Chapter 10 - How It All Began - (Part Two)

One Saturday in April at T.'s house, after both Kidd's 15th birthday and Zach's 19th birthday, T. suggested to Zach to take the 'new and improved Kidd' to Maria, to show her what great influence Zach and Law had on Kidd. Maybe then she might agree with what he was doing. Zach thought it was a brilliant idea and was soon walking with Kidd quickly to his house to meet Maria.

Zach did something similar to when he knocked on Law's door, except at his own house at 2 P.M.. He was hoping that Maria would first be confused but then be amazed when he told her that it was Kidd, a.k.a the one who stabbed him in the eye. So, after he knocked, he stepped to the side of Kidd and waited..

After a minute, Zach started whistling from the awkward silence, and then after another heart-wrenching moment, Kidd looked up at Zach with concerned eyes.

"I dun- ..don't think she's here," Kidd told him, looking back at the door. Zach bit his lip and looked off towards the driveway; her car was there, right in front of his. He looked back at the door and sighed.

"Maybe you're right," Zach mumbled, taking out his house key to open the door. He pushed open the door and peeked his head in.

"Maria? Maria, are you home?" Zach asked, taking a step into his house; no answer. Zach turned back to face Kidd who gave him an uneasy shrug. Zach sighed and decided to let Kidd look around his house for a while.

That decision ended up being a great one as Kidd got to see inside a functioning household with more than one person in it. Kidd was amused at the kitchen, and at the bright living room full of paintings and books. Kidd liked seeing the nursery until Zach ended up grinning like a madman and succeeded in silently scaring Kidd out of the room.

"Aw, I'm not that scary when I'm happy, am I?" Zach laughed, turning to find Kidd, who was holding back laughs from the doorway to his bedroom. Zach laughed even more when the kid just so happened to glance at one of Maria's bras that she had left on the bed from deciding which one to wear that morning. Kidd turned to look up at Zach with his face painted red, and Zach nearly died.

The two ended up sitting in the living room from 2:30 to 3:30, talking for a little while before Zach tried to help Kidd with reading books again. Kidd was for the most part O.K., but the big words got him and he ended up pouting on the far side of the couch. Zach looked at the teen with a pitying smile and shook his head. He closed the book and put it back on his coffee table.

"Maybe.. if we go play football in the backyard for a while, then Maria will come home," Zach told him, which had Kidd looking excitedly at Zach.

"Awesome."

And so, Zach and Kidd exited the house. Zach rummaged through the garage till he found the football and came back out to find Kidd attempting to climb his tree. The blond didn't see why not and leaned against the garage, watching Kidd just in case he slipped. Kidd was doing fairly well with it and made his way up pretty far before stopping and turning around to look down at Zach. Kidd smiled, kind of, and put his hand up in a wave. He then turned back around on the branch and looked out at the neighborhood, full of trees and pointed roofs. Then he turned back around again and looked at the seemingly solid wall of brick 'skyscrapers' with flat roofs that blocked any view of the outskirts of the city.

Kidd couldn't decide which part of town he liked better; he did like the trees in Zach's neighborhood, though..

When Kidd planned to go and face Zach his foot slipped, and soon he was falling out of the tree at what seemed like less than a mile per hour, like when you jump off the high-dive at a pool and seems like 10 minutes before you hit the water. Even though this was way too much time for Kidd, it seemed like not nearly enough time for Zach to drop the ball and sprint across the yard to catch Kidd, which he did, but... awkwardly.

Kidd ended up knocking Zach in the chest on the way down and felt Zach's arms under his head and knees for a fraction of a second, but then the downward momentum made Zach slip and fall on his back. This then made Kidd's weight hit Zach directly in the diaphragm as he nearly cracked his skull on the ground.

Both males ended up winded and gasping after detaching from each other.

"A...Are ya.. okay?" Kidd asked Zach, sitting on his heels next to Zach who propped himself on his elbows. Zach gulped and nodded, looking quite pale in the face. Kidd watched him nervously, wondering if he had managed to hurt the blond for the second time. Luckily, the older recovered and ended up still playing catch with Kidd. Unfortunately for the both of them, both successfully caught the ball with their face at least once.

After an hour of that, Kidd had a perfect spiral throw, and Zach's right arm was a little tired from throwing; and they both wanted something to drink. So Zach led the way in through the back door and into the kitchen. Zach was hoping he'd hear Maria walking around somewhere, but he didn't and again wondered if she was home. Kidd stood in the kitchen drinking from a cup of water, looking at the kitchen wall clock as Zach went roaming around the house.

"Maria?" Zach asked as he popped his head into each room, getting his hopes up way too far when he looked in the last room in the house to see no Maria. He stepped back out into the hallway and sighed, putting his hands on his hips as he wondered where she could be. He shook his head and walked back to the stairs to go back to the kitchen and grinned again upon passing the nursery.

"So?" Kidd asked the blond as he walked back into the kitchen. Zach shook his head and shrugged, coming to lean back against the counter next to Kidd. Kidd didn't know what to say..

Soon the time was 5:00 P.M. and Maria still hadn't come home, so Zach decided to fix supper and keep Kidd there to eat with him.

Kidd sat on the counter next to the sink, which was a little ways away from the stove, and he kept Zach company by talking and such. Zach had gone silent after a while and just gazed off, daydreaming with a smile that made Kidd's heart ache a little. Kidd figured he was thinking about Maria, and the baby, probably. Kidd then, picking up on this, decided to ask the most relevant question he could think of in that situation. It took a while of thinking but he eventually got it out.

"Um.. when'r you and.. Maria, gettin' married?" he mumbled, rubbing his arm like he was cold. Zach looked up at him with a smile and waited for Kidd to look at his face until he responded, which took a minute.

"In a month and a half, before her belly gets too big for a wedding dress in her size," Zach told him happily, stirring the soup on the stove slowly as he looked up at the ceiling, "and then, in a few more months, there'll be a heavenly little baby crying on my shoulder!"

Kidd smiled a little at seeing Zach so happy and so carefree. He seemed so.. optimistic, when he talked about his future with Maria. Kidd didn't know her well from the first time he saw her, but he could tell that she was a fragile and pretty girl, and that Zach lost an eye protecting her.. from him..

Kidd shut his eyes tightly. He hated himself for taking away a literal part of this great man that was like an older brother or dad to him; because really, Zach seemed way more than four years older than him. This was probably because of Kidd's lack of education, and Zach's already-mature personality that many his age don't have for years later. Kidd respected Zach, and T., for both being that way, and he was.. he was so.. thankful that he had met Zach again that second day. It gave Kidd hope for his own future.

...

At 6 o'clock, Zach finished cooking and sat down to eat with Kidd at his own dining table. It was silent for the most part, with the occasional joke from Zach, or short-but-sweet compliments from Kidd.

Kidd tried to eat in a gentlemanly way like Zach did. He was almost there, but needed a little bit more practice...

Dinner was finished, and Zach saved a large portion in a Tupperware tub for Maria; whenever she got home..

7 o'clock came by, and Zach stood near the front door with Kidd for a few minutes, weighing his options of what to do. The blond didn't want Kidd walking all the way back to Law's when it was his first time in his neighborhood, so Zach took the rough path of being scolded by Maria and trusting his instincts. He opened the front door, made sure he had his keys, and then ushered Kidd out onto the porch as he locked and closed the door behind him. Kidd didn't want to leave.. it was so nice and pretty at Zach's house! Not that T.'s house wasn't nice, but.. Kidd sighed.

The air was getting a little warmer every day as spring was enveloping the area slowly, and Kidd took off his jacket and tied it around his waist like Zach did as he walked to T.'s house. But as Zach and Kidd arrived at the eye-stabbing alley, Kidd felt another overwhelming pang of guilt, and he stopped Zach to turn and face him. Zach blinked and looked down at Kidd, wondering what he would say..

"..I.."

"Sorry to butt-in, but you've known me for.. months now, and you haven't once said my name, Eustass," Zach interrupted, poking Kidd's cheek as a smirk spread across his own face. Kidd blushed and groaned a little at the name, not wanting to hurt Zach any more than he had already. Kidd stood there kind of shuffled his feet, opening and closing his mouth.

"Zach.."

It felt weird. Saying 'Zach' was weird to Kidd. It was a whole new sound and feeling on his mouth and tongue, and he liked it a little. He blushed a little more upon finding himself happy, and only snapped out of it when Zach laughed. Kidd looked up at his eyes. The black one..

"Zach, I-! I'm.. so sorry!" Kidd let out, closing his eyes tightly while bowing towards the ground. Zach smiled the pity-smile again and watched Kidd break an internal boundary of feeling guilt.

"I just.. I was so stupid, and.. I saw yur hand as a threat, n'then I panicked, and b'fore I knew it, I'd jammed my knife in-.." Kidd broke off, feeling a weird sensation at his eyes.. then, his cheek felt wet, and he tried ignoring it till he started choking up and sounding terrible.

Zach always felt bad seeing people cry, but seeing Kidd cry was something new. He didn't know how to react other than hug him like when Maria cried about something, but.. on the street hugging a kid might look a little weird.. but he couldn't ignore the feeling and did it anyway. Kidd flinched a little upon feeling the hug of Zach's warm body around him, and he tried recovering a little out of embarrassment, only to fail miserably.

"I forgive you.. I get it."

Kidd looked up through his tears at Zach's grin as he looked back down at him. Kidd's lip shivered a little at seeing that one blue eye, and he was off crying like a baby again for a minute or two until Zach picked him up. Kidd again felt terribly embarrassed at being touched and picked up like that, but he clung to Zach's chest anyway and cried a little on his shoulder till he relaxed again.

Zach grinned the entire way to Law's, feeling Kidd become calmer and calmer until he thought maybe Kidd fell asleep on him.

The two came out of the last alley and turned right and up Law's stairs, and Zach was almost feeling sorry to knock and wake up Kidd; soon he realized that Kidd wasn't really completely asleep, because Kidd yawned and tapped his fingers on Zach's back right as he lifted his arm to knock on Law's door.

When Law came to the door and opened it, he almost 'aww-ed' at seeing Kidd clinging to Zach's chest, but closed his mouth when Kidd turned and glared at him. That was the signal for Zach to let him down, which he did. The older two could see the lean muscles that Kidd was starting to get because of the regular meals and sleep each day combined with the exercise he got from his usual shenanigans. Zach grinned and looked up at Law who had his hand on Kidd's shoulder, smirking a little.

"Be good, Kidd, and I'll tell you all about what Maria was doing today when I see you next," Zach told him, fist-bumping the teen before sending T. a wave and turning back around.

Walking home would be boring.. which it was. But he had the ever-optimistic hope of seeing Maria's beautiful face when he walked up those steps and into the house.

Unfortunately, all Zach got upon going up the stairs and into the house was a big jolt from tripping and falling on his face. Maria was not home. It wasn't until 10:30 P.M. that Maria came home, laughing as she came in and closed the door. She turned serious as she saw Zach for once being the one sitting in the 'I've been waiting' chair in the living room. He was leaning his chin on top of his clasped hands, which were set on his knees. Maria instantly put her purse on the table and opened her mouth as she walked into the living room.

"I'm sorry, Zach, I-"

"Maria?" Zach asked calmly, like when he had first popped his head in the house with Kidd at his side, "how are you?"

Maria shut her mouth and looked at him with a confused look. "Fine, it's just, I-"

"What've you been up to?" Zach asked calmly again, getting up and walking to the kitchen to get Maria's meal out of the fridge. She walked behind him and followed to the kitchen, thinking about what he was asking her, in that tone..

"I was just-"

Zach turned from setting the tub on the table and looked at Maria with a pleading look that shut her up immediately.

"Maria.. I've been waiting and worrying about you.. You've never come home this late without me with you, and I thought maybe something happened," Zach told her, holding his arms as he bore his gaze into her eyes. Her eyebrows were knit-together in confusion, and a little bit of guilt, and she opened her mouth to start her story when again she was interrupted by her fiance.

"Just tell me already.." Zach asked her, stepping up to hug her tightly. She didn't hug back at first, and he knew something wasn't right- but he couldn't tell what..

"I went shopping with Georgia for a few hours and then we went to Clare's house from there to show her what Georgia bought," she said softly and straight-forward, slowly putting her arms up on Zach's back. Zach tucked her head under his chin and slowly took a breath, and then slowly exhaled shortly afterward.

It wasn't easy listening to Maria lie.

"What all did Georgia buy..?"

After Maria had told Zach of some items that Georgia bought, Zach knew she was lying, but he didn't say anything and decided to tell her about how Kidd was doing, now that he was eating and sleeping okay. Maria gritted her teeth and bore with it until Zach told her calmly that he had brought Kidd over to meet her. That's when she had pulled away and stared at him like he had been the one lying. Zach smiled sheepishly under her glare and shrugged.

"He's a new kid, Maria! It's amazing to see him with nice clothes, and with some meat on his body for once! His eyes look less wild and he-"

"I can't believe you brought him here! To see me?! Zach, he probably would've made me have a heart attack and somehow kill the baby!" Maria started, pointing a finger at Zach's black eye, "he already took a part of us away!"

Zach couldn't believe she had said what she did about the baby.. that hit home for him, because he loved that baby just as much and almost more than Maria, but without even seeing Kidd she had gone and put such a terrible, fiendish, devil-like motive in place of Kidd's real one to say sorry and show her that he changed. It frightened Zach; Maria wasn't like that..

"Have you.. been drinking?" Zach asked her, trying to keep calm about the entire false accusation. He didn't want to get mad..

"No! This is just logic, Zach! I can't believe you thought that bringing him would be a good ide-"

"I just thought.. that maybe seeing him as a better person would change this, this.. this horrendous view that you have of him!" Zach countered gently, walking up with open arms to her. She glared at him wide-eyed and shook her head, walking out of the kitchen to have the blond follow her, pleading..

But Maria would have none of it. They went to bed at different times, and no matter how Zach tried to bring it up, just saying 'Kidd' sent Maria off the deep end. It was no use trying to convince her, or try to bring Kidd back to the house. Zach would always end up tearing up and frustrated at the ends of their fights, and he couldn't take her logic about Kidd anymore. It was odd for Zach, because he had been the one hurt by Kidd, and he forgave Kidd, yet Maria was the one who wouldn't forget it.

It was like she was feeling the anger about it in place of Zach, because she thought that he wasn't as smart as she had taken him to be.

So their fights were both insulting to Kidd, and to Zach.

And, unfortunately, Maria couldn't have been anymore wrong about Zach being unintelligent, because he was being a kind and admirable person to everyone he talked to. He even kept from pointing out all of the lies that kept increasingly coming out of Maria's mouth to prevent any more relationship damage. It unnerved Zach to no end, but he couldn't bare to ruin their relationship; he didn't want to kill all the days they had ahead of them.

Even so, Zach still visited Kidd for short amounts of time at Law's house, because he wanted to keep an inner promise to Kidd, but didn't talk about Kidd to Maria, because he wanted to keep the promise he had made her when he slipped that ring on her finger when they stood in the kitchen that evening, being as happy as could be.

One day, Maria had been walking down the street from an unknown place, back to her house, when she saw Zach step out of an alley not far from their house. He turned and started talking to someone, and he laughed a little as someone punched his arm. She stopped and stood a little behind the corner house, wanting to see who the other person was, and what they were doing with Zach.

It was only when Zach held out his arms for a hug that the other person stepped out of the shadow and hugged him. Maria narrowed her eyes and kept silent as she watched the boy, the kid, the teen, the 15 year old that was named Eustass 'Kidd' step out and hug Zach. Zach proceeded to fluff the teen's brown hair and they both laughed, though the younger one seemed to have been crying. Zach stepped away and looked down at Kidd, and complimented the younger on how nice his muscles were coming along. He took Kidd's arm in his hand, observing, and gave a thumbs up to the boy, who smiled and shifted a little.

Meanwhile, Maria had taken several mental photos of the two before Zach punched Kidd's arm and said good-bye, waving his two-finger wave at the kid before Kidd disappeared into the dark alley. Zach turned to walk back to his house, wanting but sort of not-wanting to see Maria.

Luckily, and yet unfortunately, Maria was not home when he arrived. But she definitely came home after him and confronted him about Kidd being with him. She accused Zach of having probably been a pedophile and slept with the 'Kidd' the entire time he had been 'helping' him, and she expressed how disgusted she was at his carefree attitude around Kidd.

Zach rubbed his face throughout the completely pointless argument and tried terribly hard not to just explode with hatred for her logic, and he managed to hold it together. However, the next morning, Zach woke up alone.

Their wedding was the next day.

Maria hadn't arrived home that night, and Zach figured that she was at Georgia or Clare's house with pre-marriage jitters. Which.. she wasn't.

Zach had tried calling Maria, to which she didn't answer; he figured it was because they both really preferred talking face-to-face then just hearing voices through a metal rectangle.

Zach got ready for the wedding, and said his thanks to Maria's parents for allowing him to have such a wonderful wife, and then for allowing him to be taking over Maria's father's business in a short while.

Maria's parents said their 'your welcomes', and then thanked Zach for being such a sensible and mature man, and were so ecstatic to have him in their family. Zach teared up right then and there, and then asked if Maria had talked to them that day.

Maria's parents both hadn't seen her in a few days..

Maria didn't come to their wedding.

~ + bear with me here, people XD show me some love? :D + ~