The sky was starless, smothered by Backlund's heavy clouds that dimmed even the moonlight.
Outside of Srank's Bar, two men circled each other. Their coats were discarded, lying against one of the streetlights, their sleeves were rolled up, knuckles bruised and red with blood.
The place was quiet except for the dull thud of blows and the men's laboured breath.
A punch landed low, stealing the air from one of them. He staggered, laughed through bloody teeth and lunged back in.
But no matter how many times he tried, the first of the two men evaded his blows with ease.
"..."
Casper smiled as he juked Rupert's blow, the man overcommitted on his blow causing him to fall against the cold tarred road.
Rupert didn't even blink as Casper's boot came down on his wrist, pinning it in place. A sharp grunt escaped him, more from surprise than pain. He twisted, rolled, and tore himself free, pushing back to his feet with a hoarse laugh.
"Still light on your feet," Rupert muttered, wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"You have certainly improved Rupert," Casper casually complimented him unseriously.
Then, suddenly he cut the distance between them, before Rupert could even flinch another precise strike landed in his chest. He immediately folded, his breath burst from his lungs in a tight gasp, yet even then, he tried to swing back, stubborn to the end.
But Casper didn't spare him, in a decisive blow he struck his face with a force strong enough to rattle his brain.
Rupert's vision dulled as the world tilted sideways. His knees gave out, and he collapsed hard onto the road, his head creating a loud thud as it collided against the hard tar.
Casper stepped back, exhaling slowly, watching as Rupert's body went still save for the shallow rise and fall of his chest.
Casper soon shook his head, he rotated his arm and let out a weak sigh. "I'm not as weak as you think, you know."
…
Rupert opened his eyes with struggle, he groaned, lifting a hand to his temple he rasped.
"…How long have I been out?"
"Half an hour," Casper replied calmly, seated at his side.
Rupert pushed himself up and leaned against the streetlight and praised, "You're much stronger than me."
Casper nodded with a smirk. "I know."
He then handed him the beer bottle he was clutching in his right hand. Rupert accepted it without hesitation and took a large gulp of the beer.
They stayed in silence for a while until Rupert finally broke it.
"...Why did you pick a fight with me on that day?"
Casper merely shrugged and instead posed a question of his own, "Tell me, Rupert—when was the last time you felt awake?"
Rupert frowned, the bottle hanging loosely from his fingers. "Awake?"
Casper let out a quiet scoff. "We work, we drink, we sleep, we shit. Rinse and repeat. Same hours, same streets, same meaningless routines. Men like us aren't living — we're being used. We're cogs in a machine we didn't build and don't control.
"We own nothing that owns us back. Jobs tell us when to wake. Money decides how long we're allowed to live. Even our anger gets scheduled for weekends."
Rupert snorted softly. "So you made me hit you to prove a point?"
Casper shook his head and chuckled softly. "No… That's not what I mean but it also is. I hit you because I wanted to know whether you were another obedient little dog who's afraid to colour outside the lines or someone who still remembered what it meant to live."
He turned his head meeting the blonde haired man's gaze. "Most of us are indoctrinated when we're young. Sit straight. Speak when spoken to. Work until you're tired enough not to think. By the time they realize the leash is there, they've already choked."
"I see," Rupert muttered faintly before briefly chuckling as if reminiscing about something. He soon muttered in a self depreciating tone, "To be honest, my life was much different before you showed up."
He stared at the pavement indifferently, "Wake up before dawn. Same tram. Same desk. Same stack of papers pretending to matter. I bought things I didn't need just to feel like I was moving forward — new boots, better coats, a room that looked impressive to people who never visited."
A dry laugh escaped him. "I was tired all the time, but never sleepy. I told myself it was normal. That this was what being an adult meant. Work until you're numb, distract yourself until you forget why."
Rupert finally looked at Casper and said warmly. "When we had that fight a few days back, I was finally able to sleep. For the first time in a long while, it was the only thing that seemed real."
___
A/N - Sorry for the short chapter but it's my birthday today and I have to go out soon lol