wroetostar one-shots

assassin au pt 5

i just wanna let it be known that i have zero planning for this lol :') 

865 words...tis a bit short but the next scene didn't seem to fit in this chapter, sorry anyway <3

"you're cancelling the contract."

it was phrased as a statement, not a question, and simon resisted the urge to exhale a heavy breath. logan paul's voice was flat and incredulous. it made his skin crawl to even talk to the other man, but he had to. 

vik had come to his house last night. simon had taken one look at his face, eyes cast to the floor, thick brows furrowed tightly, and immediately knew that vik hadn't done it. really, he couldn't blame him. simon imagined if instead of vik and harry, it had been him and talia. he would never have been able to kill her, so he couldn't expect vik to be able to either.

"you do realise the mistake you're making here, minter?" logan said, slowly and carefully enunciating his words. "this is a paul brothers contract you're giving up. we've given you a very good deal here, as well as a chance to gain favour with us. and you're going to throw it away?" simon winced and ran a hand through his hair.

"yes," he finally replied. "i'm going to throw it away. we're not prepared to take on this contract." he could practically see the sharp frown on logan's pale, pointed face. 

logan sighed. "guess i'll have to do it myself," he mumbled, so low simon could barely hear, and he swallowed. vik lay on the couch not far away, wrapped up in blankets and staring at the ceiling, forlorn expression on his face. 

"well, if you're sure," logan spoke up, pointedly trailing off his sentence.

"i'm sure." simon's voice was firm this time.

"pleasure doing business with you then," logan said, voice thick with sarcasm. there was a dark, ominous tone in this sharp words, something that just seemed promised danger, and simon shivered as the line went flat.

"what did he say?" vik's eyes remained fixed on the ceiling.

"he..." simon chewed his bottom lip. "he said... 'guess i'll have to do it myself.'"

the two fell into a tense silence. vik balled his fists and closed his eyes, counting to ten in his head.

"okay." his voice was calm. "okay."

"what?" simon asked, confused. "vik, did you hear me right?"

vik peeled off his cocoon of blankets and sat up straight on the couch, mouth set in a determined frown.

"logan paul isn't going to touch harry," the smaller boy said, eyes as hard as steel. "i'm going to make sure of it."

simon heaved a sigh and ran a hand through his blond hair. "i already told you my story - i thought that too. you know how it ended for talia and i."

vik shot him a look. "it's going to be different for us," he said, standing up. every inch of his tensed body screamed that he wouldn't budge, and simon hadn't expected him to. "i'll make sure of it."

"if you say so," simon yelled at his retreating back as vik marched out the house to harry's flat.

"it'll be different with us," vik murmured as he strode through the city. birds streaked across the azure blue sky, singing their high-pitched melodies and skimming over the trees, whose leaves were quickly turning sunset shades of orange and brown as autumn cemented its presence.

the world had so many beautiful things. vik refused for one of those things to be torn away so soon.

---

for the next few weeks, vik made every excuse to be around harry. if he wasn't directly in the other boy's company, he was quietly trailing from a distance, always knowing where he was.

the other sidemen had all returned and were briefed by simon on what had gone down. despite the loss of such a great opportunity, they were totally supportive of vik's situation, which he appreciated. with him dedicating his time to protecting harry to the best of his ability, that left the others to pick up the slack on paperwork and contracts, but apart from some good-natured teasing they took the extra work easily.

"everyone in the underworld has an impactful emotional moment," josh quietly said to him one phone call. "you're quite new to this world - it was bound to happen at some point."

"even you?" vik dared to ask.

there was a moment of dead silence. then josh spoke up, voice sounding oddly rehearsed and robotic. "you already know simon's. mine was... similar, i guess. her name was freya."

vik sucked in a breath as josh continued. "she wasn't involved in any of this criminal stuff. young, beautiful, completely innocent... her only downfall was that she loved me. i made some enemies, and they wanted revenge. freya was an easy target."

his normally composed voice shook slightly. "i was stupid. i didn't think about the consequences of what i was doing, i didn't think about protecting her at all. i was stupid, and it got her killed, and i will never, ever forgive myself."

"that's why i can't blame you at all for what you're doing," josh said. "i know that if you just left harry for dead, you'd never forgive yourself. the other guys get it as well. just... be careful."

"i will."