if now isn't the time

[Dominic]

Dominic propped himself against the railing on the front stoop.,a cigarette propped between his lips. He took a long hard drag, sucking smoke deep into his lungs, feeling his tense muscles ease slightly. He looked up at the sign above the door. Donnelly....didn't that name sound familiar. Who knew? When you got around as much as Dominic had, all names could sound familiar.

He removed the cigarette from his mouth, and blew his thick black hair out of his eyes. His gesture was in vain, because they went right back to where they had been resting on his forehead, kissing his brow. Should he go in or shouldn't he? Truth be told, it was far better than sleeping in an alley, with only his thin coat for warmth. But then there was that bothersome bit about having to introduce himself and interact with someone...someone who was certain to look at him and instantly judge him. That's what everyone had done at home, and now here. He pondered whether to go inside or not as he blew thoughtful puffs of smoke into the air.

[Kill Kilpatrick]

Kill had thumped up the stairs of the lodging house to claim a bed, but besides that, there wasn't much else to do in the bunk room. Besides, he was a busy man. Places to be, people to extort.

He slid through the lobby, remaining unnoticed, and stepped out into the chilly air. The sight of another young man standing on the steps stopped him. Kill lifted an eyebrow, wondering if the stoop here was a popular loitering spot.

He took the last two steps slowly, stopping once he was even with Dominic. Kill kept his hands in his pockets, shoulders hunched up against the wind.

"Thinkin' of goin' in? Cuz you stay out here much longer, you'll freeze your balls off."

[Dominic]

Dominic exhaled, his breath equally smoke and steam. "Yeah, I'm thinkin' about it," he said. "Haven't decided if I'm gonna or not." He gestured toward the door. "Last place I was in like this, didn't fit in too well. Strange. I kept to myself, didn't really talk to anyone, and still fellas are just linin' up to crack my jaw. I'm wondering if it's really worth taking a chance again or maybe freezing out here and keeping all my bones in tact would be better."

He lifted the near nub of the cigarette from his lips and threw it to the step. Snuffing it out with his toe, he continuned, "I dunno....what you d'you think?"

[Kill Kilpatrick]

Dominic exhaled, his breath equally smoke and steam. "Yeah, I'm thinkin' about it," he said. "Haven't decided if I'm gonna or not." He gestured toward the door. "Last place I was in like this, didn't fit in too well. Strange. I kept to myself, didn't really talk to anyone, and still fellas are just linin' up to crack my jaw. I'm wondering if it's really worth taking a chance again or maybe freezing out here and keeping all my bones in tact would be better."

He lifted the near nub of the cigarette from his lips and threw it to the step. Snuffing it out with his toe, he continuned, "I dunno....what you d'you think?"

[Dominic]

Brother. The words rang in Dominic's ears like cathedral bells. Friendship, camaraderie, trust - these were all foreign words to him. Back home he had people who had loved him, but that was the past and they were thousands of miles away now. Maybe finally having someone on his side would be welcome change. He looked at Kill's outstretched hand and then into his eyes, before taking his hand and gripping it tentatively, and then more tightly. Openness is a good thing, he told himself, but caution is always safer.

"Empty is a beautiful word sometimes" he said, standing up straight. "Guess I'll be seeing you around then, um.....Sorry, I didn't get your name."

[Kill Kilpatrick]

"Kilpatrick." The grin remained, the sort of smile that only turns up one corner of the lips, giving it a vaguely sly air. "You can call me Kill." He didn't clarify on the origin of the nickname, never did. Part of it was secrecy, most it was mostly because Kill liked people making up their own stories.

"And yourself?" Their hands broke apart and Kill folded his arms over his chest, a barrier between himself and the chill in the air. Dominic had a jumpy sort of feel to him, but Kill wasn't going to pry. All he needed was a place to sleep, nothing more.

[Dominic]

"Dominic, but I'll answer to any variation of it," came the reply. He also answered to Rip, but it'd been a long time since he'd been called that. He remembered there had been a time when that was the only name he knew. There was no Dominic Petrescu. No Dom. No anything like that. "And some call me Rip," he found himself adding, not certain why he was volunteering information or why Kill might care.

[Kill Kilpatrick]

"Well I'll call you both, and see which one you prefer." Kill nodded to him genially, before half turning to head down the street.

"I'll see you later then, Rip. If you do decide to grace us with your presence." He sent an inquisitive look to the other man, and smiled, giving him a loose salut. "I know the man who runs the place would be glad to have you. He looks nearly crazed with all those empty beds up there."

[Dominic]

"Any man would look crazed if his pocketbook looked empty. Guess I'll go see if I can help him out a little," he mused, patting his pocket. "What good's money if you don't spend it?" He bid Kill adieu with a slight wave of his hand and the into the uncharted wilderness of the boarding house he ventured.