Ezio put his fingers through his beard, trying to sus out any stray stands. He had clipped it well afterall. He tucked the small pair of scissors into his jacket and smoothed back his hair. Unfortunately he wasn't that great of a barber to himself up top, but his steady hands and good eye made trimming his beard a breeze.
The barber.
That was a place he could go looking. He exited the public bathroom he was in, tucked in his shirt, and went searching.
He walked in through the doors of the barbershop and nearly bumped into a dark-skinned off-worlder and his friend. The first was beaming with his new haircut, like he had landed the lottery. Ezio let them pass before entering himself.
"Hey, Giamo!" He greeted the old barber.
The man smiled at Ezio.
"Finally come in to get that mop cut down?"
Ezio smoothed back his salt and pepper hair again.
"It's not that bad. I was actually coming in to see about getting a job here."
The old man's face darkened.
"Ezio boy, you know I can't."
"What do you mean? I got the steadiest hands you've ever seen, you've said it yourself. I can cut hair."
"But hire you? Sorry Ezio, but, eh, I got enough workers."
"Bullchit!" Ezio slammed his fist down on the counter. His face had turned red and his lips tight. He quickly cleared his throat and glanced around. Everyone was looking at him, even the customers. Two other barbers, three in chairs and four more waiting in the small lobby area.
"Giamo, I know you're hurting for good help right now. Please, a couple of shifts a week that's all I ask!" Giamo was turning around, walking towards the back with those annoying small shuffle-steps that old people take.
"I'll sweep the floors and take out the trash, I'll stand outside with a sign, I'll call for everyone to come inside, please! Giamo!"
"I can't hire you!" The old man called back, shooing Ezio away with a hand and sad eyes.
"If I hire you, I'd lose more customers than you could ever bring in. I'm sorry, my boy." And he disappeared behind a curtain. Ezio's fist shook and he started towards the back. A hand grabbed his arm and Ezio whirled, striking the man with his open palm. The man grunted and stumbled back, holding his face. There was some blood coming from his nose. After seeing that no others were coming to stop him, he turned again towards the back.
Except Giamo was standing there, looking at his injured worker, stunned.
"You want a job that badly?" He asked quietly.
"Go chase after the man you saw on the way in. He might have something for you. But you never come in here again, you hear me?"
Ezio was like a child caught doing something he shouldn't have. He turned back to the worker, still holding his nose.
"Get some ice on that. Try not to touch it too much." He started towards the door.
"Keep the ice on until the bleeding stops. And thanks, Giamo."
Once outside he looked around for the dark-skinned man and his friend. Where did they go? He briskly walked down one street corner, then ran to the next. And the next. His head on a swivel. But no sign of him. Giamo was just throwing him a carrot, hoping to get him out of the shop. Ezio kicked a wall and screamed.
"I'm home." Ezio announced himself as he entered his dingy apartment.
"Daddyyyy!" Came the excited squealing of a young half-zabrak girl, a little older than eight years old. She was still in her pajamas, a little pink dress that flared around her knees as she ran to him from the kitchen.
"Heey!" He smiled and knelt, scooping her up into his arms and holding her tight.
"Did you bring home any food, daddy?" She asked. Those eyes were just so huge and adorable. Just like her mothers.
"No honey, I told you we'd be having those fast-ready meals for a while." He petted her black hair and she looked down.
"I don't like how they taste..."
He turned his head, playfully questioning.
"Don't you like the blueberry ones?"
"Yeah, but we don't have any left."
He raised an eyebrow.
"I thought we had two." She was silent and looked away.
"Biancaaa." He tried to catch her eyes but she looked away.
"What happened?"
She looked back with teary eyes.
"Promise... promise you won't get mad and leave."
"...And leave?" Ezio blinked.
"Like mommy did, when she got mad at you..."
Ezio was quiet for a long moment. He pulled her into another hug.
"I promise, honeybun. You can always tell me what happened. I'll never leave you." She hugged him back, hard. Hidden from her, he wiped a tear from his eye.
"I ate it because I got hungry." That made another tear come to his eye. They were down to only having two a day. Well two for her a day, only one for him when he really felt hungry. He was getting thinner by the day.
"Well, that's ok honey. You ate both?" He looked at her, hands on her tiny shoulders. She shook her head, looking away.
"There was a bird." She finally said.
"And he kept looking at me through the window. I thought maybe he was hungry. So I opened the bag and let him eat."
Ezio gave a sighing chuckle. His daughter sometimes, she... she was so precious.
"How'd he like it?"
She brightened up, smiling.
"He really liked it! He was hopping around the table as he ate it."
"He... he was on the table? The bird?"
Bianca nodded.
"Yeah!"
"And... where is he now?" He asked, slowly scanning the apartment.
"Well, he went potty on the table. So I put him in the bathroom and cleaned up."
"You put the bird in the..." He stood up and walked over to the bathroom door. He opened it up and a bird, black and feathery fluttered out right into his face. He shouted in surprise and swung his arms in reflex, but the bird cawed and flew past him and around the apartment. He glanced in the bathroom and... Everything was a mess. Bird poo everywhere, starting to dry and crust. He tightened his fist and looked for the bird, willing it to die by his mere eyesight alone. But his daughter was already on the move, pushing a chair over to the window and opening it. The bird cawed, as if saying 'thank you', and flew out.
Ezio shook his fist, then let it go with a sigh. He looked at the bathroom again.
"Bianca, get your coat. We're going for a walk."
Bianca wore her puffy pink coat, something he had gotten her before he lost his job. It was worth a lot of money but the way his daughter clung to it, there was no way he could give that away.
They were walking down a shopping street, despite not having enough credits to fill his pocket. He considered finding a cup and sitting on a corner, but... no. He needed to keep walking. They passed a gelato stand, and his stomach growled. Any food right then would have been good. And then he passed a jewelry store. He got his ex-wife her ring from that store. He stared at it's window and sign for a moment longer, then continued moving on. His daughter was silent the whole time, looking on at the windows in fascination, at the lights and the things on display. Even if they couldn't afford anything, it was still nice to see what the stores had. To see his daughter's eyes open wide.
"Daddy, what are they doing?" She asked, pointing with her tiny hand. Ezio looked up. There was a speeder in the street, men coming out. They had guns. And they raised them.
"Chit!" He shouted, picked up his daughter in his arms and rushed for the nearest archway. He covered her head with a hand and his own head, one hand around her waist and crushing her against him. Weapon fire erupted on the streets. His daughter screamed in fear. Ezio squeezed his eyes shut and tried to make themselves small.
And as soon as it had started, it was over. The speeder drove off.
"Ghost!" She yelled at him.
"I think I got one of them mutha suckas." That was Jon's voice. "They hopped in a speeder but I think I got that dude through the back windah. Oh chit!"
"Ragos! Oh chit, Rag, frak." His friend grieved. "Frak that's so much blood. Frak. We need help!"
Ezio peaked around the corner, still holding his daughter. And he saw the dark-skinned man on the ground. Shot. His friend was calling for help, and a lady putting pressure on the wound. That was a lot of blood. He'd bleed out in minutes if he didn't get some help.
He set Bianca back down and turned her to face him.
"Honeybun, I have to go help that man, like daddy used to at the hospital, ok?" Her eyes were wide and she was frightened, but she nodded.
"Ok, but I can't leave you alone. If anything scares you just look away." He instructed before running over to the man's side.
"I'm a doctor!" He called, kneeling on the ground. He inspected the general area of the wound then took off his jacket, folding it up.
"He doesn't have time to wait for an ambulance, we have to stop the bleeding now." He instructed both of them. He looked around and laid eyes on the jewelry store. The lady next to him had on the uniform.
"Ma'am," He asked directly.
"Do you have tools to cut gems and repair things in the back of the store?"