Double date, Double trouble

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Taxi was far too bubbly and happy for a man who was engaging in black mail. The amusement park didn't stay open once it got dark for very long, so the blonde was rushing to get as much done as he possibly could. It was why he had told the man he was black mailing to meet him there an hour after nightfall, because he wanted some time to fuck around. And it was always more ominous when you told someone to meet you after dark, too. Spookier. More intimidating. And he really needed all the help with intimidation that he could get.

Then again, that's why he had Quinn with him. Taxi had already hit up most of the smaller rides, but there was still lots to do. Roller coasters were being saved till last. And the games with the giant stuffed prizes had been saved of Taxi's gluttonous wrath as he hadn't yet been exposed to them. The moment he set his green eyes on the adorable things Quinn would be made to win them all for him, of course. Or atleast the cutest one. Or the biggest one.

But it was all good. He had already stolen some kids cotton candy because he wanted to taste it, although he could only take a lick, just to get it on his tongue. Then it was thrown out. But it was good for that half a second. And then he saw some other ride with flashing lights that he just HAD to ride. God he loved the amusement park. All of these new rides and the songs and the lights, and the big mascots in the animal costumes who hugged him and they were SOOOO fluffy.

But when he looked up at the big clock, it said it was eight. And that meant it was time to head to the main gates. Time to go put the pressure down on the lawyer. Oh, and he knew who Jericho Vaduva was. His father got pissed if they went to a business meeting and he had no idea who people were. And Nikolai and Kefka had been in business together. So when Taxi had spotted the lawyer, well, it had been an opportunity he couldn't pass up. Because as much as the blonde adored Quinn and the life they lead, he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. And there was only so much of this that he could take. While the vampire was rather moraless and had no problem stealing cash, he knew it bothered the others. So there was an alternate. Milk the richboy for what he was worth. Blackmail him. Easy money, get an apartment, live off of him so that they don't have to worry. Oh, and don't tell Gabri or Silas.

Now all he had to do was hold Quinn's hand at the front gate and wait for the eyepatched lawyer to show up. And then inform him he was being blackmailed in exchange for Taxi keeping quiet about his sexual preferences. A bit mean, but then again, nobody ever said the vampire was nice.

[Obelisk]

Jericho knew something was going to happen to ruin the streak of goodness and luck his life had hit. He’d thought it from the start, from the moment he and Nero had begun their whirlwind of a relationship. A pessimist by nature, Jericho was the type of person to believe without a shadow of a doubt that good things never lasted. It wasn’t a matter of keeping them, those good things, it was a matter of holding onto them as long as humanly possible before they slipped away. When the letter had come, Jericho’s blood and run cold. Something hard and freezing fell into his gut and he’d been struck with an overwhelming sense of doom. That something may have been his heart.

After he recovered from the initial shock, Jericho’s mind had raced, trying to come up with any viable way that someone had found out about his relationship with Nero. They hadn’t been public, well, save for that brief rendezvous in the corner café. Maybe that’s what it had been, maybe someone had noticed. He’d been so unforgivably foolish, so idiotic to have let his wants and desires overshadow his better judgment. He knew better and he was accustomed to control, to keeping himself in line. Somehow Nero had rendered that much-practiced repression skill of his completely useless. At first it had been liberating, now, being the skittish thing he was, Jericho was having second thoughts.

He was quite resolute in the thought that he should call Nero, perhaps visit him, and call their whole “thing” off. The thought that the blackmailer might have some physical evidence – photos, video, audio—of his relationship with Nero had stopped Jericho from doing so, however. The lawyer was expecting to pay them off with a large sum of money, and perhaps that’d be it. There was the sinking feeling – he could feel it weighing heavily against his chest—that things wouldn’t be that easy. They never were.

He’d been expecting something, a bump in the road, but blackmail from someone unknown wasn’t something he’d considered, and this shortly after an episode with his father. There was nothing else in the world that could make Jericho question everything he was more than a disapproving look from his father. If Nikolai told him that the world was flat and that red was blue, Jericho would likely believe him. The issue of his, a man of thirty-two, still not having a wife had arisen along with the fact that’d he’d lost his most current case. His father had imaginative ways of telling Jericho he disapproved without really having to say a word. This time around it had been Nikolai passing Jericho a section of the newspaper with the details of his case, more so over the man he’d been defending, but the meaning was clear. You lost, how disappointing.

His mouth had gone dry at that point and breakfast was left untouched, allowed to grow cold as Nikolai started to talk about the family line and Jericho’s responsibility to continue it. He’d sat through it all just as he had since a child, adopting a mute and meek stature, nodding when needed. Nikolai had commented on his hair, on the fact he looked ridiculously like his mother. He hated coming home. He hated any interaction with his father because he was always, honest to god, afraid when the man spoke. Nothing good ever came from his mouth, not really.

It had been a rough week.

Jericho was at his sink, staring hard into the mirror, shirtless, freshly shaved, his goatee perfectly maintained. His delicate and long-fingered hands ran through his hair—hair which was short, a first for him since he’d been a child. His eyes ran over his mirror image and he thought to himself, I look like a man, I do, but he could see his mother in the green of his eye, in the softer shape of his face. There was nothing of his father, nothing of Nikolai in his appearance and that made his stomach twist. He grit his teeth and pushed away from the counter, setting out to complete his ritual of preparing himself to go out. He needed to dress, he needed to brush through his hair – a task that would take a fraction of time than it had earlier—and he needed to pick Nero up. It felt as if he was preparing for his own execution, that’s how solemn he felt.

He was always cold, a trait he had since he’d been a child, and the chill of winter had yet to truly vanish. The nights were always colder, though most might be fine with the slight coolness in the air. Jericho had settled on a cream-white turtleneck, a tan coat, and a pair of jeans tailored to fit him perfectly. Even if he was going out to meet a criminal, to face what was quite possibly going to be the most humiliating and infuriating experience in his life, he was going to look nice.

And so he left his home, driving that beautiful red car of his to pick Nero up. He’d exchange a few polite salutations, a wan smile, before driving off to the described location in determined silence. Anything Nero said would be met with a curt, almost cold response. Jericho’s patience had been stretched to its limits and he felt as if he was going to fold in on himself. He wouldn’t allow that sort of weakness, not in himself. He’d hold his head up high and get through this with some manner of his pride intact.

An amusement park, hah, Jericho found nothing amusing in the least about the location and couldn’t help but think it was some elaborate joke or barb at his expense, another insult thrown in by his mysterious blackmailer.

Sparing Nero a glance, Jericho slipped out of his car, locking it with a press of a button, and started off towards the gate. He wasn’t sure who he was supposed to be looking for but he surmised that they would be the ones to do the finding.

Quinn was hovering at Taxi’s side, excited to be out an about. A child holding a red balloon and an ice cream cone was staring up at him, their brown eyes wide. How very, very annoying.

“Didn’t your mother ever teach you that it’s rude to stare?” The vampire sneered, flashing his teeth and fangs. The child startled, the scoop of ice cream slipping from the cone and plopping to the earth. The child sniffled then broke out crying while running towards the crowd of people and likely his mother.

“Oh, hey, is that our man?” Quinn said, his voice switching from menacing to light and energetic in an instant. The ex-pilot, once soldier, pointed in the direction of a man wearing an eye patch. “ Haha, he looks like some reject from a bond movie. Is that eye patch for real?” The vampire was so amused by their criminal little act. He felt no remorse for Jericho because honestly, what’s a rich guy going to do with all that money? The lawyer should consider it charity, an act of kindness to cleanse his soul and buy him a ticket to heaven or something. Quinn was interested to see how things would go down. Seeing Taxi being all smart and “bad” was such a major turn on. Hell, everything Taxi did was a turn on. Quinn was just permanently and forever horny, really.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Taxi watched the display of intimidating and anger towards the small child with the sort of wonder that really matched the poor kid. So. Cool. And scary. Fuck that was hot. He just sent a small child crying with just a sneer Taxi couldn't do that sort of thing! Not that he really wanted to because he had Quinn and Quinn could do it and that was good enough. "That was so hot," Admiration in his voice, looking up at the brunet with a massive smile. "We gotta do it on the ferris wheel." Oooh yeah. With the swinging closed in seats rocking back and forth with their movement, would they be able to finish before the ride was over? Attention stolen to the vision of Jericho with a larger darker man.

"Ja, he used to have two really pretty green eyes. Now only one. I didn't take it though." A shame, as they really were quite nice. A quick glance up to Quinn's reminded him that his lover had far more beautiful ones. But atleast Jericho was finally here. Taxi straightened his tie and brushed off his lapels, running his fingers through his hair to tame it somewhat. See? He could look fancy too. He wore a suit for christ sakes. Time for business. He killed people daily. He was raised in business. Taxi Teufel Ungeheuer could be professional. Or, atleast he could pretend to be.

Nero felt awful. Absolutely awful. To the point of feeling sick the entire car ride.

Someone was blackmailing Jericho. And it was his fault. It didn't even matter how this person had discovered them, because it was his fault. Even if Jeri had gone and told them, it would still be his fault. The lawyer had been so chaste his entire life. Nero had ruined that. Taken it from him without even caring that it might jeopardize him. Reckless. Reckless idiot. But he had been trying to smile, a nervous little expression so that Jericho wouldn't be too scared, feel all alone in this.

Because things like this didn't happen to Nero. He had nothing to hide. And if somebody messed with him? They got a fist in their face. But Jericho said he would handle this. And there was nothing he could do to make it better. No apology could fix it. Fuck. Didn't mean to hurt him like this. Fuck. Jericho was probably considering breaking up with him over this, too. Oh god. No. And then the poor man would have a blackmailer. And the memory of his very first relationship ever would be marred. And fuck, Jericho had feelings for him, STRONG feelings, and he had hurt him.

But Nero was staying strong. Nothing could make him awkward or uncomfortable, right? Nothing could throw him off his game? Had to make this up to him somehow. Not that he would ever be able to, truely. Sigh. Get through this. Then take him home and pamper him. Make him forget about it. Pretend this never happened. And be more careful in the future. Hell, not even that, just don't do anything like that ever again, indoors always, with all the doors locked. Fuck. Didn't even occur to him to wonder why an amusement park, he supposed it suited for these sorts of things just as well as any other place. But who were these people? Should have brung a gun. Could get dangerous. Bastards. Blackmailing his Jericho. His baby. Was going to be hard not to hurt whoever- Wha?

Taxi walked towards his victims at a brisk pace, hands shoved in the pockets of his fashionable pants that made his cute butt look fabulous. There was no malovence in his heart, he had a respect for the rich, as he was, well, Taxi still liked to think of himself as one of them. Nothing could pull the silverspoon from his mouth. Not even being poor. No dislike for Jericho. Business was business.

"Haaaalllllloooooo Herr Vaduva." His German accent was thick, just layering it on as he approached the two of them. Wide beaming smile, although with his embarassingly small fangs for a vampires standards his canines weren't terribly alarming. Voice still light and cherubic, leaning forward as he stood five or so feet from the two of them. "So nice to see you again." Not that Jericho likely remembered who HE was. "But lets go in, Ja?" It was too conspicuous out here. Broad hand motion towards the amusement park, glancing from the single eyed man to the one he knew was his lover. The guy was kinda scary, really. Not scary like Quinn. Seemed a bit.. softer? Kinder? Didn't know. But with the way Nero was looking at him, it was unnerving.

And Nero was looking at him. Didn't mean to look intimidating. But he couldn't help it, being as tall as he was and his general appearance. Blue gaze was shifting from Quinn to Taxi, unsure of what to think. The older looking one, he could see that guy being involved in something like this. But the little blonde? The kid was too... what was even the word? Cute? Too cute for this? And the way he stood, light on his feet, and speaking almost.. bubbly. Strange. Nero didn't like it. It was strange. Nero was glad he was here though. Incase something went wrong.

[Obelisk]

Quinn could only grin broadly and handsomely at Taxi. It was always a pleasure to please the small blonde, just liked the whipped man he was. He’d try bullying people more often if it won him a proposition for sex in public and naughty places. Quinn made a mental note to hold Taxi to that promise. As interesting and as new as blackmailing a person was, it took away from some “quality” time with Taxi. The ex-pilot would be sure to make up for lost time.

Just hearing Taxi off-handedly compliment another man was enough to make Quinn’s metaphoric hackles rise, but the German had diffused the situation right from the start. The spiky-haired man gave a smug smile, that’s right, of course his eyes were better. Stupid lawyer and his stupid eyes…eye. That eye patch was really a source of amusement to Quinn. He’d be sure to make a snarky comment when the chance arose, now, to think of said snarky comment. Quinn’s face fell into a look of thought as he started to contemplate over something clever to say.

Maybe it was because he was that selfish or maybe it was because he was that distracted, but Jericho hadn’t picked up on Nero’s mood. He thought his lover was acting the way he was, quiet, nervous, because of the way he, himself had been acting. He shouldn’t have been so cold to Nero, so detached, but Jericho’s mind and thoughts were consumed by the matter at hand – he gave little consideration to how his behavior might affect Nero. He’d feel bad about it later when it didn’t feel like he was seconds away from a panic attack.

Nero’s presence, no matter how unsure or guilty the large man was feeling, was a comfort to Jericho which just made the situation all the more stifling. In the short time they’d known one another, Jericho had come to rely on Nero as a source of comfort and strength. He could pretend and force himself into the part of straight and ruthless icon of status and wealth all he wanted, and that had become bearable because, at the end of the day (or week, whenever they could), Jericho had been able to go to Nero. All pretenses were dropped and he finally had room and ability to breath. Strange that he was at his freest when there was a collar strapped around his neck.

Don’t think about those things. His mind chided him and Jericho mentally sighed. Sometimes he just wanted to curl up under the covers and pretend the rest of the world didn’t exist – along with his problems. This was definitely one of those times. He’d gone from fear, to worry, to anger, to spite, to rage, to acceptance, and the cycle had repeated several times. At the moment, Jericho was feeling oddly calm, though maybe that’s because he felt as if he was going to faint. He’d felt stress before, mountains of it, but this was different. This was too soon an end to something wonderful and fantastic and… Nero really shouldn’t have been there. The terms in the letter had been clear, however. The lawyer sent a look back at Nero, wondering, looking at him with a detached, solemn sort of affection.

Looking at Nero, Jericho felt a sharp pang a loss – a precursor to what he felt was an inevitable end. Then the anger was back because whoever it was that had blackmailed him was ruining the one good thing he had. Once Jericho met him, he swore he’d beat them senseless, tear out their heart, strangle them until they---

What in god’s name?

Jericho stared at Taxi as he was the strangest, most bizarre creature ever to have graced his presence. The German vampire might as well have been sporting two extra eyes and a pair of antennae. Jericho blinked. He blinked again. Then his brain kicked into motion and he registered what the blonde had said.

“Is this some kind of joke?” The words left him before he had a chance to stop them and they were scathing, dripping with that acidic tone that not many ever had the chance of hearing. That single eye of his narrowed and Jericho shook his head, keen mind just registering one of the more telling tidbits of the German’s words.

“See me again? What the hell are you talking about, we’ve never met.” Jericho was sure of it. He may have acted like a pompous, holier-than-thou jerk, but he never forgot a face— at least since he’d been an adult. Jericho gave Taxi the once over again and was having the hardest time believing that someone that innocent looking and, quite frankly, adorable could even ever consider blackmailing someone.

“You’ve best explain things; I’ve no desire for games.” Jericho’s voice could be a winter’s ice storm if he was so inclined and at that moment he was very, very inclined.

Quinn was staring Nero down like an attack dog ready to attack at a moment’s notice. Well, he wasn’t staring down, he was staring up, but the glare was vicious. No one looked at Taxi like that. Almost threatening, he was, or maybe that’s because he was a fucking tank. Quinn let a tight grin spread across his lips and gave a curt nod.

“’Sup?” He asked nonchalantly, playing it off as if they weren’t blackmailing his boyfriend and Quinn, quite honestly, didn’t care. It was no skin off his back. It wasn’t as if they were planning to actually hurt Jericho. The lawyer had only need to agree to their demands and everything would be hunky dory.

Jericho spared a glance in Quinn’s direction, his feather’s ruffled because that cretin was speaking to Nero. Quinn flashed Jericho a grin and gave a thumbs up before looking back to Nero. Jericho had followed Taxi to wherever during the time in which he had spoken.

“Well?” As impatient as ever, even more so, given a situation like this.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

"Ah. Ja. You were probably too young, dragged along on a business meeting, just like I was." Frown. Taxi didn't like being forgotten. Atleast Jericho would remember him now. And while it may have been stupid to tell the person you were blackmailing your name, well, Taxi wasn't always terribly bright. And what harm could it do? Was Jericho going to, heh, SUE him? Not that he even legally existed. His name was useless.

"Anyways. This here is Quinn, and i'm Taxi. You might recognize my family name, though. Blackblood."

And Jericho would recognize it. It was a massive corporation that consumed others, devoured them ruthlessly. Bought out banks and destroyed whatever was in it's path. A tyrant among companies. Headed by one man and one man alone, no board of advisors to outvote him. Controlled by a singular person who only took meetings at night and was seldom seen by the public. Although when he was there was always some famous super model on his arm. Unimaginable wealth and power, built up over countless decades, centuries even, although nobody really knew how long it had been around. How long Kefka had been utterly dominating the business world. Tried to keep somewhat quiet, slowly . Taxi was getting nostalgic thinking about it. All of the luxury it had afforded him. Although the business trips to other countries had been a pain in the ass, atleast the private jet had been nice. And of course he had to come. The blonde couldn't be trusted to be left alone. Ah well. That life was over.

"I already know you, Jericho Vaduva, and Nero.. Ah.." Taxi paused, placing a finger to his pursed lips as he tried to remember what Nero's last name had been when he was doing his sleuthing. "Ah. Fuck. I can't remember. Nero. Nero something." Atleast his snooping around in records hadn't uncovered Nero's past. Not that there was ANYTHING linking him to that even existing. Still. He had tried. Years of watching secretaries while spinning around boredly in office chairs gained him some knowledge of how things worked. Of how to gather knowledge. And it made you look a whole lot more serious when you could say stuff like, "Well, Nero your mailman, and your firms janitor. And your lover."

The cheery blonde with a bounce in his step had led them back into the amusement park. Just as he was getting wide eyed at a particularily scary looking roller coaster was when he made the declaration of what he knew, and now he was getting antsy. He wanted to go on it. His feet had been on the ground for too long. He glanced back over his shoulder at the three of them, his dull green eyed wide. Rgh. He wanted to go on it. But there was still stuff to talk about. Hands still shoved in pockets and he was trying not to pout, because he was too busy blackmailing to go on the BIG SCARY ROLLERCOASTER but damnit.

Nero had set his sights on Quinn. Quinn who staring him down. Warm blue eyed had moved because the blonde was no threat, not that he could tell. Atleast not physically. The brunet was though. Both larger males with their charges, hovering over them like bodygaurds. He could take Quinn. Atleast, Nero would have been able to if it wasn't for the other being undead. Still didn't like this. He didn't like how 'Taxi' knew his name. How he knew his occupations. How Taxi, who looked to be younger than Jericho by quite a bit said when he was 'too young'. It didn't add up. None of this did. How did the blonde even know? "Hey." Was the response given, because even though he didn't like Quinn for the basic fact that he was blackmailing Jericho, Nero was still a nice guy. But he was going to keep his attention on him.

Taxi liked this. He felt like. Like. The BRAINS of the operation. Or something. That had never happened before. He liked it. A lot. But there was stuff he had to discuss without Quinn here, part of their terms that he hadn't wanted to tell his lover about. And although he could have spoken in Romanian.. well... It was a damn good excuse to glance back to the Rollercoaster. "We can discuss terms. On that." Hand with it's delicate slim pianists fingers pointed to the huge-terrifying-piss-your-pants-then-throw-up-ten-times-roller-coaster.

[Obelisk]

Too young? Jericho’s brows furrowed and he looked as skeptical as he was feeling, which was a lot. There was that old adage of not judging a book by its cover, but Jericho was certain that Taxi wasn’t old enough to consider Jericho “too young” for anything. The lawyer’s reality didn’t include vampires so he was hard pressed to believe a word that left the German’s pretty lips. That was, until, Taxi mentioned that most infamous of names. If Jericho had seemed surprised at their initial meeting, the man now looked shocked, flummoxed, completely out of his wits.

“Blackblood?” Jericho repeated in something akin to disbelief. There was no mistaking that name or the man it belonged to. Jericho recalled seeing Kefka before on numerous occasions. He’d never spoken to the man, nothing past a polite hello. He wasn’t much allowed to speak with his father’s serious business associates. There was something about the business mogul that had unsettled Jericho. Kefka reminded him of a snake, something unsavory and dangerous. It was only then, after recalling Kefka, that Jericho’s mind drudged up the image of Taxi. So he had seen the blonde before, fancy that.

The fact that their families had had business relationships made the blackmailing all the more difficult to accept. Jericho lived on logic, was bound by its limits. Being exploited by a man whose father was richer than his own certainly did not fall within the realm of logic. This was beyond Jericho and he was considering turning on his heel and marching straight out of the park. It couldn’t be real, this had to be a joke.

His blood boiled every time either Quinn or Taxi spoke Nero’s name. It gave him cause to grit his teeth, an acidic and pins and needles feeling settling over him. It was absurd, but maybe he was that possessive and protective that having someone else say the man’s name was taken as an insult. Criminals and ne’re-do-wells had no right saying his name, tainting it, and Jericho’s nervousness was cast aside, replaced by a hardened make of offense and anger.

“So we’ve established you know the nature of my relationship with Nero. Fine.” There was no mistaking the bitterness carried in Jericho’s voice. He glanced at Nero, not wanting to leave him alone with the man he now knew as “Quinn.” Nero was huge, though, surely he could take care of himself.

But…could Jericho?

The lawyer was staring at the rollercoaster as if it was a colossal dragon, an ominous opponent he had no chance of defeating. Give him a horse, he’d ride over dangerous terrain, hop over crevices and the like, but speeding around in a cart, dropping, swerving, turning upside down—
Jericho’s complexion paled and he looked sickly. It was a matter of getting things over with, of getting Nero out of there as soon as possible. It was an issue of finding out what exactly was going on. He felt the need for privacy as well because, quite honestly, Jericho didn’t want Nero involved with this most infuriating of circumstances.

“Fine.” Jericho bit out, slipping into Romanian at Taxi’s example. He cast Nero a wan smile.
“I’ll be back soon. Stay out of trouble, will you?” And with that, Jericho was following (reluctantly) after Taxi.

“I know who you are. You’re richer than I am. What’s the meaning of this ruse?” The lawyer questioned the man he thought to be younger.

Meanwhile Quinn was rolling his weight back and forth on his heels, watching Nero with a blatant sort of fascination. Sometimes the vampire really wished he was taller. He’d be able to scare more people that way. His inner devil was snickering at the thought.

“What are you, on steroids or some shit?” Nero might’ve been all charm and niceness, but Quinn, in a word, was crude. In another word, blunt. As if feeling a moment of benevolence, Quinn continued.
“Don’t worry about the eye patch guy, Taxi won’t fuck with him—too much.” Quinn gave a grin and though it was good humored, there was a hint of challenge. He always got riled up when there was a larger male around, as if he had something to prove.

[KOCHI-KOCHI]

Quinn got no warning. Taxi was confident that Quinn would cause chaos. He was manly and cool like that. It was always fun to let his male run around freely and then to return and see what damage he had caused.

"It's not a ruse." Shoulders shrugged as he waited impatiently in line, foot tapping. Would just cut infront of the stupid snot nosed kids infront of hm but he didn't want to get kicked out. Like last time. AUGH. Couldn't they hurry up? Although this was a good opportunity to talk. Even in Romanian his german accent still held, gluttural overtones to his cherubic voice. "I probably shouldn't be telling you this." A long sideways glance was given before the line moved quite a bit and he was all too giddy. They were gonna be soon. And he wanted to sit in the front. The very very very front where there was nobody obstructing their view of that initial downwards dive that made your stomach come up into your mouth.

"But the moneys gone. Father didn't approve of me and Quinn, so I ran away." Wasn't the exact truth. But it sounded better than what had really happened. It hadn't even occured to the blonde that he had done what Jericho was too afraid to do, leave his abusive parent and run off with his less-than-well-off lover. Perhaps that in itself spoke volumes about the differences between them. The vampire looked back over, not being able to focus on any one thing as his excitement was over whelming him. He spotted the reluctance on Jericho's fce, the sort of bitterness there, and he grinned widely. "Aw. Cheer up. I won't tell. As long as you meet my terms. Which really won't be so bad, just that I can't deal with being god damned poor anymore."

"OOH-" Taxi shoved Jericho's shoulder now, jerking him to get his attention, pointing at the rollercoaster as they approached closer. "We'renextwe'renextwe'renext omigod we're nexttttt!" And then looking back at him and smiling like the maniac the little creature was. "Oh. Right." Taxi calmed himself, letting go and brushing off a lapel to seem like he wasn't an overgrown kid excited to ride the scariest rollercoaster like, ever, and be totally cool. "Um. So. Terms. Money. Lots. Three bedroom place, nice part of the city. And some extra for living expenses. Oh. Right. And- IT'S OUR TURN!"

Before the vampire could finish his demands, they were next. And it was a mad dash between Taxi, Jericho, and some thirteen year olds for the front car. And the blonde wasn't going to lose. So he grabbed the lawyers wrist and jerked him, dragging him along roughly till he had claimed the front car, cutting off a little girl in the process. "Hehehehehehehehehe-" Absolutely giddy with giggles as he sat down in the car, urging Jericho down next to him despite of any complaints or protesting. Only once they were both strapped down by the locking devices would he finish his thought, mouth forming an 'o' as he remembered he didn't finish. "Oh right. And you can't tell my dad where we are, and make sure he had no clue, ok? That's why we've been moving around. But we like it here. Ok? HEHEHEHEHEHHEHEHE!" And then they were going up, the car was lurching and moving up up up up-


Stay out of trouble? Easy. No trouble. He was just going to stand here and wait till Jericho was done his discussion with the blonde. No trouble at all. Trouble? Him? Ludicrous.

"What? No. It's called exercise." Nero rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. He was going to be amused with it, because Quinn was probably jealous of his superior size. He could take that in good humour. He was built afterall, and impressive amount, something that he was glad Quinn noticed. It was nearly flattering to be accused to taking drugs to attain a body like his. People did. His was all natural though, through an entire life of hard work. Just playful banter, nothing seriously offens-

Dark, thick brow quirked. That was a low blow. Insulting his lover? Well. Wasn't really. But still. Quinn was an enemy. Blackmailing Jericho, and now insinuating (even in jest) that something bad was going to happen to Jericho. Taxi was ALREADY fucking with his boyfriend, with this whole blackmail thing. So what if the blonde looked cute and innocent? He was putting a serious cramp in their relationship. Likely costing Jericho money too. Uncool. And while Nero usually let people crawl all over him because he was a nice guy, he wouldn't back down from a challenge.

Wait. No. Jericho told him to stay out of trouble. And this was trouble. So as always, Nero let it roll off of his dark tattooed skin, chuckling lightly. "I'm not worried about Jericho. But thankyou for your concern." It hadn't been a direct challenge, a right out confrontation. He could avoid it. Not get himself in trouble. Although he was feeling a very similar masculine pride to Quinn, because his lover had been insulted, and therefore he was too. But no. He was going to wait here till Jericho got back. He would be back soon. He was staying out of trouble. Yup. Not going to get into some bravado pissing match. Nope.

[Obelisk]

It was strange speaking in Romanian, as Jericho didn’t much use the language outside of when he visited the “homeland.” Quite frankly, he hated it there. Jericho had never taken to cold weather, being a creature that thrived off of warmth and fair weather. The farther away from Nero he walked, the more anxious he became. His emotions were a roller coaster, just like the one they were about to board. Part of him wanted to tell Taxi to screw off and that he’d play no part in his game. Most of him was yelling that he never should’ve let anything happen between himself and Nero. His logical mind surmised that the best plan of action would be to pay Taxi off then end things with Nero. This episode was just proof that he needed to end things. He needed to grow up and stop indulging in the immature and deviant sexual fantasies of a man with no control.

Every time he considered it, he felt close to breaking.

He wasn’t used to this…

Feeling like losing someone meant the end of the world.

Quinn looked at Nero with an impish grin planted on his face. The vampire was amused by Nero’s apparent politeness and kind nature. He was a bit disappointed, too, because he wanted to get the large man riled up. He was childish like that, heckling someone into a fight or competition. Quinn shook his head and sighed, as if ashamed for Nero.

“Boy’s got you whipped, don’t he? Big man like you, pandering to a sissy like him?” The vampire flashed a smirk, throwing a glance in the direction of where his lover had vanished off to. The truth was that he would do anything for Taxi, no questions asked. Nero didn’t know that so Quinn was able to heckle all he wanted without being called the hypocrite.

“That’s kind of funny.” To show just how funny it was, Quinn snickered a bit, the sound airy and goading.

“What he doesn’t know can’t hurt him, right? Let’s you and me have a little competition to pass the time. You think you’re so strong? Let’s go to that hammer-thing and see who’s the better man.” Never mind the fact that Quinn was blessed with super human strength. Quinn wouldn’t feel remorse for cheating; he just wanted to prove his manliness. Plus, he was bored.

“Come on, whatd’ya say? Beats waiting around here, don’t it?” Quinn cajoled, smirking like the devil.

“You ran away with your lover?” Jericho said, sounding mildly astonished. “What about your obligation to your family, to your father? Do they mean nothing to you?” He was honestly curious because Jericho couldn’t even consider forsaking his family for a relationship with a man. Two men didn’t love each other; what was between them was nothing more than a desire for sex. It was wrong and therefore shouldn’t happen.

Then what the hell had he been doing?

“Your terms are…..acceptable. I will not tell your father of your presence here. Also… I’ll ask you to stay away from Nero. You and Quinn both. Should anything come up… it’s business between you and I. Nero has no place in it.” The lawyer was still sore over the fact that Taxi had demanded he bring his lover along.

Jericho had been pushed and heckled until he’d been sitting in the cart. There was no happy excitement, just a feeling of dread. He hated thrill rides. Motion sickness was something he suffered from and this was bound to be a very bad---

They were moving. Oh shit, they were moving. Jericho’s hands tightened against the handle bar and he was holding on for dear life, and they had hardly began to crawl up the first hill.

“This is ridiculous. Why are we on here. I don’t under---Oh god ohgodohgodohgod.” From that point on, Jericho’s mouth clamped shut and he remained silent throughout the ride, knuckles turning white from the frantic strength of his grip. His eyes were either as wide as saucers or clamped shut and any given moment. Through the frenzy of the roller coaster, Jericho had one lucid and repeated thought --

I’m going to die.