if the mafia can learn to love

[assassinrue]

Nikolai leaned against the wall in the alley breathing heavily through his nose. He was well away from the Wests' turf, almost too close to the Easts' but he had made sure he was well hidden in the neutral zone. He didn't want his brothers to see this.

Quitting smoking was perhaps the hardest thing Nikolai ever had to do. He had done awful things in the name of his brothers and in the name if his recently passed father, but those came naturally to him, the mafia, the gang, it was in his blood, generation of men raised the exact same way. But quitting smoking? God it was like trying to avoid death while bleeding out and being set on fire. His fingers twitched toward his inside coat pocket where he kept a pack of cigarettes just in case he cracked, but he jerked his hand back, and for a moment, felt like punching the wall.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Aveline made her way home from school, which had just gotten out for the day. The school, just a few blocks away, as settled securely in the neutral zone. Both Easts and Wests, and their children, attended, so of course the place wasn't as 'neutral' as it seemed. For the most part, though, both parties left her and her younger brother, Tobias, alone. Trae was an East, so that took care of them, and the Wests didn't care about the siblings of some low-ranking East Sider.

The passed the alley where Nikolai was and paused when she heard some scuffling. She knew she should have taken off running in the other direction--young men in alleys, whether in gang territory or not, was a red flag. But she lingered, a frown on her face. He looked like... he was in pain. She wondered if he'd been shot or something.

[assassinrue]

"God damn it." He hissed, resisting the urge to grab his secret pack of smokes and light them all up. Then he remembered he didn't have a lighter and he chuckled at himself quietly. He groaned and leaned his head back against the wall. "There has got to be an easier way to do this." He mumbled, unaware of his solitary observer.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Aveline's eyes searched his body, both for blood and for the tell-tale tattoo of a gang member. She didn't see what, but that didn't mean he didn't have one. It could be hidden under his clothing or just hidden from her view. Either way, she didn't see any blood, so she figured she should probably move on. Something kept her there, though. "Um... are you okay?" she asked. Her voice was small, quite possibly inaudible to him, given his distance from her.

[assassinrue]

Nikolai's head snapped up at the small voice and he smiled ruefully at her. "I'm fine, but I've just come to realize how bad of an idea smoking really is."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Aveline barked a laugh. "Kind of pathetic if you ask me," she said. Her eyes widened a bit after the words slipped out. If he was a gang member, she'd just insulted him--albeit jokingly--and that was a very bad idea. Really, insulting a tall, well-muscled guy in an alley was always a bad idea. "It's just that smoking... you know... kills you. And you're, what, twenty-something?"

[assassinrue]

It was Nikolai's turn to bark out a laugh. "It is pathetic. Oh you forgot one thing, smoking helps you age faster." He winced at another moment of craving but it was better now and it didn't fully knock the smile from his face. "I'm just 18." He shrugged as if this were something to be ashamed of.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Hmm," Aveline said. He looked older. Maybe it was the look in his eyes, like he'd seen more than most 18 year olds should have. Like he'd done things most 18 year olds shouldn't have. "You know, they have nicotine patches and stuff these days."

[assassinrue]

He shrugged. "I've tried. I kind of feel the same on them as off of them. But I've managed to reach three weeks so I'm hopeful."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Aveline raised her eyebrows. "Three weeks cold turkey? That's pretty good." While she had no experience personally, she knew people who had smoked and tried--sometimes successfully--to quit. It wasn't easy.

[assassinrue]

Nikolai shrugged. "It's been years coming. Wretched things." He looked at her for a second. "What's your name?"

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Aveline automatically opened her mouth to answer, but then hesitated. "I'm not sure I should tell you," she said cautiously. Giving her name to a stranger--another bad idea, even if she didn't include her last name.

[assassinrue]

Nikolai grinned at her. "How ever much I disapprove, that's very smart of you. He leaned away from the wall, his craving fit over and nodded once at her in acknowledgement. "It was nice to meet you, preekrahsnah

(I just realized how ridiculous writing in russian when he speaks it is going to get.)

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

(Lol, yeah)

"Pre... what?" Aveline said, staring at him blankly. That sounded vaguely like Russian, but she'd never been good with foreign languages. Spanish was probably her worse class.

[assassinrue]

Nikolai smiled at her with a little wink. "It's a word from my homeland."

(forewarning, he's going to call her Pree until he learns her name lol)

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

"Right. So you're Russian?" She was still assuming that's what language it was. "What are you, some kind of mafia dude?"

[assassinrue]

Nikolai laughed again. "It is Russian. My father was raised in the Mafia. I was raised here." He made no motion to suggest he belonged to any gang, simply the son of an immigrant.

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Aveline's eyes widened. "Oh shit," she whispered. So he really was a mafia dude. Or at least his father was. "I... uh... I think maybe I should be going now."

[assassinrue]

Nikolai cocked his head at her. "Please do, I'm not stopping you."

[ᴄʀʏsᴛᴀʟғʀᴏsᴛ]

Aveline nodded quickly and hurried off down the street, putting as much distance between them as possible without running. At one point, she glanced back to see if he was following her, but the street was basically empty.