Disclaimers: All characters belong to rightful owners.
Story concieved by Lee.


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Velvety notes drifted over the cacophony of voices, soared over the screaming children, drifted between walking couples, teased at the ears of anyone it reached.

Dark fingers danced across sterling keys, travelled down a sterling body, and wafted from the bell of an entrancing silver and black saxophone. It flashed in the pale winter sunlight, and the sound it gave birth to was crisp and sharp, like a new twenty-dollar bill.

The sound of 'Feliz Navidad' bounced through the crowd happily.

The boy was tall, at least six feet or more. His mass of curly black hair shot out in all directions, stubbornly defying gravity, covering his face. And, in contrast, he had hazel eyes - the glittering sort that changed colour in different types of light. It seemed that in light of the cheery atmosphere, they insisted on a crystal blue, streaked with grey. But no one would know, possibly because he was so into playing his saxophone that his eyes were closed, shoulders thrown back as he leaned against the wall of a building. And, most of all, his fingers waltzed across the keys of his sax.

Occasionally, he would open his eyes and smile at a passerby around the mouthpiece of the instrument, and they would toss a quarter or two his way, but he wasn't playing for the money.

'Feliz Navidad' ended, and 'White Chritmas' began.

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"Yea. You know, I'd just _love_ to take another look..." Sam smiled to the offered kiss, then, grinning, he licked away whatever glass had transferred from Kisoku's lips to his own. "Mmm..still using that same brand and flavour of lip gloss, huh? My favorite, too..."

"Aww, but Na-chan isn't a bear!" He giggled lightly as he gave their twined fingers a squeeze. "She's just a big, fluffy bunny! I don't know why everyone sees her as being so mean and all..."

"Tch. You say that you're feeling lucky everytime we do this and you _still_ end up losing, sempai.." He chuckled as he raised his own hand. "Okay, call what you're doing so I know when I win, ne?"

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"Anything I say, huh?" Robertson repeated, grinning, his hands sliding over the boy's slim hips to cup and squeeze his ass.

Tilting his head to the side, Tesu flashed the older man a teasing grin, "Weeeell... anything within reason..."

Robertson chuckled, and opened his mouth to make another reply when someone nearby caught his attention, distracting him from the boy on his lap. Catching sight of Holden, he glanced from the older man to his... companion, his grin broadening.

"I wouldn't hold that against him too much, Holden," Robertson said jovially, reaching up to caress Tesu's cheek, his fingers threading through the boy's thick, soft hair. "I don't think anyone could help but lust after Tesu, here... Not even another whore."

A bit irritated at the interruption - he'd wanted to get through with Robertson so that he could go onto the next name on the list - Tesu glanced over at the man Robertson was addressing, then fell a moment later on the boy crouching on the floor between the older man's knees. An expression of shocked recognition spread over his features as he found himself gazing into a familiar pair of hazel eyes framed by a silken fall of plum-colored hair.

For just a moment, his mask slipped and he dropped his gaze, a deep blush spreading over his cheeks. Almost immediately, however, he recovered, and raised his eyes to meet the other boy's, his lips curving up into a teasing half-smile. Arching an eyebrow, he then asked, "So... *now* do you believe me?"

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"I suppose even a cynic has to believe when the truth's right in front of him." Muneca closed his eyes to the quick flush infusing the other boy's cheeks, not wishing to see the perceived embarassment, there, but reopening these a moment later, he forced up a faint smile. "Still, you did misunderstand me..."

"Ah, you know each other?" Holden asked as he moved his eyes from Muneca to Tesu, then back again. "Perhaps that explains it..."

"Tch. Get real..." The Mexican snorted softly as he rolled his eyes, though this turned to a bit of a glare as the elder gave his hair another sharp, painful tug. "He's my son; it runs in the family, you know..."

"Now you see why everyone stops up your mouth, boy..." The elder sighed as he used the hand tangled in the boy's hair to push him back down on himself. "I don't know why I waste my money when there're beautiful, compliant ones like that boy out there..."

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"Maybe because they know they won't be so beautiful after you're done with them," Tesu replied contemptuously. "Why do you think he's never whored me out to you? Maybe 'cause he knows all about your tendency to leave marks on your...dates... and Ausar doesn't like clients to damage the merchandise.."

Tesu trailed off, horrified at what he'd just done. You *never* mentioned a client's...quirks - particularly not in front of another client. But... he'd hated the way the man had spoken to the other boy...berating him like that. It was bad enough being a whore, even when the clients were reasonably nice to you. Nobody should have to put up with this kind of shit, though. Glancing away, Tesu again lowered his gaze. Still, he shouldn't have done it. If Ausar heard about it, there'd be hell to pay.

"Looks like he told you, Holden, " Robertson said drily, laughter rumbling deep in his chest. Cupping Tesu's chin, the older man tipped the boy's face up to meet his gaze. "Quite the little spitfire, when you want to be, aren't you?"

A slow smile spread across Tesu's face as he met the older man's eyes. Reaching down, he slyly dipped his finger's inside Robertson's slacks, caressing and fondling the rapidly hardening flesh he found inside. "Mm..." he replied breathily, "You don't know the half of it..."

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"I know Na-chan isn't mean...but she's no bunny." Kisoku grinned. He took in a deep breath, closing his eyes. "Alright Sammy, we know the game. This time I'm going to win!"

"Rock...Paper...Scissors...SHOOT!"

His hand shot open, revealing a pair of..."Scissors..."

He opened his eyes, catching only a brief glimpse of his friend's tightly closed fist before sighing in defeat. "You suck."

Immediately, his hand slipped out of the other's. He pulled his powder blue scarf around his neck, before turning around to his friend. "What's say we go find something to do to kill the time?"

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Lucia tugged her bright pink bubble jacket tightly around herself as she walked down the street. Though usually she would be actively searching out targets, she just didn't feel that her heart was in it at the moment. Instead, her heart was filled with a sort of melancholy. Each happy couple...each loving family...everyone that she passed it seemed was happier than her. They were not alone. They were vermin, but there were so many of them that it seemed impossible to be alone.

She sighed, wrapping her arms around her body. She was...different than these people, than even the other angels. She was superior...and there was only one being out there who could make her feel like she wasn't alone.

It was Him. Her love. Her life. The one that she had slighted. She sighed once more, but this time a wailing sound joined her in grieving. It was a ringing shout, a beautiful musical sound that filled her ears and made her feel.

She stopped in her tracks, blinked a few times before looking around her. Just a few feet away from her was a boy, someone that she vaugely recognized from school, who was pouring his breath into a saxophone. She approached him slowly, cautiously. Perhaps this was a sign. Perhaps this boy's instrument had presented him to her. Yes, he would be her first task of the day.

She stood near him, ignoring the glares from people who were in a rush to pass them by. She smiled sweetly, looking at serene and sweet as possible. She was Lucia Abandonne, high-school student extraordinare. She was simply a normal teenage girl, enjoying a good musician...that was all.

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The sudden _obvious_ pass of the 'strong manly type' caught Wolfgang of gard, giving a sharp cough and then triping ever so gracefully. It probably wouldnt have affected him so if he didnt agree with her, but that was a secret that he wanted to keep as long as possible.

"Woha, where did that rabbit hole come from?" He said it like it was part of a scriped already writen. Then stood up like nothing happened, "ok..."

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*'k Darran. No idiotic grins for you. Even if cute-little-brother, hot-flirty-older-sister is a lethal combination. Stay strong!* "Oh, sure," he chuckled, "go imply that I'm _not_ strong and manly, just brutally cut down my ego..." He tossed in a dramatic sigh, then promptly kicked himself mentally for how stupid that must've sounded. Fortunately, Wolfgang provided adequate distraction at just that moment to knock him out of the little loop of nervousness.

"Hey, you okay there? I would've caught ya, but," he grinned up at Cordero, not at all bothered by the child's firm grip on his hair, "my hands are a little full."

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"Why you damned, disgusting little...!" Holden's face went an alarming shade of red at Tesu's scolding and, his supple lips lifting into an almost feral snarl, he pulled back a hand as if meaning to slap the boy--client or no. Still, before the man could even so much as swing his hand back, Muneca had caught the wrist in a vise-tight grip. The look from before--distant, cold, unconcerned--had gone only to replaced with a burning anger as he peered into Holden's features.

"He is _not_ yours to punish, Staith..." The Mexican murmured in a voice that was low, almost toneless as hazel eyes bored into green. His hand tightening around the captive wrist, he could hear the fragile, old bones creaking, cracking, but he didn't seem concerned.

"What do you think you're doing?! I......" Staith tried to sound enraged, but a pitiful whimper of pain had entered his tone. Snarling unhappily, he kicked at Muneca so that the Mexican fell back hard and, once his wrist was his own, Staith stood to his rather unimposing height. "Fuck you, alright? I don't need this! Go find someone else stupid enough to pay you!"

Giving Mune's ribs a parting kick, Holden stormed off to another part of the room and, once he'd gone, Muneca slowly pulled himself up to his knees. For a moment, he merely glared after the man, but, as the realization of what he'd done sank in, he sighed. Well, that was really smart; piss off one of your best clients for the sake of...what? What was even the _point_ of all that? Closing his eyes, he bowed his head in a fall of hair.

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"Tch. You _always_ take scissors, sempai.." Sam chuckled lightly, though this turned to a bit of a frown as Kisoku pulled his hand from Sam's own. Shrugging this aside, he lifted the newly freed hand so as to readjust his dark glasses. "Oh well. Maybe next year, I'll get tired of it and let you win, ne?"

"Sure, sounds good!" He nodded eagerly to Kisoku's suggestion and, reaching to loop an arm around his friend's waist, he quirked a brow. "What do you feel like doing?"

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"Oh!" Para blinked a bit as Wolfgang suddenly tripped and, reaching out as if to help him, catch him, or..well...something, she tilted her head. "Are you okay? That was pretty sudden...."

"Brutally cut down your ego, huh?" She giggled, then, to Darran's words and, obviously not being enough of a shameless flirt, she only trudged on. Narrowing her eyes further, she leaned in closer to Dar and, smiling cutely, she winked. "Never on the first date, Mr Isanyeti...."

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Tesu merely gazed back impassively at Staith, his grey eyes dull with indifference...resignation...not even trying to avoid the blow being aimed at him. A moment later, his breath caught in his throat, his eyes widening in shock and surprise - not at the force of the promised blow striking his face, but at the prevention of this same. With a mixture of both fear and a strange, almost feral glee Tesu watched as the hazel-eyed boy caught Staith's wrist, preventing the intended blow from reaching its mark. As he caught sight of Staith's angry expression, the animalistic rage in the older man's face, Tesu wanted to cry out to the other boy to stop, not to let that rage be turned on him, that he wasn't worth the consequences. He could only watch, however, wincing sympathetically as Staith turned his anger onto the other, as if he endured the pain and humiliation of each kick himself.

When the incident was over and Staith had stalked off to another part of the room, Tesu turned an apologetic smile onto Robertson as he slipped off the older man's lap. With an air of indulgent exasperation, the importer let him go with a softly murmured indictment to hurry back soon. Nodding absently, Tesu moved over to where the other boy still knelt, dropping to his knees beside him.

"Are you okay?" he inquired softly, trying to peer around the fall of hair that curtained his rescuer's face. Shaking his head in disbelief, he offered the other boy a lopsided smile, "That was really...stupid..."

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"It wasn't." Muneca shook his head to Tesu's final comment and, brushing back the mass of his hair, he glanced curiously to the other boy's features. So, what _had_ caused him to do that? Not that he was usually quiet and compliant with is clients, but still, to go that far for another boy's sake.

'Even knowing this...' He thought to himself as he shook his head. Studying the rises, the contours of the other's face, he soon came to a brief rest upon the stormy grey of the boy's eyes. 'He's not a whore. He doesn't deserve any of this, let alone violence. How could anyone _not_ want to do something?'

"Staith wanting to hit you was stupid." He continued quietly as he shook his head. Of course, acting as he had, it was fairly guaranteed that he ruined any chance of getting another client at this party and it was also fairly certain that Barano'd hear about it. Still, it didn't really matter. "Besides, you're too beautiful to bruise like that; I'm sure anyone'd agree with that."

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Inwardly seething with anger, Lukas gritted his teeth as the angry voices of his parents floated up the stairway, invading his third floor sanctuary. Dammit, couldn't they give it a rest for just one fucking day? Couldn't just one day begin and end without the never- ending bickering over the same old, worn-out subject? Apparently not.

"You got plenty of folks from Pontchartrain to help you already," Pere insisted, "You don't need me - 'Sides, what I know 'bout cookin' an' such, eh?"

"I had *thought* that maybe my lovin' an' supportive fam'ly *might* be int'rested in spendin' the day together!" Maman replied, her normally light, sweet voice dripping with sarcastic venom. "S'pose I shoulda known better, eh? After all, our livelihood only be important to *me*!"

"Our livelihood?" Pere exclaimed, "You put us all at risk wit your swamp magic, an' you got the gall to say that to *me*?!"

And they were off to the races - covering the same old well-covered ground that they'd already gone over countless times. Well, today, Lukas wasn't having any of it. He was tired of being the peacemaker, the go-between. Tired of trying to hold his family together all by himself. If Maman and Pere didn't care what they were doing to each other, to him, then he didn't give a rat's ass, either.

Too impatient to plait his long, mahogany hair into its customary braid, he simply tied it back into a long tail before leaving his room to stomp downstairs. Upon his reaching the second floor landing, his parents turned their eyes upon their son, for once, lapsing into blessed, peaceful silence. He stalked past them without a word, his cobalt blue eyes glittering with challenge. 'Go ahead,' he thought, 'Say something. Try to stop me.'

They didn't.

Maman and Pere remained silent as Lukas stormed the rest of the way down the stairs, across the foyer to the front door. Yanking it open, he flung himself through the opening, slamming the door behind him. "Now.." he muttered, as he stomped across the lawn, heading to the sidewalk, "Now you can yell at each other all you fuckin' want... yell yourselves hoarse... till both your damn heads explode..."

His rage and fear settling around him like a cloak, Lukas made his way down the street, neither knowing nor caring where he went as long as it took him away from the home he no longer recognized.

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"Oh... I don't know..." Tesu replied, shrugging, indifferent to the subject, "Lot's of people like destroying beautiful things... Still..." A sudden, soft smile curved his lips, "It was a crazy thing to do and all... but...thanks..." His smile vanished as suddenly as it had appeared, a thoughtful frown taking its place, "Y- you won't get into *too* much trouble over this, will you?" Tilting his head to the side, cloudy grey eyes searching the other's face worriedly. "I mean... I really appreciate what you did... but really... if it's going to cause you trouble... I'm not worth it..."

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"I've already said that you're more than worth it." Muneca shrugged easily as he shook his head. "There's really no need to thank me, either. It's not like I did anything exceptional."

"Besides, it's nothing new." He shrugged further and, laughing softly, he closed his eyes. "I usually end up in a situation like this, anyway; Barano's use to it, by now..."

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"Well..." Tesu answered quietly, "Thanks anyway - whether I need to or not.." He glanced back over his shoulder to where Robertson waited, looking half-impatient, half-amused, before turning his attention back to the other boy.

"I..I'm gonna have to go soon," he murmured, "I still have to..." he trailed off, biting sharply into the inside of his cheek. Damn, he'd almost told this boy - this stranger - that he was just as much spy as he was a whore. "I still have to... um... work..." he amended lamely. "But... are you gonna be okay? If you like, I can have the watchdogs take you back home... I'm... probably gonna be here awhile, so I won't need the car..."

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The faint traces of a smile clung to Sophia's lips as she walked, Olhado's words still fresh in her mind. /"Of course I would, Sabiana! Glad you decided to invite a lonely old man along..."/ Right, because if Olhado was anything _but_ liked and admired all through the neighborhood for his friendliness, she'd resign the bench.

She shook her head slightly and paused at the crosswalk; the light had only barely turned to yellow, but it never hurt to wait. And sure enough, a car was barreling through the intersection, just as movement next to her caught her eye--

"Watch out!" She stopped, looked up at the man she'd just spoken to, and felt extremely foolish. He hadn't been about to cross, he'd just made a little-- an _angry_ little gesture, if his expression was anything to go by.

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Almost unconsciously-- yeah, right, he _totally_ knew what he was doing, but hoped she'd think it had been unconscious-- Darran leaned in toward her a little as well, muttering conspiratorially, "Is that so? So in other words, I should ask you out quick and get that hurdle over with, huh?"

*Woah. In front of two kids?! Nice one, dumbass.*

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