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sighing, ex watched james being dragged off and the excited men hooting and yelling for him to drink more. he let himself fall into a nearby chair at a table with three other men, who instantly deserted it. not noticing them, he folded his legs up onto the table, and monitored james. he felt strange. as he watched some men grabbing at his arms, hugging him in congradulations, cheering and laughing until they cried, and basically having fun, a feeling that might be described as jealousy rose up in him. he'd lost the ability to have fun a long time ago... he used to be able to, though... when? when was that distant, distant time?

"Ex. Ex! Pay attention. This is important." the man focused on Ex with a stern gaze.
"Yeah, yeah, sure, whatever. Hey, gimme anodda'!!" laughing, he shook him off with a casual, careless wave of his hand. Catching it firmly, the man said in a warning voice, "Ex, listen to me, now." He hadn't raised it by any means, but something in it just screamed 'listen'. Surprised at the man's behavior, curiosity prodded at him, and he turned towards his friend, wondering why his usual party-animal nature was absent from him in such an environment. It was kind of pissing him off.
"What is it?" asked Ex, the annoyance flaring through his words.
"You're it." and before Ex had any time to react, he grabbed out a brand from his coat, red-hot and steaming, and slammed it against his bare left shoulder. His yell of pain could be heard across the city, and that was the last thing he remembered as he watched Isaac Gunner, the leader of his gang, walking casually out of the bar. That same bar.

"b*****d," grumbled ex to himself as he let his hand explore the area that was now scarred over with the brand. Isaac had required 1st Rank to get branded. He'd been looking for his 1st for a long time, and it just so happened that Ex was his best friend and, handily, his best fighter and most devoted gang member. Plus, he had a great personality-- he was the ideal 1st rank. slamming his fist down on the table, anger seared through him as hatred for the man exploded in him. "b*****d!" he hissed again to himself. He killed his life. Ex had lost everything-- his freedom was all he'd had, and Isaac took even that. "Whatever..." he sighed again, and stood up, stretched, then re-located james. "Ah, there he is." he gazed at him, watching him wobble around giggling like a lunatic. "Wasted," observed Ex with a tiny, indifferent smirk. His past hardly even phased him. It was just an unfortunate past, that, in any case, didn't matter. It wouldn't make anything better if he did anything about it. And, if he killed Isaac, which he seriously considered, he'd probably get made the leader, which was even worse. Besides... other than the fact that he'd ruined his life, Isaac and Ex were still pretty good friends. Just, not quite AS good. At all...

glancing at the time on the clock the bar had hung on the wall, he stood up and headed over to james. "time to go," he said in a calm tone. the guys around them gave big aww's and someone grumbled, "what happened to the party animal we used to know, ex..." under their breath. shooting them a look, he put his hand on james' shoulder. "you can take a keg to go, if you want," he muttered sarcastically.

leading a miserably drunk james out of the bar, he dragged him towards hq. judging by how he'd been behaving, ex assumed that he'd learned his lesson. since james was wobbling around, he was slowing their progress down, so ex heaved him up into his arms. "don't take this the wrong way," he warned. "you're just making us go slower. so i'm carrying you." he glared down a gaping villager, who instantly turned around and ran into his house. he could be heard shouting, "honey!! honey!!! ex is showing human emotions!!!!!!" hysterically, his wife running outside thereafter, and gaping in a similar manner. sighing, ex looked ahead of himself and hardened his eyes. he noticed, however, the veins weaving through james' arms. sexy... such nice arms he had. they were long and very defined.... yet they weren't bulky. they were nice and lean. it almost made him yearn for him....

kicking open hq's front doors, he carried james up to his private quarters, not to the cell downstairs. he held him tight against himself with one arm as he unlocked his door and pushed it open as quietly as he could, being careful not to wake him. crossing the new scene, he laid james carefully down on his extravagent, gorgeous, king-sized bed. the black sheets were stretched tight across the mattress, which was hanging in a black box by chains from the ceiling. thin black blankets covered the bed, all of which were messed up and tangled across it. the pillows weren't black, though. they were a deep, deep purple, as was only one blanket. dead roses were entwined into the chains from the ceiling, and a small side table sat next to the bed with a clock on it. the carpet was the color of wet blood. pulling one of the thin black blankets over him, he set james' head down on one of the five pillows. "there we go..." he muttered softly as he did so. he leaned over his body as he set him to rest, an expression of profound concentration occupying his face. he didn't want to wake him up... he looked so peaceful. peaceful....

"If you wish it," replied Ex calmly from his dark corner. "Personally, I felt it a rather large upgrade from your cell downstairs." He eyed James curiously, like some ferocious creature suddenly pacified at the sight of something intriguing that must be investigated. Rising, he strolled over to him and set himself down beside him. "How are you feeling? After drinking so much, you must feel like a nightmare." He had some medicine, if James didn't feel well.

shrugging, he replied laxily, "Nothing." He went to a small wooden box on the bottom shelf of the side table and withdrew some advil. "Here... you suck at lying, by the way." he tossed it at him carelessly and returned to his dark corner.

"You haven't given me a reason to kill you yet. You accepted the guys at the bar. That was the test. If you hadn't, you wouldn't be dead, but tortured. Why waste such a great opportunity for information? No... you accepted them. Even if you deny it, you know you did." he sighed and crossed his magnificent legs. "Besides... I've grown quite fond of you. I'd almost call you a friend, if it weren't for you being TH12... did you realize my point, though? We are just like you. Personally..." standing up, he cautiously made his way towards James, ready to spring back if he attacked... "I would love to be friends." he sat carefully onto the edge of the bed, his eyes locked with James'. "If you're up to the challenge...." Utter seriousness bled through his voice, yet he kept the situation somewhat light. It would be easy for James to say yes, and it would be easy for him to say no. There were no strings. It was yes, woohoo, or no, oh, okay, whatever. That was it. He waited in unease for the dilenquent's reply, secretly admiring the physical features portrayed by him while keeping an entirely straight, unreadable face.