Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Brucie had always been insecure when it came to his masculinity. Even in elementary school he would worry about girls not liking him, not being strong enough, being too "girly" or, god forbid, coming across as a queer. Now he's a junior at Bullworth High, and none of that has changed. Only thing that DID change was that now he played more sports- not that he enjoys it or anything, just that being a quarterback makes you 'manly' or whatever. 

Good news is- he met a boy, a nice boy, Roman Bellic. Kinda quiet, gets picked on a lot, but he's a fun guy once you get to know him. A little cute too! but Brucie will never admit that.  

They made a routine together- every morning they meet each other at the lockers and then leave to chat in the cafeteria. Today is no different. 

 "Roman!! over here homie!!" he yelled, trying to get Romans attention amongst all the other students in the crowded hallway. Roman stretched his arm as high as he could, waving to Brucie before awkwardly shuffling between everyone to get to him. "Hey man!! lotta people, huh?" he joked, still stumbling over other students' shoes  

"I know right? might as well be in the city." Brucie replied.  

"Oh, even the city would be quieter!" Roman added, chuckling. “Oh, Brucie! I have news for you!” 

“Lay it on me, bro.” 

“You’re NEVER gonna guess who just enrolled.” Roman jumped up and down. 

“Who, man?!” 

“My cousin! I think I’ve told you about him, yeah? The one with the buzzcut? Skinny? A little stoic?” 

“Ooh yeah! The ‘balkan maniac’ you told me about!” 

Roman punched Brucie in the arm before they continued to joke around in the hall for a while. All of a sudden, they heard something crash against the lockers. Heads turned to see Patrick Mcreary- the 'troubled' kid- slamming one of his classmates against the lockers. "You gonna say that shit about my family again? huh?!" he taunted as the other student was on the floor, writhing in pain. They watched as Patrick continued to spew out insults and threats to the other kid, only stopping to run away when principal Rascalov walked out to monitor the halls. Brucie, much like the other kids, stayed silent for a moment to take in what he had just seen. The only sound being bags getting shoved into lockers and the occasional quiet ‘I hate this school’ from the other students. But he snapped out of it when he felt the warmth of someone elses hand on his. 

It was Roman.  

Roman was holding his hand. 

Hey, it's not gay or anything! its only gay if he likes it. Which he does. Fuck. His mind started racing. 'This is normal! Everyone feels like this about their friend, right? at least once? I-I'm not gay! I'm not like that this is nor-' Brucies thoughts were cut off by Romans voice, “hey, you okay man? That thing with Patrick was pretty scary...” he asked, a genuinely worried yet comforting tone in his voice. Brucie looked to his side and locked eyes with Roman, as if he wasn’t nervous enough. “Huh?- Oh yeah, Patrick- scary-  uhh- ...pr-pretty crazy shit, right?...” Brucie stammered as his face got hotter with each passing second.  

Roman gave him a weird look, which to Brucie felt like a stab through the heart. “You sound pretty shaken up, Brucie. We should probably head to the cafeteria, my cousin has been waiting for us!” Roman smiled, trying to lighten the mood a little. Still holding onto his hand, Roman walks Brucie down to the cafeteria, talking his ear off about how great of a guy his cousin is. Brucie didn’t listen though, his mind was still focused on how Roman was holding his hand. Roman Bellic. Holding Bruce Kibbutz’ hand. Bruce kibbutz is holding Roman Bellics hand and he likes it. He can already imagine the posters around school... “Buff quarterback goes after some fat slob!” God, he’d be a complete laughing stock. All anybody could talk about for the next month. 

“Cousin! This is my friend Brucie, we met in class!” Roman chimed as he gave Brucie a gentle shove towards his cousin. The boy had a very serious expression on his face, a little threatening if he's being honest. He was slender and pale, with a mildly grown out buzzcut. “Ooh... high school sweethearts?” the boy joked. Roman laughed it off, but Brucie was overwhelmed with embarrassment. “No!” he blurted out “w-we’re just friends man- and I ain’t like that! So don't be weird bro! Got it?”  

Silence. 

“...Shit man, it was just a joke.” Roman mumbled. Brucie felt twice as humiliated after he spoke... Why? He takes so much bullying and teasing every single day, why does making Roman a little upset feel a thousand times worse? He came to the conclusion it was just him wanting his friend to like him. Platonically. Yeah, that's all this is. Wanting to keep a one hundred percent platonic relationship.  

“Uh... sorry if that was rude. My name is Niko.” Romans cousin spoke out. “I hope we can be friends despite getting off on the wrong foot” 

“Oh yeah... No problem, uh... Niko? Is that right?” Brucie sighed, trying to calm down. 

“Yeah, and you’re Bruce? Or do you prefer Brucie?” Niko asked. 

“Whatever you want man, I don't care.” 

“Okay...” 

Roman jumped between the two, “you guys wanna get some pizza?” trying his best to break the awkward silence. “Screw you Rom, you know I'm on a cut!” Brucie joked, letting out a quiet chuckle. “Ahh my bad Brucie, next time I'll bring you steamed veggies and rice” Roman mocked. Niko let out a stifled laugh as he watched them go back and forth with their stupid quips and, frankly, quite accurate jabs at each other. 

“Mmh- I don't know if I’m just hungry or its whatever they’re putting in the fountain water-” Roman huffed as he another bite of his cheap cafeteria pizza, “but this is the best thing I've ever eaten.”  

“I think that's just you being a fat fuck, Roman” Niko scoffed. Brucie looked towards Niko with a bitter expression “Heeyy Niko don't be rude! He’s just trying to enjoy some pizza!” he fought. “Alright, knight in shining armor. Coming to save his princess once again!” Niko taunted “It’s almost like you have feelings for him, Bruce.”  

For a moment Brucie was horrified. Like someone had just revealed a huge secret about him, like he had seen his own face on the news and now everyone knows what a freak he is.  He doesn’t have feelings for Roman, why is he so embarrassed? Well, he thinks he doesn’t... he hopes he doesn’t...  

His train of thought was interrupted by the bell blaring in his ear. He looked around to see that Mr. Faustin and principal Rascalov had walked in, making sure no students were skipping class. 

Before Brucie made his way out of the cafeteria, he realised Niko wasn’t with him and Roman. He looked back to see Niko getting chewed out by principal Rascalov. He was holding onto Niko by the wrist real tight, damn near leaving a bruise. Brucie tapped Roman on the shoulder “Uh... R-Rom- I think we should wait for your cousin...” Roman turned and tried looking for Niko among the mob of students. “Look, next to Mr. Faustin” Brucie pointed. 

“Oh shit...” Roman panicked. The two awkwardly waited for Niko, not saying a word as they waited. Niko eventually got let go and he shamefully walked back to Roman and Brucie. “Niko-are you alright? what happened?” Roman stuttered, a distressed look spread across his face. 

 “I-I’m getting sent home, sorry...” Niko sheepishly answered. 

“Dude... Again?! We just got here!” 

“I know, Roman!! I’m sorry!”  

“Shit... Well do we have to go to the office or what?” 

“No, he just told me to wait outside for my mother to pick me up.” 

All three of them sighed and started walking through the halls to the front door. “Uh, Niko? I don't know what happened back there, but Mr. Rascalov seems like a total dick.” Brucie commented.  

“Because he IS a dick! He said he saw me trying to stab a girl with scissors... I WAS JUST HANDING THEM BACK TO HER!” Niko exploded, crossing his arms “and THEN he accused me of beating up that kid this morning- that was Patrick, not me.” That’s just bullworth high for you. Shitty teachers, shitty students, shitty everything. “Do you think he’s got something against me? Surely not, I haven’t done anything to him... I'm just some sophomore!” He kept on rambling with absolutely no breaks. Brucie just tuned it out and kept walking.  

“Hey, would you two mind if I went to the bathroom real quick?” Roman asked as they were about to pass the bathroom. 

 “No problem, cousin. Just be quick, I don't know when my mother is gonna be here.” Niko informed 

“Won't take long, Niko!” 

Now Brucie was left alone with some guy he barely knew. Thanks, Roman! 

“...Soo... Niko...” 

“Yes, Bruce?” 

“... does he talk about me?” 

Niko shot a puzzled look at Brucie. 

“Y-you know!! Roman..? Does he talk about me?.. At all?...” Brucie slowed his voice to a halt once he realised how odd he sounded.  

“Well... Over the phone he did mention a uh.. ‘Built football player’ that was in his class. That’s you, right?” 

...’Built’ 

BUILT. That was all that was on Brucies mind. Built. Roman called him built. That basically means he’s Tom Platz, right? But more importantly ROMAN CALLED HIM BUILT. ROMAN BELLIC THINKS BRUCE KIBBUTZ IS RIPPED AND HANDSOME AND- 

Brucies thoughts got cut off once again. This time caused by Roman running out of the bathroom coughing up a lung. “COUGH- F-FUCK... Do NOT go in ther- COUGH COUGH ACK- SHIT-” Roman choked, punching at his lungs as if he was trying to get something out. 

“JESUS, ROMAN! The fuck happened?! And what the hell is that smell?!” Brucie panicked. 

“COUGH F-fucking Patrick, dude! He- COUGH I-I swear there were like- COUGH TWO EMPTY BOXES IN THER- COUGH -MINIMUM-” 

“Oh man don’t tell me- In the MIDDLE OF THE DAY??” Brucie groaned.  

“Don’t be stupid, man! We need to get him some fresh air!” Niko added.  

“And some cologne.”  He snickered as he put his hand on Romans back, gently pushing him towards the schools entrance. 

“Bad time for jokes, Bruce...” Niko said sternly. 

They unlocked the entrance and shoved Roman outside. “Oh man- COUGH Rom I-I'm gonna be honest, I don't think you or that uniform is EVER gonna smell normal again...”  Brucie choked. 

 “Yeah, man- And I don't think I'm ever gonna SEE normally again. All that smoke in my eyes? can't be good for my vision.” He groaned, rubbing his eyes till tears formed. Niko was in the corner trying his best not to puke from the scent. Cigarettes and greasy freshmen... Not a good combo. 

“You three BETTER not tell nobody, ya hear?” a familiar, cocky voice called out. All three turned their heads... It’s Patrick Mcreary of course. The ‘troubled’ kid. The type to sneak half a dozen packs of cigs into school? Yeah, that guy. “ESPECIALLY not you.” He pointed towards Niko, jabbing him in the chest with two fingers “weird-ass quiet kid... You too, chubster! Same for the quarterback. We all know you use steroids by the way!” he barked before going back inside, slamming the entrance behind him. 

“...I don't use steroids...” Brucie whined. 

“They always jump to the fat jokes! ALWAYS!” Roman joined in 

“...I’d complain too but being quiet isn’t all that bad, really.” Niko added. “Plus, my mother is here, so...” 

“N’aww shit, see you tomorrow, Niko!” Roman chimed. 

“See ya Nicky! Niko? Nicky? Can I call you that??” Brucie shouted. 

“I HONESTLY DO NOT CARE MAN!! CALL ME WHAT YOU WANT!” Niko howled from afar before jumping into his mothers car and speeding off. 

“...Hey you were right. Great guy.” Brucie commented.

“Oh just wait until you play darts with him, he's a BEAST.” 

Chapter Text

“Man, you two ever wonder why I look so good? Like, what motivates Brucie to sculpt his body into rock hard, cut granite?” Brucie boasted while flexing both his biceps, reaching over to give the left one a kiss.   

Niko and Roman sat on the opposite side of the table, Niko looked at Brucie with a frankly disgusted look on his face while Roman was neck deep in some greasy cafeteria fries.  

“...I can’t say it keeps me up at night, Brucie...” Niko muttered as he awkwardly poked his food with his fork. “But I'd guess it’s because you’re insecure?”  

“Don’t be stupid, cousin.” Roman remarked behind a mouth full of fries. “Brucie’s can’t insecure, look at him! He’s perfect!”  

Brucie felt his face flush from Romans comment. “Y-yeah bro, perfect. That’s me.” He stuttered, hoping they didn’t notice his rosy pink cheeks. He looked over to Niko and saw him furrowing his brows, taking short glances at both Brucie and Roman respectively. ‘Shit. He must kn- uh, think I like Roman.’ He thought. Niko stayed silent though, eating his breakfast as he listened to Roman crack stupid jokes he didn’t know and didn’t care for.   

“AND- This is the best part- Then I told the guy- Screw you! I could beat you at that hotdog thing any day!” Roman bellowed like it was the funniest thing on earth.  

“Thats uh... Thats great, Roman.” Niko sighed.  

“Aww, c’mon NB! You have to admit that was pretty funny!”   

“Yeah, Niko.” Brucie mocked. “Don’t be such a downer, bro!”  

Niko just sighed and rolled his eyes. The two were so similar it was like he was talking to one moron twice.  

Soon after, the bell began ringing in their ear. “Aw, shit. We’ll see you at lunch, Niko!” Roman waved farewell to Niko due to them not sharing classes. They saw Faustin and Rascalov come in and do their usual routine, making sure nobody stayed behind. The three boys walked up into the hallway, hearing Rascalov say something about not trusting Niko as they passed him. Get a life man, you’re twenty-five starting drama with a sixteen year old.  

Brucie and Roman said one last goodbye to Niko before he went to his own classroom and they went to their own.  

“Alright, can anyone answer the question I’ve put on the board?” Mr. Faustin asked the class. Everyone was silent except a few kids coughing in the back. “No? Thats okay!” He picked up a stack of papers from his desk and began handing them out to each table. “You can answer it in this test instead.”   

Brucie groaned and leaned back in his chair. “Another test, Mr. Faustin?”  

“Yes, Bruce. Go complain to Dimitri, not me. Now pick up your pencil and get to work!”  

Brucie gave Faustin a bitter look as he grabbed his pencil and slouched over his test. The class grew very silent, the only sounds being pencils scratching against paper and the occasional groan from a student. Brucie tapped on his paper. What the hell does any of this mean?...  

“psst- Roman! Rom!” Brucie whisper screamed, leaning close to Romans ear. Roman just kept working on his test. “Romaaannn... Roooooomaaaannnnnnn. Rom, bro, I know you hear m-”  

“What, Brucie?!” Roman grumbles as he shoves his pencil down to listen to Brucie.   

“You think you could uh, help me out?-”  

“I’m not letting you cheat off me, Brucie!”  

“B-But we aren’t even dating! And bro- if we were, I’d NEVER cheat on you!” he shouted out, causing some other students to turn their heads, even hearing someone out in the hall chuckle.  

Roman stared at Brucie with a confused look on his face. “B-Brucie I said ‘cheat OFF me’, not ‘ on me’.” His cheeks turned a light shade of pink. “I’m uh- glad you wouldn’t cheat on me though!” He awkwardly giggled.  

Their attention was stolen when they heard Mr. Faustin talking to another student. “What? You can’t get the first question right?” He raised his voice. The student mumbled something, before he shouted- “Explanation?! It's right there! On the page! Fuck- I can’t with these children!”  

He stormed outside the classroom and slammed the door shut behind him. All the students were whispering to each other about what had just happened.  

“Bro...” Brucie whispered with his hand over his face.  

“Can you blame him? I’d lose my mind if I was around these kids all day, too!” Roman smirked, looking back down at his paper to finish his work.  

“Man, how can you just go back to working after that?” Brucie questioned. Maybe Roman just liked working, it’s not like he would understand. Brucie looked back down and tried his best to comprehend the test.  

A few minutes had passed since Faustin left the classroom. No sign of him coming back any time soon, so all the students began chatting and joking together. Brucie took this as an opportunity to say to Roman- “Hey uhh... W-Was it weird that I said I wouldn’t cheat on you? It wasn’t in an ‘I wanna date you’ way I swear! It- it was more like an ‘I wouldn’t betray you’ way you know?-” Brucie scrambled trying his best to explain himself.   

“It’s fine Brucie, really. I thought it was, ah... Sweet! Really sweet of you.” Roman looked at Brucie with a precious smile.  

Fuck. Brucies heart could explode right now. Romans cute smile, his calming voice, him thinking he's sweet ? God, he could just feel how red his face was getting. This was the third time today. You know, maybe he actually... No, no he’s not like that. He likes girls. He’s always liked girls and always will. Unless, you know... But he wouldn’t. Right? He-  

Everyone turned once they heard the sound of the classroom door opening. Faustin stumbled back in, snorting and rubbing his nose. “A-Alright, you ff- you kids. Class is over! L-Lunchtime! Just... Just get out my fucking classroom. OUT!” He shouted, ending his rant with a kick to his desk. The kids hurried out of their seats and out the door, Roman and Brucie included.  

“God, the teachers in this school in this school are crazy.” Roman sighed.  

“Nah, man.” Brucie spoke “Didn’t you see him rubbing his nose? How wide his eyes were? THE SNORTING?? I’ll be damned if that dude wasn’t coked out.”  

“...Shit, now that I think about it, you’re right.” Roman realised. Though, he shrugged it off soon after, “Whatever man, early lunch! Wanna do anything before Niko gets out of class?”  

“We should, actually.” Brucie approved. “We haven’t had much time alone since your cousin enrolled, you know. I miss it...”  

Roman gave Brucie a warming smile. “How about a walk outside? And we can sit together on that bench with all the bushes around it, just us. That sound good?”  

Brucie nearly felt his heart pop out of his chest. Finally, time with Roman. Just Roman. It wasn’t that he hated Niko or anything, he just missed being able to stare down Roman as he listened to his non-stop rants about things he didn’t quite understand. Like his future living on the richer side of Liberty City. Full of penthouses, hot women, and riches. Well, that's what he says, anyway.  

“C’mon, Brucie! We gotta get there before Nikos out.” Roman smiled, grabbing onto Brucies hand, a slight blush creeping over each of their faces. He dragged Brucie outside and the two began walking towards the bench, chatting about nothing in particular. Once they got there, Roman sat down and patted the spot beside him, gesturing for Brucie to sit down with him. “God, it’s nice out here, right?” Roman looked up at the sky as Brucie took a seat next to him. “Yeah, yeah it is. So... What you wanna talk about, bro?” Brucie asked, looking around at the greenery around them. “Nothing,” Roman shrugged his shoulders, “just being here with you is nice.” he grinned, scooting closer to Brucie. He got close enough that their shoulders were brushing against each other. Brucie tried to act like he didn’t notice. He looked away from Roman, pretending to focus on the sky, or the greenery, just anything that wasn’t Roman. He jolted as he felt an arm wrap around his shoulder and pull him in even closer. Roman was hugging him. Fuck. He felt the pace of his heartbeat grow faster, nearly breaking a sweat in the process.  

‘Shit, maybe I do like him.’  

‘Maybe I like him like I like girls.’  

Brucie panicked in his mind. He started questioning what people would think of him if he, you know, liked Roman like that. What would Niko think? Him dating his cousin? That’s not weird, is it? He just hopes it won't ruin the whole trio thing they have going on right now.   

“Brucie?” Roman spoke.  

“Yeah, Rom?” Brucie answered.  

“Have you ever met someone you like so much, you just wanna be around them for the rest of your life?”  

“...Yeah, yeah I think I have.”  

“Yeah?”  

“Yeah.”  

You know, this was nice. Of course he’s still scared of people finding out, people hating him, people thinking he's a freak. But all that aside, this, this was nice. Sitting there, hugging Roman and listening to the calming outdoors ambience. The wind hitting the trees leaves, the sound of other students playing football in the distance, the multiple camera shutters coming from the bushes... This was nic-  

...  

Camera shutters?  

Brucie turned his head to see Patrick Mcreary crouched behind the bush, snapping shots of him and Roman with a little handheld camera.  

“Woah- P-Patrick what the fuck, man?!” Brucie confronted Packie as he shook off Romans arm and stood up from the bench.  

“Hehe, sorry, did I interrupt your lil date?” Packie teased as he stood up and looked down at the camera, checking out the photos he managed to get. “Hey man, I was out in the hall and I heard you being all lovey dovey with Roman, I just wanted to see if what I was thinking was true, really!” he said in a cocky tone as he put his hands up like he was under arrest.  

“COME ON, i-it ain’t like that, really!” Brucie tried to defend himself, which just devolved into him begging Packie not to show anyone the photos. “Patrick, just- just don’t tell people we were ‘being weird’, at least. It was just a hug!”  

“Oh Brucie, ouch, trying to deny your love for him? While he’s right there?” Packie sucked in the air through his teeth, mimicking the sound of being in pain.  

“Love? For-for him? Hah, right. You know I-I don't think anybody would want to date that fat Slav! Right?” Brucie nervously laughed and pointed back at Roman who, when he looked back at, had a hurt and honestly quite shocked expression on his face. “Wait- no, Roman I-” Brucie tried to explain himself, but Roman began to take a few short steps back. He was trying to get away from Brucie. That made his heart shatter into a million pieces.  

“Wow, Bruce K. Everybody! Worst boyfriend on earth!” Patrick giggled before taking another picture of the two. “You know, I’d love to stick around and do another photoshoot- but I got some stuff to do, yeah?”  

“Man- Fuck you, Patrick!” Brucie shouted as he took a quick step towards Packie, making him flinch a little before he turned around and ran off back to wherever the hell he goes during lunch.   

Brucie looked behind him and saw Roman walking towards the entrance of the school. He sprinted towards him, slowing down to his pace once he got next to him.   

“R-Roman, come on I didn’t m-”  

“It’s fine, Brucie. You think I’m a fat, unlovable piece of shit. It’s whatever.” Roman grumbled as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone.  

“No, Roman I don’t think that! I-I was just trying to convince Patrick we weren’t dating is all!”  

“Oh, oh that's so much better! You feel so ashamed to be seen with me you’d rather DEGRADE ME in front of someone else than just- I don’t fucking know, WALK AWAY?” Roman snapped while he dialled someone's number.  

“Roman, I’m sorry! Really, I am!”  

“Uh-huh, that just fixes everything, does it, Brucie? Здраво мама. Можете ли ме покупити? ”  

He slowed down his steps and watched Roman continue to walk away from him. What does he even say at this point? From what he can see, he just completely ruined their relationship. He managed to muster up the courage to walk back up to him. As he walked closer, he heard him mumbling something in Serbian. All he could make out was Roman saying ‘bitch’ since he had taught him dirty words in Serbian years ago. That was probably directed towards him. Rightfully so.  

Brucie crept up behind Roman and put his hand on his shoulder, “Rom, I just wanna say-”  

“Don’t FUCKING touch me.” Roman slapped Brucies hand away from his shoulder. “And don’t ‘Rom’ me. You fucked up, man! Just accept that!” Romans voice was shaky. He could feel tears welling up in his eyes as his hands began to tremble as well. He put the phone back up to his ear and grumbled something in Serbian once again.  

This time, Brucie knew it’d be best to just not bother him and let him go. It hurt watching him walk away without even looking back, but it was the best thing to do.  

...  

‘ What the fuck is wrong with me? ’  

Chapter Text

It was the next morning. Brucie woke up thirty minutes ago, yet, he hasn’t gotten up once. He’s just been staring at the ceiling, drowning in his own thoughts.   

‘God I hope Roman isn’t mad at me. Fuck, He’s probably talking to Niko about me right now, telling him how awful of a friend I am. How awful of a person I am. He’s not gonna want to be around me anymore. Niko hates me. Roman hates me. The whole school is disgusted by me. I’m disgusting. I’m filthy. I’m a gross piece of shit...’  

‘...A gross piece of shit that needs an education.’ Brucie sighs, slithering out of bed, using the little energy he has to throw on his jeans and baby-blue varsity jacket.  

Brucie was at the lockers, waiting for Roman to meet him there. He had to be at least ten minutes late by now, yet still no sign of him...  

He looked around and noticed Niko stuffing things into his locker. He had nothing better to do so he ran over to Niko. “Niko! Nicky, hey, uh- you seen Roman anywhere?” Brucie asked, fiddling with his hands. “Now that I think about it, no. Haven’t heard from him at all today, really...” Niko scratched his chin. “I’m sure it's nothing bad, he’s probably just sleeping in.”  

Brucie looked at Niko, showing obvious signs of worry on his face. “...And if he’s not? What else could he be doing?”  

“Uh... I-I don't...” Niko sighs, “...Well, I DO know he has this uh... this ‘habit’, you know?”  

“No, I don't know, man. What habit?” Brucie questions.  

“You know, getting himself into trouble.”  

“...He’s not as bad as Patrick, right?”  

“Oh- definitely not as bad as Patrick. But he thinks he’s as tough as people like him.” Niko states. “So, he gets tangled up with people like Patrick. And obviously it never ends well... I usually have to fight them off for him.”  

“Shit... he’s never told me that. Never seen it either.” Brucie huffed. How has he never heard about this?  

“Well yeah, we got into a big argument about it recently so he’s trying to be more responsible. I just hope this isn’t him bailing on me.”    

“Yeah, me too.”  

They shared a moment of awkward silence, the only sound filling their ears being bag zippers, shoes squeaking and lockers shutting.  

“Uh, I'll see you in class, Niko.”  

“...We aren’t in the same class, dummy.”  

“Hey, screw you man. I’m just trying to be nice.”  

“I know man, I know!” Niko chuckled. “You know, we don’t have class together, but I could walk to class with you? If you’d like.” He offered. Brucie sighed, “I-I’m gonna be honest, Niko... I don’t think I can go to class without knowing Roman is alright.” Niko glared at Brucie for a moment “...You aren’t saying we should uh... skip class... are you?”  

“I mean, if it helps us find Roman...”  

Niko paused for a minute, biting his lip as he rubbed his arm anxiously. Brucie could practically SEE the gears turning in his head.  

Brucie raised an eyebrow. “Well?”  

“...Fuck, my mother is gonna be mad.” Niko sighed, dropping his shoulders and slouching over slightly. “But yeah, whatever, let's do it.”  

“Knew I could count on you, Niko!” Brucie said with a smirk.  “C’mon, we can think of what to do in the cafeteria.”  

The two of them were sat in the cafeteria, watching their surroundings to figure out a plan on how to avoid Rascalov and Faustin once the bell rings.   

“What if we hid under the tables?” Brucie suggested.  

Niko rolled his eyes “C'mon, Bruce- they aren’t stupid.”  

“Yeaahh, you’re right... What about those boxes in the corner?”  

“Yeah, no way you’re fitting in there- no offense.”  

“Alright... jeez...” Brucie thought for a second. Jump out the windows? No, they’re probably locked. Hide in the bathroom? No, way too obvious. Run past Rascalov and hope for the best?... Yeah, alright that was stupid.  Suddenly, Brucie gasped. “I GOT IT, NIKO!” He shouted, making Niko jump out of his seat. “What if we hid in the backstage of the theatre? Nobody goes in that place till Friday.”  

Niko collected himself, “Well, I could see that working.”   

“Yup. I'm the best, huh?” Brucie stated with a dumb, cocky smile plastered on his face.   

“But how are we gonna get behind there?” Niko asked.  

“Uh... Walking, probably? Unless you wanna cartwheel into ther-”  

“Are you dense?! I mean how are we gonna get behind there without people thinking we’re up to something?” He pointed out. Shit, he’s right. Brucie just now realised he didn’t quite think it through... “We need to come up with reasons for why we’re going there. Any ideas, Bruce?”  

“We could... pretend we’re in the drama club?”  

“Oh don't be stupid, Bruce. In what WORLD would the schools quarterback audition for Romeo and Juliet?”  

“Yeah, true.” He sighed “What if we threw something back there?”  

“Like what? You got anything?”  

“Uhm...” Brucie patted himself down, checking all his pockets as he does so. “Yeah, nah I got nothing. You have a pencil or anything?”   

Niko reached into his pocket. “Nothing, man. Sorry.”  

“Guess I'll just have to throw you back there, Niko!” Brucie joked  

Niko rubbed his chin. “Not a bad idea, you know.”  

“...Dude, what??”  

“Think about it, Bruce! You act like you’re bullying me, you chase me into the theatre and then we don’t come back out!” Niko stands up from the bench, messing up his clothes to look beat up and worn. “It’s not like anyone will care, it’s Bullworth after all.”   

“...Niko you cannot be serious.” He groaned.  

“Look, it's this or Roman stays missing.”  

Brucie stayed silent for a moment. “Yeah, whatever, you win. What do I even say??” He asks as he gets up to stand in front of Niko.  

“I don't know, just- just act like you want money or something!”  

Brucie awkwardly shifts into a fighting stance. Legs apart with his fists in front of his face “Uh... G-Give me your fucking money, kid!!” He tried his best to sound serious and threatening.  

Stunning performance. Ten out of ten.  

“I-I’m sorry! I told you I don't have any!!” Niko cried out, his voice quaking. He was surprisingly good at acting. Heads turned and Brucie could feel all their judgy eyes on him and Niko. “Yeah, well... You gotta give me something, man!” Brucie shouted, inching closer to Niko. “Y-Y-Yeah totally, it’s uh... It’s just over there!” Niko pointed behind Brucie. And he looked. He actually looked. Without a second thought. How dense is he? While trying to look for whatever Niko was pointing at (spoiler alert; it was nothing.) Brucie heard the sound of someones shoes squeaking against the floor. He looked back to see Niko, making a run for the theatre. This was the part where he chases Niko backstage. “GET BACK HERE YOU- Y- You uh... You nerd!!” Brucie struggled as he sprinted after Niko, jumping over tables in the process. Niko swiftly opened the backstage curtains and ran to the very back. Brucie followed, closing the curtains behind him.  

Once Brucie was backstage and had caught his breath, he saw Niko leaning against the wall, trying not to break into tears from giggling.  

“Okay, Niko, I’m sorry I'm not the greatest actor in the world or whatever.” Brucie groaned.  

Niko was still choking from his laughter. “Oh, man- you are the WORST bully I’ve ever seen!!” He said, gasping several times between each word “’YOU NERD’... REALLY??” he was damn near suffocating with how hard he was chuckling.  

“Man, what did you want me to say?!” he whined once more, “And stop laughing!! It really isn’t that funny...” his face beginning to turn red from embarrassment.  

“Yeah, yeah you can keep telling yourself tha-” Niko stopped dead in his tracks as he heard loud, angry footsteps coming from around the corner. “shit-shit-shit- Brucie!! Behind the costumes!” he ordered. Brucie hurried behind the rack along with Niko. The stomps got louder and louder until they stopped abruptly, and they heard heavy breathing, like they- whoever it was- had been running for miles. The person sounded very stressed, shaking as they searched through their bag to take out - from what Niko could see through a princess dress – a flip phone. They heard the buttons clacking and watched as the unknown student paced back and forth waiting for someone to pick up. Suddenly, “Gerry, I swear to fucking god, I see that kids face and he’s DEAD.” Patrick Mcreary everybody. Every time you see him he’s either getting into trouble or trying to get out of it. “Bastard won’t pay me back- Can you believe that?! He keeps telling me he’ll have my money. It’s been three weeks. Where is it?! He’s dead, I’m tellin’ ya!” The two listened to him ramble on and on. “Yeah, I’m gonna skip class again. Keep an eye out for that kid. I usually hide backstage, but this time I'm gonna be out on the football court. I need a smoke anyways.”   

Guess Brucie wasn’t Einstein for the theatre idea. But damn they were lucky they did it today... Any other day and who knows what would’ve happened if Patrick stayed backstage and found them. They listened to him rant until the very end of his call. “Yeah, yeah, I'll call you after school. Talk later, Gerald.” They heard him shut his flip phone and stuff it in his bag before he crawled out the nearest window and ran off to the football court.  

“DUDE.” Brucie gasped, looking at Niko with his eyes wide open  

“Glad I'm not the kid he was talking about in that phone call...” Niko exhaled. “I’ve had my fair share of fights and deals in the past, but messing with that kid is a death wish.”  

“Right... holy fuck Niko, if he found us? No way we’d be alive.”  

“Let’s just be glad we’re in the world where he didn’t. C’mon.” Niko gently shoved the costume rack out of the way and gets himself up off the floor along with Brucie. “Bells gotta ring any second now...” Brucie said as he dusted himself off. Do they even clean those costumes?? Coincidentally, the bell rung the moment they finished tidying themselves up.  

 “Sick, now we just need to wait for principal Rascalov and Mr. Faustin to leave.” Brucie whispered.  

“Why don’t we just go out now?” Niko questioned.  

“Oh, you wanna run into Patrick, do ya??”  

“Fair point...”  

...  

“Well, what now? We got about five minutes to kill.” Brucie asked.  

Niko scanned around the backstage. “I got a fun idea!”  

Five minutes later...  

“Dude, fuck you.” Brucie complained.  

“C’mon, Bruce! Do a twirl at least!”  

Brucie rolled his eyes and proceeded to do an incredibly half-assed twirl in the frilly pink tutu Niko suggested he wore. What? He had nothing better to do.  

“You think they’re gone now?” Brucie asks  

“I don’t know, go out and check.”  

“If you think I’m going out in this you’re stu-”   

“Alright, fine! I'll go out then!” Niko walked up to the curtains and ever so slightly spread them apart.  

“You see anything?” Brucie whispered.  

“Nope, empty. You wanna go out now?” He suggested  

“Not in this, bro.” Brucie protested before awkwardly shuffling the tutu off himself. Niko, of course, chuckling the whole time. After he was done, they each snuck out of the theatre, trying their best to be as quiet as possible.   

“C’mon dude, hurry up! Think of Roman!” Brucie muttered with an anxious tone in his voice.  

“I’m going about as fast as someone crawling on the floor can, Bruce!” Niko wanted to yell at Brucie, but also didn’t want to blow their cover. They continued shuffling across the hallway, listening to Mr. Faustin teach as they passed his classroom.  

Brucies heart dropped as he heard an incredibly loud squeak coming from behind him. He looked behind him, Niko got his uniform stuck on a lock, which made his feet shift across the floor. To make it worse, Mr. Faustin paused his speech. “Shit-shit-shit- Niko!! C’mon!!” Brucie whisper-screamed at Niko. “I-I’m trying to get it off man!-” Niko cried as he struggled to free himself. Brucie took everything in. Faustins footsteps, Nikos struggle with the lock, the thought of Roman in trouble, he had roughly five seconds to do something. “Fuck- Niko that vest ain’t expensive, is it?” Brucie asked.  “Wh-wha?-” Niko attempted to speak but was interrupted by Brucie yanking him off the lock, ripping his vest in the process. Fortunately, there was a bathroom right next to them, and Brucie managed to drag Niko into the corridor leading to the bathroom. “BRUC-” Niko tried to complain but got cut off by Brucie shushing him and putting his hand over his mouth. The boys heard the door to Faustins classroom open briefly, then close again.  

“Saved your ass, bro.” Brucie boasted. “You owe me.”  

“Yeah, and you owe me a new vest! This was forty dollars man!” Niko groaned, gently punching Brucies arm.  

 “Whatever, we gotta go out man. You know, look for Roman?” Brucie reminded Niko.  

“Yeah, yeah, you’re right. Sorry.” Niko sighed, walking out the corridor with Brucie and towards the schools entrance.   

They eventually made it outside and began walking around the premises.   

“Where do you think Roman could be?” Brucie asked.  

“You’re his best ‘ friend ’, you should know.” Niko replied bluntly, still pissed about his vest.   

“Yeah, and you’re his cousin. His literal dna! Shouldn’t you have a sixth sense for him? Echolocation? Thats how it works, right?”  

Niko just stared at Brucie, completely dumbfounded. “Man, you really are a perfect match for Roman.”  

“’Perfect match’?” Brucie laughed nervously. “Wh-whats that supposed to mean, Niko?? Really? You- you aren’t saying I’ve got the hots for him, right? Hah! Th-that'd be ridiculo-”  

“I know you have a crush on Roman, Brucie! I’ve seen the way you blush when he talks, the way you get all defensive when someone mentions it, the way you’re always asking about him- He's all you think about!”  

...  

Brucie kinda just sighed. Fuck. He can’t even deny it anymore.  

“But- It’s okay, man. I don’t care if you end up dating him. I don't care if you two get married. I don’t care if you move in with him and adopt a million cats! Just- just don't kiss him in front of me, please. I’d vomit on the spot.”  

Brucie nodded. Not much he can say to that. He’s just glad he doesn’t hate his guts.  

As the boys were about to turn a corner, they heard yelling. Loud yelling, angry yelling. It was Patrick Mcreary... Again. “’Ey, you said you’d have my money THREE weeks ago. Where is it? Huh?!” followed by a loud thud, as if something had hit the wall.  

 “Shit, Niko... we should probably turn around...” Brucie whispered.  

Niko nodded in agreement. They turned their backs and took a few steps forward, but both stopped dead in their tracks when they heard Patricks victim speak up. “I-I’ll have your money, man! I promise! J-just give me a few more days!” He cried. “O-or if you want, I’ll uh... Tell my cousin to call you! Not a criminal, b-but trust me! He knows people!”  

 ...Brucies heart dropped to his stomach. Niko wasn’t lying about Romans ‘habit’.  

Niko smacked Brucie on the back to snap him out of his shell shock “Man, c’mon! We can't just let him hurt Roman!” Brucie shook himself awake and took in the reality of the situation. He swiftly jumped around the corner to see Patrick holding Roman against the wall by his neck.  

“You get the fuck away from him, Patrick!” Brucie yelled out, Niko following close behind. Packie took a brief glance at Roman, “You fucking piece of shit! had to call your buddies to save you, huh?”  

Reaching into his pocket, Packie pulled out a decently sized switchblade and flicked it open, aiming it at Niko and Brucie as he put Roman in a headlock. “Come any closer and you’re all DEAD. Including your little boyfriend here, Brucie!” He taunted, taking a couple steps back.  

Brucie noticed the tears beginning to well up in Romans eyes. “Please- please Patrick, I’ll have the money- I-I JUST DONT WANT TO DIE!” Roman pleaded, his voice cracking with every word. Brucie couldn’t take it. He just couldn’t. The closest person in his life, the person he loves more than anyone, more than anything, is about to be murdered right in front of his eyes. Over what? Money? A useless object, a concept. Money? He felt his heart racing, the beads of sweat forming, his emotions overwhelming him. He doesn’t care if he gets hurt. He doesn’t care if he gets killed. He would much rather feel the pain of a knife than feel the pain of losing Roman.  

Brucie jolted forward, going into a full sprint towards Packie.  

“ You’re MAKING me do this, Brucie. ”Packie muttered, before he shoved Roman against the wall and drove the blade into his gut, leaving a deep, profusely bleeding wound around his lower abdomen. Before Packie got a chance to strike again, Brucie landed a powerful blow directly onto Patricks nose, knocking him back a few steps. Dropping the knife, he looked away and put a hand over his face before turning back to face the three boys, moving his hand to reveal his perpetually bleeding and now crooked nose.  

Brucie snatched Packie by the shirt and tackled him to the ground, the two of them turning and tussling on the grass.  “You- ach- Do NOT know who you’re fff-fucking with!” Speaking was getting harder for Packie due to all the blood falling into his mouth. He managed to overpower Brucie, propping himself on top of him as he hit a couple left and right hooks onto his jaw.  

While on the ground, Brucie patted the earth next to him, searching for the knife Patrick dropped. Once he had found it, he swung it across Packies face, landing a single slash on his upper right cheek. Patrick fell back and dug his nails into the dirt in an attempt to drag himself away from Brucie. He somehow managed to pick himself up off the ground, “FF-FUCK YOU, KIBBUTZ. FUCK YOU.” he howled as he took a few uncoordinated steps back, his raspy voice constantly cracking from all his screaming.  “A-AND FUCK YOU, ROMAN. KEEP THE MONEY. I- ACH- I DONT GIVE A SHIT.” pointing towards Roman before running off outside of the school and into the city.  

It had been at least five minutes since Packie ran away, and Brucie was still damn near unconscious, but then he remembered. Roman. Shit, Roman... He mustered up all the strength he had left to sit up and look for Roman. His vision was blurry, but a couple feet away he could see Roman sitting against the wall with a dark, olive-green blazer wrapped around his wound. And Niko was crouching over him, he could just barely tell the two were talking. He managed to make out a small portion of their conversation.  

“Niko... Niko I-I'm so fucking sorry. I’m sorry I broke our promise- I-I said I was gonna stop I said I was gonna get better and I didn’t- I-I lied to you and-” Roman panicked between his sobs.  

“It’s fine, Roman. You’re only young, of course you’re gonna make mistakes.” Niko assured him with a hand on his shoulder.  

He also managed to catch the sound of principal Rascalov around the corner, making a phone call to, who he assumed, was the hospital. Hopefully them and not the police.  

Brucie wiped his face, looking down at his hand he saw red. All he could see was blurs and blood. He looked up to the sky as his arms gave out on him and he fell back, falling unconscious within a few minutes.  

Chapter Text

After being unconscious for what felt like forever, Brucie peeled open his eyes and found himself lying in bed. Not his bed though. This entire room was unfamiliar, really. He sat up and looked around to see movie posters plastered on the walls and old European war books scattered across a little desk. It was moderately messy, with the occasional empty soda can catching his eye. He continued scanning the room until he heard a knock on the door. “Uh... Yeah?” he yelled out. The door creaked open; it was Niko. He was holding a ceramic mug that had steam emanating out of it. Probably some tea, that's nice of him. “Are you okay, Brucie? You feel sick at all? Headache? Nauseous?” Niko continued asking questions as he placed the mug on the nightstand. “I’m fine, Niko, really. It was just a fight, not the flu.” Brucie assured Niko. Niko nodded in relief. The two chatted for a while, mostly consisting of Niko prying Brucie about how he ‘really’ feels and Brucie assuring him he’s fine. 

Brucie stopped talking and thought for a second. 

... 

Shit. Roman. 

“Shit- Nicky! How's Roman? H-he's okay right? Please, Niko- I-I need you to tell me Romans okay. Please. Say he’s alright.” He panicked, his breath becoming hasty along with his heart rate. Niko placed his hand onto Brucies shoulder, “He’s okay, Bruce. He’s in the hospital, but he’s okay.” he assured him. 

“Okay, okay thank god. Does he need anything done? Do you know?” Brucie questioned. 

“Like surgery? I’m, uh, not quite sure... Well, they called this morning. All my mother told me was that we could visit him, if you’d like that.” 

Brucies eyes shot wide open. “That would be GREAT, Niko. But, uh...” Brucies voice trailed off as he thought back to what happened the last time he and Roman spoke. “I-I don’t know. I said something pretty shitty to him last time we talked. He was really pissed off, didn’t want to talk to me. Didn’t even want me near him. He might still feel that way, you know?” 

Niko sighed and shook his head. “Brucie, you saved his life. If that doesn’t make up for whatever you said to him, I don’t know what will.” 

Brucie stayed silent, a little embarrassed that Niko had to point out the obvious for him. 

“Well, I’m gonna go visit Roman.” Niko walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a half yellow, half white zip up jacket that had a horizontal blue stripe in the middle. “If you wanna come, be ready in twenty minutes, okay?” 

Brucie sighed and nodded. 

“Oh, and you might wanna change jackets. Yours is a little, uh...” 

He looked down and saw stained red splotches on the upper half of his varsity jacket. 

“...Yeah. Just look through my closet and take whatever, I’m sure it’ll fit.” Niko smiled before walking out the room and shutting the door behind him.  

Brucie debated whether or not he should go. Roman’s probably mad at him. But then again avoiding him won’t help. I mean, what kind of piece of shit human being doesn’t visit someone after they got stabbed? If he did that he’d be a worse person than he already is. Alright, yeah. He should go. He sluggishly got out of the bed and stumbled over to the wardrobe. Opening it, he was greeted by a bunch of jackets, a mess of shoes and pants on the floor, and... Vodka bottles? Isn’t this guy sixteen? More importantly- why wasn’t he invited?! Whatever. He began to skim through all of Nikos coats, and coats, and coats, and... Jesus, does this guy own anything that isn’t a coat? Well, he has a turtleneck. A single, black turtleneck. Thats it. It’s either a jacket or a turtleneck. Or a bloodied-up uniform. 

 Eventually he got over himself and picked out a half blue, half black zip up that had two white stripes going down each sleeve. He slipped off his stained varsity jacket and set it aside to look into the wardrobe mirror. ‘Man, I’ve gotta go back to the gym. Do more cardio. Lift more weights. Start countin’ carbs- shit, even my face looks chubbier’ he thought. Whatever, enough hating himself, time to get dressed. He shoved his arms into the sleeves of the zip up and tossed the waistband over his head, pulling himself out through the collar of the jacket. He looked back into the mirror to see how it looked. It was a little tight, sure, but that was expected. Niko is pretty skinny... no offense. He liked the stripes though. You know, if he was ever famous, he’d want a striped jacket to be his signature. 

 Brucie leaned into the mirror, taking a closer look at himself.  

‘...Is my face actually chubby or is it just swollen?’ 

He jumped as he heard a couple knocks on the door. “Are you ready, Brucie?!” Niko called out from the other side of the door. “Yeah! Just give me a minute, uh...” Brucie awkwardly leaned against Nikos desk as he shut the wardrobe door and squeezed between his bed and wardrobe to get to his door. Can this guy get a bigger room? Or a smaller bed? Or just, you know, move your shit around! 

He opened the door to see Niko in the jacket he picked out, dangling some keys in Brucies face. “You can drive, right?” He asked, still shoving the keys towards Brucie... as if that would change anything. “Oh, nah, bro. Was never taught.” Brucie answered, shooing Nikos hand away from him. “Seriously? You’re about to turn eighteen and you can’t drive?” Niko sighed. He was a bit disappointed in him, if he was being honest. “It-it’s whatever, I just got my license anyways.” Niko made his way to his front door. “Oh, Brucie, I left your shoes here.” 

Brucie looked next to Niko to see a shoe rack with his shoes on it. He picked them up and slipped one of them on, when he looked at Niko who was fiddling with the doors lock. 

“You took my shoes?...” Brucie asked as he tied up the laces. 

“Yes, I did. Nothing’s gonna stop me from keeping this house clean, not even an unconscious moron who got in a street fight.” Niko looked back at Brucie as he pushed his door open and took the key out. 

Brucie slipped on the second shoe and began tying up the laces. “People do that?”  

“...Do you, uh... not?” 

“Do I take off peoples shoes while they’re sleeping? No, bro.” 

“No- Do you not take off your shoes when you get home?” 

“...No?” 

“Oh my god- Brucie, that’s disgusting!” Niko groaned as he slapped his palm over his eyes. “Think of all the dirt, the grime, the bacteria that's on the bottom of your shoe! That’s all going into your carpet!” 

“Well- how was I supposed to know?!” Brucie moaned as he stood back up. 

“Oh, I don't know... Common knowledge?!” Niko snarled in a sarcastic manner as he walked out the front door onto the steps, looking back to make sure Brucie was following. 

Brucie followed. “Man, if it was common knowledge I would’ve known!” 

“Trust me, Bruce. There are SO many things you don’t know.” Niko unlocked the car and jumped into the drivers seat. He sat in silence waiting for Brucie to get in, but he heard a knock on his window. He looked over to see Brucie crouched down to the windows height. 

“So many things I don't know, huh? What’s that supposed to mean, Niko-boy??” 

“Brucie-” 

“No! I’m not talking to you, Nicky. Because you’re sooo much better than me, because you have more ‘common knowledge’ than m-” 

“Brucie, just get in the fucking car!” 

Brucie immediately went quiet and walked to the other side of the car with his tail between his legs. He opened the door and sat down on his seat. “Was just a joke, Nicky, don't get your panties in a bunch.”  

“Can you let me drive in peace, Brucie?” 

Brucie sighed and pressed his head against the window as Niko revved the cars engine and took off. He took note of the scenery, he saw restaurants, clothing stores, gun stores, even bowling alleys. He didn’t recognise this at all. “Hey, Niko? What part of Bohan is this? ‘Cause I don’t recognise nothing.” 

“Bohan? Brucie, we’re in Broker.” 

“Oh. Really? You took me all the way to Broker? That’s nice of you, Niko.” 

“Is that sarcasm?” 

“What? No! I-I really am glad you, you know, helped me out. Didn’t just leave me there.” 

“What kind of person do you think I am, Brucie? You had just got beaten into the ground, of course I wouldn’t leave you there!” 

“I-I don't know, Niko! I uh, I think that's just how I am.” 

“Elaborate?” 

“You know, I just.” Brucie sighed and faced away from Niko to look out the window. “I think I just expect abandonment, you know? I mean, my brother did that to me. And we were super close, we were like, homies, man!” 

“...Can I ask how he abandoned you?” 

“He uh... He left to serve in the military when I was eleven. I still haven’t heard from him. He could be a super jacked, tan loan shark with a bunch of ladies in his penthouse right now. He could be a dying homeless man who lives under a bridge as we speak! It’s not like I would know! Haven’t seen the fucker in six years!” 

“I uh, I didn’t realise that, Bruce. I’m sorry.” 

“It-it’s alright. It’s all good. All fine and dandy, bro.” 

It wasn’t ‘fine and dandy’ obviously. He missed Mori, still. He always did. From the second he stepped out the house he's missed him. And he probably always will. But what can you do? When your brother, your best friend, is in another country serving in the military. Well, that's what he thinks he’s doing, anyway. It's not like he would know. 

Niko took a couple sharp turns, almost as if he had changed destinations. 

“Do you like shopping?” Niko spoke. 

“Yeah, who doesn’t? Why?” 

“Maybe that’ll take your mind off things.” 

“That’s real kind of you, Niko, but- shouldn't we be seeing Roman?” 

“I thought we could get him something nice, you know? I had the idea when we left, but I didn’t intend on bringing you into the mall. So, do you wanna go shopping?” 

“Okay- first of all, yes, second of all- you were gonna leave me in the car?” Brucie looked at him with an upset, almost grouchy expression. 

“You’d survive, Brucie. You’re a big boy, I assume? Not a small child?” Niko mocked as he continued taking turns to get to the mall. Brucie just shut up and waited till they got to their destination.  

Once they arrived, Niko unlocked the car and got out as Brucie followed. 

“Biggest mall in Broker. You’ll love it here, man!” Niko beamed, walking through the entrance into the mall. 

“Hey bro, it’s a mall and I’m not paying, ‘course I’ll like it!” Brucie called out as he followed behind Niko. 

“Keep in mind, Brucie, we’re not here for you; we’re here for Roman.” Niko reminded him as the two boys began walking through the mall, looking for the perfect gift for Roman. They searched the area, mostly finding pharmacies and weird little tech stores.  

Brucie tapped Niko on the shoulder, “Hey, hey Niko, what about that one?” He giggled. 

“Which one? Point it out for me?” 

Brucie pointed to a womens clothing store. Full of beautiful, long dresses and high heels. 

“...You wanna see him in a dress or something?” 

“I mean... I wouldn’t exactly be against it, bro.” Brucie put his hands up as he gave a sly look to Niko. Niko just rolled his eyes and continued walking around the mall. Brucie, of course, following close behind him. They wandered around the place for a good ten minutes before they came across a small, but neat-looking gift shop. It had a wide assortment of random items, ranging from candles, to mugs, to cheap T-shirts. Many of them having an “I <3 Liberty City” graphic sloppily printed onto them.  

“Niko, look at this thing!” Brucie pointed towards a small bobblehead and flicked its head. 

“What? You think Roman will like that?” Niko asked. 

“Nah, just thought it was funny.” 

Niko sighed and left to a different section of the shop. This section was littered with soft, stuffed animals. Bunnies, cats, dogs, elephants, pretty much everything you could think of. Some of them were holding hearts with lovey-dovey quotes on them, like ‘I love you to the moon and back!’ and ‘I meow (love) you!’ Eugh. So cheesy. 

“Brucie? Do you see anything here that Roman would like?” Niko called out as he continued checking out all the merchandise. 

“...” 

“Brucie?” 

Niko turned his head to see Brucie trying on a plethora of different silly headbands in front of a tiny mirror. Some had cat ears, some had alien antennas, some had those weird floppy springs with googly eyes stuck on the end of them. 

“BRUCIE!” 

Brucie looked over at Niko. “What, bro? You jealous? Here, take one!” He grinned as he shoved a pair into Nikos hands.  

“No- Brucie, focus. We’re here for Roman and Roman only . Okay?” Niko snatched the headband off Brucies head and placed it back on the rack, same with the one Brucie handed to him.  

“Right, yeah. Roman. My bad...” Brucie sighed. “You find anything yet?” 

“I found a bunch of teddy bears.” Niko stated. “You can pick one out for him. Since you’re, you know, head over heels for him and all.” 

Brucie grumbled as he pushed Niko out of the way to get to the shelf with all the stuffed animals. He picked one up, squeezed it, jumped when it squeaked and threw it back onto the shelf out of embarrassment. He looked back to see if Niko noticed, which clearly, he did. He could tell from that stupid smirk he had on his face. He might as well scream ‘I saw that and it was just as humiliating as you imagined’ right into his ear. He bitterly looked back to the plushies and kept on browsing through the plushies. Some cats, some dogs, nice things but- nothing quite caught his eye as something Roman would like.  

Until. 

He saw this bear. This cute little bear. It had closed eyes, a cat like mouth, kinda chubby. Just like Roman! Well except for the first two. And best of all, it was wearing a tiny white T-shirt that said “I <3 LC” 

Brucie knew how much Roman loved this city. He would always talk about someday being a rich man in LC. Penthouses, women, yachts. He was always fairly creative, you know? Or maybe he was just copying things he saw on TV. 

“Hey Nicky. I think this one’s good.” He spoke softly as he handed the bear to Niko. 

“Cute, man. I knew you’d choose a good one.”  

Brucie put his hands on his hips. “Oh yeah? ‘Cause I’m all ‘ head over heels ’ for him?” He giggled. 

Niko rolled his eyes. “Whatever, we should go to the checkout now.” 

“FORTY... FUCKING... DOLLARS?!” Brucie screamed out, opening the car door and slouching down onto his seat. “FOR THAT TINY BEAR?” 

Niko threw his head back onto his headrest. “Everything in this city is unaffordable! It’s crazy, man!” 

“You’re telling me, bro. I didn’t even pay and I’m STILL angry!” 

“Capitalism is a dirty, dirty business!” Niko shook his head “Fuck, I-I'm just gonna drive, I’m getting too pissed off.” 

Niko revved up the car and sped off, trying his best to keep his mind off how doomed this country is. Brucie didn’t have anything better to do, so he began taking notes of where Niko was going. He took a left, a right, another right, cursed at the traffic, another left, a right and- and he lost track because he saw a cokehead belly dancing. Whatever, he’ll just count the pigeons. 

‘One, two- there's two more on the powerline! Uh, two and two, uh- Oh, four. Now how many did I just miss? Three? What’s three and fou- did that guy just punch that other guy? Wonder why. God that dog is cute. There’s another o- oh god. Oh, that’s not a dog. Why in public, man?!’ 

He decided it’d be best if he just... Forgot where he was for a moment. Closed his eyes and imagined he was living in a better city. Yeah, he was in a limo. Being driven around Los Santos. With a big briefcase full of money. Yup, that's where he was. At least mentally, he was. 

Brucie looked down at the stuffed bear. Was Roman still mad at him? It's only been two days... Is that enough time to forgive someone? Then again, he did save his life. But that doesn’t take away his right to be upset. I mean, what he did sucked . Bad . It was degrading, it was humiliating, it was disgusting. Fuck. He just wishes he could take it all back. He just wishes he didn’t hurt Roman. But at the end of the day, what’s done is done, and the only thing you can do is try to be better. 

“We nearly there, Niko?” Brucie put down the plushie. 

“Nearly.” Niko spoke. 

“...” 

“Are you nervous?” Brucie huffed. 

“No, not really. Are you?” 

“A little, yeah.” 

“Are you scared he’s still mad at you?” 

Brucie nodded, a gloomy frown plastered across his face. 

Niko sighed. “Bruce, it’s a part of life. You make mistakes, you hurt people, you make your friends upset with you. That’s life. It doesn’t mean it's the end, it doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. It just means you’re a person, okay?” 

Brucie sat in silence. 

“...But that also isn’t an excuse to go and do whatever you want. If you do something bad, the best thing to do is apologise. And if they don’t forgive you, just move on.” 

“Are you saying Roman might... Not forgive me?” 

“I know Roman, Brucie. He has never been keen on holding grudges, especially against friends. You’ll be fine.” 

Brucie exhaled in relief. He doesn’t know where he would be right now if it wasn’t for Roman, really. He loved his smile, his voice, the stupid jokes he’d crack. He just loved him. More than anything. God, it’s so cheesy now that he thinks about it.  

He jumped when he noticed a loud clicking noise right next to his ear. It was Niko, snapping his fingers just inches away from Brucies head. “Hey, you can get out of whatever daydream you’re having. We’re here.” 

Niko stopped the car and stood out onto the sidewalk, feeling the late afternoon Liberty City air hit his face and gently rustle his clothes. “You sure it’s all gonna be fine?” Brucie questioned as he reached back into the car to retrieve the stuffed bear they brought. 

“I wouldn’t have said it four times if it wasn’t true, Brucie.”  

Brucie dropped his shoulders before he walked around the car to be at Nikos side. The both of them began making their way up the steps of the hospital. The sound of doors whirring, wheelchairs squeaking, and keyboard clacking filled the air around them. The second they got past the door, the strong, agonising smell of bleach and hand sanitiser hit their noses. 

“Man, what’s stopping them from making these places smell good? Really?” Brucie whined. 

“Maybe it’s because their main priority are the dying patients, but my guess is as good as yours.” Niko responded in a sarcastic tone. 

Niko walked up to the young woman working at the front desk, Brucie following close next to him. 

“Good afternoon, miss.” He greeted. 

“Hello, gentlemen. Why are we here today?” The lady asked. 

“We’re visiting someone, uh, Roman Bellic.” 

She typed something out on her computer. “Mhm, what’s your name sir?” 

“Niko Bellic. And my friend here is Bruce Kibbutz, if you need that.” 

She nods as she writes another thing down on her device. “And how do you know the patient?” 

“I’m his cousin. And Bruce is his best friend.” 

Brucie chuckled. 

“Mr. Bellic is in room six.” The woman said, handing Niko a slip. “Just sit outside the door and wait for the doctors permission to come in.” 

Niko nodded and patted Brucie on the shoulder, signalling to him that it’s time to go. They walked down the halls, hearing their shoes tap and occasionally squeak against the glossy tile floors. 

Brucie looked over to Niko. “His room is just here, right?” 

Niko glanced at the slip the woman gave him. “Mhm, just down here.” 

A moment later, they arrived at room six. There was a shiny silver plate with the doctors name on the door, with three dark blue waiting room chairs to the left of it. The boys sat down on the chairs and began waiting for the doctor to come out. 

“What if-” 

“He’s not mad at you, he’s not gonna die, you aren’t a bad friend, and he won’t think the plushie is stupid.” 

Brucie shut his mouth. That was pretty much all his questions answered. 

“Man, I wasn’t gonna say any of that...” He whimpered. 

“Yeah? What is it, then?” 

“Uhm...” He paused. “I... I like this jacket you gave me?” 

“I didn’t give it to you, I’m just letting you borrow it. And thanks, I guess.”  

“If I’m being honest it- it's a little tight, Niko. You ever thought of, you know, lifting?” 

Niko furrowed his brows. “What? Am I too skinny or something?” 

“NAH! Nah, man! Just- y-you could uh... ‘fill out’ your clothes a little better is all! Plus I really, really need a gym buddy-” 

“No thanks, Brucie! I enjoy not putting hundreds of different powders and supplements in my morning coffee.” 

“D-Do you also enjoy not being insanely swole like me? Huh?” Brucie huffed as his face turned red. 

“It isn’t that bad, you know.” 

“Yeah? Shopping in the kids section? That’s ‘not that bad’ bro?” 

Niko just laughed and looked away from Brucie. 

The two boys turned their heads to see the door to room six open before the doctor stepped out into the hallway. “Mr. Bellic is available, now.” He stated in a deep, raspy voice. They both nodded and stood up from their seats. They soon walked in, Brucie hiding the bear behind him, to see Roman looking back at them with weary eyes. He was just barely sitting up in his hospital bed. 

“Hey, Niko.” He spoke with a frail voice. “And hi, Brucie.” 

Both waved to Roman. 

Niko walked over and sat on the end of Romans bed. “How are you feeling, cousin?” 

“Tired, Niko. I’m much better than I was 6 hours ago, but I’m tired.” 

“I know, I know. But I promise you, it’s gonna be fine. You’ll get out of here better than ever, you hear me?” 

Roman laughed. “I know, man, I know. Thank you.” 

Brucie slowly approached Romans bed and looked at him with a weepy, slightly nervous expression on his face. “Roman, I-I'm sorry about what I said, you know? The thing that happened with Patrick?” 

Roman nodded. “It hurt... But I don’t hate you.” He smiled. 

“Really?” Brucie questioned. 

“C’mon. You’re the closest person to me- no offense, Niko- Do you really think I’d hate you over one small thing?” 

Brucie sighed and dropped his shoulders. “...You just- you seemed so mad when it happened...” 

“Well, that’s because I was!” Roman giggled, but afterwards winced in pain due to the movement. “But I thought about it, it was a heat of the moment thing, you know? You panicked and said something you didn’t mean, I see that now. I could never hate you, Brucie.” Roman reached out and patted Brucie on the arm. 

“...Man, I thought you were never gonna talk to me again.” Brucie sighs in relief. “But anyways, I uh... I got you something.” 

Romans eyes lit up. “Yeah?” 

Brucie took his arms out from behind him and presented the ludicrously priced stuffed toy to Roman. Roman grinned as he looked at the bear and eventually pulled it from Brucies hand. 

“Eugh, god, the shirt is so tacky!” Roman chuckled as he toyed the bears arms, making them point in all kinds of different directions.  

“Hey, that was forty dollars, bro!”  

“...You’re kidding.” Roman gasped with a beyond dumbfounded expression on his face. 

“Nope.” Niko chimed in. “And it all came out of MY pockets.” 

“What a fucking robbery.” Roman huffed. “I mean, at least he’s cute.” 

“Yeah. A little chubby, but cute.” Brucie joked. 

“Hey, man, don’t be rude! That just means he knows some good Turkish bread spots!” 

The three laughed together as they threw around stupid jokes and told random stories. Some new, some old, all enjoyable. 

You know, maybe- just maybe- things would turn out okay. 

Chapter Text

“GERALD! Gerald, open the door! I’m home!” Packie pounded his fist against the entrance to his home. He waited for a moment, still no answer. He cussed under his breath before he heard the familiar sound of squeaky hinges. He was met by a tall, sturdy, ginger man standing in the doorway, holding an opened bottle of beer.  

“Gerry! Thank GOD you answered.” Packie huffed as he shoved Gerald aside and walked inside the house.  

“Anything for you, Patrick.” Gerald rolled his eyes. “And don’t shove me, that’s disrespectful!”  

“’Ey, you don’t have to teach me everything, you know?” Packie dropped his backpack onto the couch. “I know I’m a kid, but you don’t have to treat me like one, alright?!”  

“Yeah, whatever” Gerry groaned.  

Patrick slouched down on the couch next to his backpack. “You know, Gerald, I’ve got something to tell you. Sit down.”  

Gerald nodded and walked over to the chair in the corner, right next to the tv. He sat himself down on the chair, “What do ya want, Packie?” he asked.  

“You know, you’re a GREAT brother, but we don’t get to bond with one another enough. Right, Gerald?”  

Gerald swished around his beer as he furrowed his brows at Patrick. “You tryin’ to butter me up so I can do another one of your pointless jobs for you? ‘Cause it won’t work.”  

Packie sat up and straightened out his posture. “Noo, Gerry! I would never! Tsk tsk.” he said in a- poorly faked- sympathetic tone. “It ain’t a job if you look at it from a different angle. Just think of it as a uh... A family road trip, yeah?”  

“Uh-huh, and what are we gonna do on this... ‘family road trip’ hm?” Gerry asked before taking a swig from his bottle.  

“So, you know how I’ve been going to this new school?”  

“Yeah, bullshorns, right?”  

“Something like that-” Packie shrugs. “But that’s not important. What’s important is that there’s these three kids attending. And lemme tell ya, they get on my fucking NERVES, okay?”  

Gerry nods.  

“Niko bellic, Roman bellic, Bruce kibbutz. Roman is that lil’ prick that never gave me my money. Niko and Bruce are his friends- Well, Bruce is more of his boyfriend.” Packie laughed. “Saw the two cuddling during break- Can you believe that? Real fucking cheesy. I’ve got photos if you’d li-”  

“I-I don’t wanna see some photos of a couple queers, okay?” Gerald interrupted.  

“Huh, thought you would, considering you are one.”  

The two glared at one another from across the room.  

“But anyways, story is Roman wouldn’t pay up and his boyfriend socked me in my face. And so far, they’ve gotten away with it. You see where I’m goin’ with this?”  

“...You want me to go kill some teenagers for you? Yeah, when Francis flies”  

“Hey, not for me! WITH me! I said family road trip for a reason.” 

Gerald stood up out of his seat and drank the last swig of beer he had left. 
“I’ll think about it, Patrick.” He said before walking off into the kitchen. 

“N’aww, c’mon, Gerry! I need a yes or a no!” Packie whined as he followed him.  

Gerald threw his bottle into the trash can. “Well, what's in it for me?” He asked, crossing his arms.  

“Hm... Tell you what, I’ll hook you up with this Puerto Rican coke dealer I know. Her name’s Lizzy. Young, but trust me, you shouldn’t underestimate her.”  

Gerald stood still for a second, before reaching his hand out in front of him.  

“Deal.”  

Packie smiled as he shook Gerrys hand.  

“Deal!”