I'd Do Anything To Protect You Chpr. 4
Wednesday, May 18th, 2016 11:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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mindcrackloveSomething's mat change,while others don't.
He felt the weight of the gold in his pocket as he left Vechs' house. It felt like a burden, especially when he obtained it in such a terrible way. He was starting to hate himself, but, he mostly hated Vechs. He was never nice, always straight to business, never going easy, always rough and demanding. He sighed as he played with a gold coin in his pocket.
"Sir?" Someone said, their voice a nice sound after being with Vechs.
"Can I help you?" Kurt questioned as he looked towards the person who had spoken. A man, seemingly normal till he spotted the blue-green eyes.
"How long have you been seeing Vechs?" The man questioned.
"Uh....." Was Kurt's nervous response.
"He does this to anyone willing enough to sell their bodies for gold." The man spoke, his eyes filled with loathing.
Kurt just stared incredulously for a moment. "What else am I supposed to do? I have to take care of my son."
The man's eyebrow dipped slightly, something obviously toying with his mind. "I've seen so many people fall victim to him, men and women, I've seen them so desperate for gold that they'd so willingly give their bodies away and betray their spouses. I've seen it too many times."
"What's the point of this?" Kurt asks, sounding drained and tired.
The man sighed. "Look, I don't usually do this because its not my business, but I'm offering you a job to get away from this, I can't stand seeing people, especially like you, slowly fall victim to Vechs."
"A job?"
"Yes, come work for me at my shop, I'll give you eighty gold a day and a discount on anything in the store."
"Your-you're serious?"
"Very serious."
"Thank you so much....?"
"The names Zisteau."
"Thank you, Zisteau."
"I'll see you first thing tomorrow...?"
"Kurt."
"First thing tomorrow Kurt."
Kurt just nodded and watched Zisteau walk down the street, in disbelief. He couldn't believe he'd finally found a job, a good paying one too. He finally pulled himself out of his thought filled state and walked home, unable to keep the smile off of his face.
"Ads?" He called out once he entered their small house.
"I'm in my room Papa."
He wasn't able to control his excitement. "I got a job!"
"Really?" Adlington asks, his grey eyes lighting up.
"Yeah! I start tomorrow!"
"That's amazing Papa!"
"I got some gold today, enough to go out for dinner."
"You're serious?"
"Yeah, so get around so we can go."
Adlington was practically bouncing with excitement as they left the house. He hadn't seen his son this happy in a long time, and it made him smile even brighter. They went into a small restaurant and sat down and ordered.
"What type of job is it?" Adlington asked after a while.
"I'm not really sure, but its in a shop downtown."
"How did you get this gold?"
"Just an odd job I did." Kurt says, lying through his teeth.
Adlington looked at him for a second, as if trying to read him. "What did you really do?"
Kurt sighed. "Something I'm not proud of."
"You didn't steal, did you?"
"No, of course not, it's just not something I'm really not okay with doing, but we needed the gold."
"What was it?"
"I'll tell you when your older Ads."
"Right..."
"Hey, Adlington, its nothing to worry about, I promise." Kurt says, sensing his son's unease.
"Alright."
The rest of dinner was quiet, but that wasn't unusual between the two. After a while they both headed home, feeling content and well fed, for once.
~
Once morning rolled around, Kurt was anxious but ready for his first day of work. It had been a long time since he'd actually had a job, a steady one at least. He was almost ready to go when Adlington approached him.
"Good luck today."
"Thanks bud, don't get in too much trouble."
"I won't get in anymore than usual." Adlington joked with a smile.
Kurt chuckles and ruffles Adlington's short blond hair. "I'll see you tonight."
"Yeah, see ya."
Kurt headed out into the small town, knowing exactly where to go. He'd never actually met Zisteau before last night, but he knew of him and his little shop. He sold books, ranging from novels to comics. He entered the shop nervously, an odd mixture of excitement and anxiousness coursing through him.
"Good morning Kurt." Zisteau says as he hears the jingle from the bell above the door.
Kurt nodded briefly. "Good morning.... What do I need to do?"
"Not too much, really, don't get many customers. But basically, keeping items stocked, keeping the store tidy, watching over the store, and running the cash register."
"Right." Was all Kurt could think to say.
"For right now, there's a box back in the storage room, labeled Mezzan, go grab that."
Kurt nodded and went to the storage room, in which Zisteau had indicated. The room was full of boxes, all labeled and organized, almost too well, if Kurt were to be honest. It took him a long time to find the box, after figuring out the sorting system, that is, and made his way back to the counter and sat the heavy box down. Zisteau meerily chuckled and opened the box, pulling out book after book.
"You're really organized, I take it?" Kurt asks quizzically.
"Yes, it bugs me not to be, honestly." Zisteau gives Kurt a quick glance. "Anyway, those books go over in the back corner."
Kurt grabbed the stack of books and took them to where Zisteau had indicated. He put the books on the shelves, trying to make them look neat. He picked up one of the books he had put on the shelf and looked at it curiously. Mezzan Lore, was the title, he flipped open the book and read a few of the chapter names; Origins, Pigmen Myth. He put the book back and walked back up to the front of the shop, where Zisteau was sitting on the counter, looking at a newspaper.
"What is Mezzan?" Kurt asked, catching the others attention.
"Its a country way down south."
"Huh, I've never heard of it."
"Most haven't." Zisteau gave Kurt a quick glance before his gaze fell back to the paper.
Kurt felt rather awkward about the whole situation, if he were to be honest. Zisteau seemed relatively nice, but he also seemed really reserved, like he didn't want to talk about himself at all. Kurt was a very shy person, so not talking was okay, but this made him feel really uncomfortable.
Zisteau glanced up from the newspaper again. "Tell me about yourself, Kurt."
"As in...?" Kurt asked nervously.
Zisteau chuckles. "You from here? Got any family, you know, just general stuff."
"Right..." Kurt says with a nervous breath of laughter. "I grew up here, always lived here. Family wise, it's just me and my son."
"How old is your son?"
"Adlington's eight."
"Adlington, huh. That's an odd name."
"Yeah." Kurt chuckled. "My wife loved that name."
Zisteau couldn't miss the longing in Kurt's blue eyes. "Your wife?"
Kurt let out a deep sigh. "I don't want to talk about it..."
"Okay..."
An awkward silence settled between the two, which seemed to last a long time. Though, it was finally interrupted by a jingle from the door opening.
"Hello sir, how can I help you?" Zisteau asked, hopping off the counter and approaching the man who had entered the store.
"I'm looking for a specific book."
"Lets see if we have it."
Kurt stood back and watched Zisteau work. He seemed so at ease with people, which was something Kurt had never been great at. He messed with the hem on his shirt as he pondered the past. He wished he had never mentioned MK, that only brought back bittersweet memories, specifically her last moments on this planet.
"Just-just hang in there MK, you'll be okay, we'll be okay." Kurt says, tears glistening in his bright blue eyes and spilling onto his pale cheeks.
"My love." MK says weakly, twining her fingers with Kurt's. "We both know that this is it." Her voice trembled as she spoke, light quickly fading from her dark brown eyes, which had always looked so bright.
"MK...."
"Shhh, it's okay, I'll be in a better place."
"What-what about our son?"
"Take care of him.... Give him a good life, protect him...."
"I will..."
MK's eyes closed slowly, her grip falling slack, her chest no longer rising.
"I promise I will..." Kurt mouthed, unable to actually speak.
Kurt blinked away the tears as Zisteau and the customer came back up to the counter. He got a look from Zisteau as he moved around the counter. After the customer left, Zisteau turned his attention back to Kurt.
"Are you ok?"
Kurt glanced at him briefly, wiping at his eyes. "Yeah, of course." He replied, knowing his answer wasn't convincing at all.
Zisteau lips pressed into a thin line. "Do you want to talk?"
Kurt shook his head. "I'd rather not...."
"Why don't you go ahead and take a break, here's some gold, go ahead and get yourself something." Zisteau says sympathetically.
Kurt accepted the gold with a nod of thanks. "Thanks."
He headed out into the town. He went into a bar and sat at the counter. "Scotch please."
"Preference?" The bartender asks.
"Anything is fine."
A glass of amber liquid was sat in front of Kurt. He grabbed the glass and took a long drink, loving the burn on his throat. It had been a long, long time since he'd had a drink. He usually wouldn't drink at this time of day, but he needed this right now. Scotch had always calmed him down. The glass was gone really quickly, and he almost got another glass, but decided against it and made his way back to work, where Zisteau was sitting on the counter, paging through a book.
"You feeling better?"
Kurt shrugged. "I guess."
"I understand you're upset, and I'm sorry if I caused it.... I guess I'm just trying to say, I'm willing to listen if you ever need to talk." Zisteau says, slightly awkwardly.
"Thanks." Kurt says quietly.
Kurt goes about straightening out the books on the shelves and trying to keep himself distracted, though it was increasingly difficult as the hours passed.
"I'm closing up shop Kurt." Zisteau called out.
Kurt came up to the front of the shop, biting his lip, as he tried to keep his emotions in check.
"I'm heading to my house for a drink, you wanna accompany me?" Zisteau questioned.
Kurt pondered the offer briefly. "I gotta get home to my son."
"Alright, I'll see tomorrow morning then."
Kurt nodded and headed from the shop. He made it home fairly quickly and checked on Adlington, who was sitting on his bed with a small journal.
"Hey bud, whatcha doing?" Kurt questioned, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.
"I'm writing."
"Oh?"
"It's a story about a young prince trying to find love."
Kurt glances at the journal, reading a sentence or two. "That's really good Ads, I didn't know you could write like that."
"I didn't either." Adlington chuckles. "Anyway, how was your day at work?"
"It was okay." Kurt sighs.
"Were you thinking about Mama again?"
Kurt nods. "Yeah."
"Is it hard not to think about her?"
"It is bud, it really is."
"I'm sorry Papa."
"It's okay bud, it's not your fault."
"But I'm the reason she died." Adlington says sadly, looking away from his father.
"That's not true. It was her time."
"Was I a mistake?"
"Of course not!" Kurt says, rubbing Adlington's back. "Your mother and I wanted a child, we were ready for that next step in our life."
"What if you guys never had me?"
"I don't know bud, but I couldn't imagine not having you, you're an amazing person, I just want you to know that. You're everything I could ever ask for in a child." Kurt wiped away the tears that fell from his son's grey eyes.
"Really?"
"Really."
After a moment of comfortable silence, Kurt spoke up. "I'm gonna head to bed, you probably should too."
"Alright, goodnight Papa."
"Goodnight Ads."
Kurt made his way to his room and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
He felt the weight of the gold in his pocket as he left Vechs' house. It felt like a burden, especially when he obtained it in such a terrible way. He was starting to hate himself, but, he mostly hated Vechs. He was never nice, always straight to business, never going easy, always rough and demanding. He sighed as he played with a gold coin in his pocket.
"Sir?" Someone said, their voice a nice sound after being with Vechs.
"Can I help you?" Kurt questioned as he looked towards the person who had spoken. A man, seemingly normal till he spotted the blue-green eyes.
"How long have you been seeing Vechs?" The man questioned.
"Uh....." Was Kurt's nervous response.
"He does this to anyone willing enough to sell their bodies for gold." The man spoke, his eyes filled with loathing.
Kurt just stared incredulously for a moment. "What else am I supposed to do? I have to take care of my son."
The man's eyebrow dipped slightly, something obviously toying with his mind. "I've seen so many people fall victim to him, men and women, I've seen them so desperate for gold that they'd so willingly give their bodies away and betray their spouses. I've seen it too many times."
"What's the point of this?" Kurt asks, sounding drained and tired.
The man sighed. "Look, I don't usually do this because its not my business, but I'm offering you a job to get away from this, I can't stand seeing people, especially like you, slowly fall victim to Vechs."
"A job?"
"Yes, come work for me at my shop, I'll give you eighty gold a day and a discount on anything in the store."
"Your-you're serious?"
"Very serious."
"Thank you so much....?"
"The names Zisteau."
"Thank you, Zisteau."
"I'll see you first thing tomorrow...?"
"Kurt."
"First thing tomorrow Kurt."
Kurt just nodded and watched Zisteau walk down the street, in disbelief. He couldn't believe he'd finally found a job, a good paying one too. He finally pulled himself out of his thought filled state and walked home, unable to keep the smile off of his face.
"Ads?" He called out once he entered their small house.
"I'm in my room Papa."
He wasn't able to control his excitement. "I got a job!"
"Really?" Adlington asks, his grey eyes lighting up.
"Yeah! I start tomorrow!"
"That's amazing Papa!"
"I got some gold today, enough to go out for dinner."
"You're serious?"
"Yeah, so get around so we can go."
Adlington was practically bouncing with excitement as they left the house. He hadn't seen his son this happy in a long time, and it made him smile even brighter. They went into a small restaurant and sat down and ordered.
"What type of job is it?" Adlington asked after a while.
"I'm not really sure, but its in a shop downtown."
"How did you get this gold?"
"Just an odd job I did." Kurt says, lying through his teeth.
Adlington looked at him for a second, as if trying to read him. "What did you really do?"
Kurt sighed. "Something I'm not proud of."
"You didn't steal, did you?"
"No, of course not, it's just not something I'm really not okay with doing, but we needed the gold."
"What was it?"
"I'll tell you when your older Ads."
"Right..."
"Hey, Adlington, its nothing to worry about, I promise." Kurt says, sensing his son's unease.
"Alright."
The rest of dinner was quiet, but that wasn't unusual between the two. After a while they both headed home, feeling content and well fed, for once.
~
Once morning rolled around, Kurt was anxious but ready for his first day of work. It had been a long time since he'd actually had a job, a steady one at least. He was almost ready to go when Adlington approached him.
"Good luck today."
"Thanks bud, don't get in too much trouble."
"I won't get in anymore than usual." Adlington joked with a smile.
Kurt chuckles and ruffles Adlington's short blond hair. "I'll see you tonight."
"Yeah, see ya."
Kurt headed out into the small town, knowing exactly where to go. He'd never actually met Zisteau before last night, but he knew of him and his little shop. He sold books, ranging from novels to comics. He entered the shop nervously, an odd mixture of excitement and anxiousness coursing through him.
"Good morning Kurt." Zisteau says as he hears the jingle from the bell above the door.
Kurt nodded briefly. "Good morning.... What do I need to do?"
"Not too much, really, don't get many customers. But basically, keeping items stocked, keeping the store tidy, watching over the store, and running the cash register."
"Right." Was all Kurt could think to say.
"For right now, there's a box back in the storage room, labeled Mezzan, go grab that."
Kurt nodded and went to the storage room, in which Zisteau had indicated. The room was full of boxes, all labeled and organized, almost too well, if Kurt were to be honest. It took him a long time to find the box, after figuring out the sorting system, that is, and made his way back to the counter and sat the heavy box down. Zisteau meerily chuckled and opened the box, pulling out book after book.
"You're really organized, I take it?" Kurt asks quizzically.
"Yes, it bugs me not to be, honestly." Zisteau gives Kurt a quick glance. "Anyway, those books go over in the back corner."
Kurt grabbed the stack of books and took them to where Zisteau had indicated. He put the books on the shelves, trying to make them look neat. He picked up one of the books he had put on the shelf and looked at it curiously. Mezzan Lore, was the title, he flipped open the book and read a few of the chapter names; Origins, Pigmen Myth. He put the book back and walked back up to the front of the shop, where Zisteau was sitting on the counter, looking at a newspaper.
"What is Mezzan?" Kurt asked, catching the others attention.
"Its a country way down south."
"Huh, I've never heard of it."
"Most haven't." Zisteau gave Kurt a quick glance before his gaze fell back to the paper.
Kurt felt rather awkward about the whole situation, if he were to be honest. Zisteau seemed relatively nice, but he also seemed really reserved, like he didn't want to talk about himself at all. Kurt was a very shy person, so not talking was okay, but this made him feel really uncomfortable.
Zisteau glanced up from the newspaper again. "Tell me about yourself, Kurt."
"As in...?" Kurt asked nervously.
Zisteau chuckles. "You from here? Got any family, you know, just general stuff."
"Right..." Kurt says with a nervous breath of laughter. "I grew up here, always lived here. Family wise, it's just me and my son."
"How old is your son?"
"Adlington's eight."
"Adlington, huh. That's an odd name."
"Yeah." Kurt chuckled. "My wife loved that name."
Zisteau couldn't miss the longing in Kurt's blue eyes. "Your wife?"
Kurt let out a deep sigh. "I don't want to talk about it..."
"Okay..."
An awkward silence settled between the two, which seemed to last a long time. Though, it was finally interrupted by a jingle from the door opening.
"Hello sir, how can I help you?" Zisteau asked, hopping off the counter and approaching the man who had entered the store.
"I'm looking for a specific book."
"Lets see if we have it."
Kurt stood back and watched Zisteau work. He seemed so at ease with people, which was something Kurt had never been great at. He messed with the hem on his shirt as he pondered the past. He wished he had never mentioned MK, that only brought back bittersweet memories, specifically her last moments on this planet.
"Just-just hang in there MK, you'll be okay, we'll be okay." Kurt says, tears glistening in his bright blue eyes and spilling onto his pale cheeks.
"My love." MK says weakly, twining her fingers with Kurt's. "We both know that this is it." Her voice trembled as she spoke, light quickly fading from her dark brown eyes, which had always looked so bright.
"MK...."
"Shhh, it's okay, I'll be in a better place."
"What-what about our son?"
"Take care of him.... Give him a good life, protect him...."
"I will..."
MK's eyes closed slowly, her grip falling slack, her chest no longer rising.
"I promise I will..." Kurt mouthed, unable to actually speak.
Kurt blinked away the tears as Zisteau and the customer came back up to the counter. He got a look from Zisteau as he moved around the counter. After the customer left, Zisteau turned his attention back to Kurt.
"Are you ok?"
Kurt glanced at him briefly, wiping at his eyes. "Yeah, of course." He replied, knowing his answer wasn't convincing at all.
Zisteau lips pressed into a thin line. "Do you want to talk?"
Kurt shook his head. "I'd rather not...."
"Why don't you go ahead and take a break, here's some gold, go ahead and get yourself something." Zisteau says sympathetically.
Kurt accepted the gold with a nod of thanks. "Thanks."
He headed out into the town. He went into a bar and sat at the counter. "Scotch please."
"Preference?" The bartender asks.
"Anything is fine."
A glass of amber liquid was sat in front of Kurt. He grabbed the glass and took a long drink, loving the burn on his throat. It had been a long, long time since he'd had a drink. He usually wouldn't drink at this time of day, but he needed this right now. Scotch had always calmed him down. The glass was gone really quickly, and he almost got another glass, but decided against it and made his way back to work, where Zisteau was sitting on the counter, paging through a book.
"You feeling better?"
Kurt shrugged. "I guess."
"I understand you're upset, and I'm sorry if I caused it.... I guess I'm just trying to say, I'm willing to listen if you ever need to talk." Zisteau says, slightly awkwardly.
"Thanks." Kurt says quietly.
Kurt goes about straightening out the books on the shelves and trying to keep himself distracted, though it was increasingly difficult as the hours passed.
"I'm closing up shop Kurt." Zisteau called out.
Kurt came up to the front of the shop, biting his lip, as he tried to keep his emotions in check.
"I'm heading to my house for a drink, you wanna accompany me?" Zisteau questioned.
Kurt pondered the offer briefly. "I gotta get home to my son."
"Alright, I'll see tomorrow morning then."
Kurt nodded and headed from the shop. He made it home fairly quickly and checked on Adlington, who was sitting on his bed with a small journal.
"Hey bud, whatcha doing?" Kurt questioned, moving to sit on the edge of the bed.
"I'm writing."
"Oh?"
"It's a story about a young prince trying to find love."
Kurt glances at the journal, reading a sentence or two. "That's really good Ads, I didn't know you could write like that."
"I didn't either." Adlington chuckles. "Anyway, how was your day at work?"
"It was okay." Kurt sighs.
"Were you thinking about Mama again?"
Kurt nods. "Yeah."
"Is it hard not to think about her?"
"It is bud, it really is."
"I'm sorry Papa."
"It's okay bud, it's not your fault."
"But I'm the reason she died." Adlington says sadly, looking away from his father.
"That's not true. It was her time."
"Was I a mistake?"
"Of course not!" Kurt says, rubbing Adlington's back. "Your mother and I wanted a child, we were ready for that next step in our life."
"What if you guys never had me?"
"I don't know bud, but I couldn't imagine not having you, you're an amazing person, I just want you to know that. You're everything I could ever ask for in a child." Kurt wiped away the tears that fell from his son's grey eyes.
"Really?"
"Really."
After a moment of comfortable silence, Kurt spoke up. "I'm gonna head to bed, you probably should too."
"Alright, goodnight Papa."
"Goodnight Ads."
Kurt made his way to his room and fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.
Tags:
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Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 06:24 am (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 10:50 am (UTC)sadie
Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 12:33 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 02:46 pm (UTC)-Observing Anon
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Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 09:02 pm (UTC)Though I agree with Observing Anon that a lurking Vechs is not a good thing. I get the feeling that Vechs is going to make Kurt's life hell now and may try to hurt Ads....
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Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 09:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 10:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Thursday, May 19th, 2016 10:54 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2016 12:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: Friday, May 20th, 2016 10:34 am (UTC)-the lurkiest lurker