You would glance back at the young man sitting in the corner of the club every now and then as you conversed with some of your customers, a small chuckle threatened to escape your lips. You didn’t know why, but watching the young lamb masking as a big bad wolf was quite entertaining to you. He still maintained this sort of innocent, child-like feel to him despite his figure towering over most of the men in the club. Like a giant, cute baby. Once in awhile during your glancing escapades, you would make eye contact with him. At first, he would maintain that cold, serious expression that his elder members had mastered, but the moment he noticed you watching him, he would immediately jerk his head away, attempting to hide the heat rising to his cheeks. You couldn’t help, but let out a giggle at those instances. It was the first time that your looks made a man uncomfortable. It was usually the other way around.

“Do I make you nervous?” You plopped down beside Zelo, who was fiddling around with his semi-automatic pistol, causing the young man to jump at the sound of your voice. His body instinctively retracting from you.

“N-No.” He let out a cough as he tried to calm his nerves, his eyes looking at every direction except at you. You flashed a sweet smile at the boy. It was refreshing to meet someone like him in your line of work. It brought back bittersweet memories of your past. It reminded you of him.

“So then I’m just so repulsive you can’t look at me?” You placed your hand on your chest in mock distress, your eyebrows furrowing into a frown.

“N-no!” The poor boy’s nerves were shot up once more as he turned to face you, to prove that he wasn’t repulsed by your image. Instead, he proved that he can turn from gangster to cherry tomato in a matter of seconds. You couldn’t help but release boisterous, genuine laughter, holding your stomach at the cost of the young man’s distress. “Aish….” Zelo let out a groan as he buried his face in his hands.

“You’re not used to women are you?” You wiped away a tear of happiness as you watched the young man let out a deep breath before running his fingers through his pale blonde hair.

“I…..um…it’s complicated,” He scratched the back of his head, before glancing at you. “Anyways, do you need something from me?” He attempted to go back to the cold facade that he painted on his face for the past few hours.

“That look won’t work, sweetie,” You chuckled as you booped his nose, causing the boy the bounce back at your touch. Zelo grumbled a bit at how you treated him like a child. He was a young man. A member of on the most notorious gangs in the city, for God’s sake. “And I really don’t need anything from you.”

“Then can you leave me alone?” He growled causing you to raise an eyebrow. He glared at you, trying his best to push you away. It wasn’t that you were scary, nor that you made him overly uncomfortable. His older ‘brothers’ had taken him to strip clubs and other outings involving a lot of contact with women before, but you were different. You saw him as some innocent lamb, which he definitely wasn’t. He didn’t like the fact that you could see through him so easily, see his vulnerability.

“Ouch, honey. That hurts,” You pouted, but still refused to move from your spot. You were too fascinated. Intrigued by this blood covered lamb. He lived in a world of greed, violence, and injustice, yet there was a small glint of purity…but you couldn’t quite put your finger on it. “You know, there is nothing wrong with showing a little weakness.”

Zelo scoffed, grumbling something under his breath, probably curses from your refusal to move. “Weakness? More like a death sentence. In this world you either come out on top or end up dead.” He growled, gripping his pistol tightly. His expression darkened as he began chewing on his bottom lip. This aura you were familiar with. Hate. Overwhelming anger. Frustrating. Blood thirst.

“Ah~ It seems you’re not as innocent as I thought you were,” You rested your chin in your hand as Zelo shot you a look of confusion and frustration. Before he could retort or snapback at you, you gently held his face in your grip, a devilish smile gracing your red-orange lips. He just stared at you wide eyed, blinking profusely. “But it’s still there.” You gave him a peck on the nose, causing him to let out something that sounded like a shriek before burying his face in his hands again. You bursted out laughing at the sight. It had been a long time since you had such fun.

“Ahhhg, now I get why Himchan warned me about coming here….” He groaned as he peeked at you every now and then, throwing glares at you. “He told me to watch out for the Adenium….that you would somehow get under my skin…”

“An Adenium?” You raised an eyebrow at the odd choice of nickname. “Well the comparison isn’t wrong.” You chuckled and contemplated whether to continue to tease the poor boy or let him be, when a familiar voice entered your ear.

“Bearcat!” The gruff voice of one of your favorite patrons filled the room. A elderly man in his mid 50’s dressed in a nice dark blue suit, a cigar in his pocket, with his silver locks slicked back approached you with his arms wide open. His beautiful tan skin highlighted the pearly white smile he was showing you.

“Padrino!” You shot up from your seat in glee. You hadn’t seen the man who basically helped you keep this club alive after your mother’s passing in quite a while. He was your mother’s friend long before you were even born and was basically a father to you as a child. With his status as being the head of one of the most prominent, long standing gangs in the history of this town, he, along with Sam, made sure that you were taken care of. “How have you been? I haven’t seen you for months! I almost thought you forgot about me.” You gave the tall elderly man a hug before placing a kiss on each side of his cheeks.

“Forget you? Never,” He let out a chuckle. “I went back to the homeland for some business, but wow! Look how much you’ve grown since I last saw you!” He took a step back to get a better look. “Ah! Still as beautiful as ever! Seriously Bearcat, have you thought of joining the Truvianni family? My grandsons would be fortunate to be married to a catch like you.”

You playfully rolled your eyes before gently slapping Padrino on the chest. “Funny, Padrino. Why don’t you get something to drink and we can talk some more, perhaps something more realistic?” You teased causing the elderly man to laugh, giving a cheek kiss before walking towards the bar to place his order.

You sat yourself back down next to Zelo, only to find that he was staring you wide-eyed and mouth slightly agape. You stared back at him confused. “You know Alfonso Truvianni. The Alfonso Truvianni.” His mind couldn’t process what had just occurred in front of him.  A small smirk began to tug at the corner of your lip as you saw the spark of glee in his eyes. He looked like a child that had just met their favorite celebrity.

“You know of him?” You teased, trying your best to hide the chuckle that threaten to bubble out of your lips.

“Who doesn’t him in this industry!? Not only has he single handedly turned the Truvianni gang to one of the biggest gangs in the country, but he expand it internationally in a matter of a few years!” Zelo began going on a sort of rant about Padrino’s great achievements and feats as you placed your hand over your mouth to keep yourself from laughing. This was the innocence that you perhaps saw. This child-like, glee and admiration. The sense of impressionability in him.

“Who is this young man, Bearcat? I haven’t seen him around here before.” Padrino chuckled, a glass of red wine in his hand, as he sat beside you, eyeing Zelo.

“A fan of yours apparently.” You chuckled causing Zelo to shoot you a glare before turning his attention to the man he admired.

“I just admire your work, sir.” Zelo straightened up, burying the bubbling nervousness that threatened to boil over.  

“Well thank you, boy. Haha, that’s not something I here often,” Padrino took a sip of his wine before placing the sweet liquid on the table, resting his elbows on his knees. “So tell me, kid. What gang are you from? I think I would remember seeing a lamb like you around here.” You noticed Zelo attempt to hide his sneer at sound of the word ‘lamb,’ but the furrow of his eyebrows gave away his hidden frustration.

“BAP, sir.” Zelo puffed out his chest a bit, proud of the accomplishments and reputation that BAP had garnered over the past years.

“Ahhh~” Padrino glanced away, an arrogant smirk on his face as he picked up his glass and brought the wine to his lips. Zelo’s face scrunched up at Padrino’s reaction. He began fiddling around with his pistol, trying to decipher Padrino’s feelings towards BAP. You watched silently as the scene unfolded. It wasn’t your place to interfere. Padrino was just doing the usual. Testing the waters. Sizing up his ‘enemy’ before he finished them.

“Is there a problem with that, sir?” You could hear the slight edge in Zelo’s voice as he tried to maintain his composure.

“Wrong? No. Just…sloppy,” Padrino leaned back against the velvet cushion and lifted up his glass, watching the liquid glisten under the fluorescent lights. “Reckless. Even with the reputation you boys garnered, you boys still lack a certain elegance to your ‘business.’ If you don’t watch out, you’ll be trampled on like bugs.” Padrino chuckled, eyeing Zelo. Reading his reaction. Seeing if he would fall for the bait of his threat.

At that point, you had expected Zelo to pull his gun out, which would cause you to intervene between the two men. Padrino could take care of himself, but you recently got the floor waxed and didn’t want it to be dirtied so soon. To your surprise, however, Zelo’s demeanor was calm. A serious, intimidating expression on his face. But this one was different. There was no hint of innocence or naiveness. He felt and looked like a true gangster. The ones you grew up with that became legends. The ones like Padrino.

“You don’t have to worry about us, sir,” Zelo let out a chuckle as he played with his pistol. “Reckless or sloppy. We get the job done. And if someone tries to trample us,” A smug little smirk grew on his face as he pointed his gun at Padrino, but his finger was far from the trigger. “We’ll just comeback and return the damage 10 fold, right?” He mimicked the motion of firing a gun before placing his pistol back at his side.

Padrino stared at the boy for a moment, a stern and threatening expression replaced the devilish jovial one he had. One would think that he would kill Zelo right then and there, but instead, he bursted into laughter. His wine nearly spilling on his shirt. “Haha I like you, kid,” Padrino hoisted himself from his seat and toasted his drink towards Zelo. “Not a lot of people know how to play the game right. Always losing their temper and doing stupid . But you’re smart, kid,” He chugged down the last of his wine. “Here’s some advice from an old player in the game, guns and explosives are all fun and pretty, but the only way to become a king is to use this.” Padrino tapped his temple, winking at Zelo. “Anyways, drinks on me, kid.” He chuckled, leaning down and placing a kiss on your cheek before going off to talk to some of his old buddies in the game.

You couldn’t help but let out a breathe of disbelief. Impressed at Zelo’s composure, not only in front of someone he admired, but in front someone he should fear. “Well who’d have thought you could be such a cheeky little lamb.” You giggled causing the smirk on Zelo’s lips to transform into a frown.

“All I’ve been hearing from you is ‘lamb’ this, ‘kid’ that. I’m starting to get frustrated, ya know,” Zelo leaned closer to you, his tall form hovering over your body and a predatory expression on his face. “Even if I’m young, I’m still a man.” He stared you down as you leaned back in your seat, arms crossed and smile unfazed.

“Oh really? Well then, Mr. Man, what are you going to do to stop me?” Your moved your face closer to his so that your lips were mere inches from his lips, your voice whispery and sultry. Zelo blinked furiously at the closeness of your lips, his face lighting up like a stop sign and causing the boy to sprawl off your body and bury his face into his hands. You once again went into a fit of laughter. He was just so much fun to tease!

“Damn it…” Zelo grumbled as he dragged his hands down his face, glaring at you. “I swear I’m gonna make see me as a man…” He growled.

“Good luck with that, young lamb. I am surrounded by some pretty dangerous people, you know?” You trailed your fingers up Zelo’s shoulders to his lips, a playful smirk on your lips. “You have quite the competition. And I don’t concede that easily.” You tapped his lips.

Zelo let out a scoff. “Challenge accepted, Artemis.”

“Artemis? I’ve been told that I have the beauty of a goddess, but I’ve never been called the name of an actual goddess.” You raised an eyebrow and chuckle escaping your lips.

“If the goddess Artemis’s heart could be won over, then I can easily win yours.” He flashed a cheeky little smirk.

“Hah, you’re quite confident aren’t you?” You scoffed as you removed yourself from your seat in order to attend to other guest. Before you moved on, you looked at Zelo over your shoulder, a playful grin danced on your lips. “Well then, let’s see if you can change the heart of this goddess.”

Thanks for reading! Comments and feedback are much appreciated!