E r o s

After leaving Harvey with Cole, I told what was left of my men to start looking for Noel, albeit reluctantly.

This was the first time Cole had ever asked me, pleaded me, to do something for him. Although I'm extremely tempted to just say fuck it and leave his brother to fend for himself, Cole put his life on the line to save that imbecile. I was going to find Noel no matter what and he better not say anything that'll piss me off.

Out of curiosity though, I had headed up to the rooftop where Cole last was, just to see two bodies on the ground. I just needed to confirm for myself that Gabriel Limosa was dead and with the way he laid there, unmoving and in a pool of his own blood, said it all.

Although I would have liked to be the one to do it, Cole doing it seemed more right. For everything he put Cole through, the man had it coming to him, I was just relieved the job was finally done.

I heard the door opening from behind me and I saw one of my men approach me.

"We found Noel Limosa. He was hiding in one of the bedrooms" He said and I nodded.

He led me inside the house where on the hole filled couch, due to the bullets it took, sat Noel who was shivering.

"Good job" I said, nodding at the man and he left.

I glared at him, but more so directing it at the vest he was wearing. It was supposed to keep Cole protected but he gave it to this...dumbass.

My mood was plummeting with each second Noel was in front of me.

"W-What are you going to do to me?" He stuttered out, picking at his fingers as his eyes flitted to me.

"For right now, nothing but I can't guarantee to keep that promise if you piss me off" I said before bending down to match his eye level, giving a smile that held no warmth.

"But it seems you've already done that" I said and the demon on my shoulder cheered at the pale look that crossed Noel's face.

"Where's Cole...?" He asked in an attempt to change the conversation and I allowed it as I backed away, trying to withhold myself from having the urge to choke the living daylights out of him.

It irritated me greatly that after 23 years together, he chose now of all times to play the concerned brother.

"He's on his way to the hospital" I said and Noel's eyes widened.

"What? What happened to him?" He asked. I shoved my fists in my pockets as I bit my lip.

"He was shot" I said, the feeling of the words just leaving a bad taste in my mouth all together.

Noel stood up with a frantic but confused look on his face.

"So what are sitting around here for?" He asked.

"We were looking for you" I replied.

"Oh..." he trailed and and I couldn't help but think about how helpless he really was.

I can now sort of see why Cole did what he did, this man wouldn't last two seconds in the real world.

"Cole asked us to" I said before taking a step closer to which Noel took several back. It didn't bother me though, I wanted him to be afraid of me.

"And for your sake, you better hope Cole doesn't die in that hospital" I said, locking my eyes onto Noel's.

I had faith that he would pull through, this is Cole we're talking about after all but I couldn't stand the possible thought of him not living. I wouldn't be able to guarantee that I'd keep my sanity if that was the case.

Muttering for Noel to follow me, I led him to my car, all the while ignoring the scene of all the bodies we laid to waste not even an hour ago.

As I drove, I tried to concentrate on the road rather than the fact that not only was my boyfriend in the hospital with a life threatening wound, the dumbass who made that injury possible was sitting right next to me.

God forgive me if I hit a pedestrian or two.

We made it there without me running someone's kid over and I couldn't be bothered to see if I parked correctly or in the right spot because as soon as I turned the car off, I was out of the car and making a b-line for the doors.

I could hear Noel's rushed footsteps from behind him but I just kept walking until I reached a receptionist. Her eyes widened a bit upon seeing me but I paid her no mind.

"I'm here to see someone" I said.

"W-Who are you here to see?" She stuttered out.

"Cole Azure" I said and she checked something on her computer before looking back to me.

"He's currently in the ICU. Are you a family member?" She asked, eyeing the two of us.

"Eros Azure. I'm his husband and this is his brother" I said as I jabbed my thumb to Noel behind me.

"Alright, you can head to second floor" she said as she handed us passes.

After thanking her, I walked over to the elevator and once inside, I looked to Noel. He'd been staring as if he wanted to say something and with the way I was on edge, it was pissing me off a bit.

"What?" I asked sharply and Noel jumped a bit.

"Y-You guys are married...?" He asked quietly.

"You could say that" I said, deciding to be vague since it wasn't really any of his business anyways.

"Woah..." he muttered, likely thinking about how much he's missed in the last few months of Cole's life.

Too late for that now.

The elevator opened and I walked out, eyes immediately searching for Harvey in the waiting area. I soon found him, his arms on his knees with his hands clasped in front of them and he was staring at the ground blankly.

"Harvey" I called and his head snapped up.

"Boss" he said as he got out of his seat and headed over to me.

"How is he?" I asked and Harvey shook his head.

"I'm not sure, no one has come out to talk to me yet" he said and I noticed a frown formed on his face when seeing Noel.

"What's he doing here?" Harvey asked.

"What am I doing here? That's my brother in case you didn't know" Noel fired back and Harvey's frown turned into a glare but before he could get in Noel's face, I put my hand in between the two of them.

"If you know what is good for the both of you, you will not start an argument here. The last thing we need is to get thrown out because you two are causing a scene" I said quietly as I stared the two down.

After the two sat in their separate spaces, I let out a sigh before taking a seat of my own. What felt like hours was in reality only about forty minutes before a doctor finally came out and seeing as we were the only three in the waiting room, he noticed us right away.

As he approached, the doctor gave us a smile which was already enough to lift that heavy weight off of my heart.

"He's alright and mostly stable. Your friend's a fighter, with the amount of blood he lost I was sure he wouldn't be up for awhile" the doctor said.

"Can we see him?" I asked and the man nodded.

"Yes but only two at a time so as to not overwhelm him" he said.

"It's okay Eros, you go first" Harvey said and I nodded before following the doctor.

Once showing me to the room, the doctor said he'd come back later to check on us and I nodded before walking in the room.

Cole was laying there and staring up at the ceiling but the sound of my footsteps made him turn his head to me. Aside from him being a bit pale, he looked okay for the most part which left me immensely relieved.

"You really have a way of making others worried" I said upon our eyes meeting.

"Don't worry, it's gonna take more than a bullet to kill me" he said as I approached. The apprehension must have been clear on my face and I couldn't even really bring myself to smile at him.

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"Like I got shot" he said with a chuckle.

I could feel as if our roles were reversed for a few moments, Cole being the one cracking jokes while I'm the ever serious one but I couldn't help it. I had almost lost him for real this time.

"You gave away the one thing that could have avoided this all...why? It's not as if you had to" I said and Cole sighed.

"Because I started to think to myself...Noel is the way he is because my father was around. Maybe now without him controlling every aspect of his life, Noel can be more...himself? I don't really know what that would entail but I guess he'll figure it out" he explained.

"You're one hell of a brother that's for sure" I grumbled as I crossed my arms.

"He's here by the way" I said and Cole's eyes widened.

"He...is?" He asked and I nodded.

"Mhm"

If Cole had anything else he wanted to say about it, he kept it to himself as he pressed his lips together.

"Was there anyone left?" He asked. I assumed he must have been referring to the people in Gabriel's group so I nodded.

"A few but I called in a...favor" I said vaguely and that's when Cole gave me a suspicious look.

"Favor?" He asked.

"Yes. One that ensures Gabriel's people will be doing some time in the slammer" Was all I said but Cole could probably figure it out on his own.

I just didn't want to have to directly admit that I may or may not have contacted that annoying cop guy.

"I'll go so Harvey and Noel can see you. I would just hope they aren't at each other's throats or anything" I said as I leaned down to place a kiss on Cole's temple.

As I left, I couldn't help but internally cheer as all the built up tension has finally been released and our problems have come to an end. No more Gabriel, no more Adler, and no more fighting over ridiculous shit.

It's finally over.

[A/N]: sorry for the late chapter, I was traveling for the holidays! I hope everyone is doing well and has a lovely thanksgiving <3