When Niké didn't get an answer to his question, just a hand squeeze, he took it as a no, that she didn't want to say, to which he only nodded slightly. He would respect that, she only had to say if she wanted and if she did then he'd listen, if not then he would still be there for her unless she said that she didn't want him to.

The grey-haired man followed the woman while looking around a bit, watching as the neighborhoods they passed slowly got nicer and nicer. He was trying to figure out what the redhead's plan was but he had no clue. Instead of saying anything he continued walking next to her, holding Iris in one hand and Alleya’s hand in the other.

Occasionally his blue gaze would wander and he’d look through the window of one of the houses they were passing. It was odd to think about how every single person they were passing lived life's of their own. Through the windows he could see a mix of small glimpses of others’ lifes, couples, both happy and fighting, families sharing dinner around a table, someone vacuuming, another person was dancing alone to music that just barely spilled out onto the street, people getting ready to go out and so much more, everyone was doing something that set them apart from the other but the one thing they had in common was the fact that all of them acted as if no one could see them, despite the windows revealing exactly what was happening inside their homes.

Eventually Niké felt how Alleya slipped her hand out of his grip and he glanced down at her. He had been wanting to smoke for quite some time now but he decided against it, he would have to endure a bit longer, he had the feeling that her letting go of his hand meant they were getting closer to wherever it was they were going.

Suddenly Alleya stopped and crouched down, bringing him down with her and he had to be careful to not accidentally hurt the white kitten in his arms. The man looked at the woman as she shushed him. It was obvious that they were hiding from someone so he didn't get what made her think that he'd suddenly say something aloud but he wouldn't question it.

Niké followed Alleya’s gaze before his eyes landed on a man up the driveway, an attractive man at that. It didn't take him long to figure out why they were here though, that man had to be Alleya’s ex, the man she'd left, and next to him, an equally attractive woman. He watched as the pair disappeared into the house, showing clear signs of being in love as they did.

After they’d disappeared, the grey-haired man turned his attention towards the woman next to him. He didn't know what she had been expecting coming here, what she'd hoped for or what her plan had been but he wouldn't question her either. Instead he reached over and gave her a light pat on her shoulder, “We can talk about it if you want or we can head back in silence, it's up to you.”

Niké got up to follow after Alleya, reaching for the pack of cigarettes in his pocket now that Alleya wasn't holding his hand and she'd grabbed her kitten from him, his hands were free and he hadn't had a cigarette since they left Taurus to go back on his own.

As he was about to grab a cigarette and put it between his lips, the sound of another voice stopped him. The grey-haired man looked over at the man coming towards them, returning the pack to his pocket. Niké stayed quiet as he watched the man approach Alleya, it was clear that he made her uncomfortable since she backed away from him when he put his hand on her.

"I'm so glad you're alright. Come back with me, my parents will be thrilled that you aren't dead. And you can meet my cousin, I just picked her up from the airport. Then we can get married and have 5 children like we always wanted."

He’d never asked Alleya for more information on her ex or why she’d left him, from what she'd told him that one night, their relationship hadn't been good, at least not from her perspective, but now that he was seeing the guy with his own two eyes he realized exactly why she’d left him, the man was a nutjob.

When his pale gaze met Alleya’s he could tell that she was asking for him to help. Even if she hadn't, he probably would have done so either way.

“She doesn't really seem too interested in that so maybe go back and continue kissing your cousin?” The man said in a tired yet cold tone, pushing himself in between the two and looking up at the man in front of him. It didn't concern Niké that the man in front of him was taller than him, he was used to most guys being taller and oftentimes more muscular than himself.

While the grey-haired man was usually confident in his own fighting abilities, he did feel some doubts currently, the past three days he'd not slept much at all and he could feel it in his whole body. It wouldn't stop him from trying to defend Alleya, the man was weird and there was a reason for Alleya’s run away from him, he would’ve done the same if he had been her.

Niké shot a quick glance over his shoulder, looking at the woman to assure himself that she was okay before looking back at her ex.

“We were just passing, if she had wanted you back she would’ve come all the way up to the door instead of on the street and on her way away from you. Just do us all a favor and back off, yeah?” Niké said, keeping his eyes on the man and trying to watch for indicators that the man might strike at him, he wouldn't be surprised if it happened. People often turned to violence when they got upset.

"Excuse me, who are you exactly?"

Niké looked up at the man but stayed quiet, listening as the man went on to explain who he was, as if it made his actions and behavior okay, but really it just pissed the grey-haired man off further. There was nothing he hated more than rich privileged assholes like the man in front of him. Beating up that man would not make him feel bad, not even slightly.

"See? She likes me so fuck off."

The young man clenched his jaw as he watched the man grab ahold of Alleya and kiss her. He could see how the woman froze up and just as he took a step closer and was about to open his mouth to tell that Alexander guy to get his hands off her.

Before he could do so, Alleya spoke up, seeming to anger the man even more when she talked back to him and told him no, something that she probably hadn't done before, given the man’s reaction. He had no intentions of letting Alleya go, Niké could clearly see that and he moved slightly closer as he tried to think of the best way to get Alleya out of the asshole’s arms but she solved that perfectly on her own.

Niké’s lips curled into a grin as he watched the man scream out in pain as the small woman took off. Wasting no time, Niké took a quick step forward and threw a hard punch to the man’s face before backing up again to get out of reach of the man.

“Well, Alexander the third, I’ll have you know that I have a real job, it's called being a cop but instead of arresting you I’m just going to take this opportunity to “satisfy my manly needs” and punch you because I'm so fucking sick of people like you. What you call being privileged is actually just being an asshole who puts down and uses other people,” Niké spat, any of his previous tiredness gone as he glared up at the man, he had dealt with his fair share of people like Alexander and he hated them, he absolutely hated them.

Being quick and light on his feet had always come in handy and Niké moved closer to the man once more, delivering another punch. A lot of his anger came from what he'd just seen but a lot of it also came from being stuck with Taurus and Alleya’s fighting for days as well as memories from when he was younger.

“Come on then, won't you hit me back?” He growled, not thinking straight anymore, the man was larger than him and he had no idea on whether the guy could fight well or not. “Or are you just gonna use some of that privilege to ruin my life? For that you’d need to know who I am,” he pulled his hand back a little as he got ready to punch the man again.

"No stop! Please!"

The shriek coming from a woman caused Niké to hesitate and before he knew it, the woman they'd seen earlier, was shielding the man from another hit.

"Give him a break, I beg of you. He didn't mean to hurt your friend. He didn't mean none of this."

The grey-haired man stared at the woman, a bit confused for a second. Slowly he lowered his hand, glancing down at it and seeing how it was stained with the other man's blood and how his knuckles had already started bruising.

What was he doing?

"Please take all our money, our wealth, whatever you street ruffians need. Just please don't hurt him anymore."

Niké’s gaze returned to the woman as his hands started trembling ever so slightly.

What was he doing?

He gulped a little. Confusion had washed over him like a cold shower. Everything felt weird now, wrong. He didn't know what had gotten into him, all sorts of emotions had filled him and, for a moment, he’d become that same kid that would end up in jail every other week for getting in trouble in various ways.

He’d beaten a man bloody despite the man not even lifting a finger against him. Alleya had gotten away, he should have followed her, he had gone with her to keep her safe, not to beat up civilians.

“I’m… I… Uh.. S-Sorry,” the grey-haired man finally managed to croak out before he quickly took off in the direction Alleya had. He didn't want their money and he didn't want to hurt a man who wouldn't even defend himself. He wanted to protect Alleya, that was all he wanted. Even if he wouldn't say it to her face, or anyone else's, he considered her his friend, she had grown on him for the few days he'd known her and he didn't like seeing her be mistreated.

Running as fast as his feet would carry him, Niké was hoping to catch up to or find Alleya, he wouldn't go back without her.

“Alleya?!” The man called out his friend's name once he'd put enough distance between himself and the ex. He couldn't see her but he needed her to come back to him, not only because he wanted to go back but because he didn't want to be all alone, he was turning back into the person he'd once been, a person he wasn't proud of having been.

((Heheh I love making my oc’s suffer >:D I already have more planned for him))

Niké kept on running in the direction that Alleya had disappeared in, regretting that he hadn't followed her right away. If he had any luck on his side then she had just continued straight ahead and if not, well, he probably wouldn't find her, not tonight at least, but he wouldn't go back before he had found her, he wouldn't.

“Alleya!?” The man called once again, his pace a bit slower now and he was already starting to become out of breath, one of many downsides to smoking.

He could see people looking out the window as well as a couple dog walkers out on a late-night walk, all giving him weird looks as he ran down the street, yelling out the name of a woman who was nowhere to be seen, he looked way out of place in these nicer neighborhoods.

Pushing himself to speed up again he could feel the tiredness from before coming back, and worse now. For once, he’d probably be able to get a good night's sleep, but only because he felt on the verge of passing out. Niké’s eyes had grown heavy and every other step he would almost stumble over his own feet.

After what felt like hours but was probably not more than just a few minutes he couldn't run anymore. The man was panting heavily as he slowed into a walk, he needed to face the fact that he wouldn't find Alleya tonight and that he should start looking for somewhere to rest until the sun came back up.

A scream.

Niké came to a stop and quickly looked around, he couldn't tell if his mind was playing tricks on him now or not but he had to look, it could be Alleya. Praying that it was the annoying redhead, Niké took off running again, pushing himself and using the last of his energy.

As he turned a corner he saw her and once more he stopped, putting a hand on the wall as he tried to catch his breath enough to say something. The grey-haired man looked at Alleya who seemed relatively okay, physically at least, before turning his gaze towards the larger man who was kicking up dirt over Alleya and her white little kitten.

“Hey..! Leave her be!” He called out, standing up a bit straighter even if he knew that it likely didn't help to make him seem any tougher. He knew, without seeing himself in a mirror, that he looked like absolute shit but he didn't want to see Alleya get hurt any further. “Just let her go, we’ll leave, alright?”