Tye wasn't sure what, exactly, he expected to happen that evening, when he leaned down in the yard outside the compound and kissed Eduardo full on the mouth...but still, the reaction he got was bitterly disappointing all the same.

There was no shock for his actions, no moment of stunned surprise. In fact, their lips had barely touched when Ed's hands flew up with a wordless noise of anger, shoving out HARD, violently enough that Tye was sent careening back to land on his ass with a dull thud.

Nothing about that didn't hurt. Belatedly, Tye realized how very stupid he was not to plan for this, to be prepared for such a negative reaction...but, simply put, he hadn't been. He was surprised at how badly the rejection stung. It scraped at the same raw, unhealed place inside him where Jaime's betrayal had hit, far too recently for his peace of mind to have recovered.

But, as with Jaime's betrayal, there was nothing Tye could do about it now.

"I'm sorry," he said lamely, picking himself up off the ground. "I didn't mean—"

"No. Just no," Ed snarled, cutting him off. The smaller boy's voice shook, accent thickened with rage. "You—You go after Virgil, you go after Asami—whatever, chamuyero! But not me!"

"Yeah, that's, uh, definitely. Whatever you want," Tye said, too quickly. He could feel his face reddening in humiliation, and hoped fervently that Ed couldn't see it in the dark. "I'm so sorry, man. I won't bother you anymore."

God, he wondered, what had he been thinking? Maurice was right; he was nothing more than a sick freak, and a stupidly soft weak one at that. Why should Eduardo, a kid he barely even knew when it came down to it, see him any differently?

The smaller boy's eyes narrowed at him in the darkness. "I've been getting fucked my whole life, Tye," he said harshly, looking vindictively satisfied at the wide-eyed look he received in return. "Everywhere I go, it's the same story. Fucked by my family, fucked by the Reach—fucked a hundred times, by people I thought I could trust! I don't need you to add to that list! Not any of you! ¿Entiendes?"

Speechless, Tye could only nod.

Eduardo glared at him a moment longer, then sighed angrily, his expression melting into annoyance. "Don't give me that look, chabon," he muttered, turning his back on Tye in a huff. "I don't hate you, or anything like that."

Without another word he started back toward the compound, where the others were waiting, probably busy getting ready for bed.

He couldn't just leave it at that, though. ...Could he?

"Ed!" Tye called, jogging a little to try and catch up. "Ed, wait up."

The smaller boy spun around to face him. "¡Callate! ¡Por favor, Longshadow!" Eduardo snapped. "Just go to bed, man, seriously! In the morning, this didn't happen."

Tye opened his mouth to say something else, but the other boy glared again and teleported out of sight before he could speak.

Well, that had been stupid of him. Tye wouldn't be trying THAT one again. Shaking his head, he began the slow walk back to the compound himself, trying not to think too hard about what had just transpired. There was nothing left for it, except to take Eduardo's advice and try to get some rest.

Neither boy slept very well that night.