if it means a lot to you, +GUNN+

[Nicolau Igwe Okadigbo]

• • • • • • • • • •

Nicolau stared hard at the wall across from him. He wasn't used to sleeping in past 6AM, so when he awoke just a few ticks past eight he felt a little bit off. Of course he had been recovering from some abrasions and a broken rib after a battle with a pretty touch demon, but nonetheless he was usually on his feet a lot faster than this. However, it was just the morning and he was left to sit there by himself. When he was alone he thought back on things, mainly mistakes he had made, hunts, or things he could have done differently to achieve another outcome in a past situation. As all sorts of things flooded his mind he rubbed a hand over his face rather heavily, the thick calouses scratching lightly at his skin as he did so. In this type of moment he thought of a former crew member, Sean. Nico hadn't been in the gang as long, but he still looked back and thought about things he might have been able to do to prevent his murder.

Also, he did feel some sympathy for Gunn. He knew, from the year he had been around, that Gunn didn't let his trust go to people easily, so to find out that Sean was murdered by the alter ego of Wesley must have taken a toll. Charles was strong, he had to be to lead a group like this and keep them sharp on their feet, but even the leaders had their moments when they felt hurt and betrayed. Nico hadn't had many of those in his life because he didn't have anyone that ever betrayed him. There were cruel atrocities and mindless violence and slaughter in his past, yes, but he hadn't yet been betrayed by anyone he loved or trusted. Still, the world had made him cautious and their job kept him vigilant.

Hearing some movement outside of the door of the room he was in his gaze moved from it's place of burning holes into the wall. Blinking a moment he quickly grabbed his faded blue, and slightly torn, shirt from off the end of the small cot. He had been in this shelter for about the two days that he was recovering, and although space was scarce they allowed him this small room to himself as to not get smothered or hinder his injuries. Nico implored he didn't need anything, but between Gunn and the owner of the shelter he had no choice but to comply. Just as he stood the door opened up, one of the volunteers of the shelter smiling at him and informing him they had some breakfast ready. "Dank you." Nico nodded, following after her.

As he came out to the main area of the shelter his eyes wandered over the few that had woken up at this hour. Still most of the people staying here were asleep, worn from their nights on the street and likely just thankful for a place to sleep that wasn't on the curb. And the thing was that most of the people here were just kids. Although people in America seemed to be a lot better off than in Africa, with which he was familiar, there were still those in the underbelly that people didn't like to see that lived on the streets like he had. Hearing a voice call his name his attentiong was quickly drawn to the side where he saw Gunn, and he approached him in response. "I fehl bett'r now." It was kind of Nico's way of saying 'can I please get back to kicking ass, now?'

• • • • • • • • • •


status: complete[/color]
tag: Gunn[/color]
lyrics: n/a[/color]
clothes: T-shirt, Jeans[/color]
notes: winged it, let me know if anything needs to be changed!
credit: template is made by xxdawnxx from caution. Other credits.

[Charles Gunn]

It was a rough week that’s for sure. After the world was rid of the supernatural crazies, the crew was still keeping busy. Gunn found himself diving more into his crew after the whole Fred/Illyria…Wes/Cain…whatever you wanna call it…drama. Hell, maybe it was healthier for everyone if Gunn did some good old fashioned withdrawing. And right now, it was the crew that kept him grounded – more than anything else. Unlike back in LA, it was a different ball game. The folks he was hanging with were about the mission – and Gunn was a bit older and wiser, and not selling his life for big ass trucks. It was a lot different, let’s say that. So Gunn wasn’t worried about getting caught up again with a bunch of people who didn’t know what the deal was and weren’t serious about what they were about.

After being blindsided by the whole Wesley/Cain thing, Gunn certainly had a wake up call – he needed to keep focus. He couldn’t be messin’ around – not here in New York, not with all of the crazy stuff going down – he needed to be on his game. And if that meant distancing himself from Angel a bit, so be it. He wasn’t even thinking about it consciously, he was just doing what he had to do – and fact is, he had to be with his crew. It was nothing against Angel personally, Gunn’s priorities were just…shifting. The need was in the streets, and he didn’t think he could deal with Wolfram & Hart anymore. He also didn’t know what he could do for Wesley and his alter ego, and last he checked – that alter ego wasn’t done with his diabolical plans. And Gunn knew how binding those contracts were, even if they were to destroy Wolfram & Hart from top to bottom, it would be almost impossible to release Wesley from it – even if they managed to fix the Cain problem. And Gunn just wasn’t about to put anyone else at risk.

So after a rough week of demon killing, slicing and dicing, Nick got injured and was a bit out of commission - and Gunn made a point to pay him a visit before he met up with the rest of the crew. When he entered, he got a whiff of eggs and biscuits – so he scanned the place to spot Nick before the herd came running. Sure enough, there he was – up and about. “Hey, Nick,”

When they approached Gunn took his hand and pulled Nick into a half hug – his usual greeting for folks he was really cool with. “What’s up, man?” Even though Nick had been with the crew for a bit, Gunn couldn’t exactly tell if he was used to that sort of thing – it was bad enough that folks in the crew had all sorts of crazy ass handshakes.

"I fehl bett'r now."

Gunn grinned and chuckled a bit, knowing exactly what he meant. “You mean to tell me you ain’t enjoyin’ your time off? You should be happy you missed last night. Demon slime was involved. And trust me, with those ugly things, you don’t want the demon slime.” He was so serious, it wasn’t even funny. He ruined a perfectly good jacket.

“But seriously, you think you’re good? Not gonna lie, the gang's missin' the poster boy,” he joked. Nick had been recovering for a bit and Gunn had confidence that Nick wasn’t going to put himself out there if he wasn’t ready.

[Nicolau Igwe Okadigbo]

• • • • • • • • • •

A genuine smile came to Nico's lips at Gunn's greeting. Initially, the first while he was with the crew this kind of physical contact was completely foreign to him. He had no idea how their handshakes or half-hugs worked, and he still got a few jokes and quips about it thrown at him to this day in good humor. Despite still looking somewhat awkward when the action took place, it was safe to assume he had the hang of things. All in all he was pleased to have a more familiar face about the shelter.

As Gunn joked about having time off Nick made a bit of a face, lips pulled to the side and eyebrows knitting up in a curious kind of fashion that only he could really pull off. Although he gave a small shrug at first in response it was uncommon for Nicolau to really ever take a breather. Being out of the game so long put him on edge, and he didn't like it. Bruised or not he wanted to be out there, on the street, with the gang. Not that he didn't have confidence in their abilities, he sure as hell did, but when he wasn't with them he felt restless. As the demon was brought up his expression changed to a mix of interest and a bit of worry. "What kind of dehmon?" Of course, as soon as the words left his mouth, he glanced away for a brief moment - Gunn really didn't have to answer that at all, he was just speaking before thinking. The African native did that a lot.

As if to prove he was perfectly okay Nico gave a brisk nod, lifting up his shirt and holding the fabric under his chin to drum his hands over his ribs, proving there was very little pain. There were some dark bruises, but to Nico they were no more than little marks. He'd been through much worse. The action brought a few glances his way, and a few lingering eyes from some of the more appreciative girls, but as the shirt dropped back in place draped over his body he remained completely oblivious. Nico was always oblivious when it came to any type of flirtation.

"Bett'r, promeese." Nicolau concluded with one more nod, just to be sure. His oceanic eyes turned towards the few tables set up as the food was being handed out and gathered up by the eager shelter kids. "Seence you are hehr, want to grab breekfast behfore weh leave?" He motioned towards the eating area with a jerk of the head, unsure if Gunn had eaten anything before coming over to the shelter.

• •• • • • • • • •


status: complete
tag: Gunn
lyrics: n/a
clothes: T-shirt, Jeans
notes: so sorry for the wait! >.<
credit: template is made by xxdawnxx from caution. Other credits.