He was just restless. He wasn't used to small spaces or being crammed in one. Although, it had only been a day, he was still finding it hard to adjust to the holding cell. He figured jail would be so much worse and that's probably exactly where he would be going soon.

Theo would actually smoke one of those for a moment to just think outside of the cell. He wasn't used to being cooped up all the time. He wanted some fresh air. He let the mask fall off his face, not bothering to hide his restlessness as Nike's gaze found him. He was secretly begging the man to catch on that he had the reason for the cigarette and also begging him not to ruin his plan to catch a break.

Theo's gaze dropped away to Nike's hands as they fetched the cigarettes and the lighter. He couldn't help but notice how tired the man appeared. He wondered if he was sleeping well...he shoved those thoughts away and put back on his neutral expression. He shouldn't be caring for the fool that betrayed him.

"Uh yeah I do but I can take him, I was gonna go out for a smoke anyway and then you can take a break yourself, grab a coffee or something, I think there was some cake in the staff room even."

Theo's heart dropped. He would rather take a drag of the cigarette than have Nike escort him. He didn't want to see the man again, he made that very clear. He was trying to move past the hurt and betrayal he felt and now the man was wanting to come with him on his mission to give himself from fresh air?

"Suit yourself, that one is trouble," The officer gladly handed Theo over to Nike. The gang leader couldn't help but give a small snort. He hasn't done a single thing to suggest trouble to that cop.

Once he was in the hands of Nike, he began walking toward the doors again wordlessly. He wondered what Nike was thinking or what his ex boyfriend wanted from him. Obviously it was something. He didn't figure the man would ever talk to him again after he punched him. Clearly he was wrong.

Nike's grip on his arm was loose. It was like it was more of a display for his colleagues than to actually contain Theo. If the man wanted to, he could run away but he didn't want to do that to Nike again. The gray-haired cop had already been used for an escape once and he had hurt him doing so. He wasn't about to do it again.

He stopped at the typical stairs he had seen cops smoke before but was surprised when Nike continued, giving Theo a gentle pull toward a different direction. His face shown his confusion but yet he followed. Nike whispered something about a more quiet place. That proved that there was more going on than Nike just wanted a smoke.

He followed his ex boyfriend to the quiet location and when the cop let go of his arm, he sighed with relief. He leaned against the building, resting his head back and half-closing his eyes. He was trying to ignore how uncomfortable he felt around Nike, knowing this was one of his only chances of freedom for a while.

"I’m almost completely sure you can make it if you run now."

His eyes reopened in shock. Was Nike wanting him to run away? Was Nike wanting to ruin his reputation as a cop, if he had one?

Theo didn't move a muscle.

"Get out of here, go back to the gang, do whatever, just tell me a place where you want me to drop off a copy on your file and then I promise I'll be out of your life for good after that. I know you hate me but let me just do this one thing, please. And if not for yourself then think about the gang, they need you. You being locked up does them no good."

Theo didn't move. If this had been his first attempt, he would have considered it. However, he already tried to escape once and used Nike for that one as well. Last time he had punched Nike to make his escape valuable. He didn't have it in him to hit the man again.

"No, they can manage without me," He whispered, crossing his arms around his torso He wanted to escape more than anything...just not at the cost of Nike's job.

As much as he wanted to hate the man, he just couldn't bring himself to. He didn't want to be the cause of his ex not having a job. He also didn't want fo hit him again to cover up the cop letting him escape.

"I'll figure something else out. I'll be fine, I always am," He gave one of his signature fake smiles.

He would figure something else out. A plan that didn't involve him being under Nike's supervision while doing so or worse, hitting the man to make his escape look more believable.

"I-I'm sorry for...well the other day," Theo apologized, referencing the punch,"I only did it to escape I thought I could make it but I was wrong."

Each moment he stayed here, the more his gang would figure out what had happened to him. Once they realized, they would be plotting an escape plan. It could lead very badly but he wasn't about to use Nike as a method for escape again.

He was a gang leader, not a gang babysitter. He knew his gang would be worried but they were a family. A family could survive without their parent. Sure, it threw them into chaos but they would be fine. They'll learn to work together and figure things out. There were good people in his gang like Alleya and Jasper. They would figure things out. He trusted them.

“I deserved that, I deserve more than that even and we both know it, I'm an asshole so don’t apologize. Go instead, I'm giving you the opportunity to use me in order to get out of here so do it, what's stopping you?”

He clenched his jaw, turning his gaze away from Nike's and onto the ground. He didn't answer that question. He honestly didn't know what was stopping him. A logical person wouldn't have cared about the outcome of his ex, especially not one that betrayed them. But he did. He cared about finding a solution that didn't involve hell for Nike.

"I can't change anything I've done so far but I am trying my best to do what I think is right, for both of us. I never planned to fall for you or to have you fall for me that just happened, that's why I was planning on leaving, yes, like a coward. I just thought that it would hurt less than you getting to find out the truth."

The gang leader rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly at the mention of their previous relationship, a flash of hurt escaping his neutral expression for a moment. He loved Nike, he really did. Being this close to him was difficult with all the emotions clouding his mind. He would never forget the pain it caused him to learn the truth. Now this man was claiming once again that falling in love with him wasn't part of the plan as an undercover cop.

Theo listened to the next part, keeping his gaze on the ground. He didn't want to look at Nike. He knew the moment he did, he would lose himself. He was barely keeping his neutral face up, hiding the hurt that threatened to slip through. Hearing Nike mention it, it was like reopening the wound again.

"If you're so unhappy, then leave. Stop being a coward and stop working for the guys that want my head on a stick," His words came out harsh and colder than what he was meaning to. He was trying so hard to keep it together that he thought it would be easier to have his voice reflect emotions opposite than what he was feeling.

"It's your life, not theirs to control. I'm not running away under your supervision again. We all have choices and now it's your turn to decide if you are going to let those jerks control you or if you are going to stop worrying about my own escape and figure out yours," He finished, softening his voice a little.

He could tell Nike was hurting and not sleeping well. Clearly something was going on. Perhaps it was time for him to stop running from whatever he was running from.

“This was my choice though… I thought I wanted this so when I was given the choice to either continue down the same path I had since a child and end up in prison or change my life around I chose the latter but now I’m stuck for at least another year, I think more, can't remember… If I try to quit now I’m being sent straight to prison, I'm trapped alright?”

It was hard talking to Nike. The gang leader wished that the man had just let the other officer take him outside. Theo didn't want to take up smoking as a habit, he tried it before and didn't like the burning sensation that came with it. He would have picked another one up just for a chance to free his mind.

It was difficult to free his mind with Nike a mess. Despite everything the man has done, he found himself wanting to comfort him. He resisted but slid down the wall when the other man did. He kept his knees up to avoid him and Nike's knees touching. He didn't want to touch the man. He would just be reminded once again of his betrayal.

"Say I do manage to escape, what am I supposed to do? Live on the streets? I'll be arrested if the cops find me, I'm screwed if I run into the Rebels and you hate my guts which I'm sure the rest of the gang will too once they find out. I have nothing Theo. I’ve ruined everything good I've ever had and I keep doing so…”

He wanted to tell Nike he didn't hate him but that would lead too close to home right now. He was fighting back his true emotions. Nike had hurt him but he wasn't angry. Especially now. He could see how bad the man was hurting, he just wanted to help the man he used to love, how crazy that was.

More maybe, he wasn't completely over Nike?

He pushed that thought away as quick as it surfaced. He had to be over the man. The man betrayed him, hurt him and now had the audacity to be hurt over it? He should be angry. But he wasn't.

"Why do you even care? I'm a shit person, I don't deserve to have you care about me, you need to hate me. Hit me again, that I deserve, and I won't blame you for it, after what I did you should want to beat me to a pulp, not care about me…”

"Why do you even care about me escaping?" Theo counteracted the question, not wanting to discuss what was going on in his mind at the current moment,"I'm headed right to prison. If I do escape, I'll have to avoid the Rebels and somehow manage to relocate my gang somewhere that can't be the places I had you to explore. Even then, I'll have to live my life constantly on the run from the cops, more than what I do already. Our situations are not that different, it would be easier for me to surrender and face charges. However, I have a gang and responsibility to them. You have responsibilities and people you care about too."

He sighed, knowing what he had to say next would hit a spot too close to home.

"You can't possibly look me in the eyes right now and say you don't care about me at all," He looked away as he said this, pretending to be interested in a rock on the sidewalk,"I know you're hurting."

Theo wanted to scream at Nike to earn his trust again, to turn away from the cop life...but he couldn't. Even mentioning the feelings that he once had for the guy, made his heart shatter in a million pieces. Nike had betrayed him but here he was talking to the man and pretending like he didn't care.

But he did. He still loved the man, as foolish as it sounded.

"Of course I care about you… I still love you Theo but I ruined it all, I hurt you and I betrayed you yet here I am, crying like a pathetic idiot and you having to comfort me…”

He could tell Nike was either on the verge of crying or actually crying. He resisted the urge to put his arm around the guy and tell him everything was alright. Nothing was alright. He couldn't go back to the old actions he would have done. He can't touch the man, he could barely even look at him.

“I wish I could go back and fix every little thing I’ve done wrong, not just with you but with anyone else I've ever had in my life, but I can't so I have to live with the guilt every day and every night for the rest of my life. I care so much about you and I’m so damn sorry for everything, you have and still are better to me than I deserve and I want to do everything I can to help you live peacefully so please tell me what I can do and I will do it…”

"You can apologize and wish to take it back all that you want," Theo sighed, standing up and walking a little distance away. He needed to keep a clear head about this and being close to the very man that betrayed him wasn't helping.

"But it's too late, the damage has been done. You hurt me and you knew that you were going to. You were planning on running away instead of telling me the truth. Those are your choices and your choices have consequences," He said, walking toward the fence that was around the back and sides of the police station. He studied it for a moment before deciding it was safe to lean on and wouldn't electrocute him. He leaned against it, sighing once again.

"But I am not a man of anger or grudge," He knew what he was saying shouldn't be his response,"But you still have a choice, live the rest of your life with a tobacco addiction, guilt, restless nights and wishing you could go back or make it right with me in the present and not the past."

"And maybe, just maybe I'll be able to forgive you," This was the decision that he shouldn't have said. He shouldn't be considering forgiving Nike. But yet he was. He wanted to He wanted to forgive and forget the man had ever hurt him.