Ajax rolled his eyes under his eyelids but did not open them. He would rest, but hopefully, he wouldn't go to sleep. For 1: no one on the lookout. For 2: then it would be even harder than it already was to fall asleep at NIGHTTIME when he was SUPPOSED TO. Ajax opened his eyes and glanced down roughly ten minutes later, seeing Mercy was fast asleep. He tried not to snort, glancing out the window again before closing his eyes. Ajax tried his hardest not to fall asleep buttt... he did anyway, about thirty minutes later.

Skip to when they both wake up again?))

Yeah//

-

Ajax awoke to a very quiet clinking noise. He opened his eyes and did not twitch a muscle, listening like a cougar about to pounce. After what seemed like hours but was only seconds, he gently lifted Mercy up and placed her back down on the couch, creeping noiselessly forward towards a cabinet. Ajax reached inside and grabbed a pistol before slowly walking to the door, peering out. Nothing. He opened it completely silently and glanced around, then yelled as he got smacked in the face with a chunk of wood. "WHAT WAS THAT FOR" Ajax roared, letting a fist fly. It made contact, and he heard another male growl with fury. It was dim out, and they were on the shadowed side of the house so he couldn't see who he was fighting. "Get your flipping ass away from my cabin or I will tear out your insides and beat you with them! I WAS SLEEPING THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR DISTURBING MY REST." Ajax snarled, swinging another fist. This one collided with a crack and the victim yelled with pain. -Got his nose- Ajax thought, grabbing the shirt of the male and dragging the person into the light. He immediately dropped them with a shocked gaze when he saw the face. "... you- you dare come here- you violent beast trying to break into my home!" He said with astonishment, his eyes flaring up with indignant anger. "Ajax- you stupid boy! I'm your father why are you breaking my NOSE" The man growled back, cradling his breeding nose in one hand and scrambling back up. He was tall, though not as tall as Ajax, with the same jet black hair but a sinister look in his not blue, but dark green eyes. Like a snake. Ajax glared for a moment before punching his father in the face again. "LEAVE, Ryker. I will not dare disgrace my own sanity by calling you wreck my father." He snarled, his face twisted into fury. Ryker backed up, his shoulders hunched. "I just wanted to talk to you! Is this really what you've done with your flipping afterlife, hiding in the shadows like a girl and sleeping on COUCHES? You should be ashamed of yourself!"

Mercy stirred slightly as she got moved, but Ajax was gentle enough that she didn't wake. She only got spooked awake when she heard a roar of fury from Ajax, her eyes fluttering open quickly. "Aj-" She started, flinching and going silent as she heard the continued sounds of a fight. She crept off the couch and slipped outside through the left ajar door, huddling slightly. She settled in the shadows, just close enough to see both men. Her rational senses were greatly dimmed by the sudden commotion, so it didn't occur to her that putting herself into the situation wasn't the best idea. She crept closer, until she was slightly behind and to the side of Ajax, giving Ryker a majorly wary glance. "Ajax? What's going on?" She asked softly, gently reaching for his hand and looking up at him. "Are you okay?" She asked quietly, giving him a concerned look.

Ajax opened his mouth to respond when he saw Ryker's gaze flick sideways. He glanced right behind him, seeing Mercy, and a flash of fear flickered across his face. -would... would my father ever stoop so low as to hurt Mercy because I care about her?- Ajax thought dimly, his brain whirring. He really, really, really hoped Mercy trusted him. "Ah, father, this is just my silly daughter Lucy." He said with a dangerously low tone, sending a glare in Mercy's direction. "I don't know why she is out here, she should be sleeping." He growled, turning back to Ryker. "Hm, so you did have a daughter before I died. How sad. Is she as dim-witted as you? I hope the mother isn't that stupid girl you liked... then this leach would have a double dose of idiot. I don't know how I got such a hopeless son from your okay mother and my amazing side of the family." Ryker sniffed, his attention already taken off as Mercy as he started insulting Ajax again. Ajax didn't show it, but a trickle of relief that his father didn't care too much for Mercy splashed over him. Now he just hoped Mercy didn't ruin it... he needed her to play along for this to work. "Ryker, if you don't leave now I'm going to make you. We can talk some other time." Ajax said, looking at Mercy as if making a point. "Humph, don't want your DAUGHTER to hear your plaintive excuses on why you were always the worst son? Fine, I'll leave, but this is not the last time I'll see you." Ryker growled, Ebony black wings spreading behind his back as he took off, leaving.

Mercy blinked in slightly insulted surprise, shuffling uncomfortably. Daughter? He really couldn't think of anything better than THAT? "Well, when I hear fighting, I usually go to see the cause." She said huffily, crossing her arms. She raised her eyebrows, glaring at Riker so hard it was amazing he didn't burst into flames. "Even if I were as dim-witted as you claim, it'd make me smarter than you by the nth degree." She hissed under her breath, narrowing her eyes at the man. "What an ass." She murmured huffily, sending Ajax a sidelong glance as Ryker flew off. "Lucy? Daughter? Really? That's the very best you could do?" She asked sarcastically.

Ajax turned away, silent. His father had yet again humiliated him and shut off his brain, literally proving he couldn't think. "Dam it Mercy, I'm sorry! That man messed me up and I thought I'd never see him again but nooo, he goes knocking on my doorstep. Do you know what he is capable of or what he would have tried to do to you if he would have known I actually cared? Dear me, I wouldn't even be able to IMAGINE the torture he would try to put YOU through just to get to me! I don't want you hurt, and I'm SORRY I fumbled on the whole cover up thing, but at least I didn't say nothing! If there is one thing I am truly afraid of, Mercy, it is him. Formerly there was nothing for him to hurt but ME, and I can deal with a couple scars... but now? Now there is actually something he could TAKE FROM ME to hurt me. Literally the safest thing to do now if for you to leave and never see me again, purely because I care enough I don't want you to- to get injured. Especially by him." Ajax fumed, his tone dropping into complete and utter hopelessness at the very end as he leaned against the cabin wall, looking defeated.

Mercy blinked in surprise as he spoke, standing shock still as he did. "Ajax..." She started softly, following him quietly. "Hey. I'm not ever gonna leave you. No matter what. Okay? Do you understand that?" She asked stubbornly, placing herself right in front of him. She laid a hand gently on either side of his face, pulling him down to press a kiss to his forehead.

"You may not leave me, but I don't want you ripped away either." Ajax mumbled, just wanting to bang his head against a wall. He was so STUPID to think his father would ever leave him alone. "all I can think about is what Ryker may just do to you. No one can let him know you're important to me... and I only used the daughter cover up because 1) You said it yourself, technically I should be fifty something so there and 2) It kind of runs in my family that no one cares about their children at all. Every generation takes it differently, though, and our family history is drama: inflated version. My great grandpa had my grandpa, and my grandpa had been abused. In turn, he murdered my great grandpa. How he got away with it? No one knows. My grandpa had my father, and Ryker was abused. He chose a sneakier way to get back at my grandpa and kidnapped my grandpas wife. She died soon after, and he died from depression soon after that. Ryker has always had a thing with love... he hated seeing anyone else in love but himself and always used that to get at people. Sooo, my father had me, and I was abused. See the pattern? Instead of doing something terrible to get back at them I focused on work at the ranch. He died in a normalish cattle accident. My mother died soon afterward from cancer. The whole point is, Ryker is all about stabbing at peoples loved ones. He only vaguely asked if that betraying woman was the mother because he wanted to know if I'd give any hints about who WAS so he could probably go off and murder the,... just to see how much it would hurt me! That is why I can't let him know I care in any way shape or form about you. Make sense?" Ajax explained, sighing a little, his shoulders sagging. Gosh, now that he thought about it, his family was MESSED UP. TERRIBLY. No good ran anywhere. If Ajax had to guess every person in his family either went to hell or turned into a demon. Shocker.

Mercy listened to him intently as he spoke, gently moving one hand back to stroke his hair as he did. She tilted her head sadly as he finished, watching him empathetically. "I'm so sorry." She whispered, pulling him into a tight hug. "But try as he might, he can't take me away from you. I won't let him."