[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

Dante's black trainers struck the wooden planks of the pier as he jogged up the stairs from the pebbled beach below. He'd only been in town for a little over a week and had been using his feet to explore while he waited for his bikes to be shipped over. He'd made it to the beach during yesterday's run but the weather had been shite and he didn't quite make it to the pier so he was back again while it was a rare sunny morning. Compared to the beaches back home, pebbled beaches just didn't cut it. Running on sand was much easier although the instability of the pebbles wouldn't hurt his balance. Besides the beaches, another thing that made him that little bit more home sick was the weather. He missed the sun on his bones every day. As he reached the end of the pier, he leant against the railings and looked out at the water, almost tempted to dive in but he wasn't a fan of frost bite. Rolling his eyes, he turned away from the railings to begin his set of sprints along the length of the pier.

ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO

[ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO]

Zira pushed herself a little faster on the slight incline heading toward the pier. It had become her daily routine to hit a run early morning, before heading over to the gym to get a good box in. It set her up right for the day - a good hour of cardio and then to go beat the shit out of a bag, or a boy. Her work had been a little spotty recently, with only smaller bounties coming in. Apparently people were behaving themselves for the moment and not many were bothering to skip bail - such a shame. She had only have to travel short distances to dig out her targets, and neither of the two from last week had been particularly difficult. Money was money, she still got paid, and she'd gotten into a few fights - legitimate ones - to earn some extra cash with a win.

She wipe some perspiration from her forehead and was about to push herself further for the flattening straight before turning for him when she saw him. At least she thought she was seeing things, or she had managed to tire herself enough to be hallucinating. Because fuck off there was no way that was her brother, standing bold as brass, leaning against the railings like he owned the whole pier. She slowed automatically, surprised he didn't have holes burned into his back as she glared at him. There was no way there was a coincidence. He was here to check up on her, or to try to take her home. Neither of which was going to be happening.

Frowning heavily, she slowed to a walk, her run now completely ruined. As much as she loved her brother - well, both of them - she liked being on her own and making it, she didn't need a babysitter for Christ sake. She melted into the crowd, believing that he hadn't followed her but had just happened upon the same spot, and managed to get close. Just as he turned away from her, she suddenly rushed forward, wrapping her arms low around his waist she bent at the knees and heft him as if to chuck him over the railings. It was likely he would save himself and shove her off but the intention was there, and if he didn't save himself more fool him.

[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

His feet pounded the ground as he sprinted from one end of the pier to the other to work on his stamina, taking a thirty second break every time he reached an end. Dante glanced at his watch as the seconds counted down until his last one. As soon as the timer hit zero, he felt his muscles tense in anticipation as he leant forward, using his back foot to push off the floor, propelling himself forward as he ran along the edge of the pier, gaining speed with every strike of his feet. Reaching the end, he leant against the railings once again, facing the water as he inhaled deeply to catch is breath. He pulled down his headphones to sit around his neck then turned around to start the walk back to his newly acquired apartment. A sudden flash of black hair rushing towards him caught him by surprise, narrowing his eyes when arms wrapped around his waist in an attempt to push him over the railings. "Qué cojones!"

He planted his heels into the ground, reaching a hand behind him to grip onto the metal in order to secure himself firmly to the floor below. He raised his other hand to Zira's face, pushing his palm against it until she backed off. He knew she'd be pissed to see him but he didn't think she'd try to yeet him off the damn pier. Dante had done a pretty good job of lying low whilst he'd been in town, careful to avoid his sister until he was ready to spring his appearance on her. That was out of the window now. When his sister had released her grip on his waist, he reached his arms forward to snake around her, pulling her into a bear hug - tightening his arms slightly, make it uncomfortable to return the favour. "Missed you too sis"

( translation: "what the fuck!")

[ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO]

She nearly had him. She felt her right shoulder take his weight, before he managed to clamp himself onto the railings and ground himself. Of course she didn't actually want to crack his head open like an egg, but if this didn't get the point across about the fact he was here, on her turf, she wasn't sure what would. No doubt he'd been here longer than five minutes - he hadn't just come all the way from Spain for a run along the random seafront. He'd been here longer than that, which meant he'd been watching her - or following her - or something equally creepy and annoying. Blood brothers. "Qué cojones!" She smirked and couldn't hold back the snort of laughter. She didn't care if they were getting concerned looks, her and her brothers had always rough housed and fucked about with each other - now was no exception.

She released him, giving up trying to kill him when he rudely shoved at her face, and then was suddenly yanked back toward him in a hug. "Now who's trying to kill who?" She muttered, ending on a bit of a squeak as he forced the air from her lungs. She returned the hug after a moment of deliberating if she was still pissed or if she was pleased, though hers wasn't quite as rib cracking. "Missed you too sis" Zira huffed, pulling away from him and giving his arm a shove. "So how many weeks have you been here then? One, two?" Her gaze narrowed and she folded her arms - oop, okay still a little pissed. "You say three and I'll give you a better shove...And where's tweedle dee hiding?" Her other brother was never usually far from Dante.

[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

"Now who's trying to kill who?" He smirked at the words and only hugged her tighter, his smirk changing to a smile when she returned the hug. He released his arms back to his sides when she pulled away and leant back against the railings, certain his sister wouldn't try to kill him again. "So how many weeks have you been here then? One, two? You say three and I'll give you a better shove...And where's tweedle dee hiding?" He shrugged and gave her one of his cocky grins "Just over a week. . surprised you didn't run in to me sooner." He'd spent most of his time securing a place to live and scouting the town and surrounding cities for potential businesses. He had already approached the owner of the tattoo parlour, offering to buy the place with cash and he'd bit his hand off. He rolled his eyes at the mention of their brother. "Taking my place by dad's side while i'm here" So he'd fucked up and Gael had stepped back up to be their father's right hand man.

[ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO]

She felt his hug tighten and her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull, she was about to smack him to be released so he didn't break an actual rib - hers were still sore from the fight the other week and she didn't fancy re-cracking any from a brother's hug. Luckily he let her go before anything broke. Her gaze narrowed as he gaze a cocky grin, wondering what was about to come out of his mouth. "Just over a week. . surprised you didn't run in to me sooner." Alright, not as bad as she was expecting, but it didn't clear her frown. "As if you weren't hiding from me?" An eyebrow rose. The town was pretty good but she wasn't stupid - if he didn't want to be seen, he wouldn't. She had the same talent when needed.

Her frown returned when he rolled his eyes, picking up on that - something with amiss there. "Taking my place by dad's side while i'm here" Zira tilted her head, her dark hair swinging forward over a shoulder. Taking his place? "You've been the favourite since before you were sperm, what the fuck happened?" She asked, not bothering to mince her words. It probably wasn't the place to be discussing things, but people could get stuffed if they wanted to try and listen in.

[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

"As if you weren't hiding from me?" He grinned when she called bullshit and shrugged. Maybe he been purposely avoiding her but he had kept an eye on her from a distance. He hadn't figured out who or what had caused the bruises on her ribs but he figured it had only happened a few days before he'd gotten to the town. He knew better than to involve himself in her business, she could handle herself, especially after fucking about with him and their brother growing up. "You've been the favourite since before you were sperm, what the fuck happened?" He snorted at the choice of words. He wouldn't go that far. He was pretty sure Gael had been the golden child until Dante had shown more of a blood thirsty side which his father picked up on and egged on. He'd always looked up to his older brother and enjoyed working with him but he was better off with the money laundering side rather than the collecting debts side of the business. He ran a hand through his hair "I nearly killed a guy in a fight and may have got thrown in jail. . no big deal"

[ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO]

Seeing the grin she gave him an unimpressed look - she'd thought so, the damn coward. Whether it was recon on her or not, she still didn't like it. She let it slide though, it wouldn't change the way her brother was, or the way her dad requested he conducted himself. That was assuming he was here on their father's command, she figured as such, but if she was about to be summoned, he would have just called her himself, not sent a brother as a lackey. She pulled a few pieces of hair that has escaped back behind her ears as the wind picked up, frowning when they blew irritatingly across her face.

"I nearly killed a guy in a fight and may have got thrown in jail. . no big deal" Her eyebrows rose. "No big deal? Estúpido idiota" She sighed, not the reaction most normal people had to that kind of news, but it was just another day in the family business for them. Whilst their father condoned violence and all manners that came with it, jail time? Quite a big no no. "I'm assuming his contacts got you back out?" Likely the only reason he wasn't still in there now was that her father had many of the police back home in his pocket. "What happened?" Her frown deepened as she folded her arms across her chest, wondering how her brother would have been foolish enough to overstep the mark quite so badly.

( Translation - you stupid idiot )

[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

He frowned at the change of weather, shivering slightly as the wind blew against his damp t-shirt. . "No big deal? Estúpido idiota" He couldn’t help but grin at her response, a typical one from a family member. If he’d mentioned nearly killing someone to anybody else outside of the family, their reaction would have been a little bit different. "I'm assuming his contacts got you back out?" He gave a stiff nod as he recalled the memory of having to spend a night in a cell with other people who’d decided to break the law that night. It had been eventful. He’d managed to break two noses without getting caught before a couple of officers he’d recognised from a few of his fathers ‘business’ meetings sprung him. ”Yeah ol’ padre to the rescue” Not that he wasn’t grateful, he was just pissed off he’d been caught in the first place. "What happened?" He rolled his eyes and looked at her, gritting his teeth slightly as he clenched a fist. ”the guy I was fighting brought up Izzie, el cabrón ”

(translation: "asshole" )

[ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO]

She rolled her eyes as he grinned and gave him a shove. Bloody brothers. You try to chastise them and they just smirk in response. She knew growing up in their family that the insults had flown about on the regular, and creative ones at that, but you didn't grin when the old man popped off or you'd be eating carpet. She saw the nod and her brow arched, shifting her weight a little as the cool breeze cut through her thin shirt. "I bet father loved that," she mused, snorting as the imaginary conversation played out in her mind. Her father had a quick temper, was well known for it in fact, something he had gracefully passed down to all his children. She was sure that call would have been the highlight of his evening.

”Yeah ol’ padre to the rescue” she nodded, even if he was throwing a fit they always did have him to fall back on. There hadn't been a time yet he'd left them to rot. Oh sure he had tested them, put them in some truly shitty situations to force them to figure crap out for themselves, but that was how you learned the tough way and it set them up for life when things got rough. He wouldn't however leave them to die. She thought, anyway. His mood shifted and she frowned slightly. ”the guy I was fighting brought up Izzie, el cabrón ” Ah. Both eyebrows rose this time, but she shouldn't have been surprised. There wasn't much that could rile her brother in such a way. "And what did he say?"

[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

"I bet father loved that," He snorted in response and nodded. ”mhmm he loved it so much he made me see stars” He said as he mimicked a slap across the face, rolling his eyes afterwards. The old man didn’t need to punch with a slap that powerful. He was pretty sure he’d tasted blood after the impact but the memory was lost in the string of Spanish bollocking that followed. And what did he say?" His expression darkened as he folded his arms across his chest. ”That he saw her all over one of the morales boy’s and what he’d do if he got his hands on her. .Gilipollas” He grit his teeth and clenched his fists as the anger bubbled up to the surface, wishing he had something to punch. Preferably the guys face again. He shook his head. ”She wouldn’t.” She may have left him but she’d never go near their rivals.

(translation: "bastard" )

[ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO]

She heard the snort and grinned slightly, knowing what that meant. ”mhmm he loved it so much he made me see stars” An eyebrow rose in response, "But you have both your eyeballs still in your skull, so clearly not hard enough." She joked. Her father had never discriminated against age or sex when it came to teaching his kids a lesson. She knew full well the extent of his wondrous back hand. It was exactly where she'd learned hers from.

”That he saw her all over one of the morales boy’s and what he’d do if he got his hands on her. .Gilipollas” She didn't comment for a minute, she could joke with her brother to a point but this woman was a sore point for him, and she saw the tension thrumming, one comment and they'd be having a brawl. ”She wouldn’t.” Zira might not have liked the girl - who liked someone that broke your brothers cold, cold heart? But there was lines she had to be careful of, even if she'd never been one to mince her words. "Are you sure she's not?" Ah she'd said it now. "Not being an gilipollas, but to piss you off, or if she felt she needed the protection..." It was a viable reason to go to their rivals, if she was worried about retribution for leaving Dante.

[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

"But you have both your eyeballs still in your skull, so clearly not hard enough." He shook his head and shot her a sly grin. ”Only cause mum told him to go easy on her favourite child.” His mother was a tough woman but he’d had her wrapped around his finger as a child and some of that still worked in his favour as an adult. He concentrated on making his hands relax at his sides then looked at his sister through narrowed eyes as she spoke. . "Are you sure she's not? Not being an gilipollas, but to piss you off, or if she felt she needed the protection..." He clenched his fists again, well and truly pissed off that she’d thought that. ”How can you think that! She left me why would she want to piss me off. .and protection from who? We’d never go after her.” He puffed out a breath and turned back to face the railings, placing his hands on them to calm himself down.

[ZAHIRA MIRAN DELGADO]

”Only cause mum told him to go easy on her favourite child.” She pulled a face at him and rolled her eyes, "Ew," She commented flatly, knowing how much he loved to throw that one around. Zira was their father's favourite, much to her annoyance, leaving their poor brother to just exist in the middle, not that him and his three brain cells seemed to notice much. She caught his look and an eyebrow arched, accompanied with a sigh. She'd known if would rile him, and she hadn't said it for effect. ”How can you think that! She left me why would she want to piss me off. .and protection from who? We’d never go after her.” She shrugged, folding her arms but remaining non-confrontational. "It's worth checking before you kill someone. Maybe dad threatened her?" It was possible, "Warned her off? Or she might have just felt like she needed protection on the off chance. Don't ask me to figure out the inner workings of her barbie brain," She rolled her eyes finishing with a grumble. It's not like she could like or respect the kind of person to break her brothers heart.

[DANTE GABRIEL DELGADO]

"Ew," He smirked and rolled his eyes at her ”don’t be jealous.” She was their dad’s favourite which probably had been a little pressurising growing up, living up to that standard but he wasn’t daddy’s little girl and he’d had to work harder to impress the old man. He still did. His angel moved to a different country and he’d had to follow to make sure she fine. Which obviously she was, she could handle herself, she’d been raised that way. "It's worth checking before you kill someone. Maybe dad threatened her?" He snorted and shrugged his shoulders. ”I wasn’t planning on killing him, if I was, it wouldn’t be in a ring surrounded by people. Well it’s possible. . I did think that at the time, it was weird for her to just take off when we were supposed to leave together.” He hadn’t broached the subject with his father but the thought had crossed his mind many times. The head of the family had been against the idea of him leaving and he did enjoy threatening people. "Warned her off? Or she might have just felt like she needed protection on the off chance. Don't ask me to figure out the inner workings of her barbie brain," He narrowed his eyes and nudged her in the ribs. ”Watch it.” He shook his head and moved past her to start walking back toward the beach. ”She doesn't have a Barbie brain. .but who knows what was going through her head when she left.”