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


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"Me, try to put him to bed?" Darran yelped. "He won't go easy on me like he does on his sister, he'll take me apart! They'll never find anything of me but a few orange tufts of hair..." He shuddered in horror. "And anyway," he added sheepishly, "I'm not much of a reader... probably couldn't pick out a good book... so maybe I should give up on this winning-over-the-brothers thing..."

"Oh good," he grinned to Para, bowing his head a little to allow the pat. "Maybe I'll come out okay after all."

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"Just company," Sui reassured him, "I was incredibly bored and lonesome before you came. Sit down...?" He spread one hand wide to gesture at the park bench. He really didn't want to _do_ anything. Not at the moment, anyway. He would probably play with his pet a little later, but for now he just wanted to sit quietly, observing the passersby and enjoying Lem's cuteness.

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"Those are enough to get you started." Dante commented as he nodded toward the paper in her hand. Now that he had started to recall the names from his memory, it seemed that there would be enough to fill a whole pad's worth of paper, but he saw no real point in going that far with something that, to his mind, was a doomed cause. "If you don't get anywhere with those, then I'll give you some others."

"My pessimism may well be nothing but cowardice, but your optimism is nothing but pure delusion. It's wonderful to go around and to think that we can change the world, right the wrongs, and save all the souls, but that sort of thing happens only in fairy tales." Once the words had started, it seemed that Dante couldn't stop himself from speaking and, his eyes narrowed, he stared down at the girl. Yes. She really was only a girl and here he was tearing apart what might be her last hopes. Wasn't it fairer to do it this way, though? To take away those delusions before they could ruin her? Before they could lead her to the wolves? Was there anything truly innocent in this world, anymore? "I hate to break it to you, but, in the end, there's no one to protect us and to keep us from evil. The sooner you see and accept this, the less difficult it'll be."

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"Nah, I think Cordy'd take it easy on you." Para shook her head as she tossed Darran a bright smile. "He really does like you, you know? You really made an impression on him, last week, and he must've said 'kitty' at least a thousand times since then; it's his new favorite word, I think."

"As for books, Iago's pretty easy-going." She giggled as she dropped a wink. "Just get him a big, thick textbook and he'll be in heaven for hours. Honestly, I think you'd have no problem at all winning over most of them."

"You'll come out fine, babe." Para reassured him as she tangled her fingers a bit in his short hair. "I'll make sure of it."

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"Oh! I'm sorry that you were lonely," Lem murmured as he took his place beside Barano on the bench. Of course, almost as soon as he sat, he moved in closer to the elder's side and, wrapping one arm about his waist, he used the hand of the other to idly twirl one of his curls. Smiling softly, he peeked at the pimp from the corner of his eye. "C-can... can I do anything to help?"

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In a way, if Sophia could have known it, Dante was right; she was not an innocent, nor did she believe in such an ideal. But she believed that one could know evil and still be capable of rejecting it fully; the only thing that could be so appealing as to be irresistable was good. And she knew for certain that one could be hurt by evil-- including one's own- - and not fall so low as to forget good entirely.

"No," she snapped, "the faster I accept it, the faster things fall apart.

"I don't expect to be protected, Dante. People like you and I don't _deserve_ to be. But," she said intensely, "_I intend to be the one protecting those I love and those I value._ I will _not_ cower from evil and let others be destroyed as a result. Tell me, are you actually willing to lie down and let those close to you get dragged through the muck as you have been?"

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"Yes! That's me, Super-Kitty!" Absolutely unabashed by any and all pedestrians, Darran took a moment to pose even as he leaned forward for Para's benefit. He grinned, "Oh, good, I guess that leaves only the sisters... and..." he added nervously, "uhh, any parents that might by lying around..."

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Dante opened his mouth to answer Sophia's snappy comment, but the words died on his lips as she continued on. Though he tried valiantly not to do so, he couldn't help but wince as the girl mentioned letting others be drug through the muck and, finding that the girl had cut to the heart of the matter, he turned his face aside for a moment.

That was the rub. He couldn't-- wouldn't-- let any of the others suffer just because he had been too weak in his own past. He'd do _anything_ to keep his siblings from having to face a loss of innocence simply because he had taken away those who could protect them from it. It wouldn't be right to make them fall for his sins and he simply wouldn't let that happen.

"Tell me," Dante demanded in a low, somewhat dull tone as he turned his attention back to Sophia. Fully, he met those wise eyes and, for a moment, he knew that he was being seen through as if he were made of glass; however, instead of fighting it as before, he simply gave into the inevitable. "What can I do? If I give Barano over to the law, then I'll have no means of keeping them from falling into the muck. If I stay with him, at least I'll have a means of keeping them safe, keeping them somewhat happy."

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"Best. Superhero. Ever." Para opined as she applauded Darran's posing with a great amount of enthusiasm. Lifting a hand, she giggled behind this for quite a few moments before continuing with a wink. "He can save _me_, anytime."

"Um, nope. No parents to worry about, at least." She commented in her usual cheerful tones as she gave her head a shake. Blinking her eyes quickly, she moved along to the aforementioned sisters. "I think my sisters'll love you, though. Well, Cochiti for sure; Tana might try to give you a hard time, but it'll be alright."

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"Just sit with me," Sui responded, "and be Lemy, pet. That's all you need to do right now. Perhaps later..." he trailed off. He wasn't sure what they'd do later; something sexy and exciting, of course, but he hadn't quite decided on the details.

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Sophia wanted to take a half-step back from the look in Dante's eyes. She'd made him see, yes, but his truth was a predicament that seemed irreconcilable.

And yet, it was true. There was no solving it until it was understood.

"And how are they safe now?" She demanded, "They're living off your blood, though you don't seem to care about what that does to you. But they're also linked, through you, to Barano, and what's to stop him from fancing another sibling to play with? Not you, certainly. You've brought them closer to evil, Dante. That's _all_. They're existing at the edge of a precipice, and the fact that they're still alive does not make their danger any less great.

"And it's not a healthy existence anyway. Perhaps your family doesn't understand what you're doing now, but someday they will find out. You've built their lives on a lie, and a particularly dark one at that. You don't think a morally mature person would be revolted by the extent of the sacrifice, even if it was done for them?" Her eyes hardened. "You don't think they might be ashamed?

"I don't have a simple answer for you, Dante. But I assure you that your association with someone as evil as Barano can _not_ end well for you at all. You _have_ to find another job, no matter how hard it is. You can't go on like this." Because... because he had good in him, Sophia realized fully. Overwhelmed, but somewhere in there. Because he could recognize that what he was doing was wrong.

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"Ohokay," Darran said quickly and about as casually as he could manage, trying to fill that ugly little pause. Inwardly, his mind went through some rather frenzied thoughts: no parents? What did she mean? Had they all been abandonned? Or... _christ_... were her parents dead?

*Wow,* he had to admit, even as he tried to suppress his horror, *and here she is, with five siblings and everything. She's a hell of a lot stronger than anyone could guess.* Maybe later he'd find out what had happened... but for now, he would gladly follow Para's lead and avoid the topic.

"Cochiti?" He grinned. "Er... is that her real name?"

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That _miserable_ little son of a bastard, that complete and utter pansy asshole... and so on, and so forth, as Kein cleaned himself up and popped pill after pill in the elegant marble bathroom of the Montague Corporation. Fingering the bruise at the back of his head, he grimaced at his reflection. Best to get it over with, but what was about to come would be nearly as bad as the scene in McParadise.

"Mother," he said without preamble as he walked into her office, "there's been some bad publicity today."

It took only a minute to explain what had happened, taking care not to gloss over his part in the whole sorry mess as he knew she'd see through such tactics right away. Her lips tightened by degrees as she listened, and Kein had to fight to keep from cringing in anticipation of her final reaction. It wouldn't have been so bad-- but there was only one person in the world who could make his heart sink like that, and he was standing right in front of her.

"That _bastard_," Eve spat out when he was done, her hands balled into fists and her angry gaze boring a hole through the desk in front of her, "I should have choked him in the cradle!" Suddenly, her head snapped up and she turned the look on Kein, including a very displeased twist of her mouth especially for him. "_Your_ conduct wasn't good enough either, Kein," she said icily, "I certainly hope you realize that. There is a time and a place for everything, and the floor of a fast-food restaurant is _not_ where one rises to a dirty Capulet's baiting." She turned to her phone and dialed for her secretary. "Myna... a message for David Von," she said quickly, naming a prestegious journalist who just happened to be in the pay of the Montagues. "Tell him there can be _no_ word of our family in conjunuction to today... not a single mention in his newspaper. If he needs to bribe anyone, I'll pay. If he needs to threaten, he can use our name. No, you don't want to know why, but he'll know. Excellent. Thank you."

Eve hung up and continued glaring at Kein as if there had been no pause whatsoever. "You've caused me trouble today, Kein," she stated coldly, "and now you will listen to me. Go back out. You're done working for the day, I'll make sure everything else runs smoothly. Do something-- anything-- _innocuous_. Von's paper won't touch the story, but who knows how many others got it. If worst comes to worst and we need to press a suit for wrongful slander, we'll need evidence that you were somewhere else, understand? I don't care what you do, but it had better not be gossip-worthy. And avoid the Capulets." She gave an unamused smile. "Oh, we'll pay them back for this... but we'll do it where we can't be hurt."

Kein nodded curtly and turned to go out without a word. He was pissed, of course-- dismissed, just like a disciplined child, with everything explained in the clearest, most condescending way. But most of the ugly storm boiling within him was contempt for his own actions. Of course Kisoku had flown off the handle. He was a Capulet, wasn't he? But Kein ought to have had more self-control. He should have remembered his place. Montagues didn't need to brawl with Capulets; not when they could more easily and more effectively destroy them in the marketplace.

Pushing open the office building doors, he re-emerged into the sunlight and started walking down the street. His mother's words quite fresh in his mind, Kein started casting about for some sort of 'innocuous' action... but all he could really come up with was detouring into the nearest bar and helping himself to something strong.

Regretfully, Kein eyed the facade the bar as he continued by. _Damn_ it. What with the way things were, he didn't think it would be that great an idea to try his fake ID.

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Lem nodded to the orders given him, but, of course, he couldn't resist the temptation. Though he didn't know if it was what Barano had in mind, he soon curled against the older man's side and, his head on the pimp's shoulder, he rolled his eyes so that he could watch the man's features. Barano was so pretty. He always made Lem feel completely safe. He was happy just to sit here with the man and be quiet, for the moment. It was an odd thing to think, even Lem knew on some buried level, but he really did feel best when he was with Barano.

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"I'd kill Barano before he could touch any of them." Dante stated this quietly, but the conviction in both voice and eyes left absolutely no room for doubt that he would do it. Sure, he had promised himself that he wouldn't ever pick up a gun again, but, after two murders, what lay in such words? Besides, for their sakes, it would be entirely worth it. "No matter how close they get to your precipice, I'll keep them from going over. I don't necessarily know how, but I'll find a way. Even if they do learn of it and become ashamed of me."

After all, what was so terrible about having people be ashamed of him? They already hated him for what had happened with their parents, so what was shame on top of that? So far as he could see, he was beyond redemption in their eyes and nothing could change this. Not even a change of jobs. Not that this was really feasible, either. Where else could he find a job that'd pay out so well? Where else could he find a job without having any work skill? Where else could he find a job that required really so little from him?

"There is no other job for me," He murmured, though it likely seemed that he was mostly speaking to himself. Shaking his head, he ran a hand back through his hair before rooting in his coat with this same. Digging out a cigarette, he placed this between his lips, but, instead of lighting it, he merely chewed on the filter for a few moments. "There's no other job that would suit my purposes... or at least not one a high school student could take..."

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Though she did notice the slightly ugly pause, Para was too lost in her own thoughts to do much for it. Typically, she made a real effort not to think of her parents, so it was always a bit of a smack when it did come up. Raising a hand, she toyed a bit with the longer strands of her hair as she stared hard at the sky overhead. It was okay. Her parents were in heaven, now. They were happy. Everything... was okay.

Still, she was soon thankfully pulled from her thoughts and, after rubbing her eyes quickly, she turned a grin to Darran as she nodded.

"Mhmm." She giggled as she tipped her head a bit on side. Holding up a hand, she ticked off the names as she recited them in a pensive tone. "Muneca, Parajo, Iago, Cochiti, Gitana, and Cordero. Sometimes I wonder about my mother, that she gave us names like that, you know?"

Of course, this was quickly followed with a teasing wink.

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Finding his appetite wholly gone, Nevan had left the McParadise and, hands entrenched deeply in his pockets, he made his slow way through town. No, he wasn't much paying attention to where he was going, but he wasn't sure that it mattered. His body merely seemed to be moving as if it were free of his mind's control and that was alright. It was fine. If only he could get his mind to stop working...

He wanted to forget, if only for a short while. He wanted to stop thinking about the past and about that horrible doll, but it was so hard not to think of his dearly departed loved ones with christmas cheer at every turn. Christmas was a time for family, but what if you didn't have one?

Wincing a bit to this thought, he drew a hissed breath through his teeth as he came to a slow stop. Turning his attention from his thoughts, he glanced around only to see a bar near a hand. Now, he had never been a strong drinker-- he was more the sort only to have a single glass of wine and, even then, only once in a blue moon-- but he knew that it was said to be an ideal way to forget. Of course, it was also a sin to abuse the body in such a manner.

"God, help me," Nevan whispered in something between a plea and a prayer as he reached for the bar's door.

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Tesu glanced from Addie to Alexei and back again, unsure if the other boy was just being polite, or if the invitation was sincere. "I... guess..." he replied, the dove grey eyes travelling back to Alexei before once more returning to his prospective host, "Um... if you're sure it's okay...?"

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Lukas didn't feel very nice at the moment. In point of fact, he felt like a total bastard for leading Arvel on-- albeit inadvertently-- and had he been able to read the younger redhead's thoughts, he would have been surprised at the other boy's feelings that he was unworthy of the Cajun, because at the moment, Lukas was feeling rather unworthy of his young companion's esteem. Still, he genuinely liked Arvel, and not knowing what else to do about the situation at the moment, he offered his companion a bright smile, "Well then... ready to go back and join the others then?"

Resting a hand casually on the younger boy's shoulder, he turned, preparing to shepherd Arvel back into McParadise, when he was again interrupted by the joyful, saccharine tones of "Holly Jolly Christmas"-- Damn... he had to remember to change that before it drove him crazy. Offering Arvel an apologetic smile, he fished his cell phone out of his coat pocket and thumbed the 'talk' button. "What?"

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Sui sighed contentedly, allowing one hand to idly caress Lem's hair. There was something about the boy that made him want to cherish and protect him, even while he exploited and abused him.

"Your face," the pimp growled, noting bruises, "did your client do that? I told him not to hurt you."

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