediately sensed something off about her presence and a concerned look crossed his face, rising to his feet immediately. Haley glanced over at him but seemed intent on just blowing by - which Luke wasn't about to happen. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking a few quick steps to the side so he landed directly in her path. Haley was forced to stop or else plow right into him and when she did, her gaze was directed down at her feet. She tugged a hand nervously through her hair and remained silent for what seemed like ages before she finally looked up at her brother - revealing exactly what she didn't want him to see. A black eye. Luke's eyes went wide and he gently grabbed her face, tilting her head to see the bruise that was forming there more clearly. "What the ******** hell? Hales what the ******** happened to you? Where's the ******** that did this?" he demanded, releasing her face and allowing his sister to take a step back, her arms crossed over her chest in frustration.

"Luke it's fine. Some guy came at me on the way home and I couldn't go all crazy super human on him because that would give me away. I really just didn't see him in enough time to get away untouched. It's just a bruise.." she commented defensively, obviously frustrated that she hadn't been able to protect herself better. She was a tough girl and she knew how to fight, but she was also not much of a match for a man that was both taller and bigger than her - at least not without being able to use her abilities. A frustrated sigh escaped Luke's lips as he gestured dramatically to Haley's face. "Hales, this is not ok!" he breathed out, running a palm over his face before finally appearing only the slightest bit more calm. "You'll have to work harder or self defense or something." he suggested, wishing with every fiber in his being that he had been there to stop this from happening. He was fuming inside and they both knew very well that it wasn't because Haley hadn't been able to stop what had happened. It was because Luke hadn't been there to protect her. "I know, I will.. I really am okay Luke, you need to just relax." she said softly, glancing down at the floor again and finally over at Alex. Her gaze settled there for a minute or so before she looked back to Luke, not sure what else to say to make him feel better to to make this okay. Because it really wasn't okay, but there wasn't anything to be done about it now.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Though he had been all frowns and on the depressed side before arriving, after being freed from his prison of pain, it made the mental cage he not so terrifying. He gave a smile to Tyler and nodded again in thanks as mentally stored what the man had done for him so he could remember that he owed something. That grin remained on his face as he faced Luke this time when questioned if the pain was worth the practically new body. "You bet your a** it is," he replied as he pulled his long sleeve back on over his head and sat down again to pull the brace off of his knee that he had been wearing to make sure that the joint didn't slip out.

In the middle of taking a few testing hops and swings, he heard the door open and noticed Haley reappear from work. He was eager now to show her that he was okay all over again, but Luke intercepted her and the mood turned darker. Nick didn't get it at first as he didn't' notice that she had been injured on her way home, but once he did, rage reappeared.

As it burned within him, he realized that there was no purpose as there was enough hate coming from her brother for them both.

"She's okay, Luke, that's what matters. You and I both know a lot worse could have happened in a place like Chicago so lay off a little bit on the scolding. I'm going to get some ice," Nick said to Luke as he firmly grabbed his shoulder as almost a warning but it was also reassurance. He knew how much his best friend loved his sister and he never would risk her life for anything. However he also knew that the man could get overly upset about things and handle them incorrectly. Even with his frayed mind he realized such things.

As promised he headed off to the kitchen though and found an icepack and wrapped it in a thin towel for her before returning. He handed it to her before gathering up his things. "I'm going out for a run though, I'll be back," he suddenly said with everything in his arms and headed back to his room to change. "I haven't been able to in forever so I just want to get some pent up energy out."

Nick didn't leave out the front door as his innocent run suggested that he ought to. He took off out a side door in jeans, tennis shoes, a scarf over his mouth, and his hat pulled down low over his eyes to conceal his face. He stalked Chicago as he practically hunted down the b*****d that he knew attacked Haley, using the part of his powers that sharpened instead of dulled while being out in the woods: his sense of smell. It had been pivotal for him to find prey and locate predators while he had been out fighting for himself. With it having become so sensitive, he was able to notice the man's smell form Haley and now that was the exact thing he was searching for.

It took an hour of running and riding power lines before he located the angry drunk. When he found the man, he dropped down in front of him with his eyes burning with anger. "I heard you like to hit woman. Want to give me a shot?"

"Who the ******** are you?" he slurred and bore his teeth before throwing a squirrely punch at Nick.

The blonde side stepped it easily and made contact so hard with the man's face that he could feel bone give way beneath his hand while his electrical powers burned the his fist into his flesh like a brand. He stood over the man as he screamed in pain and out of being startled. "Still think it's okay to attack people on the streets for no reason?" he snarled while turning back to leave. However just as he stepped back a bottle came down across his temple shattering glass to cut deep into his scalp and forehead. It was his turn to shout of surprise and jerk away to see another man who had just broken a nearly full bottle of Jack Daniels across his head.

What came next took no thought as he drove his fist straight into the man's jaw, breaking more bones as he put the man down next to his friend. By this time Nick was shaking so violently that he wasn't sure he could actually control his movements. He lunged back after the sobbing men with eyes wide and lips curled back from his lips. Again and again his fists came down as he beat them into the ground until they stoped moving entirely. By the time he pulled away his body was coated in blood, his mind unable to think past what just happened. For a few moments, he just stood still as the summer rain began to splatter against his body beneath the flickering street light as he just watched the blood run into the gutters.

After what felt like hours he was able to move again. He slowly walked back to Nightingale, his eyes unfocused as he couldn't think before stripping of his clothes to burn outside and returned to his bed to collapse back into it unconscious. The entire night he was plagued with nightmares.

Late morning he finally emerged from his bedroom in just a pair of sweatpants and tank top to make coffee - a commodity he had deeply missed. Though he craved it, his heart wasn't into it. After making a pot, he poured it black and stood next to it to drink while blankly staring at the wall in a tired lull that had refused to leave him since the night before. Though he had killed before, this had been different yet it stayed with him as much as the bruises on his knuckles and the alcohol that remained on him despite not having drank any in a very long time.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


Haley bit her lip as her gaze drifted down to the floor, unsure of how the two men in front of her were going to react to this. Luke had already showed how pissed off he was and she could tell he was blaming himself for not being around, but she wasn't sure of how Nick was going to react. He hadn't been around for a while, but when he was when they were kids, he had been just as protective of her as her brother. And that wasn't what she needed right now. She needed this to not be a big deal.. and she needed them to both just back off and give her space.

So when Nick stepped up with rational words, Haley's eyes drifted back up to him, nodding a silent thank you before the man turned away to go get some ice. She hadn't even realized that he wasn't limping, too caught up in the emotions that were flying around in her head and between her and her brother since she got home. "Thanks." fell from the girl's lips when Nick returned, handing her the ice for her eye. That would at least keep it from swelling. It was only when he mentioned a run did her eyes go a little wide, her gaze following him as he strode out of the room. "Tyler?" she questioned, finally looking back over at her brother and trying to move on from the whole black-eye situation. She raised the ice to her face and pressed it against her closed eye, watching him intently through her other piercing blue orb.

"Yea, Tyler. I couldn't stand to see him like that and I know that he couldn't take it anymore either." Luke explained, still watching Haley as if she was about to break. A sigh escaped his lips and he combed his fingers through his hair, not looking away from his little sis. "Sorry Hales, I didn't mean to freak out. Nick's right.. you're okay and that's what is the most important. I'm going to go get a work-out in and head to bed. I have work pretty early tomorrow. he said gently, honest in his apology. He knew that his reaction probably just made Haley feel worse, but it was tough for him to not treat her in such a way. He was always going to see her as his little sister, as the little girl he had to protect. Even though he knew that she was far from that anymore and very capable of protecting herself. "It's ok, Luke. I'm headed to bed too. It was a long night." she said calmly in return, leaning in and giving her brother a tight hug with her arm that wasn't holding an ice pack to her face. The two released each other and went there separate ways, Luke to the gym and Haley straight to bed to turn in early.

Haley woke up before the sun the next morning, groggily crawling out of bed and throwing on a pair of spandex and an old t-shirt from her days of playing softball in college. A quick glance in the mirror reassured her that her eye hadn't swelled over night and she allowed her fingertips to dance over the purpled skin, happy to find that it wasn't too sore. Maybe if Tyler wasn't too exhausted today, she'd have him help her out with healing. She didn't really feel like messing around with make-up to hide the bruising. Instead of focusing on her bruising face, she spent her energy on her morning workout. She put more energy into it than usual, practicing her powers in the training facility with a bit more rage than normal. Though she had acted calmly about the events last night, she was angry that someone had hurt her and that she hadn't been able to stop it. She wasn't a weak woman and never had been.. she didn't appreciate a drunk making her feel so powerless.

Hours later, Haley finished her workout and headed back to her room, jumping in the shower and washing away the hatred she felt for the man who hurt her as the hot water washed the sweat away from her skin. Haley was a rather forgiving person.. all she needed was time to work out her aggression and her feelings, and then she was ready to move on. It was as simple as that. So by the time she left the shower, her hatred for the drunk was washed away. She dressed in a pair of yoga pants and a loose tank top, walking out into the kitchen to find Nick standing next to the coffee pot, staring blankly into the distance. "Morning Nick." she said quietly, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring her own cup. She turned to the fridge to add a little hazelnut creamer, swirling it around with a spoon before she finally turned to face Nick again. "What's wrong?" she asked then, finally realizing that he wasn't okay. There was a foreign look in his eyes.. and he smelled like alcohol - something that she was almost certain they didn't keep anywhere in Nightingale. Alcohol and a mixture of volatile powers didn't exactly mix well. And his knuckles.. bruises decorated them that hadn't been there the night before. "What happened?" she questioned almost immediately afterwards, her gaze drifting to his knuckles and then back to meet his eyes. She wasn't quite sure what to think about what was going on right now, but she had a feeling that whatever it was wasn't going to be a good thing.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick's thousand-yard stare was fractured only a small amount when Haely had shown up and said good morning. His eyes remained focused on an invisible point as he sipped at the black coffee without an expression though his hands tensely rested around the hot outer part. However, his eyes lifted from their daze with a question. He met her face with his in confusion as he wasn't paying attention to hear what she had said the first time around. The second time he narrowed his eyes feeling just as confused but understanding the question. He looked down at his hands and smelled his clothes only to grimace at both, realizing now what she was referring to. He pursed his lips and shrugged dismissively before taking a drink.

However he wasn't about to leave her without an answer, he just needed to come up with one. "Got into a fight," he admitted since he was pretty sure she wasn't so oblivious that he could hide obvious fighting injuries as something else. "A drunk cheep shot me in the head with a bottle of Jack so I slugged him. I came home after that and wasn't feeling good so I spaced about getting a shower to get rid of the smell."

Again he gave a careless shrug about it. He had been known as a brawler in high school before his depression so he didn't think it would be too hard to get this act passed off onto that. However, he still wanted it dropped as soon as possible. If those bastards were found and put on the news, it wouldn't be hard to trace a fist sized burn back to him among himself, Luke, and Haley. They weren't idiots, they would figure it out. How vicious he had gotten could save in him that aspect though...

"Don't worry about it too much. I'm alright, the person stumbled away, so the worst harm done is the smell."

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


It only took Haley another moment after her question left her lips to notice the gash that decorated Nick's forehead, covered with crusted blood, but obviously fresh. She set her coffee down then, only watching Nick out of the corner of her eye as she pulled a washcloth out of a cabinet in the counter before running warm water over it. He seemed very confused, like he didn't have any memory about what happened - at least until he pursed his lips and a dismissive shrug rolled off his shoulders. Whatever he had just remembered, it didn't seem to be something that he felt open about sharing.

She wrung out the washcloth as he finally seemed to come up with an answer for her, talking about how he got into a fight with a drunk. The drunk that had attacked her the night before? She gave him an all knowing look but didn't say a thing about her suspicions of it being the same man that attacked her, instead asking "Can I clean it up? Looks like it hurt." she started, waiting for his approval before she gently pressed the washcloth to his forehead, her soft blue eyes scanning Nick's to try to tell if he was telling her the full truth or not. "Why're your knuckles so beat up if you only hit him once?" she asked quietly, keeping her gaze locked on his, but not trying to pressure him too much. She just wanted the truth and she was intuitive enough to know that wasn't exactly what he was giving her.

If Luke was here and a part of this conversation, she was sure he wouldn't be handling this situation even half as gently as she was. He tended to be a bit more demanding about the truth and considering how well he knew his best friend, she was sure that he would've immediately called Nick out on his bull s**t. Thankfully for all of them, Luke was at work and would be for the next few hours.

Haley finished gently wiping away the dried blood from Nick's wound and stepped away from him, giving him his space back and rinsing off the washcloth in the sink. "It's hard not to worry about it, Nick." she answered in response to him telling her that it was no big deal. She really didn't believe that it was just a small thing. There was just a feeling deep down in her gut that this was something worse than he was letting on. And even if he wasn't going to tell her right now, she would figure it out eventually. It might've been years since they'd spent any time together and he had missed out on her growing up.. maybe he didn't realize just what kind of a person she'd grown into. She wasn't easily fooled, or a gullible child any longer.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

"Yeah, sure," he allowed when it came to treating his head wound. He hissed a little as she put pressure to it and bore his teeth, but it wasn't enough to distract him from further questions. His eyes traveled down towards his hands that cupped his drink when it was mentioned that his hands were awfully beat up for just a single hit. Unfortunately she was quite observant. Maybe she was underestimating his lying skills and her willingness to just listen to what he was telling her.

His eyes came back down onto his mug to take another drink and stare at his hands as he had no idea how to excuse the rawness and bruising at all. He had beaten a man's face in for going after Haley. There was no way he could tell her that truth because it would put him in a lot of trouble and possibly under lockdown from Luke. If he was kept here, who knows what kind of stir crazy he would go. However, he couldn't just keep lying to her... But he had to.

"I was in the gym afterwards going after the punching bag. I got a little more pissed off than I care to admit that I was hit so I came back and just whaled down on it. I forgot to wrap my hands so now they're trashed like this. I promise this is not from fighting that guy," he assured her with a gentle smile as he leaned against the counter.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }

 

[VVanderIust]

Ηɑɭеɣ & Lυҡе Νόѵɑҡ


Haley squeezed out the rest of the water from the now slightly tinted red rag, dropping it in the sink for now. Regardless of what he said next, she wasn't going to push him on the matter. If he didn't want to be honest with her, she was just going to let him slide. Though she was certain that he wasn't telling her everything, she was also sure that he couldn't have done anything that terrible and that he was allowed to have his secrets. Too bad she couldn't be more wrong about just what extent Nick would go to. Just as she had changed, so had he.

Nick seemed to have decided on what to say then, and Haley's gaze drifted back over to meet his, listening carefully. He was working off his anger in the gym when he came back, that made sense of course. She wondered if he had seen Luke when he came back after his run, since her brother normally spent hours in the training rooms before he went to bed at night. He was the night owl and Haley was the early bird, between the two of them it sometimes seemed like the pair of siblings never left the training room. Despite her doubt, a smile found its way across her lips and she nodded at him, looking entirely convinced. "Sorry, Nick. I wasn't trying to interrogate you or anything." she said honestly, adding "Just wanted to make sure everything was okay. Just promise to clean up your injuries, ok?"

Haley then walked back over to the side of the counter where she had left her coffee, picking it up and setting it on the kitchen table and she got busy with making her breakfast. "Want some eggs?" she asked casually, completely moving on from the slightly tense conversation they just had as she pulled ingredients out of the fridge and then set them on the counter next to the stove. She squatted down on the floor next, pulling out a pan to cook them in from a drawer beneath the stove. "I usually make them scrambled with cheese, that ok?" she asked, glancing at him over her shoulder before she secured the correct pan and stood back up. Cooking spray was procured from the cabinet next and she sprayed the pan down, setting it on the stove while she rummaged around for a bowl and fork to scramble the eggs.

 

[Unbreakable Justice]

Fate lies ahead ☀
Like the sun will rise .·´ s
The light has been gone for too long
From your eyesxxxxxxxxxxx
But you never changed, xxxxxxxxx
never played your part xxxxxxxxxx
αη∂ уσυ нανє єяαѕє∂ αℓℓ тнє ƒєαя ƒяσм уσυя нєαят

Nick nodded at the assurance that she wasn't intending to interrogate him, but also understood the worry that was in her voice. It was something that was entirely warranted and something he had deservingly earned. Unfortunately, the same man that went into that jungle was no the same that returned on that plane. As much as he wanted to play pretend that he could fit into his life again as the hormone riddled Nicolas, he knew at heart he died. Nick was... something else.

"Sure, I'll take some eggs," he agreed with her when questioned before putting his coffee down. He washed his hands in the sink with soap before pulling a few icepacks out of the fridge to rest against his hands - something he managed by tying them onto his knuckles with a few dish rags. "And yes please put eggs on them. I haven't had that in too long. You guys are going to get me fat within a few weeks you keep taking me to pizza places and feeding me breakfast like that."

He settled down into his seat with the coffee mug between two wrapped hands. Quietly he watched Haley work on making eggs, smiling a bit as he watched her move around. Something felt strange in him as he realized that the girl that he left behind also wasn't the same he came back to. Haley was no longer a child, a little girl; she was a full grown woman. A well grown woman. She was gorgeous and attractive - in an unfortunately high amount. If Luke ever heard what his mind was going through right then, he would be the one beaten into the pavement. Shaking his head, he cleared his throat and swallowed.

"So what do you do for a job? I don't remember if you told me or not," he asked, hoping to strike up a new conversation to distract him from his realizations and cruel deeds.

xxxxxxxxx{ DΛȠCΞR IȠ TӇΞ DΛRK }