
Posted originally on the Archive_of_Our_Own at https://archiveofourown.org/
works/1167697.
  Rating:
      Explicit
  Archive Warning:
      Graphic_Depictions_Of_Violence, Major_Character_Death, Underage
  Category:
      Gen, F/M, M/M, F/F
  Fandom:
      D.Gray-man
  Relationship:
      Kanda_Yuu/Allen_Walker, Lavi/Lenalee_Lee, Cross_Marian/Anita, Komui_Lee/
      Jeryy, Anita/Mahoja
  Character:
      Allen_Walker, Kanda_Yuu, Lenalee_Lee, Lavi, Millennium_Earl, Cross
      Marian, Anita, Klaud_Nyne, Komui_Lee, Road_Kamelot, Tyki_Mikk, Alma
      Karma, Mahoja
  Additional Tags:
      Angst, Gore, Violence, Character_Death, mafia, Drug_Use, 1920s_Alternate
      Universe, Sex, Mentions_of_Prostitution, Torture, Slow_Burn, mostly
      follows_canon_at_first, canon_and_non-canon_relationships, Some_really
      nasty_shit_goes_down, trigger_warnings_will_be_added_to_if_needed
  Stats:
      Published: 2014-02-03 Chapters: 1/? Words: 1004
****** Thicker Than Wine ******
by Silver_Snow_77
Summary
     And as the fires blazed, the streets ran red with blood and wine.
     1920s Mafia AU
Notes
     I do not own DGM. This fic will contain mentions of violence, drug
     use, prostitution, murder, and sex. If you find these triggering,
     then don't read it.
Prologue-Warning shot
The sun was low in the polluted sky over the city of Chicago, bathing the
waterfront, buildings, and people alike in a dull orange light. Workers heading
home filled the streets, avoiding cars that headed swiftly towards their
various destinations. Smoke and dust filled the air, in the more industrial
sections, and the rumble of cars and other machinery combined with shouts,
cries, groans, and the general noises of the populace to blanket the city in a
tide of continuous sound, ebbing and flowing with the flow of time.
In one of the more decrepit areas of the metropolis, a man in his mid to late
thirties made his way through the crowd at a rapid, but forcibly casual pace.
He looked to be a fairly average working class bachelor, dressed in a
nondescript and somewhat scuffed grey suit with a matching hat and a long tan
trench coat overtop that was streaked with dust and soot. He fingered the brim
of his hat, cautiously eying the passerby as he moved along. As he walked
towards the street corner, he noticed two shadowy figures following behind him,
gaining slowly but steadily as they prowled forward through the throng.
The man's brown eyes widened, and he cursed fluently under his breath, speeding
up until he was shoving people out of his way. He turned the corner, then
ducked into an alleyway, coming out on the other side before slowing down and
turning again to walk in a different direction. After a minute or two, he
halted and waited outside a shop, scanning the streets. He then turned and
walked with the flow of the crowd, heading in the general direction of his
destination. Within minutes he had gone down two blocks, continuing to shove
his way through the crowd, weaving and doubling back in places in a frantic
attempt to lose his tails.
Despite his efforts, the low chuckle of one of his pursuers came from a few
feet behind him, cutting through the grumbles and shouts of those he pushed and
shoved out his way and the usual din of the city. The sound, mirth laced
heavily with malice, sent shivers down his spine, and he broke into a run. The
fleeing man paid no heed to the cries of surprise, pain, and anger as he shoved
through the thinning crowd, aiming for a side street he knew lead to a safer
area, where he would have backup to prevent them from-
His train of thought was cut off abruptly as he was caught and hauled into a
deeply shadowed alleyway. A massive hand clasped his forehead harshly and began
to squeeze, the pain sending panicked energy to his limbs as he struggled,
scratching frantically at the appendage holding him in place.
"No! Let me go, damn it! Stop-" he begged, kicking as he was lifted into the
air with seemingly no effort by his captor. The trapped man kicked back, but
his captor merely shook him like a rag doll, unaffected by the blows to his
thighs and torso. The clack of well-kept shoes echoed on the pavement as his
two tails entered the alleyway.
"It seems that the cats have caught the filthy little rat," the taller one
said, his voice a smooth, low baritone. His companion giggled in a high-pitched
voice as she played with a battered teddy bear, ripping off its already mangled
ear with relish. The tall man chuckled lowly as he patted her on the head,
ruffling her short locks of hair with an elegantly gloved hand. The young
girl's face was split by a sugar-sweet smile, but her wide eyes glittered with
murderous glee as she grasped the decorative pink handle of a dagger that was
sheathed within the much-abused toy.
"And now it's time for the cats to play!" The girl sang out in a voice like
poisoned candy: high pitched and sweet, yet laced with an undertone of darkness
that chilled the brown-haired man to his core.
"Can I crush him?" The one holding the struggling man grumbled, in a gravelly
bass rasp flavored with the slow, lazy drawl of the bayou. The captive's eyes
widened in fear, and a small whimper escaped him as he shook in horror, feeling
the gradual tightening of the powerful hand that held him aloft. The tall man
sighed, giving his mountainous counterpart a meaningful look.
"No, we need to ascertain what he knows before we can dispose of him. Surely
even a brute like you would know that? Besides, you've killed enough this week.
You can stand to wait for a bit longer," he said, causing the large man to
growl in an irritated manner. He ignored him, turning his attention back to the
captive. "Now, might I inquire into what your business was in our sector of the
city, much less in dear Lulu's house of all places?"
The brown-haired man's mouth opened and closed, his eyes bulging and displaying
the whites. Terror and desperation rolled off of him in waves, and as his gaze
locked with his inquisitor's, the tremors that shook his frame stopped only to
be replaced by the frozen state of prey as it faces the crouching predator,
knowing it is unable to escape. The small girl seemed to be amused by the man's
response, grinning wider and spinning the dagger in her hand as she took a step
closer.
"Can I take over the interrogation? I haven't been allowed to have any real
entertainment in a long time," she said, her young voice sweetening to the
point of cloying. The tall man looked at her, raising one elegant eyebrow,
before sighing when he noticed the beginnings of a pout on her cherubic face.
"Fine, fine. Let's go inside so the noise won't attract attention," he
grumbled, turning to open a door set into the wall. The captive man was dragged
inside, his pleas for mercy lost in the ever-present sounds of city life as the
door slammed shut behind them.
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