[center]Collab with [@BrutalBx] Mentioned: [@Prosaic] [img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/b4720cee-c6e0-4bf8-94fe-ef51b9963806.gif[/img][img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/ed305255-d1cc-488b-b24b-121f9c804d26.gif[/img][/center] Mordechai came back to about ten minutes later, draped across Sonny and feeling...well, [i]warm.[/i] the next hour or so was spent talking to the crew and telling them what he'd been up to the past 2 years. He wasn't surprised to hear that drug sales have been up, that tends to happen when towns suffer tragedies and the shooting wasn't even the first. Everyone here was so happy to see him, and he didn't even realize how much he missed the Family that came with the Serpents. Eventually, after several more shared blunts and a few shots of alcohol, Sonny got his attention by waving his phone around. [color=F5D42E]"Hey Mob, I told Rey Rey you were back! He wants ya ta come ta the Edge an' say hi."[/color] Sonny told him. That reminded Mordechai that he was waiting on a text from Nolan, and he quickly pulled out his phone for a glance. With a bit of regret, he realized he had let his phone die again and couldn't see if Nolan had replied. He slipped his phone back into his pocket and smiled at Sonny. [color=DC143C]"Sure Sunshine, I'd love to see Rey Rey. I'll have to charge my phone when we get there, yeah?"[/color] He allowed Sonny to pull him up and out of the house. Before leaving, Sonny stopped at the door and kissed two fingers before touching them to a photo on the wall almost subconsciously, and Mordechai looked up in confusion before feeling his heart stutter. [color=DC143C]"What…what's this?"[/color] He asked while wincing at how strained his own voice sounded. Sonny looked at him and his eyes softened at whatever he must have seen on Mordechai's face. [color=F5D42E]"Sorry, I guess we didn't think about that. We put him up after the funeral, and we show him love every time we leave. It's sorta become a ritual for us."[/color] Because on that wall was a picture of [url=https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/0b9b2a6c-6ab8-4333-8944-7a7387eeb1ec.jpg]Daniel Aaron Boaz[/url], the frame well worn from touch but the glass still shining and well maintained. He took a moment to compose himself and let the fist sized lump in his throat calm down. [color=DC143C]"It's awesome you guys,"[/color] he said quietly in the heavy silence, raising his own two finger kiss to the frame.[color=DC143C]"Thank you."[/color] Sonny gently tightened his grip and started pulling again, and they walked together down the street to the Edge of Sin, knocking against each other and laughing while the tears dried in the breeze. Sonny pulled him through the doors that he once used to burst through with confidence, and his first breath was like breathing in a new life. Or rather, an old life that he'd missed like...like a brother. He'd brought Danny here to clean them up after another attack from their parents so many times he'd lost count. The girls that weren't working yet or were on break loved talking to him and coddling him, and every Serpent treated him like a little brother, getting Danny accustomed to affection and touch in a way Mordechai never would have been able to do alone. He tightened his grip on Sonny's hand as the other man pulled him to the back doors that led to Serpent Business, and he didn't even hesitate to pass the threshold. And there, in all his scars and glory, was Rey Rey Gonzalez. Circling a bloodied and beaten up gang member like a shark eyeing its victim, Rey Rey held a mask aloft with his hand [color=C8A15D]“When I was kid, my Papi always used to take me back to Mexico. Normally he had some business with the cartels down there so he’d leave me with my Uncle Pedro…”[/color] As he spoke, the leader of the Southside Serpents caught sight of a figure in the doorway, one he had not seen in two years. Licking his lips, he continued [color=C8A15D] “He used to take me and my cousin Rico to the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre and I was enamoured. The Luchadores were flying everywhere, their costumes were colourful, it was like real life superheroes, yet it wasn’t until I went home with my old man that he dropped some knowledge on me..”[/color] Throwing the mask onto the lap of his tied up compatriot, Rey Rey sucked the air through his teeth and threw off his leather jacket. [color=C8A15D]”He taught me about the history and the power of the mask. A Luchadores mask is his identity, his lifeblood, it’s what makes him, him. They wear them in public to hide their identity but that was their mistake. You see, that mask you have in your lap belongs to El Cuerno...the Hunter...my grandfather. You probably wonder why I’m telling you all this…”[/color] Rey Rey took the Cuerno mask back into his hand and slipped something out of his back pocket. [color=C8A15D]”It's simple really…”[/color] Placing the object into a slip on the mask, Rey Rey donned the hood and his dark, remorseless eyes went feral [color=C8A15D]“I wanted to give you some culture before I kill you.”[/color] Within seconds, Rey’s head came crashing into the defenceless face of the tied up man. Over and over again he smashed skull against skull, holding the poor saps head in place with his increasingly bloodied hands as he opened up all kinds of wounds upon his victims' visage. Finally coming to a halt, he spat blood through a hole in the mask and darted his wild gaze over to Decky. [color=C8A15D]“You still got it in you Boaz?”[/color] Reaching behind his desk he tossed Mordechai a baseball bat. [color=C8A15D]“Or have you gone soft?”[/color] [color=DC143C]"Fuck, have I missed watchin' you work."[/color] he replied breathlessly, pausing a moment to look at the bat before gripping it tight in his hands. He knew he didn't need to ask what this guy had done, Rey Rey always had his reasons behind things and it never was very smart to question it. Mordechai used to have a little give with his loyalty and status in the hierarchy, but he wasn't fool enough to think he could push at all after having just returned. He approached the bloodied man, who had amazingly retained consciousness throughout the beating. He looked the man dead in his swollen eyes and tilted his head, completely disconnecting from his emotions in the way that made him so valuable as a Corner Captain and sometimes Enforcer. It's not like he had Danny to worry about anymore, he could give into his baser instincts without risking losing his little brother now.[color=DC143C]"Yeah Rey Rey, I think I got more'a it in me than before."[/color] He lined the bat up and swung out, catching the man in the side so hard the chair scooted over an inch. Over and over, he made sure he targeted the spots that won't kill you but won't let you move too easy either, ensuring that this guy has a lasting reminder of whatever Rey Rey wanted on every part of him. When Mordechai finished, he turned back around to Rey Rey with a feral grin, some blood splattered across his face. [color=DC143C]"Thanks, I needed that."[/color] He said,licking his lips and smearing a bit of the blood. [color=F5D42E]"[i]Fuck[/i], that was hot,"[/color] Sonny breathed from his place by the door, before wincing. [color=F5D42E]"Sorry, Rey Rey."[/color] [color=C8A15D]”Sonny get the fuck outta here before I kill you my own damn self.”[/color] As the door slammed shut behind a fleeing Sonny; Rey Rey with gazelle type speed darted over to Decky and punched him straight in his bloodied mouth, sending the smaller man reeling for a moment. He tore off the lucha mask to reveal his own blood soaked face and pulled Decky into a deep, firm hug. [color=C8A15D]”Welcome home, kid,”[/color] The leader of the Serpents pressed a kiss to the boys neck as he held him close. [color=C8A15D]”Don’t you fucking dare leave us again. We’re family”[/color] He'd swear up and down to anyone else that he was tearing up from the punch, but as he licked his bloody lip Mordechai gripped Rey Rey tight as the older man held him in his embrace, and he began shaking. [color=DC143C]"I- I couldn't. I couldn't be here and go to the funeral and see him gone like that. I couldn't look anyone in the face when I knew I'd failed him. I was [i]right there[/i] and couldn't do anything."[/color] he unloaded from the safety of his face pressed against Rey Rey's chest. [color=DC143C]"I'm sorry Rey Rey,"[/color] he choked out, trying to hold in the sobs. [color=DC143C]"I'm sorry! I'm home now…"[/color] Rey Rey shushed the sobbing boy and held him in silence; the only sound around them coming from the club downstairs and the rabble of ruffians planning out their daily grind to earn the gang some money. [color=C8A15D]”I got you, no blame Deck.”[/color] A sputtering cough from the man tied to the chair awoke Rey from his momentary distraction. [color=C8A15D]”Really? You’re really going to interrupt me when you can see I’m having a reunion with my brother here? Shame on you, don’t you have a heart?”[/color] He sighed before releasing Decky from his grasp and moving over to his victim. Calmly as he began to reach into a tool box, Rey Rey continued to speak [color=C8A15D]”Lots changed since you went away young blood, you know I can’t just give you your corner back. Rules is rules. Ain’t that right, Oscar?”[/color] With a swing of a hammer he had plucked from the box, the newly identified Oscar’s knee was shattered by Rey. Reaching once again into the tool box, he pulled out a handful of nails and laid them on the side, save one which he lined up against Oscar’s shoulder. [color=C8A15D]”Take a day or two to yourself. Spend some time with the boys, I’ll hook up with you another time to sort out what’s next for you.”[/color] He drove the hammer down into the nail and dug the rusty iron into his shoulder. [color=DC143C]"I understand Rey Rey,"[/color] Decky replied, wiping his nose with his arm and heading for the door amidst Oscar's screaming. At the threshold, just before he opened the door, Mordechai looked back one more time at his big brother figure. [color=DC143C]"Thank you. For everything."[/color] Sonny was on him the moment he closed the door, looking a little jittery. He took in Mordechai's new bruised and swollen lip, his bloodshot eyes and tear streaked face, and threw himself on the other. Decky caught him with ease. [color=F5D42E]"He seemed pissed today, are you ok?"[/color] he asked, cupping Decky's jaw softly. Decky leaned into the touch and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath before adopting a wide smile, splitting his lip a bit more. [color=DC143C]"I'm great Sunshine, it was a welcome back punch."[/color] he replied, dipping in for a rough kiss with the other man. When he pulled away, his blood was smeared on Sonny's lips and Sonny's pupils were blown wide. [color=F5D42E]"Y'know,"[/color] Sonny said weakly before cleaning his throat. [color=F5D42E]"there's a room open down the hall."[/color] Mordechai grinned. [color=DC143C]"Well, we do need to wait for my phone to charge,"[/color] he said, gripping Sonny's collar tight and dragging him in the direction of the private rooms, the other man following willingly. [color=DC143C]"How's about you give me a proper homecoming?"[/color] Later, after both of them have been satisfied and Decky has come down from his adrenaline buzz, he finally turns on his now charged phone and checks the texts with a small frown. [color=F5D42E]"What's wrong?"[/color] Sonny asked, sitting up behind him and molding against his back. [color=DC143C]"Just some shit going down. Apparently I'm supposed to go to the old highschool in a couple hours after having just found out about these fuckin' letters-"[/color] [color=F5D42E]"Whaddya mean letters?"[/color] Sonny cut off, hooking his chin over Mordechai's shoulder. [color=DC143C]"I fuckin' mean what I said, Sunshine, someone's sendin' out letters with shit people shouldn't know, from something no one should have, and now they want whoever gets the letters to go to the school at 8 tonight. I don't wanna fuckin' go there,"[/color] he ground out. [color=DC143C]"It was the one rule I gave Santora before coming back."[/color] Sonny blinked, adjusting to the vague information. [color=F5D42E]"So go and make it stop."[/color] he said simply, causing Mordechai's head to whip around towards him. [color=F5D42E]"No seriously, listen: someone is sending you shit you don't want? Thinkin' they're all sly or some shit? Go meet 'em tonight and put a knife in their chest. At [i]least[/i] beat their ass or somethin', that's what the Mob I used to know would do."[/color] Mordechai thought about that as he worked his phone around in his hands. He [i]did[/i] want to know who was doing this, but it's hard thinking about seeing any of his old classmate's faces, what if Poppy, Bradley or Jade were getting the letters? Or Quinn? What if [i]Lanie[/i] was there? In the end, however, violence won the war in his mind and he set his shoulders with Sonny still hanging off of him. [center]Outgoing Messages To: So You Need to Learn How to Punch... 3:00pm[/center] [right][i][u]I lost track of time and let my phone die My bad But listen… I'm going to the school tonight I'm gonna fuckin figure out who sent this shit And I'm gonna hurt them like they seem to wanna hurt us Either I'll see you there or I'll see you tomorrow. Hold tight man[/u][/i][/right] [color=F5D42E]"There, y'see? Now we have five hours to kill and a lot for me to catch you up on…"[/color] they went the next few hours rotating between giving each other information and making out, letting themselves get lost to the day in a way neither had been able to in a long time.