Sorry for how long it has been since I've posted any one shots. With the anime done for the season and no new English chapters posted in the manga lately I've been lacking in inspiration. I finally got a little burst on inspiration with this one. It's been in the back of my head for awhile, but I suppose it just wasn't ready to be written until now. I'm pretty sure someone has written a fanfic on this subject before, but I want to take a crack at it myself. ;)

I apologize for typos. I ran out of time on proofreading and wanted to go ahead and post this. I'll go back through and double check for errors later today. Feel free to giggle at any words i switched with other ones xD

Since Bastard had reopened after the attack, Alex had begun singing there regularly several nights a week. It gave her some money of her own and something to do when the phone in the office apparently stopped ringing. At first, Nicolas had walked her there and back as a favor to Worick. The blond had claimed he didn't have time to do it and sent Nic in his stead, but now the Twilight found he didn't need prodding to make sure she got to work and back home safe. It had become routine.

He had discovered that if he slipped off to the side, over where the speakers were set up, people wouldn't bother him. Something about the place meant people inside have a harder than usual time understanding what he was saying to them. Worick had said it was the general noise of a busy place along with loud music, that Nic sometimes spoke too quietly, and several other explanations Nicolas didn't care to remember. It was just another reason to avoid speaking to people inside the club. Sometimes Ms. Christiano, Marco, or Gallahad would walk by and say hello. They had the decency not to try a long conversation, at least.

Alex wore nice dresses to these nights she sang at the club. Nic could always spot the ones Worick had picked out for her from the ones she had purchased for herself since she had got her first paycheck. Tonight was one she had picked out herself. Actually, her clothes had slowly become more and more modest since she had been getting her own paycheck. Most of her clothes until now had been left over from her days as a prostitute or gifts from Worick. This dress she wore tonight was black, fitting her figure in all the right ways. The skirt of the dress fell to just above her knees, the waist was fitted to show off her hour glass shape, the top of the dress was a high sweetheart cut, the whole dress had a sleeve of black lace over it that gave texture to the otherwise plain black dress. It was very pretty. Showing off her body without putting it on display.

Nicolas enjoyed watching her up there on the stage. The way her eyes would get this dreamy faraway expression and a soft smile would curve at her lips made her seem peaceful and happy, two things he didn't often attribute to people in Ergastulum. She was the first person Nicolas had ever bothered to watch sing. The lips moved differently than they did when speaking so he had always looked away. If he didn't see them then he wouldn't be expected to understand after all. But, he was older now and Alex wasn't some stranger singing for spare change on the sidewalk.

He couldn't read her lips to know the words to the song. But, he liked the expressions on her face and the subtle movements of her hands and head. Sometimes she would get so lost in her singing that she would open her eyes and seem surprised to find an audience applauding another finished song for her. The song she was singing tonight seemed a bit more fast paced than usual, her mouth moving more and stressing certain sounds longer. Nic didn't understand music, it was as foreign a concept to him as the sun was different from the moon. But, he could glance around the club and see that people liked whatever song Alex was singing, enjoyed the sound of her voice. According to Worick, there were good singing voices and bad singing voices. He just assumed it was the same as people saying his speech was bad compared to everyone else's.

With a sigh, Nic leaned back against one the speakers. Another habit he had developed since coming to the club with Alex. He liked how it felt to lean against the big speaker and feel the vibration of Alex's voice wash over him. It helped him follow along, noting the vibrations would change in strength and sometimes feel as if they were being held out and getting softer while her mouth was open and then would stop once she closed her lips again. The vibrations in the speaker were a lot like how it felt to put his hand against someone's throat or chest while they spoke. Everything seemed a bit more drawn out and carried a different cadence than speaking, but it was familiar in that sense.

There was a short break between songs for Alex to drink some water before starting the next one. Nicolas watched as Alex smiled and laughed at something Gallahad said from where he sat at the piano while she drank a few deep gulps of water from a glass. He must have complimented her, Alex only got that blush to her cheeks when someone paid her an unexpected complement. It wasn't the same embarrassed flush as when Worick made a dirty joke at Alex's expense and it also was different from the paint flush that came to her cheeks whenever Nic was alone with her for some reason.

He continued to watch as she returned to the front of the stage. Gallahad's hands were moving around the piano keys again, the start of the music itself Nic assumed. Then Alex's mouth began to move again, those strange yet familiar movements he could almost read but not quite because they were just slightly distorted with how long she projected certain parts of the words. The vibrations of her voice rolled through him from the speaker he was still leaning against, it felt like it was paced a bit slower paced than the last one. She had her eyes closed again through most of the song, avoiding having to deal with the audience and instead escaping into her own happy place as she sang.

Nicolas imagined she must be singing a happy song.

When the show was over, he waited in his usual spot by the door for Alex to be ready to leave. He watched from his vantage point as she spoke with a small smile to Loretta and Marco. He didn't bother reading their lips, it wasn't a conversation he cared to know. Instead, he thought about Nina as he waited for Alex to finish her conversation. She had been devastated when Worick had been thrown from the window of the Monroe estate. He was fine except for a few broken ribs, physically at least, but the little girl had what Nic could only describe as some sort of thing with Worick. It wasn't a crush like a lot of little kids got on the adults in their lives that spent time with them. But, it wasn't the same as how Nina felt towards himself either. It was different, but certainly not in a bad way. Nina worried when Nic was injured, but not like this. Perhaps she was just used to his constant injuries whereas Worick typically avoided injuries?

He made a mental note to bring Nina with him when Alex was going to be singing next. It would cheer her up and Nina had always gotten along well with Loretta. The head of the Christiano family was a couple years older than Nina, but both were mature for their age and had a lot in common. It would certainly make him feel better to see Nina smile again. The little girl had only frowned and looked dead eyed for a few days now while Worick was still kept in the clinic. He knew it was more than just Worick getting hurt. A lot had happened in a short period of time and being the nurse in the clinic meant Nina had seen the worst of it all. The aftermath and all the casualties. She was mature for her age... But, she was still only twelve.

Nicolas blinked when he noticed Alex moving towards him, that uncertain expression that hinted at a ghost of a smile was on her face again. She got that look a lot when looking at him. She still didn't understand Twilights, but she was learning. At least now she understood enough sign language to get basic communication across between them without him having to talk out loud anymore. She also seemed a bit less revolted by how normal humans treated him. She just accepted that they walked the back alleys now, not bothering to suggest just giving it a try or hiding his tags from view. She accepted it now. He doubted she liked it, but she was accepting and that was more than a lot of people in her position would have.

He didn't sign or speak when she gave him a shy smile as she came to a stop right in front of him. Instead, he merely turned and walked out the door. A stealthy glance over his shoulder told him she was right behind him, but the light was gone from her eyes and face. Back to reality. Singing must be her escape from reality. Sort of like reading books was for him. But, reality always had to come back eventually. A person could only escape into fantasy for so long. It was already dark and he could feel that she had closed the space between them, almost close enough behind him to step on his heels if she didn't look down at her feet.

They were half way home when he felt a tug on the sleeve of his jacket and he turned to find her frowning at him slightly. He knew that look. It meant she had been stewing on what she wanted to say for a while and had only just now worked up the courage to say it to him. It bothered him a little that talking to him took so much effort on her part, but he assumed she just wasn't comfortable with him yet. At first, she had been seeking his acceptance. Now, she just seemed to be in a strange limbo where she was uncomfortable with him and didn't know how to handle his presence in general.

"Nicolas... You don't have to stay at the club while I'm singing if you don't want too," She said as her slender hands fumbled through the signs.

He didn't even correct the ones she got wrong. Instead he raised an eyebrow slightly and had to consider how to respond. Why did she think he didn't want to be there? He never did things he didn't want to do. It was a fact about himself that he thought was fairly obvious to people. Unless Worick gave him an order, he did as he pleased. It was frustrating actually... It happened a lot, people not understanding him. Either his speech wasn't clear enough for them to understand, they didn't speak Sign Language, or they were confused by his personal mannerisms. Things he thought he made clear never were. He had given up explaining himself to most people, but Alex lived with himself and Worick. He knew that eventually she would leave Ergastulum and he likely would never see her again, but while she was here he wanted her to understand.

"Ah wahch," He shrugged, trying not to wince at the unsettling feeling of his own chest and throat rumbling and rattling with the sound of his own voice. He really hated that feeling, but he knew it was easier for her than signing with the dim lighting in the alley.

"But, you don't have to if you don't want too... That's all I'm saying," She answered, hands stilling going through the signs. She really was getting better at it, but he noticed she was staring at her own hands and watching herself sign as she spoke. She wasn't confident enough in it to just sign and look at the person she was speaking to yet. That was normal though... He had done the same thing for about a year after Worick had first begun to teach him Sign Language.

Nicolas rubbed the back of his neck, unsure how to really answer her. He really didn't want to explain that he enjoyed watching her sing. It was private thing to him, having to talk about how he enjoyed feeling the vibrations of her singing through the speakers was just too personal. It would bring her in to close. Worick knew and understood it, but he had known Worick for two decades. Worick knew everything about him without needing it explained most of the time. Alex seemed to like talking, having things explained...

With a sigh, Nic decided it would be best to let her work through it herself. He had given her his answer, the one he was willing to give at least, so that should be enough, right? Turning on his heel, he continued their journey back home. Alex was right beside him, always moving from behind him and into the view of his periphery when they reached this area of Ergastulum. With all of the violence lately the normal thugs hadn't been as active, but old habits die hard and she knew if he could see her then he wouldn't let anyone grab her.

There was no more conversation on the way home and he locked the front door behind them once they got inside. Home felt strange with Worick stuck at the clinic, but he had to admit it was a bit more bearable to know someone else was there. It mainly was an issue when he wanted to sleep. He had gotten used to sleeping and knowing that Worick would hear if there was any sort of intruder in their building. It had been a long time since he had slept anywhere completely alone. If he were perfectly honest with himself, if it wasn't for Alex he would have just set up on a chair next to Worick's bed at the clinic and kept watch. But, two people couldn't do that and Alex wasn't safe here by herself.

He made a beeline for the stairs, leaving Alex upstairs to change her clothes. Their conversation had got his nerves up, pent up energy now making him feel jittery. That was normal at the end of the day for him, he never let his Celebrer uppers completely wear off after all. Usually he would just go through a vigorous workout routine before popping his dose of downers and going to bed, hoping he had worked himself into enough exhaustion to pass out before any nausea set in. He changed into a pair of track pants and the black wife beater he always wore under his shirts before starting off with one handed pushups.

By the time he had finished the sets with his right hand and switched to his left, he could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up despite the light sweat he had worked up. A glance toward the staircase confirmed his suspicion that eyes were watching him. Alex was wearing one of Worick's button up shirts and a pair of his gym shorts. The clothes were a little big on her, but Worick didn't wear his clothing baggy so it wasn't completely oversized on her smaller frame.

She only gave him a small wave before moving toward the kitchenette just to the left of the stairs, leaving him to continue his workout routine. He switched to crunches after a while, enjoying the pull of his muscles as he began to finally work out the last of that jittery energy that made him feel on edge. All of his muscles felt tight and sweat had dampened his hair. With a soft sigh, he let his back fall flush to the floor and stayed that way for a while with his feet still up on the chair and his hands behind his head. Staring up at the ceiling was oddly calming after working out like this. It was boring to look at which meant he could just enjoy feeling a little tired and blessedly calm.

Another moment and he finally noticed that the air smelled good. Alex hadn't stopped cooking meals even though Worick hadn't been home to eat them for a couple of days now. At first, he had thought that was a bit odd. He had always assumed it was something she did for herself and Worick since they always ate together. It wasn't that they didn't include him, it was more of a self-imposed exile than anything. He had just assumed she would let him fend for himself since there weren't three people to cook for. But, she had kept on cooking and even would sit with him as they ate. They didn't really talk during these moments, but he had enough decency to thank her for it every time.

By the time he had finished taking a short shower and changed into clean clothes, she was spooning the food from a pot into two bowls. It was nothing fancy, just a little pasta with chicken and sauce from a jar. He was at least glad she didn't put too much effort into it. He wasn't like Worick when it came to food. Nicolas would eat anything and old habits die hard. He still ate the same way he had as a kid, scarfing it down as quickly as possible with big bites because he still got that itch in the back of his mind that someone would take it away before he was full. Taste didn't matter. The food could be half rotten and it still wouldn't hit his tongue long enough for him to notice.

She held out a bowl for him to take, a fork already stuck down into the noodles covered in white sauce with a few bite sized pieces of chicken mixed in. He took it with a grunted 'thank you' and retreated to the couch in the far corner. He knew she would follow and sit on the other side just like she had every meal the past few days, but he didn't pay much attention. Nic had a single mindedness about food that he had only barely been able to rein in from horrifying to watch to tolerable by other peoples' standards over the past twenty years of his life.

Normal people savored food. They chewed it up well and quietly, swallowed small bits at a time. Nicolas wasn't normal. He knew no one would take it from him, that few people in the entire city were capable of even trying to do so. But, as soon as he put that first bite into his mouth, his first instinct was to saw his teeth into it and swallow it only partly chewed before going for the next overly big bite of it. He angled himself away from her, not wanting her to watch his bad table manners. Hunching over a bit as he just shoveled it in and kept eating it with just enough chewing not to choke himself.

Alex never made comments about his eating habits, but he knew they weren't good. He could still remember the first time he had understood the way he ate wasn't normal. He had been working with Monroe and had been fed at the estate instead of having to wait until he got home to the small apartment he and Worick had rented at the time. One of the men in Monroe's outfit had reached underneath Nic's chin and popped his knuckles upward, snapping Nic's mouth shut hard enough to bite his own tongue and make it bleed. He had been so focused on the food he hadn't even seen the man move. Monroe had laughed and just told Nicolas to eat with his mouth closed, that he made too much noise. After that, he hadn't eaten around anyone besides Worick and eventually Veronica. Now he could add Alex to that list. It made him a little uncomfortable if he were to be completely honest with himself.

A small tap on his shoulder as he was mid bite made him jump slightly and he turned to look at Alex. She didn't look angry or disgusted, instead giving him a small smile, "Is it good?"

He blinked and stared at her for a moment before nodding, this time when he went back to eating he didn't angle himself away from her.

The food in his bowl was finished long before Alex was even half way done with her own. He didn't go for a second helping despite knowing there would be enough. The last thing he wanted to do was eat too much and just get sick later when he took the downers. Glancing back at her only got him another small smile from her. With a shrug, he washed out his bowl and went straight to his room.

Closing the door behind him, he pulled the bottle of downers from the bedside table and counted out the dosage he required. Theo had once again raised the number of downers prescribed to him daily after Erica had stabbed her sword through his shoulder. The doctor had claimed it was temporary until he was fully healed, but he knew that wasn't the case. Anytime Theo felt he needed to raise the dosage of downers for Nicolas, he always waited until some major injury came along that he could use as an excuse to soften the blow.

He swallowed all of the pills and sat down on the side of the bed. Normally, he would lay down and try to fall asleep, but he felt jittery again and knew that wasn't going to happen. There was too much going on inside Ergastulum right now. Too many big fish making moves in the shadows. People were on the verge of rioting again. Mobs were murdering Twilights in the streets. It was just like fifteen years ago. The prelude to the last bought of Twilight Hunts.

It made him nervous.

Monroe was missing, he knew that it wouldn't be long before Delico gave in and went after his long lost sister. Yang would likely be right there with him. The two idiots would get themselves killed. He wasn't overly fond of either of them, but he had known both of them when they were children. They were the only two men in the entire Monroe Family that had bothered to learn enough Sign Language to speak with him clearly. Worick liked the two young men quite a bit. Nicolas could still remember when Erica had been taken and the orphanage had been destroyed. He had nerves of steel, but dead and kidnapped children still bothered him even if he kept a stoic face.

He blinked and shook his head slightly, rubbing his temples as he chased those thoughts away. None of that was going to help him sleep and he could already feel the downers souring his stomach. It still felt strange knowing Worick wasn't just upstairs, that he was at Theo's clinic instead. It made him feel uneasy. Another sigh escaped him and Nicolas plucked the book from the bedside table and opened it to the last page he had dog-eared. It was enough to help him escape the racing thoughts, but the feeling of nausea kept him from escaping from it completely.

Another half an hour and he was racing to the bathroom to throw up dinner. The downers had him shaking and his mind fuzzy, limbs moving in a clumsy fashion he absolutely hated. Dry heaving came after there was nothing left for his stomach to throw up. When it finally passed he sat back on the floor and let his head fall back against the wall, eyes closed. He still felt sick to his stomach, but there wasn't anything left inside it now.

He wasn't sure how long he just sat there before a pair of warm hands slid across his forehead, brushing back the short bangs that had been hanging down slightly into his eyes. Alex hovered over him with a concerned expression, one hand on his forehead checking for a fever. She wouldn't find one. It wasn't sickness, just side effects to a drug that kept him alive even as it slowly killed him. Her lips were moving, but his brain was still too foggy to read them. He waved her away and frowned when she didn't move, merely let her hand fall to his shoulder.

'Sick?'She signed before gesturing towards him.

Nicolas honestly didn't feel like explaining so he merely nodded and frowned when she gripped his elbow and pulled him up to standing. He didn't have enough awareness to pull back from her and instead let her half drag him toward his bedroom. Once he laid back down she disappeared and the next time he opened his eyes a cool damp cloth was wiping away the sweat on his forehead. Her eyebrows were slightly furrowed and her lower lip pouted out a bit as she dabbed at his forehead.

It reminded him of Veronica, how she had done this for him before her own body had started to fail her. He remembered how it had felt to do this for Veronica as well, to be in Alex's shoes right now. That he had felt worried and nervous, fear for her as she lay there slowly dying. He wasn't nearly that bad off, probably had a few years before that happened if he didn't die from some fight related injury first. Still, he didn't like seeing Alex frown as she took care of him anymore than he had seeing it on Veronica's face years ago.

He lifted up his hands and signed out a simple, 'Sing?'

She looked confused for a moment and he realized she probably thought she had misunderstood his sign. Why should he ask her to sing him a song after all? It was probably not his smartest decision, but it felt right so he simply signed it again and added a little context, 'Please... Sing a song for me?'

Understanding came to her face and he felt heat that had nothing to do with feeling nauseous flood his cheeks. It was a childish request and to her he was sure it seemed completely pointless. But, she obliged him and he watched as her mouth began to move with the same exaggerated movements at the club that he just couldn't quite read. Reaching out, he laid a hand against the side of her neck.

She seemed surprised for a moment and stopped, but he motioned for her to continue with his other hand and just closed his eyes. After a moment, he could the vibration of her voice through the soft skin of her throat. It was different from leaning against those speakers in the club. It was more direct and real, not so disconnected. It didn't really feel different from doing so with Worick when he couldn't quite get his own volume right. The only difference was the rhythm he felt beneath his calloused fingers. Soft and slow, not at all loud. Almost like she was whispering her song, the vibration soft like he felt when Worick whispered for him to understand quiet volumes of speech. But, this wasn't Worick and he wasn't feeling just to understand the volume of her voice to match it with his own. But Alex wasn't Worick and she neither was she Veronica. But, she was special just like they were. Different, but in a good way. He smiled a bit to himself at that thought as he finally drifted off to sleep, hand still resting against her warm skin.