Honey and Blood Don't Mix

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando turned the page to the comics as Rosemary came up behind him, he heard her coming and didn’t really want her asking him questions about the article on the increase in crime in the city. He smiled slightly as he felt her arms around him, leaning his head back against her chest and looking up at Rosemary slightly. “Hey you.” He murmured and turned his head to kiss her cheek.

Orlando laughed softly, smiling at Rosemary with gentle eyes. “I always keep up with the news. I told you I’m a boring guy.” He teased with a grin. Orlando filed the paper and set it down on the table. When Rosemary pulled away he stood up and wrapped one arm around her waist. “You gotta go so soon?” He asked and frowned. “At lease let me make you a frozen waffle.” He said and chuckled to himself.

Orlando looked over at the clock on the wall and figured he had some time, even if Rosemary had to go he wanted to eat before he went to work. Orlando moved to the fridge and took the box of frozen waffles from the freezer. He then placed them in the toasted, turning to look back at Rosemary. Orlando smiled and just watched her. He felt like he could stare at her forever. “Do you want a ride to school?”

@ BadStreetBoys

-A month later-

It had taken Rosemary longer than she wanted but she had finally told her family that she was dating Orlando. Her parents were happy to hear that she had been in a good relationship for the last month and a half, already teasing their daughter about bringing him over. Vincent, however, did not take the news as well. Although he did not say anything on the matter, it was clear to her that the man was upset, having essentially pouted for the rest of the night

-Next day, Orlando's shop, Vincent-

Vincent knew that he had to do something about this mess. After all of the warning that he had given her sister, she didn't take it. It was incredibly frustrating as Vincent knew something she didn't. He knew that Orlando was dangerous, that he was in the gang. Though the issue was that the only way he could tell her that was by admitting that he had been involved with Orlando at some point with some shady deals. That was behind him now... or at least he had thought until the asshole got with his sister.

So he didn't call or text but drove himself down to the front that was Orlando's car shop. Vincent walked in and went straight to the back where the owner's office was, pounding on the door as he did so. "Open the door you fucking asshole!" Vincent yelled through it. He waited, for about a milisecond, before deciding that it was taking too long. Vincent kicked the door open and stepped in, turning to Orlando. "What the fuck makes you think you can date my fucking sister you low life."

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando was content with everything in his life at the moment. His new drug product was making him more money than ever. He had seized control of the area of a smaller gang, his actual legitimate car shop was doing well with business. But most of all he was with Rosemary and things were going well. She was so good to him, and so understanding. She didn’t question his random phone calls, random injuries, or any of his other questionable actions. She made his life much calmer. When he was with her he was able to completely relax.

Orlando was in his office, working on adjusting the books so that his income was laundered and legal for his use. He heard a knock and the yelling, unsure of who he had pissed off this time. Though, whoever it was, had balls coming to Orlando here and now. Orlando was about to get up when his door was kicked in. Orlando saw Vincent and smirked as he raised an eyebrow. He knew exactly why the man was here. He was wondering when this would happen.

“Why hello Vincent.” He said and laughed. Orlando motioned to the chair across his desk. “Sit let’s talk.” Orlando said and his smirk grew. “Ah yes, the lowlife you used to deal with. Those in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones, Vincent.” He told her. Orlando closed his book and put it in the desk. He got up and made his way to a filing cabinet. Orlando looked through it before pulling out a folder. He dropped the folder on the desk, in front of Vincent and opened it up. “Don’t go minding other people’s business. It might get you burnt.” He said. Inside the photo was all the proof of Vincent and his club’s business with Orlando’s gang. “Wouldnt want those being tipped anonymously to the IRS now would we?” He said before he grabbed the folder and held it under his arm. “I quite enjoy dating Rose. She’s very sweet and calming and caring.”

@ BadStreetBoys

Vincent headed deeper into the office but he did not sit down when Orlando motioned to the seat. No, the man was pissed and he was much more likely to throw punches than to sit down and have a friendly conversation with the drug dealer that was dating his sister. Though the folder was laid down on the desk, the man looked down at it, letting out an irritated huff when he saw what was in it. And before he could even do anything to the folder, it was gone. Not that it mattered, Vincent was sure there was a second copy somewhere else. "You really fucking think that I care more about my club than my goddamn sister?" He growled.

"You're fucked up in the head, Orlando. A fucking asshole that thinks that I would rather - You know what it doesn't even fucking matter. I don't care. I don't give a single fuck what you do with that folder. I came here for one reason. This relationship needs to end. It's been going on for too fucking long. And Hell, I am even going to be nice enough to let you break up with her before I tell her the goddamn truth, Orlando." As he spoke, Vincent's hands turned into fists, tightening up. "You need to break up with Rosemary. Tonight. Before you and your fucking gang get my 'sweet and calming and caring' sister killed."

Vincent took a few steps closer to Orlando, the anger in his eyes multiplying. "Break. Up. With. Her."

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando couldn’t help but smirk across at Vincent, he moved back to the file cabinet and put the folder away as he listened to Vincent yell about this and that. The man certainly had some balls thinking he could come in here and talk to him like this. Orlando stood in front of Vincent and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked down at the man in front of him and gave an unimpressed look.

“Vincent, because you’re my future brother in law, I’m gonna give you some leeway. Because if anyone else came in here talking to me like that, I’d put a bullet in their head.• Orlando held up a hand to silence the other man. “Also don’t think you can touch me in here without three men coming in and pummeling you.” He said and laughed. “I think you Forgot how powerful I am. I’ve gotten a lot more power since you broke your end of the contract. So trust me I am Not one to be played with.”

Orlando smirked again. “I’m not breaking up with Rosemary. She is safe. Trust me I have made sure she is safe. She will not be killed. She likes me, and I like her, Vincent.” He tapped his fingers on his bicep as he continued to speak. “I’m not breaking up with her, snd you aren’t going to tell her anything.” Orlando laughed again. “You’re a pussy, Vincent. I knew that since the moment I met you.” Orlando placed his hand on Vincent’s chest as the man got in his face. He ever so gently pushed the man away from him, in an eerily calm fashion. Orlando knew that Vincent wasn’t dumb enough to sign his own death warrant. “You’re too scared to go against me by telling her and you’re too scared to find out that she actually thinks a gang banger is hot and wouldn’t dump me for it.” He said snd laughed. Orlando moved around the desk and grabbed the now loose office door, he pulled it open all the way. “Have w good day Vincent, I’ll see you at family dinner soon.”

@ BadStreetBoys

A little growl left Vincent but he kept his hands at his sides. Unfortunately, Orlando was right. He couldn't just attack him in at his own headquarters. And Vincent didn't really have a death wish. Though he couldn't just leave without trying to get Orlando to agree to break it off with Rosemary. This was a bad relationship for her. One that was going to get his sister into a lot of trouble and probably hurt if not dead at some point. There were a lot of people who hated Orlando and would take it out on his sister.

"What if I paid you," Vincent finally said. "What if I gave you money to break up with Rosemary. To leave her alone for good. Hell, I would like you sell drugs at the club again. I'll let you and your gang work there again and I won't ever say a word. All you would have to do was break up with Rosemary and never see her again." He looked up at the man expectedly. "She is not going to want you once she finds out the truth. My sister has never been like that. Never been interested in getting close to trouble."

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando looked at Vincent, raising an eyebrow before he began to laugh. “Vincent. I don’t need your money.” He said. Orlando pulled his wallet out, opening it up and taking out a few 100 dollar bills before he tossed them at Vincent, as if they were confetti. “I make much more now than ever before.” He commented. “I also don’t need your club. I’ve got plenty others that I know aren't run by pansies.” Orlando said and smirked.

“You can bluff all you want, Vincent. I’ve got the better hand.” Orlando told the man and again motioned to the door. “Plus I think your sister actually does like the bad boy in me.” He said and a devious grin spread across his lips. He pulled his shirt up slightly snd motioned to the scars. “She really digs the scars. Thinks they look badass.” He said and grinned as he let the thought of her seeing him naked sink into Vincent’s head. “She likes how intimidated people are by me. How they move out of my way. She likes me, buddy. She wouldn’t break up with me because of that.” This was now Orlando’s bluff. He didn’t know how Rosemary would react to the news. He didn’t want to find out.

“I really like your sister too, Vincent. I promise you I would never hurt her. She means a lot to me. Like a hell of a a lot. And I can’t let that go. I’ve got this magnetic pull towards her. Like I need her. I’m not giving that up for anything.” Orlando felt himself getting a bit sappy over Rosemary and straightened himself out, grinning at Vincent. “Nice of you to stop by, Vincent.”

@ BadStreetBoys

"You're going to regret this Orlando." Vincent said before he headed out.

---

It was a little past 1:00am in the morning and Rosemary found herself pounding on the door to Orlando's house. Tears were streaming down her cheeks and she was clutching onto an older newspaper. Not wanting to wait for Orlando to actually come down and open the door, she let herself in and started through the house. Hades was quick to run up to her, running around her legs in excitement but she was too distract to even give the loving dog a glance.

Before she started up the stairs, Rosemary saw Orlando start to make his way downstairs. Her body was tense as she faced him. The sad look of deceit over her face. She took the newspaper that she had been clutching onto and chucked it at his face. "Hey asshole. Do you think maybe there is something that you forgot to mention to me?" She snapped at him. "Something that you just accidently let slip from your mind?"

If Orlando glanced down at the newspaper, he would be able to see that it was on the page concerning Orlando being searched for concerning gang affiliation.

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando rolled his eyes at the other man as he left. He didn’t fear Vincent. He didn’t think the man had the balls to do anything.

Orlando was out cold and asleep. Rosemary had told him she had class until late so it was one of the few days they weren’t spending with each other. He was startled by the pounding on the door and sat up quickly. He reached into his side table and grabbed his handgun before he began to make his way downstairs. In his mind the only people who’d be banging on his door at this hour were other gang members or the police. He saw Rose and frowned, very confused as he still wasn’t entirely awake. Orlando put the gun down in the hall before he walked towards the kitchen where Rosemary was. “Babe—“ he began to say but was cut off as he caught the paper she threw at him. He looked down at it and frowned as his mugshot was front and center.

“Rose—“ he began again, frowning as she yelled at him. Orlando sat the newspaper down on the table next to him and looked down at his feet. He looked like a kicked puppy dog. “Rosemary.” He said quietly and looked up at her. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.” His voice was meek. He knew he was screened when a woman of such small stature had seemingly brought the man to his knees. “I didn’t want you to know because it’s safer for you not to know. If you don’t know anything you can’t get in trouble or get hurt.”

@ BadStreetBoys

"Oh you're sorry? Bullshit!" Rosemary yelled at him. "You're not fucking sorry for keeping it a secret, you're sorry that you got caught. That I found out." The young woman seemed to suddenly stand taller, pushed forward by pure anger. When she had found out, Rosemary had been upset, not believing that it was true. Crying on her way here but now that she was standing in front of Orlando, she was filled with rage. "And don't say that. Don't you fucking say that it was for me. That you kept this a secret for me. You did it for you, Orlando. I was already in danger and you weren't even going to warn me!"

"So what was your plan?" She continued. "When were you going to tell me? Were you ever going to tell me? Think that you could keep a secret like this forever? And did you just fucking think that I would be okay with you being part of some- some gang? That I would 'actually think you being a gang banger was hot and wouldn't dump you for it'? -And you know what I can't fucking believe you said that to my brother. My BROTHER! What is wrong with you?"

Rosemary pressed a hand to her head for a moment, taking a deep breath as she realized she was getting off point. "So what were you going to do, hm? How long, Orlando. How fucking long were you going to wait until you told me the truth? A couple months? Our first anniversary? Or were you just hoping that we would get married and have kids and you would just keep me in the dark forever?"

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando couldn’t meet Rosemary’s eyes as she yelled at him. She had a point. He was upset because she was upset. But he wasn’t lying when he said he wanted to keep her safe. The information he could give her could get her tortured until she gave up that I no or Marion. If she was kept in the dark he at least didn’t have to worry about that. “Rose.” He mumbled and sighed. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

“Rose, I mean technically I’m not part of a gang. I’m the leader of the gang.” he said snd shrugged his shoulders awkwardly. “I’m in charge. You don’t have to worry. And your bother started it.” He said and laughed nervously. This was not what he wanted to be doing right now. “He came at me and I came at him, Rose. I’m sorry, yes it was a dick comment to make, but he did it too.” Orlando ran his hand down his face. He could tell he wasn’t making this any better.

“I don’t know!” He yelled back nervous and frustrated. “I was scared Rosemary! You mean to much to me. I never wanted you to get hurt or to be in danger. But I was terrified if I told you that you would break up with me or stop talking to me. And that..” he paused and looked down at his feet. “That scares me more than being shot or being tortured. I love you, Rosemary. I was going to tell you. But I had to find the right time and way to make sure you felt the same towards me and I didn’t have to risk losing someone who means the world to me.” He whimpered at the end of his sentence as his eyes moved up to look at Rosemary.

@ BadStreetBoys

"That doesn't..." Rosemary looked at Orlando in shock for a long moment before continuing on. "That doesn't make it better. You being the leader doesn't help your case! It makes it worse. I-" She brought her hands up and rubbed her face, becoming a bit dumbfounded. What was she suppose to do with that?

Her eyes lifted back up immediately as Orlando started to yell back. She felt a little caught off guard since he hadn't started yet. But just as quickly as he did it, Orlando's voice started to calm back down. Hearing him say that he loved squeezed hard at her heart. Rosemary's eyes softened up for a moment before she looked away from him. Tears were welling up in her eyes but the anger, the frustration was still stuck in her chest.

"I don't know what to do. I don't... You lied to me about something so big. What else are you lying to me about? Or that you would be willing to lie to me about? And I just feel so foolish. It was right in front of me this whole time. The injuries, the constant calls. I mean you had two fucking phones for god sake!" Rosemary shifted uncomfortably. "And I don't know if I feel safe with you anymore. What if someone tries to hurt me or get back at you! And having to worry about the police coming."

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando felt like his world was coming down around him. As if someone was pouring water on his hands snd telling him to catch it and he just couldn’t do it. He couldn’t lose Rosemary, she meant so much to him. “I think it should help my case.” He mumbled. “I’m in charge Rose, don’t worry about it.”

Orlando saw her eyes soften and it quickly dissipated, which caused him to frown. “I’m not lying about anything else!” He said quickly. Orlando was stressed and began to use hand gestures as he spoke. His voice was faster as he seemed almost panicked. “I’m not lying to you about anything else. Everything else I’ve told you is true. I do own a car shop, I do actually work on cars. I played high school hockey. My dad works at the shop, and now only at the shop. Dalton is a doctor. I.. I..” he felt tears welling up in his eyes and quickly wiped them away, not wanting to seem weak. Orlando just kinda shrugged and nodded. She was right. He didn’t really hide it that well.

“You’re safe, Rose. Trust me I make sure of it, and I’ll continue to make sure you’re safe because you’re my world. You’re my everything. I know how to avoid the police so that’s not a problem. But I can and will protect you from anyone.” Orlando looked at her desperately. “You’re such a beautiful person. You’re so smart and caring and sweet and calm. You make my life worth living because I’m not engulfed in this tense and dangerous life all the time. I have that break. I have that relief. It’s you. I meant it when I said I love you, Rosemary.” Orlando said, almost exasperated.

@ BadStreetBoys

Rosemary could feel her heart ripping apart as Orlando started to panic. She could see what she meant to him, see how much this was hurting Orlando. And as he started to cry, the tears started to roll down her cheeks as well. Though her chest was tightening and it was becoming harder to breath.

Orlando was trying to reassure her that there were no more lies, that he was who she had thought he was from the start. And it killed her but Rosemary wasn't sure if she could believe him. If she felt like she could trust that he was telling the truth. And she wasn't even sure if Orlando could really protect her from his world. How could he be so sure to promise that?

This situation was pressing down so hard on her and Rosemary didn't think she could take having more of this conversation right now. She felt lost. And a decision on what to do certainly wasn't going to be mad to tonight. Rosemary grabbed her purse. "You broke my trust and I don't know if you have it anymore. You lied to me about something so big and I'm scared Orlando. I'm so scared. I care about you, I want you but this might be too much. I'm not sure I can handle this... I'm going to go and think about all of this... I don't know when I'll see you next."

With that, Rosemary started to head out of the house towards Vincent's car.

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando watched Rosemary as she spoke. It felt like she was taking his heart with her. “I’m sorry, Rose.” He choked out, the tears finally free falling from his eyes. He felt like such an idiot for hiding it from her. He didn’t know what else he should have done. Telling her was putting her in more danger. If she didn’t know, she couldn’t be used as a pawn. She couldn’t be pushed for information. But now that the secret was out she was definitely in more danger than before. He was going to need to up her secret security detail.

“Don’t be scared.” He whispered. “I promise I will protect you and keep you safe.” He knew his words were probably empty to her at this point. She thought he was scum now and he didn’t know how to fix this. He was so used to getting what he wanted, he truly didn’t know what to do.

“Don’t go.” He called out and stepped forward reaching out to Rosemary. He didn’t dare touch her because he didn’t want to seem controlling, but he wanted Rosemary to know what he felt. “Stay. We can talk about this.” He said and held his chest with his other hand suddenly. His chest and throat and everything else felt tight. He felt so wrong at the moment. His girl was leaving in the middle of a fight snd he hated that. “Just know I love you. Just know I may be this big scary intimidating gang banger but you have my soft delicate heart.” He whispered snd looked down, not wanting to watch her go.

@ BadStreetBoys

Rosemary stopped walking towards the door as Orlando asked her not to go. Her head tilted up, her eyes fluttering hard as she tried her best to stop crying, or in the least, slow it down. Though it hadn't worked and when she looked to Orlando, the tears were still flowing. But so were his and her heart just cracked a little more. "We'll talk again, I promise." She whispered to him. It was all Rosemary could offer Orlando at the moment. There was no doubt she would come back to continue this but it was too hard to wrap her head around everything. And she didn't know when she would be ready to.

With that, Rosemary headed out of the house and got into her brother's car. She could swear she saw him smirk a little out of the corner of her eye but Rosemary couldn't be sure. And it was gone as quickly as she had thought she saw it. With that, the two of them drove away.

(I don't know if you wanted Orlando to do anything or try to reach out but Rosemary is probably not going to contact him for a couple of days)

@ Sweet.Persephone
(I think Orlando knows he fucked up. He won’t reach out until she does because he doesn’t want to push her away by bothering her before she’s ready. If you wanna skip to her reaching back out to him you can?)

Orlando nodded at her whispered words. He could feel the tears hot in his eyes and hard in his chest. He watched her go and stood in the kitchen in despair. Orlando didn’t know what to do. He stood there, numb for nearly ten minutes. After that time it seemed to click and Orlando was in another mode. The man went to his pantry, grabbed a bottle of whisky, and cracked it open. He headed up to his bedroom with the bottle. The man drank and drank and drank until he passed out again, clutching the bottle in his sleep.

Orlando went through his days and nights in an almost trance like stance. He didn’t know what else to do. He did his work, b he didn’t go beyond what was needed. He wasn’t doing interrogations or getting in fights, each night he was drinking himself to sleep. His house was a wreck. He hadn’t cleaned it. And the man had gone around and basically destroyed everything out of anger. He was not handling his emotions well.

@ BadStreetBoys

-four days later-

The last four days had been incredibly rough on Rosemary. She had plenty of break ups or fights with boyfriends before but none of them had ever felt like this. No matter what she did, it seemed that her mind was stuck on the man. Upset that he wasn't around, unsure of what to do, mad that he lied to her... Rosemary's heart ached every time she even considered the possibility of breaking up Orlando. No matter how many times she had to remind herself of who he was, of what Orlando had done, she just couldn't get herself to not want to be with him. Though the idea of being with a gang leader scared Rosemary to her core. She had never thought that Orlando would hurt her but there were others out there who surely would, at least, think about it. And didn't really like the idea of being with someone who caused such violence as gangs did. Orlando might never hurt her but he did clearly get into plenty of fights.

With this battle raging inside of her, Rosemary had found it too difficult to leave her apartment. One of the days she had tried to go to class but only made it down the street before turning around and heading back home. She felt like she couldn't get anything done in her current mental state. And as the more time went on, Rosemary realized she wasn't getting any closer to any kind of decision. On the fourth day, she knew she just needed to reach out to Orlando again. It seemed ridiculous but... well she was hoping that he could just somehow make this better. One way or the other.

Grabbing her phone, Rosemary messaged him. Can we talk? Wherever or whenever works for you...

@ Sweet.Persephone
Orlando was in his bedroom, cuddled up with Hades and crying when he got the text. His eyes widened and his eyebrows furrowed. She wasn’t breaking up with him over text and he thought that was a good sign. I’ll be over in 15 He sent back. Orlando quickly got up and got dressed. He wanted her to see him for who he was. If this was going to work, he needed to make sure she knew who he was. Orlando pulled on his work jeans, a white tee shirt, and finally pulled out his signature leather jacket with the symbol of his gang large and proudly displayed on the back.

Orlando headed out the door and got into his mustang. He pulled on the dark black sunglasses he owned and headed over to Rosemary’s house. Orlando stepped out of the car and straightened the collar on his jacket before he walked up to the door and knocked twice. He wanted to act cool and calm and collected, but he knew that as soon as he saw her he would probably break down.

@ BadStreetBoys

When Orlando said that he was going to be over soon, Rosemary was quick to jump onto her feet. She needed to make this place look a little less than a depressed mess than it currently was. Though she looked down at herself and realized that she too looked like a depressed mess. Rosemary didn't have time for both so she decided to clean herself up. Just enough so she looked somewhere on the edge of normal.

Right as she was combing her hair, there was a knock on her apartment door. Rosemary headed over to it, taking a deep breath before she opened it up and stepped to the side, letting Orlando in. "Hi," She whispered to him as she closed the door behind Orlando. Her eyes shifted over him for a moment, noticing the new leather jacket. All of the ones she had seen had been plain. "So is this..." Rosemary motioned to the jacket. "Is that your gang?"

Rosemary wasn't sure if she appreciated Orlando owning up to who he was or if she thought it was ballsy of him. Maybe a little of both. She rubbed the side of her head before wrapping her arms tightly around herself. "How have you been doing?" It felt a little silly asking that question. After their fight, with how Orlando reacted, she assumed he wasn't doing well. His eyes alone could tell her that he wasn't doing well.