And here he had thought Rhoynar would treat him better than Navarre ever would. But here he was, spitting blood on the cobblestones which were lit up by the moon that was high above him. He had thought he was safe on this island, that he could rebuild his life here. But instead, someone had found him and they wanted to let him know they had found him. And now he was walking here, all bloodied and bruised and probably looking like some hobo freshly thrown out of a pub because he had been drunk. He wasn’t even drunk in the slightest but right now he really needed a drink.

Stumbling through the streets, he held a hand against the nearest brick wall to keep himself up. He could feel glass stuck in his hair where the bottle had hit him. The wound on his head had stopped bleeding, but it had seeped over his cheek, leaving a nasty stain on his face that made him look anything but approachable at the moment. Alessandro stopped to lean against the wall, black spots hitting his vision as he could feel he was getting lightheaded. He either had to find a place to sit real soon, or he was about to faint on an unknown street in an unknown city he wasn’t even sure was all that friendly.

The smuggler took a deep breath in and a deep one out. Maybe it had been better if he had just stayed in Falkreath. But the cold was getting annoying and he had missed this way of life way too much. But instead he had gotten into one of the worst situations besides the day he had fled Navarre and he didn’t even know the dudes who attacked him. What he did know was that if he didn’t find help fast, he sure was about to die tonight. Or so it felt.

The more he stayed upright, the harder it got for him to stay awake. This wasn’t good, this wasn’t good at all. In this whole situation, Alessandro suddenly thought back to his family, how they probably didn’t even care what was happening at the moment. Or well, they shouldn’t care. After all, if one of them was caught in the act, nobody knew them. They weren’t family then, they weren’t even aqquintances. Once you got caught, you were on your own. And Alex had known this from the day he was born. But being here now, so far away in unknown territory and feeling more dead than alive, he couldn’t help but be scared.

And that feeling intensified when he suddenly felt how someone graced over his arm. His first impulse was to pull back, to grasp his body and brace himself for any punch this stranger would give to him. But all he got were words and a laugh. A laugh he recognized even now. The smuggler didn’t even want to look at the stranger as he was scared to see what he looked like. His hair fell in his face, messy and sticky from the blood of the wound. Everything was blurry. He lost his footing, falling forward and grasping the shoulders of the ‘stranger’ in front of him in hopes of trying to stay up. ’’Fuck.’’ He grumbled with a hoarse voice that was barely hearable. This was all kinds of bad.

He didn’t want to hear the voice of the other ever again. He had promised himself to stay away, that he no longer would deal with him. And fate just had to bring them together, tie them to one another. Right now Alessandro just wanted to scream to the sky and ask whatever God that was listening what he had done to end up in this situation. He didn’t believe in any god, but he believed this couldn’t be coincidence. It didn’t stop his body from slowly giving out though, as he felt his feet slipping underneath him.

The other grabbed him by his shoulders and as a reflex the smuggler flinched, not quite out of the mindset that he was still being attacked. But somehow, grasping the blouse of the man in front of him, feeling that fabric between his fingers, it gave him a sense of safety. Al shook his head, feeling how it made things worse and not only was his vision giving out, things were starting to blur as well. ‘’Don’t say it.’’ He mumbled, trying to sound aggressive but all it sounded like was a feral puppy in need. ‘’Don’t you dare open your fucking mouth again.’’ He spat on the ground, blood obviously coloring the saliva as he tried to get up on his feet again. But it seemed to be to no avail as he felt himself slip away again and this time he did fall on the ground.

A curse left his lips as he tried to get a clear vision. He went with a hand through his hair, feeling how tiny shards of glass cut into his fingers. Maybe this was all a hallucination, a way for his mind to cope after the beating. This all probably wasn’t even real. A chuckle left his lips that could be perceived as hysterical. He had truly gone insane.

Al didn’t know what he had done to deserve this. He had done everything right after that point. He had obeyed the rules, he had listened and he had done what he had been told. So what he done now that not only had gotten him beaten up, but also got him in touch again with him? The smuggler tried to go over the evening. It had been around late noon that he had arrived at Sunfall, around eight when he had walked into a bar and about three hours later when he had left and had met those joyful people on the streets. The only thing they had done was scolding him, calling him names and eventually he probably had said the wrong word and they had gotten offended. Or something like that. It could very well be that he had nothing to do with them.

But he did had anything to do with Jasper. Or well, not anymore but now that they crossed paths, a lot of memories he hadn’t thought about in years suddenly flooded his senses. The man didn’t even try to get up, knowing that he would probably faint if he did anything too fast. What he did try, was look up at the man standing closeby, the one he didn’t even want to see.Hearing those words coming from his mouth.. somehow they hurt. Somehow Jasper still held a soft spot in Al’s mind. ‘’It couldn’t go on like that.’’ The smuggler replied, trying to sound just as harsh as his ‘friend’ but ultimately just sounding very weak. ‘’We both would have ended up dead.’’ Alex let his hands rest on the cool cobblestones, trying to make the most of it while he was still on the ground.

He had avoided Jaspers gaze until he spoke again. His eyes shot up, trying to find his in this darkness. His city? His city? Al wasn’t sure if he was dreaming or that Jasper had gone mad. ‘’Your city?’’ Now it was his time to scoff. ‘’You couldn’t handle one heartbreak so you just turn your back on all of it and start to rule a city?’’ It was quite obvious Alessandro didn’t really believed him, or that he wanted to believe him. ‘’That doesn’t sound like the Jasper I knew..’’ Was followed by a very soft mumble as he let his back rest against the brick wall. It wasn’t that he wanted to die tonight, and he absolutely didn’t want to die with him watching.

Was he a bad liar? Probably. And if he was not, Jasper always had seen right through him. Maybe that was because somehow Al always found himself feeling different around him. He didn’t need to be scared to get caught anymore, there was no risk, no pain, just them. Them and their endless talks filled with wine and sunsets and those god awful kisses that reminded him of the times where everything had been fine. When there were no worries and he could do whatever the fuck he wanted to do. Now, that all seemed to be a vague memory that both of them had forgotten.

But seeing each other, eye to eye, so close together again, it made Alessandro yearn for those times. He wanted to hate Jasper, but all he felt was nostalgia towards the other. The good times were winning from the bad times he had had with him. Suddenly he remembered how much he had missed him. He couldn’t stay angry, there was no point. Besides, his energy to accomplish anything at the moment, was long gone. The smuggler sighed, deeply. Closing his eyes, he let the waterfall of words that Jasper threw at him, wash over him. He wanted to drown in them. And what was he to reply? Because Jasper was right. He had made a name of himself, he had booked success. Alessandro was still stuck in that same place he was in ten years ago. He was still the reason everything had gone to shit.

So what now? Should he get on his knees? Should he beg for forgiveness? Or should he just push the other away again, just like before. Once again, Al had no idea what to choose as he didn’t even know what would be best for him. The blood sticking to his skin reminded him of what went down this night. ‘’Well, your city sure needs their citizens checked out.’’ The man spoke lightly as he brushed some hairs out of his face, which immediately fell back again. ‘’Perhaps. Perhaps I just didn’t wanna know.’’ Or maybe he had always known and just refused to see it. Maybe he had only eye for the Jasper he had loved and maybe still did.

The past years had been going by, just as he had been going by. One moment he was there, the other he was somewhere else. He was gone, he appeared, he did his business and he was gone again. Perhaps you couldn’t really call it living, always looking over your shoulder, always conducting conversations in shady alleys. You would think that after being in this life since forever, Alessandro would know how to defend himself. And yet, he always managed to get beat up, get destroyed. And somehow he always build himself up again, something was driving him to continue. He had never known what exactly it was, but being in this alleyway now, face to face with someone he had thought had been lost long ago, something within him stirred and told him that perhaps he had known all along.

This meeting was wrong in every way. This was not how things were supposed to go. And yet, it was right because it showed exactly where both of them were in their lives. Jasper high and mighty, ready to take on the world. Alessandro still stuck in his old life, in the past even. He hadn’t grown much from the errandboy he used to be. Though he now worked on his own, there would never be a time where he could tip to his former colleague. But he never wanted to be above him, he just wanted to be with him. And even that had been too much to ask.

And now they were here and Al had no idea what to say. So he took it all in, trying to process it as a headache slowly started to make itself known. The blurring of his vision was slowly clearing but he could feel that if anything would happen fast, he would be gone. The bottle to his head and the kick that had followed afterwards sure had left their damage. His body was, besides cuts and bruises, mostly unscathed. It were Jaspers words that brought a faint but crooked smile on the face of the smuggler. ‘’What else did you expect from me?’’ He retorted, staring back at the other. No, he hadn’t changed. The vibe between them was strange and though Alessandro knew he was in a very wrong place at a very wrong time, he wouldn’t hesitate to accept Jaspers help. Perhaps he would be stabbed in the back, but at least he knew he deserved it. ‘’It’s nice meeting you then. I’m Sam.’’ Another poor joke as he reached out to Jasper both expecting the other to shake his and and to help him up. Because he wasn’t planning on staying in this alleyway for the rest of the night.

Of all times he had to pick tonight, of all places he had to pick an unknown island and of all people, he had to pick Jasper. Either the stars were aligned perfectly, or things were about to go even more horrible. Alessandro didn’t care anymore, he had peace with what he had found. Sure, this wasn’t the best of circumstances, but when were circumstances ever good when you met an ex-lover? It might have been better if he hadn’t been bloodied and bruised and his friend here wasn’t drunk of his ass. But that was what he got and he had to live with it. And right now, he wanted to hold this moment as close as possible.

Sitting on these god awful cobblestones at night hurt. But it didn’t hurt as much as his heart did right now and Al wasn’t sure if it was just the old heartache coming up again from years ago or if this was a whole new thing. Because truth be told, after him, after Jasper, he had never found someone who he enjoyed the worst moments of his life with better. The two had seen each other at their best and at their worst and all it had given them was a bitter sweetness in their mouths that no strong drink could wash away. It was either swallow or spit it out, only for it to return moments later. There was nothing that could rid these feelings away.

He had expected him to have grown up a bit. It might have been a good choice to do so, but maybe Al had been stuck in the past and stuck in those bittersweet moments he so desperately wanted back. ‘’I never do something that’s good for me.’’ He retorted with a faint smile as he heard the other repeat the name he had given. It was a stupid name, a simple one, easily to remember and easily to forget. There were hundreds of Sam’s on this earth. ‘’I’ve never been the creative genius that you are.’’ Was that.. a compliment? Where had this conversation brought them? No, let’s rephrase that. What had this conversation brought them? Because Alessandro was all kinds of confused.

The other pulled him up, their fingers intertwined. The first contact of their skins against each other since years. And it felt like nothing had changed. Maverick. Maverick. It took him longer than he wanted to, blame the glass shards in his head, but it hit him. And all of the sudden it felt like another door in his head was opened. Memories that had been cramped up for years flooded his mind and he gasped. But that gasp went up in the air as their bodies touched and he was pulled closer. Suddenly, he wasn’t old anymore, he wasn’t here. He was back at the beach, two empty bottles of wine between them and a lot of words that blurred and slurred. No clothes between them and more happening than just the touch of their fingers. Vague memories of better days.

‘’I never learn.’’ He mumbled with a soft smile as he felt his knees buckle and his head hit Jaspers shoulder. It was immediately followed by a curse word as Alessandro had noticed that standing up straight was not improving is condition in the slightest.