[C] Red

Fleck was a man on a mission.

Chai, following after him at a jog to try and keep up with his long, angered stride, was trying hard to keep him from that mission.

His fists clenched and unclenched at his sides as he stormed through the streets, a clear goal for where he was going in mind. His newly cut shorter hair flared out around him in the breeze his strides created.

"Fleck, stop!" Chai called after him, clearly worried.

Fleck's shoulder bumped into someone as he passed them, and unlike his usual apologetic self, he didn't even flinch as he carried on.

"Dick. Oh my God, you need to help. He's going to kill him." Chai steadied Dick, the person that Fleck had all but barged out of the way, clearly without realising who he was. Then she grabbed at his sleeve, dragging him along with her as she jogged again to catch up with Fleck.

Dick looked between Chai and the back of Fleck, dazed. He hadn't recognized the angered man until he barged passed him. That look, that whole demeanour on Fleck was so foreign that he almost hadn't even recognised him as his own boyfriend. 

He jogged beside Chai, frowning, awkwardly holding onto his work bag.

"What's wrong?"

"A guy's been harassing me," Chai explained in a strained hiss as they trailed after Fleck. "For a while now. This morning, he..." She swallowed thickly, cheeks burning hot.

In front of them Fleck turned sharply down an alley, where a handful of thugs were chilling together, one playing music from a scratched up old iphone.

They scattered when Fleck barged through them, grabbing at the loose oversized collar of one of them and hauling him up against the alley wall. "You think you're hot shit, huh, you little prick?"

The guy wriggled, trying to get out of Fleck's harsh grip, but that just enraged the man more. He pulled back and slammed him against the wall. The guys head hit brick with a sickening thunk.

He...?

Dick watched as Fleck turned down an alley and slowed to a walk. He tugged Chai to slow down with him and turn her to face him. What he hoped was soothing, he rubbed her arms.

"I'll go get him. Are you okay going into that cafe for a moment? Ask for Claire."

Chai hesitated, all of her usual spunk vanished, before giving a shaky nod.

"Please don't let him do anything stupid. Please."

Fleck's fist met with the little bastard's face in a sound punch that felt so satisfying that he had to go for a second. Skin split on both sides, and blood painted tanned skin.

"You think its hot groping girls, my fucking sister when they say no? Huh?"

The guy whimpered, grabbing at his broken nose and sobbing wetly.

"I promise."

He rubbed her arms again, finding difficulty parting from her. He wanted to soothe her, hug her and help her but she was obviously distressed about Fleck. 

"Won't be a moment. Give me a call if there is a problem."

He squeezed her arms gently. Then he darted off in the direction Fleck went.

The work bag dropped to the floor with a thud as he raced over to his boyfriend to attempt to drag him off the bloodied man.

"Hey, hey! What are you doing?!"

"Putting this little bastard in his place," he answered through gritted teeth. He didn't even look back at Dick as he spoke.

His entire body was thrumming with bloodlust, and it was all focused on the snivelling boy in his tight grip.

"You go near her again, even look in her direction again, I'll rip your fucking balls off. You understand me?" He didn't get a response quick enough for his liking, and gave the boy a hard shake. "Do. You. Understand me, prick?"

"Yes. Yes yesyes. Oh God, yes," he sobbed, still holding onto his bleeding and broken nose.

"Good." With great effort, his hard grip on the boy loosened and he dropped him. He crumpled to the ground at his feet. "Fucking run," he ordered.

The boy almost left a dust cloud in his wake.

With a yell of frustration, Fleck turned and pounded his already damaged fist into the wall.

Whatever had transpired had really rattled Chai and got under Fleck's skin. There was no empathy for the boy crawling away. As long as there was no death on anyone's hands, that was all he could ask for.

Dick watched with a wince as Fleck's fist hit the wall, warily keeping a little bit of distance between the two of them.

"Have you got that out of your system now? Your sister is worried sick over you."

"No I fucking havent."

He flexed his hand. Blood poured from the open wounds on his knuckled. It stung like fuck, but right now it was grounding him.

"He's lucky I didn't smash his skeevy little face in. If I ever see him again..."

All bets were off, then. He wasn't going to play nice.

It was difficult to see this man as Fleck, being so aggressively violent. His eyes drifted from the heated expression to the bloodied hand. It wasn't just Fleck's blood.

He clicked his tongue. They should be with Chai.

He jerked his hand in the direction of the wall.

"Go on then, bust your hand up even more."

"It's not going to help."

He shrugged off the open shirt he was wearing over a plain black muscle shirt and bundled it around his bleeding hand. A poor bandage, but it'd do for now.

Part of him idly wondered if he'd need something better than a few bandages, but hat part was drowned out by adrenaline and fury.

He strode towards the edge of the alley. "Where'd you send her off to?"

Dick's lips pursed. That makeshift bandage really wasn't going to cut it, but it hid the blood at least.

"To a cafe."

He picked up his work bag and threw it over his shoulder as he made his way over to stand in front of Fleck. He gripped his shoulder, firmly.

"Hey, I don't don't know how serious Chai was being, but..." He glanced down and away, in a moment of thought. The line between his brows deepened. "I'm glad you knew when to stop."

Fleck let out a huff, eyes flickering over Dick's face, searching for something.

Clearly he found what he was looking for, because his tense shoulders relaxed some and a weak half-smile curled up the corners of his lips.

"If I'd gone much further, I'd bring the cops to mami's door, then I would be the one with the broken nose."

He let out a rumbling sigh, still very much jacked up and twitchy, then slung an arm around Dick's shoulders.

"Let's go tell our sister that her favourite brother isn't a murderer."

Dick' shoulders relaxed and he hummed. An arm wrapped around Fleck's waist.

"Can you tell me exactly what happened then?"

It was easy to make an assumption, but he was curious to know the details of what made both of them so worked up. With Chai looking shaken, he was unsure if she would be willing to part with them.

"The little prick cornered her on the way to work and got a little too handsy."

His arm tensed around Dick's shoulders, inadvertently pulling Dick closer to him.

"Someone got hold of the little prick before he could do too much damage, but I've warned him too many times." Fleck wasn't the sort of person that gave out warnings often, but when he did, he meant them.

"Fuck."

His own angered spiked then, then simmered. With Fleck calmed back down, it wasn't time for another wave of anger.

"Wait, he'd done this before?"

"Nah, not this. You think any of us would have let him touch her and get away with it?"

Did Dick think so little of them as protective siblings?

"He's been flirting and pushing for a long time. Even back when I worked there with her. This is the first time he's had the balls to corner her. Net time. he's losing them."

His hands clenched into fists again, and with the slowly waning adrenaline, it wrestled a groan of pain from him. He was feeling the split skin on his knuckles now.

"Ah. No no, of course not. I'm just surprised he had the gall to do it at all, let alone if you've been warning him."

He gave Fleck's waist a squeeze.

"He's certainly got some explaining to do when - if - he goes back to work. Can she not file in a complaint?"

Dick lead Fleck into the cafe he was just in not even half an hour ago. He scanned the room before leading them to a door labelled staff.

"Stupidity is innate." The barb was sharp and cruelly bitten off. Fleck was still incredibly wound up.

"That shithole don't care. My bet is they'll be pissed off they might lose a customer." That shitty little corner shop did not care about their staff in the slightest.

It pissed him off to no end when his family was victim to it.

Dick hummed, lips a thin line.

The staff room was tiny, decked out with a washing machine and a tiny plastic table with mismatching chairs. It wouldn't have been a particular surprise, with the cafe itself looking dated and well worn. 

His eyes landed on Chai, clutching her drink, then to a woman who looked like she should be far older than her mid-thirties. 

"Let me see what I can do for that," she said, nodding towards Fleck's clothes hand as she stood. As she shuffled around Chai she gave her a light pat on the shoulder.

Fleck leaned back against the wall beside the door, crossing his arms over his chest, still looking very close to murderous.

Chai gave the woman a small smile and raised the mug clutched in her hands in silent thanks.

"They're fractured," Fleck said simply, not moving from his stern position at the door, eyes hard on Chai. Most of his hand was numb now. He could hardly feel the burn of an open wound. He'd easily fractured a couple of bones when he had punched the wall. So, even if she could stitch the splits in his skin together, he'd need more help that she could give anyway.

"Did you...?" Chai asked quietly, trailing off when she realised she wasn't sure she wanted the answer.

"Broken nose. Hopefully he's missing a few teeth, too."

Claire gave Fleck one displeased look over. Then tutted as she left the room, closing the door behind her.

"I think he may have shat himself as well."

Dick sat next to Chai and offered her a grimaced smile.

"How are you feeling?"

"Good," brother and sister replied together.

"I'm fine," she replied, taking another sip of her tea. "Really. I was more worried for him than me."

Which was true. Her fear was for the little punk who was going to get his head kicked in, or her brother that could end up with some serious jail time if he killed said little punk. When she had told Fleck, she was annoyed, bitchy, but not scared. Not until Fleck had jumped up from the stool in the bathroom and barged out of the house.

Fleck grunted quietly, hands clenching and relaxing again.

"You only broke his nose, right?" Chai asked. "Please tell me you didn't do anything else. Don't make it be like last time."

"That's good," he said, patting her forearm. Those words were a relieving weight, especially since she seemed to be saying so honestly. 

Dick looked slowly over to Fleck and he raised a brow.

"Last time?"

He heard of Fleck's temper, but it was still difficult to get his head around; his easygoing boyfriend having his sister worry he might kill someone.

"Leo was with me last time. If you're that worried about the shitstain, be thankful Leo wasn't around."

Chai let out a big breath. "I am. You two fucked him up really bad. I don't want that happening again."

Fleck shrugged in response, and silence lapsed.

"Hey, um, how's your hand?" Chai asked after a minute.

"Bad," he answered truthfully. He wasn't one to lie to his family, and his hand was pretty bad. This wasn't the first time he'd fractured his knuckles like this, and last time the doctors had warned him that if it happened again he was likely going to have to have surgery to fix it this time. Something he could not afford right now. He was pretty fucked.

Chai's gaze flickered to Dick, then back to Fleck, then slid back to Dick again. "Chrys'll be here soon. I'm going to head to the..." She gestured out the staff room vaguely.

She set her mug down and stood stiffly. As she brushed past Dick she whispered "help him, please" a desperate look in her eyes as she looked up at him.

Then she was gone, and the two were left alone in the little staff room.