After the Shooting

It was dark. Only the moonlight brought some visibility into the room as Ion opened his eyes. He tried to get up, but a sudden pain in his left shoulder prevented from doing so, and he threw himself back on the bed.

Then Ion remebered: he had been shot the night before. By a terran.
Now he felt too weak even to stand up on his feet, due to a silver bullet.

Ion heard movement by his side, and slowly turned his head to the left, to see who was there.
A manly figure, tall and slender, stood before his eyes. It was Radu Barvon, Ion's oldest and best friend.

– Why did you wake up? You looked like you were having such sweet dreams… – his voice sounded familiar and soothed Ion's heart. It made him know that, although he was defenseless, there was someone who would stand up for him.

Radu's clothes were not tight, but it was clear that he was a strong man who could fight by himself.

Ion smiled upon Radu's words.
– You should stop watching my sleep.

Radu chuckled, his eyes closed, and approached Ion's bed. When he looked back at Ion, his blue eyes were filled with the beautiful light of the moon, which made him seem a bit scary.
– You know I love you, tovarich. Ever since I became hated by daylight, you have been my blinding sun, Ion.

Ion sighed; he felt kind of relieved. He lifted his own hand to pull Radu's, making him sit on the bed.
– Radu, I dreamt of you. My tovarich. – Ion said quietly.

– I know. That's why I was watching you: you called my name in your sleep. But, when I came here to see what you were calling me for, you were soundly asleep. So I lingered here, just… looking at you. Trying to decipher your dreams…

– Shut up! – Ion laughed. – Just be honest for a change, will you?

Radu stayed silent for a moment. "Just be honest". That statement hit him deep; because he knew what he was saying was not exactly true.

Something like two hours before, Radu had taken a silver bullet out of Ion's shoulder. Because Ion was in pain, he had been moaning and crying and screaming, distracting Radu from handling his knife properly. Radu had gently asked him to try and keep quiet, but Ion had showed no signs of listening. Radu's hands were busy with the bullet, so he saw himself out of options but to kiss his tovarich, to silence his mouth for good.

Now, the problem was that Radu had liked to kiss Ion. No doubt about it. And he wanted to do that again, that is why he had been watching Ion.
– Alright, then. I'll be honest with you. Ion, you do remember what we just did out there on the street, don't you? – his face became serious.

Ion made a puzzled face for a moment… then he got it. And it startled him.
– Now, Radu, see, that event on the street just now was exceptional… I wasn't planning on–

– Oh, of course you weren't – Radu grabbed Ion's wrists, taking hold of him – You are too pure and innocent and perfect to see what I meant with those kisses, besides "shut up, for the Empress' sake!"

Ion's eyes opened wide, he was really scared. All that he could say was:
– Radu… What…?

Radu continued, despite his friend's total astonishment.
– You'd never thought of it, had you? Of course not. You never see through anybody – Radu smiled. A scary smile, not the tranquilizing and familiar one he had been faking minutes before – Now, just give me a kiss, will you?

Ion, of course, refused it, and Radu started to force him into it. He sat on Ion's lap and approached him until their lips were close enough. But Ion turned his face away, preventing the kiss from happening.

Radu then kissed his neck and cheek, as Ion started asking him to stop.
– Radu, don't do this, please… – Ion tried to fight Radu's approach, knowing that it was useless: he was physically smaller, couldn't stand a chance against his tovarich.

A reddish dark stain made its way through the bandage that covered Ion's shoulder, as his wound reopened. The boy moaned upon the return of the severe pain suddenly struck him.

– Aw, come on, stop fighting me, you know you want it too, Ion! – Radu kept laughing at Ion's efforts to repel him.

He insisted so much that Ion finally started crying. Crystal tears filled his eyes and ran through his fair skin, disappearing among his golden hair.
– Stop! I am not like you! – he shouted, the tears making his voice a tone higher – Stop it, Radu!

As Ion's despair intensified, his tears brought along big, loud sobs, and he cried even more, begging Radu not to make him suffer like that.

– Stop fighting, and everything'll be ok, my tovarich – the dark-haired man insisted.

– No! You liar! Stop! Please!... You're hurting me, Radu! – Ion cried out loud. But his sobs were not produced by the physical injury he had just suffered, nor by the pressure Radu imposed on his frail body. To think that his best friend was trying to do that kind of things to him… that was what formed the largest part of his anguish. Radu… His tovarich, his comrade. The one he trusted the most in the whole world…

– Just kiss me once, Ion. Nothing more. I wanna taste your lips just for one more time…

– No… Have you lost your mind? You twisted pervert! I can't believe it… Radu… – Ion sobbed and panted, his voice becoming weaker and weaker, he was tired of resisting. Then, it hit him: there was actually nothing that he could do to make Radu stop besides giving up. He was out of options but to let him do whatever he wanted.
Radu would only leave Ion's bed after he got what he wanted. So Ion closed his eyes and stopped moving. His mouth silenced too, the only sounds left were his sobs and Radu's light panting from the struggle to make the amber-eyed boy stay put.

After taking a moment to realize that Ion was really not going to fight anymore, Radu came even closer. When his lips touched Ion's, the blond boy, much to his surprise, kissed back, calmly.
Radu's lips were warm… No, his whole skin was hot, as though he was entirely on fire. His body's weight was almost unbearable over Ion's, but his hands touched him in such a delicate way while he kissed… He was almost gentle as he let go of Ion's thin wrists to caress his hair.

Radu only stopped to let Ion catch his breath again and kissed him yet another time.
But, now, although Ion was not resisting anymore, he wouldn't even kiss back either. This seemed to make Radu realize that Ion didn't give a damn anymore. Their most precious bond had already been broken. All those years of trust and friendship had gone to waste. All that was left were tears and regret.

Radu then at last got up from the bed and walked away, without saying a word, leaving Ion alone in the room.

Swallowed up in silence, Ion pulled his blankets over his mouth, holding them tightly, and cried. In the end it was best that Radu left the room. Ion's body might have been left unviolated to a certain extent, but his mind and feelings were now too hurt for him to even imagine his tovarich's sight.

What was going to happen from now on? If Ion was the sun, blinding… Radu was his sky and sea, they just could not be torn apart like that.

Ion cried to the point of being out of breath that night, mourning his dearest friendship, now made into pieces.