Author's Notes: I just couldn't help myself - literally could not stop myself from writing this. My eternal love for the Beckets makes me want to die and I had to write to get some of my feelings out. I'm not sure how well this will line up with the novelization since I've only just started reading it, but more will come later, like a few scenes with their sister, who is only mentioned in the book.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my tears that I shed over this movie and book and shit.

I'll Find You in the Drift

Raleigh is nine when he gets into his first fight. Gets punched right in the mouth for smarting off. A loose tooth becomes even looser. He stares at the sky, snow drifting down from grey clouds, and it's almost enough to forget the children chanting, "Fight! Fight!" in the background. He clambers back to his feet, a circle of children coming into his view again, one tall dark-haired boy in particular.

"Want to say that again, Becket?" the boy asks.

Raleigh is nine. He has no concept of what he should and should not say - and truth be told, he probably never will. So instead he squints his eyes, feels the loose tooth with his tongue, and shrugs his shoulders. Not really.

So he gets punched again. And again and again. In the face, in the gut, until he's down on the ground, huddled in a ball, trying to protect his kidneys and other important organs that he will never remember the names of. The tall boy, a seventh grader, just keeps on kicking and shouting at Raleigh to get up and fight. But he doesn't. Mostly because he's too busy getting the shit beat out of him to have a moment to get to his feet.

"Hey, what do you think you're doing?"

"I was just-"

"You were just what? Scram - all of you!"

The snow-covered tennis shoes stop assaulting Raleigh. Through his fingers, he can see the multitude of shoes leaving him, scampering into the distance and back into the school building. Slowly, he unfolds himself, fire licking every inch of his body, but as he stretches, he feels like he's coming back to life. When he rolls onto his back and looks up, he sees a shadow in front of him, the sun behind the figure's back bathing him like a hero, and Raleigh knows that he's safe.

"You're so stupid," his brother Yancy sighs as he grabs Raleigh's hand and pulls him to his feet.

Raleigh just smiles sheepishly and wipes away blood from his lip with his coat sleeve.

"If you're going to keep smarting off like that and start getting into fights, little brother, you're going to have to learn how to defend yourself," Yancy tells him.

"I can fight," Raleigh insists.

"Being able to take punches and kicks does not mean you can fight," Yancy replies with a laugh, ruffling his younger brother's equally blonde hair. "It just means that you're good at getting the crap beat out of you. That's not a talent you should be proud of."

Raleigh frowns and wipes at his mouth again, the blood pouring out insistently. Yancy leads him back into the building, telling him about jabs and crosses and how he needs to duck out of the way of a fist instead of putting his face directly in its path. Raleigh tries to listen carefully, but he just can't seem to focus, can't seem to latch onto his brother's voice, and just stares him in the face. Yancy is twelve years-old and he's been in plenty of fights, all victorious as far as Raleigh is concerned. While he loves his parents, it is Yancy that he goes to whenever he is frightened by what he thinks is a monster and Yancy that makes him hot cocoa with marshmallows and Yancy that reads him bedtime stories about knights and dragons and Yancy that teaches him how to play hockey the dirty way and Yancy that tells Raleigh all sorts of jokes when he's sick in bed.

When they reach Raleigh's classroom, Yancy stops him and puts his hand on Raleigh's shoulders, settling a startling serious look on the younger boy. "You've gotta watch what you say. Or at least think about it. That mouth is going to get you into all sorts of trouble if you're not careful."

"Why should I be careful?" is all Raleigh can think of to say, truly puzzled.

Yancy laughs. "This is going to be one of many, many fights you get yourself into because you don't think first, isn't it, little brother?"