Show Them You Care: Chapter 1

People were interesting, to say the least. Even in a place like this - they were all the things you'd expect of humans: evil and uncaring, yes, of course - but also complex, beautiful beings with emotions that could run hot to cold.

Jolice liked to people watch - admittedly. It was one of the reasons he owned the little shop - cafe, whatever you wanted to call it. He liked to see all the different kinds of people that came in. He also liked to help people - and in a town like this, in a time like this, that was rare. He liked to think he was doing his part.

The brunette smiled softly to himself, humming a little now, as he peeked in on the dish he had on the oven: Waiting for the right time to be served.

Poor Kenny. The boy was nothing but a bundle of energy and a big heart. He tried too hard - maybe they were all too hard on him, maybe they'd set his expectations for himself too high. He had to be like Brandon - Like Harry. A big boy - a gun-toting badass. The kid was so young. Someday someone would have to knock some sense into him - Jolice would have thought Brandon to be the one, but then again Brandon could carry on an entire conversation with someone without saying a word - he wouldn't really do as the reprimanding type.

Jolice smiled again, a soft chuckle breaking through his humming.

It stopped however as he reached out and steadied himself on the counter, squeezing his eyes closed at the strange churning in his stomach. It had happened an hour or so ago, when they found out about Kenny, when the others declared they were going after him. Jolice had wanted to go to. He never wanted to go, but he had then. Something deep in the pit of his stomach told him he needed to go with them, no matter what it would mean. Torture seemed alright compared to the strange sensation in his limbs. Nathan, however, had other plans.

'Baka, you wait here.'

'B-but-'

'You can make dinner while we're out though.' He'd winked. 'Enough for five people.'

That was Nathan's attempt at being sweet. Jolice had smiled: knowing the other man was always looking out for him- protecting him from even himself sometimes.

He was so confident that they would get Kenny back - not that it would be the first time they'd rescued him - and Jolice had a feeling something wasn't right. He listened though.. he liked cooking. Especially for them.

Cooking was - well - quite simply how he showed he cared for them. Everyone had their own way of showing they cared.

Harry, as arrogant as he seemed sometimes - you could tell he cared about you when he joked with you. He would poke fun at you, or poke fun at someone else with you. Laughter was his way through everything. If Harry could laugh with you, if you could laugh with Harry - you were good friends. When Jolice had first met Harry (the second of this crazy little brigade he'd been introduced to), he'd commented on the mushroom on Jolice's head. Asked if it had any purpose - you know, for spices. Jolice had stared for a moment, a little put-off and confused, before he smiled and replied that he was alergic to mushrooms.

Harry had laughed.

Jolice loved Harry - loved him like family.

Brandon was a bit more complicated - he always seemed to be. He was quiet, sometimes acting like a stray dog in the way he would look at you, cock his head to one side, and shake his head to show he didn't understand. He was always compassionate, though, sticking up for the others in his own silent way - smiling at Jolice when Harry made a particularily harsh jab: He never meant it. With Brandon, you knew he cared.. when he smiled at you. When you met his gold eyes you knew how he felt about you, and Jolice was sure there was room enough in that boy's heart for the whole city. Brandon had been there for Jolice the night he'd lost his mother, it was before they knew Kenny, and Nathan and Harry were gone. It was just Jolice and the quiet boy.. just them when the phone rang. Brandon had comforted Jolice - a quiet, strong kind of comfort that let Jolice know it would be alright.

Brandon had cried for Jolice's mother that night too - though he had never met her.

Jolice loved Brandon - loved him like a brother.

Kenny was typical, without being so typical. The boy was the youngest at 10, and he tried his best to hide it. He was always coming up with some new scheme to prove his worth to the others, to Harry - especially to Harry. He'd been attatched to Harry since the man had found him beating up a trashcan in the alley way.. He claimed it was holding out on him. Kenny came from a bad part of town, as if the whole town wasn't 'a bad part'.. Kenny had some how found himself in the worst of the worst - that empty space beneath hell. The boy didn't know anything about where he was from, and wasn't even sure if Kenny was his real name. You could tell Kenny cared when he let down his walls, and talked to you. He and Jolice had spent many nights alone atop the cafe, just talking. Kenny confided in those he cared about, because he knew they would hold nothing against him. He trusted, and perhaps blindly, he attatched himself to people like no-one else Jolice had met. Most people were cautious now-a-days.. but not Kenny. He was sweet despite his big talk.

Kenny had once told Jolice his cooking made him forget all the bad things.

Jolice loved Kenny - loved him like a son.

Nathan was - different. So different. He'd been the first one Jolice met, when he'd kicked the crap out of the gang who'd singled Jolice out on the street. Though Jolice lost all his groceries for the week, he gained something more - something .. indescribable. He connected with Nathan in a different way than he connected with everyone else. Nathan understood something about Jolice that Jolice himself had never known - Nathan was Jolice's confidante, his partner. And yes - his lover. That hadn't happened for a long time, but it had happened. Jolice remembered everything about that night, from the exact time right down to the clothes they were wearing. Brandon and Harry had fallen asleep in one of the booths, and Kenny was sprawled over the bar as if he'd been drinking like a man four times his age. It was just Nathan and Jolice - just the two of them, seated together at the far end of the bar. They had all been out that night, and it had been a close call: Brandon and Kenny would be wrapped up like zombies for weeks. The blood shed and the reality of the whole thing had not only hit Jolice hard, but they'd affected Nathan as well - he was.. chatty, confused. He acted his age for once, for he was a great deal younger than he looked. You could tell Nathan cared... when he put out his cigarette before he kissed you.

Nathan had said that he didn't want the cigarette to take away from the taste of Jolice.

Jolice loved Nathan - loved him more than life itself.

They were his family.

He was setting the table now - the food was cooked.. everything was ready.

The door opened.

"Ah!" Jolice said cheerfully, looking up, a basket of bread in his arms. "Welcome ba-"

He stopped dead in his tracks: For the figure in the doorway was alone, and it was not a figure he had expected to see.

"I'm home." The figure said, pulling the cigarette from his mouth. Jolice swallowed hard - what should he say to that?

He let out a slight bit of breath as he glanced again at those eyes...

Jolice stepped back.

"What's this?" The man dropped the cigarette. "You're alone?" And stomped it into the floor.

Jolice wanted to scream - to run - to cry for help. All he could do was whine.

"Oh well." The figure reached up, scratching his head as if he was horribly disappointed - reached into his pocket slowly.

The bread scattered to the floor....

And dinner was cold by the time the others returned.