INSURGENT

kit cruz; 25. "shit happens alright? shit fucking happens... christ!"

[tahani-parkinson]

"You'd never think something so simple could change your life," Zara sighed, gazing lovingly at the strawberry cream sandwich she was holding. Given she was known for being a bit of a princess, the fact that a sandwich of all things had her attention was impressive. Perhaps she was changing, learning that sometimes the finer things in life were in fact the most simple. "I mean, the pies are okay, but these are... are you going to finish yours? I could go line up now to get another round..."

[kitcruz]

"They're alright," Naomi shrugged and slid her sandwich across the table, clearly not having the experience her sister was. "Your life's sadder than I thought if a sandwich is changing it."

[smokingaceschw]

Kit's last name was already one strike in Ace's book - he'd never met a Cruz that he liked, the closest he came was Diego and he couldn't say he liked him either, Ace just had an ounce of respect for the guy. The same couldn't be said for Kit. Strike two was that he talked too much, didn't know when to shut up, had an answer for everything yet didn't say much of anything at all and Ace really didn't have patience for self-deprecation on a good day. And strike 3 was that he was pathetic. The headbutt was fun in the moment, but besides that there was no fight in Kit, which made it more like shooting fish in a barrel, "Get me my money, Kit and get it soon. I don't want make your kid fatherless, but I will if I have to, you know that right? After that consider gettin' your shit together. I ain't gonna do this with you ever again. When you're healed up, we're jumpin' you out. Don't try to run, that'll be worse for you. "

[kitcruz]

He held Ace's gaze as he nodded, keeping eye contact so there was no doubt in his mind that Kit understood the weight of his threat. "I know." More than just feeling a little pathetic, Ace telling him to get his shit together made him angry, not even at him necessarily but in general, maybe even at himself. He was the only one at fault here after all, and he knew Nixon was right, he put himself in these situations on purpose. Why, he didn't know- he could've been a masochist, or maybe he got so used to how people talked about him that he forgot to be his own person, he leaned into their assumptions instead. "I'm not doin' this again either," he promised, and moved off the wall, and because he had a little fight left in him, pushed Ace back, just enough to get him out of his space. "I'll see you soon."

[nixon-peters]

"I'm your friend, not your therapist. You don't have to do that self reflection bullshit with me. I'm just saying I think you have more going than people give you credit for. If you choose to fuck it up that's on you." Nixon rolled his eyes as he took the joint. "Could be worse," he agreed. "You really just call me over here because you felt like baring your soul about your beat down or are we doing something?"

[kitcruz]

"Yeah you're right." It wasn't like Kit to be self deprecating anyway, and he could very easily get his shit together, they weren't past the point of no return yet. "Fuck do you mean are we doing something, this is it," he motioned between the two of them and the joint they were sharing. "'Less you want to go out. What's Tahani's curfew for you now, ten, eleven?"

[smokingaceschw]

"Yeah it fuckin' matters. I don't like people like you, relyin' on bailouts, not seein' full consequence. It ain't gonna go down like that with this. Let's start with there's a 10% proxy fee on top of what you owe me now." Ace was at war with himself in the moment or rather at war with instant gratification and waiting for a more satisfying beating that came with time. "Still don't feel all that right to me. What makes you think I would want you in my gang, Kit? This ain't what it was, loyalty matters, who you loyal to, Kit? Your family? Your kid? The gang you technically wasn't jumped out of? Yourself?." Kit's answer, though he sure was honest also annoyed Ace because again, that sounded way too long and Ace hated when he had to be patient. "Fuck it, what's one more week, right?" Without warning, Ace headbutted Kit then and there, "I don't employ fuckin' losers in my gang, Kit. Why the fuck should I start now?"

[kitcruz]

“I never wanted to take a bailout, if I did I woulda done it a lot earlier and you’d have your money already. This is last resort.” For all the shit he found himself in he didn’t like asking for help, not even from one of his closest friends. Unfortunately he saw where Ace, who apparently had stronger principles than he thought the so-called king of the south side would, was coming from. “I don’t think you want me in your gang,” he said as that much was clear just in the last five minutes, then answered, “My kid. Her mom and my boys too, but mostly my kid, that’s it. Which is fuckin’ ironic ‘cause I skipped town when her mom got pregnant, that’s why we’re standin’ here in the first place.” His head hit the wall behind him, hard, and if it didn’t make him so dizzy he would’ve shoved Ace back on reflex. It was better he didn’t anyway- even on a good day Kit knew  he’d lose, let alone in the state he was in. He’d been called a loser more times than he could count, or a deadbeat, waste of space, any name you could think of, but he really felt like a loser now. “Fuck- yeah, you’re right. I won’t ask.” 

[smokingaceschw]

Ace didn't claim to know Kit well nor did he have any real interest in doing so but Ace hated the idea of someone thinking they were getting something over on him, and between Kit owing what he did and his technical status in the gang, that's what felt like and Kit's compliance didn't do anything for Ace except maybe piss him off more because he didn't trust anything he was saying, "Pay me back, you mean your Richie friend is gonna pay me back. What about makin' it right, how do you suppose you're gonna do that?" He asked as he pushed Kit into the alley wall. "How you think it'll be before you're fully healed?"

[kitcruz]

"I'm gettin' you the money, it matters where it comes from now?" Apologizing was probably laying it on too thick, especially when he didn't have a reputation for being particularly cordial. He'd let this drag out far too long though, and much as the greasers wanted what they were owed, he wanted it all over with too. "Blood in, blood out. Feels right to me." It was Ace's call though, and his gang, so he could do whatever he wanted- he didn't need Kit to remind him that. Now he just hoped they didn't kill him. He held his own as Ace pushed him into the wall, not fighting back necessarily but not backing down either. "Two weeks. Maybe three."

[smokingaceschw]

"You've got my money but you ain't got my money. I think we both know that don't mean shit to me, Kit. We're takin' a walk." Obviously, Ace wasn't asking and he steered Kit out for a walk, if that walk was towards an alley well that could very well just be a coincidence. "Thing about it, Kit is I'll believe it when I see it until then you just owe me a lot of fuckin' money and that shit annoys me. Speakin' of you know what I heard about you recently. I heard you're part of my gang. That was news to me. You goin' around tellin' people you're part of my gang, Kit?"

[kitcruz]

"I didn't think I'd see you today." Knowing that wasn't a suggestion, he followed Ace into an alley, fully prepared to have the shit kicked out of him or worse from the moment he'd called his name. "I never said I was part of anything," he told him, which was true. "I wasn't around for the shit that went down with my family, so I didn't get jumped out with 'em. I told Polo that but I know it doesn't make me part of your gang. Took me longer than it should've to realize that too so I'm sorry, I'm just tryin' to make it right. And pay you back."

[nixon-peters]

"This is weirdly political for a bunch of people who couldn't come up with something more original to call themselves than 'greasers'." Nixon rolled his eyes, wiggling his fingers as he held his hand back out for the joint. "You're doing fine, man. You haven't been in jail and you managed to keep all your toes this time. Sure, your face is a little fucked up but it wasn't all that great before so it could definitely be worse. Between you and me though, sometimes I think you do it on purpose. Not this time, no, but I know you aren't stupid."

[kitcruz]

"It's a stupid name," he agreed in an exhale of smoke, passing the joint back to Nixon. Kit didn't think he was failing too miserably either, and the fact that he hadn't been behind bars yet was nothing short of a miracle. His life was what it was, the way he saw it, and he knew Nixon had a point, he deliberately sought out chaos. "I mean, yeah it's gotta be on purpose, right. At this point. What's next, I'm the only one standin' in my way, some shit like that?" Not actually offended in the slightest, he smirked in his direction, "I'm doin' okay. Could be worse."

[smokingaceschw]

"Kit Cruz, the cockroach of the Southside." Ace had decided while talking to the Lost Boys that he wouldn't seek out Kit (Polo had that under control) but he couldn't really help it if he came across the man out in the wild. Having just gotten a haircut, Ace was feeling pretty good and he considered crossing paths with Kit was something of an early birthday gift. He clamped a hand down on his shoulder hard in a faux happy greeting. "Long time no see, where you headed? Pickin' up diapers or some shit?" He had no clue how old Kit's kid was, he just knew he had one. "Or were you on your way to pay what you owe? That has to be it, right?" @kitcruz

[kitcruz]

It went without saying that Kit would rather deal with Polo over Ace any day- at least Polo liked him, even if it was in the same way a cat liked playing with its dinner. Ace didn't scare him, he respected what him and his boys did, but he sure as hell didn't want to be on his bad side either. "Ace Claymore," he greeted him with the same forced cheeriness. The fact that he had a kid was more of an open secret these days, if even that, so he wasn't too surprised he knew. "Nope we're way past that. I've got your money though- not on me." He hadn't worked it out with Nixon yet, or even given him a number, but he knew he was good for it and trusted he'd come through. "I got a richie friend, he's got it. I'm linkin' up with him then gettin' it to Polo."

[carrolllennon]

Lennon was caught off guard by the pass. The ball grazed his fingertips in an attempt to catch it, but ultimately fell to the floor. He picked it back up to bounce it a few more times. The sound of the rubber hitting the pavement was the only sound filling the space between them. He had reached a low with Kit's help, but now he was digging himself out of the grave he had dug for himself. It wouldn't have been easy to blame Kit, but who was Lennon without him? He'd much rather cut a limb off than Kit. "You guys are now brother baby daddies." He snorted, shooting the ball into the basket, finally. "For the most part. I'm sure it'll have no trouble finding me if it so cares to." His brows furrowed. "What kind of trouble are we talking about here?"

[kitcruz]

Grimacing at Lennon’s choice of words (he could workshop that), he kept his eyes on the ball as it sunk through the net. “Maybe we all need to fuck,” he joked with an overly nonchalant shrug, attention back on Lennon, grin slowly spreading across his features. “Me, Nixon, Tahani.” He didn’t mean to involve him in any of his bullshit- his friend had enough of his own to worry about, just taking his sobriety day by day. “Not your kinda trouble,” he assured him, knowing that’d be where his head went. “And it’s nothin’ I can’t get out of. Just some dumb shit I gotta deal with.” 

[nixon-peters]

"Fuck no. If it was you would've drained me dry a long time ago." Part of him would've loved to be a fly on the wall during that conversation. "And if that happens you better pretend this conversation never did. I'm not getting the cold shoulder or blue balled because of your bullshit." Nixon had never really understood the family drama, but he'd never put much thought into it considering Kit didn't seem particularly close to any of his family. "Yeah, like your cousins and the guys they ran with before. I know they're leaning towards geriatric by now but I didn't know if they'd decide to jump in on kicking the shit out of you if you decided to go turncoat. Or is it even considered that since it's the same group?" Nixon's eyebrow shot up curiously before he closed his eyes, taking a moment to enjoy his high. "You know, at some point you're gonna start making good choices and I think it might actually make me have a heart attack."

[kitcruz]

Kit motioned like he was zipping his lips then threw away the imaginary key. If he really wanted to be an asshole he could’ve thrown in some jab about not wanting to get in the way of Nixon’s sex life, since he knew firsthand what he’d be missing. They were long past that though, the fling he and Tahani had when they were teenagers hardly comparable to the very adult relationship she had with Nixon. He shook his head, “They’re not in it anymore, Ace’s guys jumped ‘em all out when he took over. I missed all that though, so.” Technically he was a greaser still but he didn’t know which was worse- being Polo’s bitch or getting jumped out. “Yeah I’m trying. Not hard enough but it’s like for every good choice I end up makin’ two bad ones.” 

[nixon-peters]

"I wouldn't bail you out every time you did something stupid, but now I have a little bit more of an incentive." That incentive being Zara. He didn't enjoy being on the receiving end of her disappointment. "Yeah well she's gonna freak out even more once she finds out you lied. And she will find out. It won't be from me, but we both know keeping secrets around here is next to impossible. You just made shit about ten times worse for yourself on that end." He grimaced knowing he was bound to catch heat for it if it came out he knew anything about it. Thankfully Nixon was used to playing dumb. "You really think that's a good idea, man? Being the bottom guy in a group of guys who might actually hate you seems... rough. And that's not even touching on your family."

[kitcruz]

"'Cause being my friend's not enough?," he joked, though he knew what he meant. With Zara he was still making up for lost time but he liked getting to know her, and not just because they were related but she was a funny kid, and clever, too. "Okay so I'll tell her. Before she hears it from somebody else." Generally the less Tahani got involved in his bullshit the better but he knew Nixon had a point. If she didn't hear it from him then it was only a matter of time before the rumor mill put its spin on it, and who know what the story would be then. "No. I'd be down a toe if I didn't say somethin' though. What about my family, like my cousins? Non-issue, they know how I feel about them too."

[nixon-peters]

Nixon's forehead crinkled as he listened. He wouldn't have put it past Kit to try screwing with him for some reason or another, but Nixon knew his friend well enough to understand this was exactly the type of situation he would land himself in. It didn't make sense to him, but it was so Kit. The only way Nixon had ever seen him learn anything was when he fucked around and found out. "You know you have a rich friend, right?" He pointed towards himself, his smile growing once more. "So what? They beat your ass because you owe them a few thousand bucks? You didn't have to lie about something like that. I mean, it's not cool but I doubt it'll be the last time some goofy shit like this happens. It definitely isn't the first."

[kitcruz]

None of it was out of character for him so he didn't expect Nixon to be surprised, but he was making an effort to be more responsible. It was Tahani he worried about, since he'd earned enough of her trust to be part of their kid's life. He didn't want to lose that over some dumb shit he'd done finally catching up to him. "Yeah and if you bailed me out every time I did somethin' stupid you'd be broke." He cracked a smile back at Nixon then shrugged. "A few to you maybe. I know, but I didn't want T freakin' out. Probably should've told you earlier too, I might've made a deal with the devil." Dramatic yes but Kit was just joking around now, since they'd established this was business as usual for him, and he reached over to take the joint back from Nixon. "I said I'd work for them, like same type of shit I used to do for Damo. Doubt they'll go for it, they all hate me and I think they like kickin' my ass too much."

[nixon-peters]

"She can show mercy when she wants to. Besides, then she would have to explain to Zara why her dad started walking with a limp." Nixon's eyebrows furrowed but he didn't press the issue. Though he'd never heard of someone getting into a motorcycle accident and not being given something decent to help them with the pain. "The fact that you think you have to say that at all is offensive." He rolled his eyes, though that didn't stop him from reaching out for the joint once it was offered to him. He had no idea how Kit, Phoenix, and Lennon managed to land themselves in half the situations they did, but he would've been lying if he said he didn't enjoy it. The messiness of it all had kept him entertained for years. "What's up? You and Phoenix finally decide to take things to the next level?"

[kitcruz]

"Just checkin'," he said with a shrug. While he didn't always trust Nixon to keep a secret, he trusted him to not cause any unnecessary friction between him and Tahani, knowing he'd rather not involve himself in their dynamic. "If he'd only have me, nah, it's- I borrowed some money, greaser money, back when I skipped town and I been tryin' to pay it back." And by 'borrowed' he of course meant stole. Even at his lowest he let his pride get in the way, and he still wasn't sure he was asking for help, just letting his friend in on his situation. "It was all fuckin' stupid, that's why I did Panic, and I haven't said anything 'til now 'cause I thought I'd get out of it. And I wasn't in an accident, case that wasn't clear."

[nixon-peters]

Nixon tried to stay out of things when it came to Tahani, Kit, and coparenting. It was bound to end with him pissing one of them off, and if he could avoid the issue completely he would. He didn't enjoy being dragged or iced out from either of them for not being on their side so it was easier that way. "Sure, but I'll remind you anyways. You look like shit." He grimaced, eyeing Kit as he moved past him into the home. "It's probably for the best. If you looked any better T might actually cut your dick off. Now she can't without looking like a monster." He reached into his pocket before he held out a joint for Kit. "I figured if you went to the hospital they probably gave you pain killers already, so this is my get well soon gift."

[kitcruz]

Ironically him and Tahani were closer than they'd ever been, since they never did much talking when they were together. Their relationship was weird, definitely unconventional, but it seemed like they'd finally gotten the hang out of it and co-parenting. He flipped Nixon off as he let him inside. "If she really wanted to she would've done it already. Went to the ER, sat in there for fuckin' ever and they didn't give me any of the good shit. Thank you." He plucked the joint from his hand and tucked it behind his ear for now, having Nixon follow him to the back. His place was a shitty one bedroom apartment on the south side but it was on the first floor with a yard, important for the dog he'd got with Z a few years ago. It was his dog now, he'd fully accepted that, and Zara renamed her after she decided Dr. Pepper was, in her words, something a baby would come up with, so now she was Phoebe. "I gotta tell you something," he said once they were outside and smoking, Kit passing him the joint after he'd hit it. "Stays between us though, like T can't know about any of it."

[kitcruz]

By the time Polo was finished with him Kit forgot it was his day with Zara and he was obviously in no condition to take her now. Tahani, understandably, was blowing up his phone too, so he gave her a call back, told her he'd been in a motorcycle accident and he broke a few ribs (true, he was pretty sure, as he hadn't gotten to a doctor) but he was fine. He apologized for flaking and said he probably wouldn't be able to watch Zara for a bit, as he was pretty banged up and didn't want her seeing him like this. Whether Nixon bought all that he didn't know but they made plans to hang out a few days later. "I look like shit, I know," he said as he opened the door, then stepped aside for him to come in. @nixon-peters

[polomikami]

When Kit started swinging Polo let out a yowl of excitement. Even if he was getting back what he gave it didn't matter, he was like an animal on the hunt, adrenaline sending him into a frenzy. Back in the day when Damo's boys had been at the top of the food chain Kit was the worst of 'em, damn near as soulless as Polo himself when it came to taking a swing. Now, Polo was pretty sure he had more bodies under his belt and Kit was out of practice, branded a coward for running, so eventually he got the upper hand and had Cruz on his way to swallowing his teeth. "You wanna... pay me back... in fingers or toes?" he grinned back, bloody.

[kitcruz]

Usually he'd share Polo's excitement to fight, he always took the first swing back when it was still Damon's gang, but it was different when it was out of necessity and he knew he was at a disadvantage. Once they really got going though he couldn't deny he was having a little fun, adrenaline dulling the pain of each hit Polo got on him. His reflexes weren't quite as quick as they used to be, when he was still playing ball, but they were there, enough to keep up. Whether or not Kit beat him now didn't change how much he owed the greasers, they both knew that, but he had enough self-respect to fight back, and his reputation was on the line. "Neither," he spat, hacking up some of the blood that'd pooled around his mouth. "Fuck. Toes. Or... give me a number." He paused both to catch his breath and consider what it was he wanted to offer, "Let me work for you. I know... it's more fun beatin' the shit outta me... But I was never jumped out with Damo and them."

[carrolllennon]

"Doesn't it? Your pity means everything to me." He placed a hand over his heart. He gave an over-exaggerated pout to really sell it. Life had been boring for the last year. Not that Lennon was complaining. He found peace in the stillness life now offered. The highs he used to chase were a thing of the past. He hoped it would stay that way. "Twelve labubus with their own sports cars, I'm sure. They're living better than us. Oh, yeah. You and Nixon are baby daddy brothers. Rosewood, small world." Lennon made it a point to stay out of relationship drama. The entire situation was wild to him, but he wasn't about to say shit either. "Yeah, man, can't you tell? I'm no longer a pasty Victorian boy. I have a nice tan to me now."

[kitcruz]

In lieu of a response he tossed the ball to Lennon without warning. There came a point where his friend only had himself to blame for the low he'd reached, and he'd definitely hit that- Kit was just glad he managed to get himself out of it. At least it cleared his conscience a little, seeing as he used to be Lennon's dealer. "Yeah. We're such good friends we knocked up the same chick." It was a half-hearted joke but a joke nonetheless, since Nixon was still his best friend. "Yeah I can tell, you look good. Like you're stayin' out of trouble. Now I can't say the same for myself..."