Kindred Spirits

by Musal

AU: Creed Diskenth, a lonely teen who never had anyone's love. Train Heartnet, a teen who always loses those he loves. What happens when like souls meet by chance? CreedxTrain

25. The Story That Matters

Funny story, this was supposed to be the last chapter, but it turned out twice as long as any of my other chapters and I didn't finish. So there will be at least one more chapter, and I want to write an epilogue as well.

I've had a few people ask about A Different Fate and yes, I do plan on going back to that as well. Writing has been extremely therapeutic for me, so I want to keep it up.

Also, the stories that are told in this chapter about different Stockholm cases are true. I just changed the names of the victims and slight liberties with their stories.

CW: Yaoi in this chapter

Disclaimer: I do not own Black Cat or any of its character

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Train was sitting on a bench outside the courtroom messing with his tie and just in general feeling uncomfortable. And it wasn't just because he was waiting to re-enter the courtroom.

Why can't I seem to escape formal wear? It haunts me...

As much as he hated wearing the suit, he hated waiting even more. However, the worst part was just as he was about to enter the courtroom, he felt himself beginning to panic when he saw Edo. It didn't help that the man smiled and winked at him when he walked in the room, which is what set him off. It was like the officer knew exactly what to do to trigger Train and unfortunately, triggering Train is what would delay the trial.

The golden man sighed and put his head in his hands. When he did that, he felt a hand rub his back lovingly and another massage his knee gently. Train looked over at Creed and smiled. His partner returned his smile and pulled the cat against his shoulder so Train could rest his head there. He did so willingly and moved a little close to the man.

Nestling his head into the space between Creed's neck and shoulder, he sighed. He felt a little more relaxed now and shut his eyes. "Thank you, Silver Dollar."

Creed kissed him on the head and squeezed his beloved tighter. "Anything for you, Love."

Sephiria's voice interrupted their tender moment as she spoke to the therapist who accompanied the trio in their journey to the courtroom.

"Will he be able to stand trial?" She tried to keep her voice low, but Train and Creed could hear her loud and clear.

Micah shrugged his shoulders. "I told you it was going to be dicey. He was only just released from the hospital today. He hasn't even had a chance to settle back in at home with his husband before he had to go to trial. He's had no time to relax."

She could tell he was a little frustrated at the rushed trial, and she sighed, sympathizing with that feeling. "I understand, but this was the best I could get. We've pushed it back too many times. I just need to know if we should start without him."

The therapist looked at Train from the corner of his eyes. "I can't give a definite answer. Only Train can say if he's ready or not."

Creed frowned, not liking how their conversation was going. "We can't force him in there if he doesn't want to. I won't put him through that."

Sephiria and Micah turned to Creed as he spoke. The lawyer looked tired, but serious as always, Micah sporting a sincere smile that was comforting as always.

"I agree, Mr. Diskence. We won't put Train through something he can't handle." Micah nodded at the silver man, hoping that would reassure him.

Sephiria rubbed her eyes, but begrudgingly agreed with the therapist. "If he falls apart of the stand, it might hurt our case. Train's also been through enough. I'd hate to traumatize him more."

Train growled against Creed's neck and rubbed his head a little. It was definitely better, which is why he was released and given a list of how to take care of his dwindling concussion at home, but headaches were still a problem. Even his short term memory got a bit better, but he still found himself concentrating extra hard on conversations so he didn't forget anything.

"Could you please stop talking about me like I'm not here?"

Train's voice brought their attention to him and Creed gave him another kiss. "I'm sorry, Love."

"Don't apologize, just give me a minute. Micah gave me some great coping tools to work with, I just wasn't expecting Edo to be ready for me…" Train kept his eyes shut and buried himself into Creed, trying to use the presence of his partner to comfort him.

They all knew what Train meant. Not only did the officer smile and wink at him, but he was standing so close to the doors when they came in, it was as if he was waiting for him. However, he had made it seem so casual and unintended it was nearly impossible to argue he was trying to set Train off. The defense was already arguing Edo simply wanted to see the golden man and obviously he was supposed to be in the courtroom. There wasn't a way to avoid him.

At that moment, Sven and Eve approached with a bottle of water for Train. The cat took it eagerly and drank the whole thing immediately. The panic attack had left him feeling dehydrated which didn't help his head, so he was grateful for the liquid. He thanked his two friends as Eve took the empty bottle from him and handed him another just in case he needed it. Train put it aside, choosing to save it for later.

"Sephiria, I'll be fine. I just need time to process what just happened. I can do this." He tried to give her a confident look, but he had a feeling it didn't look as strong as he thought.

The tall blonde smiled, but Train could see she wasn't convinced. "I know you can do it. I'll go explain to the judge we need a few more minutes to get ready. She's not going to like it, but I'll see what I can do."

As she stepped away, Sven and Eve sat next to Creed on the bench, but on the edge so they could lean over their silver friend to see Train. The cat was still trying to calm himself down against his partner and wasn't looking at anyone. He had cuddled into Creed pretty securely and the silver man was holding him as close as he could while caressing him wherever he could. Creed planted a kiss on him as often as possible, doing whatever he could to calm his love down.

While Creed's loving gestures towards Train were working to an extent, Micah decided to step in to help as well. He knelt down in front of the cat and placed a caring hand on the knee Creed was not touching.

"Train, remember what we talked about? Don't address him. He's trying to start a war with you and by giving him attention you are allowing him to win."

Train opened his eyes to look at the man, but did not remove his head from Creed's shoulder. "I know, that's one of the reasons I'm so mad at myself. I let him win just now."

Micah smiled again. "He may have won this battle, but you can win the war. Don't give up. You're stronger than this."

The cat smiled at his therapist. He liked how blunt and straight forward the man was. The reason Micah was able to be so effective in such a short amount of time was learning what worked on Train. The golden man didn't like beating around the bush and required tough love. Because he was so stubborn, being kind and passive would not work.

Train took a big breath of air and nodded. "Thanks, Micah." However, he still didn't feel ready to leave the warmth of his partner just yet. In fact he tried to move closer, which was impossible since he was almost on the other man's lap.

"Heartnet? Is that you?"

Train's ears perked at the voice, recognizing it from his past. He looked up and saw Baldor standing there with a nervous smile on his face. The cat blinked up at his old enemy, unsure of what to do with the situation. Train looked at Creed to see his reaction, hoping that would give him somewhat of an idea of how he should be reacting.

Creed felt his love's eyes on him and smiled. "Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Baldor is going to be a witness on our behalf."

Train felt even more confused by his husband's state and blinked at him dumbly. He then turned back to Baldor and gawked at the man. "Thank you, I guess?"

The tall man could hear the hesitancy in his voice, so he tried to alleviate it. "Hear- I mean, Train. I'm actually glad to catch you before the trial started. I was worried I was running late and I wouldn't get to talk to you until after." He took a deep breath before he finished. "I wanted to apologize for how I treated you in high school. I'm hoping my testimony will make up for at least some of the pain I caused you both."

Train was still bewildered and not sure what to say. He stared at the man for a few more minutes, then acknowledged the man's statement. "Is this a prank? Where're the cameras?"

Creed couldn't help but laugh at his love, happy to see a bit of his goofiness returning. That meant he was doing better. "He apologized to me as well. The defense actually tried to call him to testify against us, but he flipped the script and talked to Sephiria and now he's working with us."

Train looked at Creed as he spoke, then turned back to Baldor. The man's demeanor did seem different from high school. He didn't seem as angry or unstable anymore. There was a certain calm, humbleness to him that Train respected. He didn't know what happened to the moose over the years, but life must have thrown something at him that forced him to make a change.

The golden man smiled and stood, offering his hand to Baldor. "Well, I've always been one for second chances. Glad to see you're doing well and trying to make amends."

Baldor smiled and shook his hand. Feeling the firmness of Train's grip he now realized how much stronger the cat had gotten. His own physical fitness had suffered over the years of his terrible choices and he noticed the golden man was probably stronger than him now. Train had lean muscles instead of bulky ones, but he could tell his ex-enemy had been taking care of his physical fitness.

He laughed at the thought, and decided to voice it. "I have to say, I'm glad we're on the same side now. I don't think I could take you in a fight anymore."

Train laughed as well and gripped his hand a little harder before he let go. "That's what happens when you train all the time."

"Yeah, I should get back on that…" He flexed his arm a little and frowned. "But for now, I think we should get this show on the road."

Baldor patted Train's shoulder amicably and nodded at Creed as he walked into the courtroom. Just as he was entering the room, Sephiria was exiting. She addressed Train who was now standing, seeming to be much better than he was before.

"You ready?" She asked with a tinge of anxiety in her voice.

Train stared at the door Baldor had walked through and smiled happily. For whatever reason, having a friendly conversation with his old bully put everything into perspective. The man had clearly been put through the ringer after high school and it made Train realize how lucky he had been.

He looked down at Creed, who was smiling at him cutely. His innocent blue eyes were filled with so much adoration and he exuded such love the cat couldn't help but smile back. The golden man's heart filled with warmth and he ran a hand through his husband's hair and against his cheek, enjoying the feel of Creed's smile against his fingers as the silver man leaned his face into his hand.

He then took Creed's hand and pulled him up, pulling the man against his chest as he kissed him deftly. Creed returned the kiss as he curled his hands against his love's chest and sighed happily against Train's lip. When the golden man pulled away, he smiled at his partner affectionately and rubbed his thumb against his cheek as he allowed a moment to pass as they stared into each other's eyes.

"Life has been good to me... This won't keep me down." Train meant to think those words, but didn't regret saying them out loud after he saw the blissful look they put on Creed's face.

Train grabbed his husband's hand and turned to his friends and therapist that he had forgotten were still surrounding him. He smiled at them, then nodded at Sephiria. "I'm ready. Let's do this."

He pulled Creed towards the door with him and burst through confidently. He tangled his fingers around his silver partner's who squeezed his hand and picked up his pace a little so he was walking next to Train. The cat was trying to make it a big deal that he walked into the room holding Creed's hand of his own free will.

Edo looked at him again, but Train was able to ignore it much easier now. With the feel of Creed against his hand and the reminder of how lucky he was, the cat felt like he could take on the world. He actually made eye contact with Edo and kissed Creed's hand, making sure the officer saw it. Train smiled when he saw the man scrunch his forehead and turned abruptly, avoiding the two entirely.

Train led Creed to their spots next to Sephiria, pulling out his partner's chair as he sat him down noticeably, even kissing the silver man's hand one more time. Creed was blushing wildly at the motions. He knew Train was acting over the top on purpose to make it obvious what their relationship was, but he still enjoyed the extra attention he received from his cat.

When the golden man sat next to him, Creed smiled brightly. Train moved his chair closer to his husband and held his hand again. Creed grasped his strong fingers firmly and put his other hand on Train's knee. The cat smiled and kissed him on the cheek lightly and smiled in return.

While they began staring in each other's eyes again, fingers were shoved between their faces and snapped loudly. They both blinked and looked at the owner of the fingers. Sven looked annoyed, but there was a hint of a smile behind his stern look.

"Put the goggling eyes away for the trial. Time to concentrate."

Eve was smiling next to her husband and then next to her were Jenos and Rinslet. They were not going to be called at witnesses, but after hearing everything that happened, they wanted to come and support their friends. Jenos was laughing quietly at the pair and Rinslet pinched his arm to get him to stop.

Creed blushed again and Train nodded then turned his attention back to the judge. He knew that was enough and they needed to get to business. However, he did not let go of his partner's hand and which Creed was happy about. Even when the judge entered the room and they rose, they did not part. Throughout both lawyer's introductions they held onto each other, craving the strength of one another to get them through this.

Sephiria was up first to call witnesses. The first two she called were Sven and Eve to tell the story of Train signing the marriage certificate. Saya was there for that event as well, but Sephiria didn't think it was necessary to call her back. She was extremely far away and the Vollfied couple had proven to be strong witnesses the first time around, she didn't think she needed a third person to recant the same story.

Her questions and their testimonies were pretty straight forward. She didn't examine them for long, knowing they had pretty said all they needed to say the first time around. They were really just there to verify Train's willingness to marry Creed.

When Mako began his cross examination, it was clear the Vollfied's were not going to change their story. He tried getting them to admit Creed had applied some pressure to their feline friend, but they restated over and over again that Train was the one to ask for the document. They went so far as to say it appeared that the silver man had forgotten about it completely until Train had said something.

"So, you're telling me Mr. Diskence didn't even have the document ready for him to sign? That sounds unlikely to me." Mako looked at the jury when he said this, trying to gage their reaction to the story.

Eve shook her head. "No. It was ready. Creed had signed it way back when we first found out Train was in a coma. He just didn't offer it to Train the second he woke up."

"And why do you think that is? Probably because he knew he would need time to weasel his way back into Mr. Heartnet's traumatized mind." He answered his own question before Eve had the chance to.

Train clenched his fist at the lawyer. He couldn't believe this trial was still even happening since he was obviously willing to sit next to and embrace the very man they were trying to convince the jury he didn't want anything to do with. Yes, they were up against two well respected and well seasoned police officers, but he was a cop too. Why didn't his word matter?

Because my time on the force has been short compared to theirs and several people in the precinct already testified that I have done a terrible job unless I was paired with Edo.

That idea is what they also tried to use to prove his fictional relation with Edo was more healthy than his real one with Creed. They were saying without Edo, Train was useless at his job and a terribly ineffective cop.

Still, this is total bullshit! How can they believe I'm this abused and controlled by Creed? How can they see me sitting here, holding his hand, and still think it might not be of my own free will?

Thinking these thoughts made him stressed and being stressed was still something that triggered headaches. He flinched a little at the pain, doing his best to hide it, but couldn't help the quiet groan that left his lips. Train leaned his mouth against his hand, hoping that muted the sound he made.

Creed felt his cat's hand stiffen against him and rubbed his knee delicately. Train felt his partner's touch and looked at him. The silver man smiled gently and mouthed his love to the cat which calmed Train down. He kissed Creed's hand and took a deep breath. Now was not the time to lose himself. The golden man turned back to their Little Princess on the stand and kept his thoughts focused.

Eve rolled her eyes at the lawyer, not caring if the jury saw how sick she was of his voice. "No, it's because he was so happy that Train woke up. When we came in, Train was awake and telling Creed he loved him. After that, Creed was so happy that he seemed to barely notice we were even in the room. After we all hugged Train, he asked for the certificate and Creed gave it to him. Then they kissed and we were all happy together. The end."

The jury laughed a little at her sarcastic comment that wrapped up her story. Mako narrowed his eyes at the girl, but made sure no one else saw it. "So, he was already awake when you walked in the room?"

"Yes." She answered firmly, but knew where he was going to take this line of reasoning.

"That means you don't know how long he was awake for and Mr. Diskence had time alone with him to threaten him."

The golden haired girl sighed. "When we left, Train was still asleep. We were gone for about ten minutes. Honestly, probably less than that. We ordered food ahead of time and simply had to go downstairs to pick it up."

"But you all went, correct? Leaving Mr. Diskence along with Mr. Heartnet?"

"Yes, but again for at the most ten minutes. We wanted to give Creed time to spend with Train and get his thoughts together. It was a hard day and we knew that even though Train wasn't awake, being with him would help Creed."

Mako smirked. "I think ten minutes is plenty of time for Mr. Diskence to get back in his head. Especially if Mr. Heartnet was still just coming out of the coma. He was probably extra susceptible then."

"As a medical student, I have to say that's a rather unbelievably uninformed and uneducated statement. When someone comes out of a coma, they're usually foggy and confused. Sometimes they don't even know where they are. In ten minutes, the most Train would have been able to do was ask where he was and how he got there."

Mako eyed her annoyingly, seeming to forget he was talking to a medical student. "Yet the doctor said he recovered far quicker mentally and physically than most patients in his condition."

The girl shrugged her shoulders. "I'd believe it when it comes to Train. He has nine lives, afterall."

Train smiled cheekily at his friend, who gave him a restrained smile back.

"So it is possible that Mr. Heartnet was fully conscious when he woke up and Mr. Diskence was able to get to work right away on warping his mind?"

The girl rolled her eyes again. "It's also possible Train woke up and was trying to get out his 'I love you' to Creed as quick as he could.

Mako brushed her words aside. "Either way, are we expected to take the word of a medical student over a professional?" He spoke to the jury when he said with, extending his hand outwords and rolling his eyes as he spoke.

Eve shook her head. "You don't have to. I'm sure the doctors will verify what I said when they're called to the stand. Also, I'd like to point out that I graduated from high school two years ahead of schedule and was accepted into the top medical school of the country at the age of seventeen. I'm also top of my class and graduating early once again."

He gave her another annoyed glance and faced her once more. The smile she gave him only irritated him more as he walked away from her. "No further questions…"

The blonde beauty left the stand and smiled at Creed and Train. The cat gave her a thumbs up which she nodded at and took her seat next to her husband. Sven gave her a kiss on the head and wrapped his arm around her shoulder while Jenos and Rinslet congratulated her quietly. Eve was very obviously proud of herself. This was the second time she got under the defense's skin and she was definitely having fun with it.

Sephiria smirked to herself, happy the young girl genius was able to come back for another round against Mako. "That was a great segway to my next witness, thank you Mrs. Vollfied."

Eve smiled at the woman when she turned to speak to her. As the blonde girl had predicted, next to the stand was Train's doctor. Again, his testimony with Sephiria was pretty straight forward. She asked about his physical and mental condition, which he stated were all doing better than most people in similar conditions. Other than his memory problems he was medically fit to stand trial. Added to that, he agreed with everything Eve had said about the after affects of a coma. He made sure to point out successfully manipulating someone as soon as they woke up from a coma made no sense.

However, he did make sure to mention how bad off Train was when he was brought in. As hard as it was for Train to hear, it was important to let the jury know he almost died as a result of the officers' carelessness. The golden man felt his blood pressure rising at the memory, but Creed squeezed his hand and rubbed his knee again which brought him back to reality. It was really comforting having his husband to keep him grounded.

Sephiria stepped away from the witness to make room for Mako. The defense attorney was looking through his notes, then stood with a pad of paper and approached the doctor.

"I'm glad to hear Mr. Heartnet is doing so well after such a traumatic event, but I'd like to zone in on his memory problems. Could you please elaborate?"

The doctor nodded. "Long term memory is fully intact. He's able to recall memories from his past the same as anyone else."

Mako nodded. "Right, right. I'm talking about his short term. You said that was weak?"

"Yes. But as I stated with Ms. Arks, it's getting better every day."

"And he remembers what happened that night of the shooting?" Mako cocked an eyebrow at the man as he asked his question.

Another nod. "Yes. It causes him pain to remember it, probably because of the traumatic nature of it, but he does seem to remember that night pretty clearly."

"Is that odd for a patient to remember every detail of the night of their accident?"

The doctor blinked. "I mean… That's a hard question to answer. Every patient is different."

"Then let me rephrase." Mako put his notepad down so he could fully take in the man behind the stand. "How often have you run into patients that remember the night of their accident as well as Mr. Heartnet has?"

"Umm… It's not really common I guess, but it is possible." He made sure to add that statement at the end so the jury knew it wasn't an unheard of scenario.

"I see… And Mr. Diskence has been with him the whole time at the hospital, correct?"

The doctor shook his head. "No. There was one night Mr. Diskence went home. That was the night Mr. Heartnet had the seizure."

"When did the seizure happen?"

"We thought it was when he was sleeping at first, but when we talked to him about it, Mr. Heartnet described that he woke up and pushed the button to call for help because he felt himself starting to panic and he didn't know what else to do. It took him a bit to remember doing that, but he confirmed that on his own."

Mako nodded. "And what is your medical opinion on what caused the seizure?"

"Extreme stress. After his encounter with Officer Edo and reliving his traumatic events with the therapist, Mr. Hearnet described having a terrible nightmare which triggered the seizure." He sounded confident as he told the story, sure that was the reason for it. It may have taken a bit for Train to remember the nightmare, but by the next morning, he was able to confirm that it was true.

"Did Mr. Hearnet tell you about the nightmare, or did Mr. Diskence?" Mako folded his arms as he spoke.

"Mr. Heartnet did…" It was the truth, he just didn't add in Creed had offered the idea first.

"Again, let me rephrase. Did you hear Mr. Diskence tell this story at all before Mr. Heartnet did?"

The doctor sighed and looked apologetically at Creed and Train as he answered. "Yes… Mr. Diskence brought it up first…"

"That seems a bit convenient, don't you think?"

The doctor shook his head. "You haven't been there with them. You haven't seen them together. The second Mr. Heartnet saw Mr. Diskence, he was still coming out of the seizure yet he immediately reached for Mr. Diskence. When someone comes out of a seizure, they are usually so disoriented they don't even know where they are. Mr. Heartnet was exactly like that, until he saw his husband. And when Mr. Diskence embraced him, Mr. Heartnet was able to focus even more. I've never seen someone regain their senses so quickly after having a seizure."

"How do you know that wasn't fear instead of love?"

The doctor eyed him curiously. "Because I don't think you'd reach for someone you feared…"

"Are you a mental health expert?"

The man behind the stand blinked. "No..."

Mako smiled. "Then I think we should leave mental issues to the experts." The lawyer stepped towards the jury and continued his questioning. "Did Mr. Heartnet describe the dream to you?"

The doctor raised an eyebrow. "No. There was no reason to make him tell it again and risk triggering another seizure."

Mako put his hands up. "Fair enough. Let's get back to his memory, you say it's getting better?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. As I said several times already, his long term was always fine, but his short term is better. He's getting better at recalling events from earlier in the day than he was before."

"But it's still not totally intact, correct?"

The doctor sighed. "Yes… That's correct."

"So, it's possibly he still isn't telling the whole truth because he might not know what the truth was?"

The doctor looked at him in frustration. "I can't say for sure because I'm not him."

Mako pointed at him and smiled. "That's right. You're not him. None of us are. The only people who can say for sure what happened that night were the ones who were there: Officer Edo, Officer Clark… and Mr. Diskence."

He turned and pointed at Creed, which made Train growl quietly as the silver man rubbed his leg to sooth him. For once, Train was the one losing his cool and Creed was keeping it together.

"Sure, Mr. Heartnet was there, but as his own doctor said, none of us can ever say for sure if he's even capable of telling the truth with his memory problems. Worse yet, he has been alone with Mr. Diskence almost this entire time, so we have no idea what that man has been saying to Mr. Heartnet. He was in a very fragile state this whole time, and may even think some of what he's saying is true because, just like his supposed nightmare, Mr. Diskence is telling him what the truth is. He is taking advantage of a mentally impaired man and filling his head with false memories."

"Objection, your honor, these are beginning to sound very much like closing statements to me. Does Mr. Mako have any more questions for my witness?" Sephiria stood and gave the judge a tired look.

The judge nodded in agreement. "Well, Mr. Mako? Any more questions before we dismiss the witness?"

The lawyer shook his head. "No. No further questions, your honor."

After Train's doctor left the stand he was replaced by several nurses who confirmed Train's condition the night of the shooting, his journey to healing, and his quick recovery. However, Sephiria chose to focus on the interactions they saw between Train and Creed. They were unbiased people in the couple's lives, so the defense couldn't use the closeness of their relationship to her clients as an excuse for them to make up stories.

Every nurse said the same thing. All they saw was a very happy couple who were extremely loving and affectionate to one another. They said how several times when they passed by or stopped in, Train was the one inviting Creed to lay with him or telling the silver man he loved him. One nurse even let slip she caught them being intimate together one time and blushed heavily as she covered her mouth quickly.

Sephiria turned and cocked an eyebrow at her two clients. Creed was blushing brightly and smiling nervously as Train used the hand that was not holding his partner's to cover his face. They forgot the door was open when that happened.

The tall blonde smirked and took advantage of this new information. This was actually a good thing. Judging by the nurse's reaction, she didn't mean to say it which meant it was true.

"If you don't mind my asking, did you see who started the act?" She knew her clients were embarrassed beyond belief, but she didn't care. It was actually a bit amusing to her.

The blushing nurse shook her head. "I only saw it for a second. I was coming to check on Mr. Heartnet as part of my daily routine, but when I saw them like that, I left and decided to come back later."

Sephiria laughed a little. "Could you describe what you did see?"

The girl's eyes went wide and she looked at the men in question and nearly fainted from embarrassment. She tried to apologize with her eyes, but both men were too busy trying to hide their own shame to notice.

"W-well… U-umm… They w-were… k-kissing and ummm…" She paused and stared at her twitching hands. "I-I… I s-saw Mr. H-Heartnet… ummm… Put his h-hand down Mr. D-Diskence's pants a-and…" She gestured with her own hand, but did not say it out loud. "You know…"

There were a few giggles from the jury which made Sephira smile. "I think we do. It's okay, you don't have to keep going. Would you agree that, despite the situation they're in, my clients missed each other enough and are so attracted to one another, they can't keep their hands to themselves for even a few days?"

The nurse nodded vigorously. "Yes. That was the only… sexual situation I ever caught them in, but there were several times nurses had to rip Mr. Heartnet's arms off Mr. Diskence while they were laying in bed together. We have also all caught them kissing many, many, many times. Almost every time one of us went in there, they were kissing or laying in an intimate position."

Sephira nodded. "Would you say Mr. Heartnet seemed like an unwilling participant?"

Another shaking of her head. "No, not at all. If anything, I would say Mr. Heartnet initiated a lot of it."

Sephiria looked at Train with a knowing smile and the golden man shrugged his shoulders and smirked at her between his fingers. She could tell Train was confirming that to be true and while he was embarrassed at their sexual life being put on trial, he wasn't ashamed to admit he had been the instigator several times.

She turned to the judge and smiled. "No further questions, your honor."

When she took her seat next to Train and Creed, she chuckled at the men who were still looking rather flustered. She patted Creed on the shoulder since he was sitting next to her and looked at Train knowingly.

"I know that was embarrassing, but believe it or not, that was actually really good for our case. She clearly didn't mean to say that, which is what made it believable."

Mako approached the red faced nurse for a few questions of his own. This confused Sephiria a little, seeing as he hadn't bothered to question any of the other medical staff. She assumed he probably didn't see the point before, but this woman seemed more talkative than the others. It was possible he thought he could get something more out of her.

"Why did none of the other staff testify to seeing any of these intimate moments with Mr. Heartnet and Mr. Diskence?"

"I thought they did?" She remembered each of them mentioning the cuddling, which she thought counted.

Mako nodded. "Yes, but none of them mentioned such detail as you. You said you were only standing there for a second? Yet you saw all that in a second?"

She didn't think it was possible, but her face turned an even brighter shade of red. ""Well… I guess it was more than a second…"

The lawyer sighed and rubbed his eyes. "How long were you standing there for?"

The nurse squirmed a little. "Um… A few minutes? I saw Mr. Heartnet… I mean-I saw him start the, umm." She cleared her throat and straightened up a little. "I saw Mr. Heartnet start the… act and I stayed for a little to make sure he didn't aggravate his condition."

"If you were worried about Mr. Heartnet's condition, why didn't you stop it before it started?" Mako questioned, now beginning to think questioning her was a bad idea.

"Because I thought that would be rude…" She flinched under the eyes of the jury. "Honestly… I felt bad for them. I can't imagine what it must be like to watch someone you love so much laying unresponsive in a bed. And I can't imagine Mr. Heartnet being able to hear how much stress Mr. Diskence was under and not being able to help…"

It was clear now to Mako she liked the two men and their relationship and realized questioning her was a mistake. He dismissed her from the stand and took his seat. Sephiria could see Edo speaking to him angrily, but could not hear what they were saying. She smirked and turned back to her client.

"They really shot them in the foot with that one. At this point, they need to worry about what the sentencing will be." The lawyer whispered it loud enough that both Train and Creed could hear her and the silver man smiled.

"You sound really confident." Despite her tone, Creed was still nervous and eyed the other table wearily.

The tall blonde nodded. "All these witnesses were just icing on the cake. The cake is Train."

Creed smiled, but heard his cat shuffle a little at that. He turned to his love and frowned at the stressed and pained look in his eyes.

"Yeah… That's not a lot of pressure." He leaned his elbow on the table and rubbed his temple. His leg started shaking again and Creed stopped it with his hand.

"Train, once they see how charming and truthful you are, it's in the bag." He moved his hand from his partner's knee to his cheek and smiled warmly. "Just be yourself and you'll be fine."

Train smiled and nodded his head. He felt the pain in his skull subside and his leg stopped shaking. The cat wasn't able to help himself and he leaned forward to kiss his husband quickly. This wasn't for show, he genuinely wanted to feel Creed's lips against his own to fully relax himself. The silver man smiled and held Train's hand and massaged his knee again as they both turned their attention back to the stand.

Sephiria had called Baldor next. This questioning went much faster than they thought it would. Baldor was ready with his answers and owned up to everything he had ever done to them. He admitted to being a bully and said that moment when Creed dumped the trash can on him, he deserved it. He even said looking back, he was surprised Creed hadn't snapped sooner. Baldor said if he had treated anyone else the way he treated them, they would have done something worse a lot soon.

"Look, it was just a trash can. I literally held the kid, by his throat, against a wall on several occasions and called him a freak." Baldor was getting annoyed with Mako's questions. He felt like Sephiria had asked him all the same stuff, but he was trying to make it sound worse than it was.

"But he did that after you drew a simple picture." Mako pushed, again trying to blow it out of proportion.

Baldor shook his head in disagreement. "No. It wasn't 'just a picture'. It was the final straw on the camel's back. I've known Creed since elementary school and the poor kid had no friends. It was very clear he had strong feelings for Train and Train and his friends were all that he had. What I did was unacceptable and uncalled for. I had it coming."

Mako furrowed his brow at the man. "Mr. Fanghini, could you explain to us why you decided to be a witness for the prosecution?"

Baldor glared at him a little. He knew what Mako wanted him to say, but he chose not to. "Because I wanted to make up all the abuse I put them through. I wanted to apologize."

"Why?" Mako asked quickly as he looked at him. Baldor didn't answer that question, so Mako pushed harder. "Is it true that you are part of Alcoholics Anonymous?"

The large man growled quietly. "Yes…"

"And don't they require you to apologize to anyone you had done wrong in the past?"

"Yes…" He decided not to look at the lawyer anymore.

Mako smirked. "When did your problem begin?"

Baldor sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Senior year of high school…"

Both Train and Creed gaped at that statement. They had no idea he had a problem in high school. That changed how they viewed him and explained a lot of his erractive behaviors.

"So, it's safe to say you are only doing this to apologize because you have to as part of your program?" Mako paced in front of him as he spoke.

"No. They want you to say sorry. Not stand as a character witness for past victims."

Mako nodded. "Yes, but that's how you want to apologize, correct?" He smiled again when Baldor nodded and walked away. "No further questions…"

Sephiria sighed and called Micah to the stand. When Micah was sworn in he sat down and smiled at Sephiria. The first thing they ran through were his credentials. They needed to establish he was a credible doctor and a credible witness if his testimony was going to mean anything. Once that was done and Sephiria was satisfied they had proven his worth, she began her questioning.

"Mr. Torres, how would you describe Mr. Heartnet's relationship with Mr. Diskence?" Sephiria paced in front of him.

"Very loving. I haven't seen a relationship so strong in many, many years." He smiled at the men sitting behind the bench. He had gotten a chance to know Creed a little bit in the last few days as well, and in those few days, he could see how much he loved and cared about Train.

Sephiria nodded. "I know you don't know Officer Edo, but how would you describe Mr. Heartnet's relationship with him?"

"Romantic relationship? Non-existence. Officer Edo is a predator to Train. He never showed any signs of any positive feeling or interests in Officer Edo." He spoke firmly and surely. While he may not have known the golden man for long, he could easily tell Train did not want anything to do with him.

"As for any other kind of relationship such as co-workers, which is all they ever were, it was extremely toxic. Train mentioned multiple times how Officer Edo called him several different highly offensive words. The same goes for Officer Clark. On top of all that, there was the attack at the station."

Sephiria nodded and stopped pacing so she could gesture for him to continue. Mako gave Train a caring look, then continued.

"That day at the station haunts Train. He saw it as an extremely violent and unwanted attack. It was a traumatizing moment that we are working on healing together." He smiled at Train one more time and Train did his best to return the gesture, but it was hard as the memories started to resurface.

Creed felt his cat squeeze his hand as a signal that he was getting stressed so the silver man wrapped his arm around Train's and leaned into him a little. This appeared to help since he could feel his love sigh and lean into him a little as well.

"So, that's how you would describe the encounter? An attack?" Sephiria wanted him to say those words exactly.

"Yes. Absolutely. Officer Edo attacked Train. It was not the beginning of a relationship. Train did not even know the man had any interest in him, sexual or romantic, before that moment. In fact, he believed the opposite to be true. After all his comments against same sex relationships, Train was positive Officer Edo was homophobic."

The lawyer nodded at him, then paced the room again. "Can you please describe what you believe Mr. Heartnet's mental state is?"

"While he still has short term memory issues, that is getting better each day. He also tends to remember things that are important to him, but small details are harder."

Sephiria raised an eyebrow. "Could you please elaborate?"

Micah nodded. "If you ask him what he had for breakfast, he probably won't remember. However, if you asked him what Mr. Diskence said to him when they woke up this morning, Train would be able to recite every word."

Creed smiled when he said this, knowing that it meant Train saw everything he said as important. Sephiria confirmed that with the therapist which was nice to hear, but wasn't necessary for the silver man. He looked at his cat out of the corner of his eye and noticed that he was smiling at Micah's statement as well. It was good seeing a professional not only understand how much they meant to each other, but also testify it to be true under oath.

Once Sephiria was done questioning him about Train and Creed's relationship, she moved on to the cat's next set of psychological issues. "What was your diagnosis of Mr. Heartnet?"

"Due to the two back to back near death experiences, Train has PTSD." He was very blunt with his statement.

"Two near death experiences?" Sephiria asked this question because she wanted him to explain what they both were.

Micah nodded. "Yes. The night of the shooting and the attack at the police station."

"Why would you say the attack at the police station was a near death experience?" Sephiria was no longer pacing. She stood in front of the therapist and waited for his response.

"While Train may not have actually died on sight like he did when he was shot, he felt like he wasn't going to make it out alive. Officer Edo had suffocated him with his hand and with a gag. Train was also hit several times to the point of bleeding and was left with several bruises in very sensitive areas."

He looked at Train to see how his patient was doing and noticed he was leaning into Creed, but was overall okay. Micah was glad he had the support of his husband. Their first session did not go very well considering it triggered a nightmare, but when he knew Creed was near, he did much better since he was able to seek comfort in his partner once their conversation was over.

Sephiria looked at Train quickly to check on him as well before continuing her questioning. "Could you describe how your first session with Mr. Hearntnet went?"

"I came in while the Goto family was visiting him. He seemed to be doing okay with them there, but I could tell he was upset about something. It turned out that Mr. Diskence was home and he missed him." He smiled at the memory, seeing that it was actually kind of sweet.

The lawyer smiled as well. "How long had Mr. Diskence been gone at that point?"

Micah thought about it, then responded. "Train said it had been about three or four hours."

"And he missed Mr. Diskence after just that short amount of time?"

The therapist nodded. "Yes."

"Did you find that odd? Like, maybe he was too attached or too dependent on Mr. Diskence?" Sephiria wanted to get a jump on this question before the defense could twist the situation.

"Not at all. Train had been in a coma for three and half weeks and was able to hear everything around him. He described how hard it was hearing his partner's voice, but not being able to talk to him. His want to be near Mr. Diskence came from being apart from him for so long and also wanting to be there to comfort his husband. He knew how much pressure Mr. Diskence was facing and it hurt him not being able to help. Train also very much wanted the man's comfort in return since he had just been through a very traumatic experience."

"So, Mr. Heartnet wanted to be the comfort for Mr. Diskence as well as receive comfort from him?

"Yes. He described his time in the coma as being buried alive in a coffin." He frowned at Train, but noticed he was still doing okay with the support Creed. "He said his coma dreams were strange, but some were good and others were not. The good ones always included Mr. Diskence."

This was a good segway for Sephiria, so she brought up the dream. "To bring us back a little bit, you mentioned his PTSD had caused a panic attack which caused a nightmare that night you first met?"

"That is my belief, yes." He crossed his legs as he spoke. "We went over a lot that night. Train was showing signs of distress, so we stopped so he could rest. Unfortunately, I think I might have pushed a little too hard and triggered a panic attack while he slept."

Sephiria stood in front of the jury as she spoke, but she was still facing Micah. "I know you're not a medical expert, but do you think it's possible that nightmare could cause a seizure?"

"Objection." Mako stood. "The doctor already addressed this issue. I don't see the relevance in bringing it up again."

"I agree, Ms. Arks. Please ask another question." The judge was taking notes, but she stopped to look at Sephiria when she spoke.

The tall blonde sighed, but moved on. "Did Mr. Heartner describe the dream to you?"

"Yes." Micah's response was quick.

"You don't have to go into great detail, but could you give us a general idea what the dream was about?"

The therapist looked at Train who smiled to let him know he was okay. "It was very similar to the situation at the police station. However, this time he was restrained by chains and Mr. Diskence was there. Except…" He glanced at Train one more time, then continued. "Mr. Diskence was… dead. Officer Clark and Officer Edo were in his nightmare as well and there was a gun involved."

Sephiria gave her clients a quick glance, then looked back at Micah. "Did he say what the men were doing?"

"Yes, but that might be better to be heard from Train." He didn't want to tell the whole story. That was up to Train.

"I understand. Thank you for sharing what you know. I have one more question, if you don't mind?"

Micah brushed her words aside. "That's why I'm here."

She stepped towards the therapist and stopped when she was in front of him. "What do you think would have happened if Mr. Diskence was there?"

Micah pondered that for a minute, but then responded with confidence. "I don't think Mr. Diskence would have been able to prevent the dream, but he might have been able to prevent the seizure."

"What do you mean?" Sephiria looked at him curiously, but she already knew what the answer was.

"As the doctor stated, the seizure happened after he woke up from the dream and panicked. I believe if he woke up and Mr. Diskence was there, his presence might have been able to calm him down and prevent the seizure from happening."

"How certain are you of that?" Again, Sephiria was trying to ask the defense's questions so they would have less to go on.

"While it is impossible to be one-hundred percent sure of something that did not happen, based on the conversations I've had with Train and seeing how much he loves his husband and how much of a support he is to Train, it would be a safe bet to make."

Sephiria nodded and smiled at the man. "Thank you very much. I have no further questions."

Micah did not move from his seat. He knew Mako was going to ask questions. He was a key witness, so he figured he may as well settle in.

"Mr. Torres, how many patients have you treated who have been in abusive relationships?" Mako wanted to get straight to the point. This trial had not been going well for him, and he wanted to try and get any kind of leg up on the persecution.

"Several. I cannot give you an exact number without my records in front of me. But Train has never shown any signs of being in an abusive relationship with Mr. Diskence." Micah made sure to keep eye contact with the man.

Mako glared at the man a little as he answered a question he did not ask. He actually wanted to avoid asking if he thought Creed was abusive since he knew the answer would only hurt his case. Seemed like the therapist knew this and wanted to ruin his plans.

"Thank you for that extra bit of information, my question is different. Could you please list the symptoms for stockholm syndrome?"

Micah sighed, realizing what he was trying to do. "Post traumatic stress, nightmares, insomnia, flashbacks, and difficulty trusting others."

"Would you say those are all symptoms Mr. Heartnet has exhibited?" Mako raised an eyebrow at the man, knowing what he was going to say before he said it.

The therapist hesitated, but answered nonetheless. "Yes. That doesn't mean Train has Stockholm syndrome. People can exhibit symptoms that can qualify them for many different disorders."

"Then how were you able to determine Mr. Heartnet only has PTSD and nothing more?" Mako paced the room.

"Because I'm a professional and I've been doing this for many, many years." Despite himself he felt a little frustrated and it came out as he spoke.

Mako nodded. "Yes, but you are human, and humans make mistakes. And as you stated, you have been doing this for many years, I'm sure you've made mistakes with patients before, right?"

Micah eyed him uneasily. "Yes. I'm not perfect."

"And no one expects you to be." He stopped and stood in front of the jury. "Remind me, how long have you known Mr. Heartnet?"

"About four days…" Micah was hesitant to answer, but he knew he had to.

"And you are sure of your diagnosis after just four days?" Mako pushed the man and smirked as he did so.

"Yes. I'm confident."

"I see…" Mako turned to face the man, but still stood in front of the jury. "Could you please explain more about what Stockholm syndrome is?"

Micah sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Stockholm syndrome is a condition in which a hostage, or hostages, develop a psychological alliance with their captors during captivity. They form emotional bonds with their captors during their time together."

"And you're saying that doesn't sound like something Mr. Heartnet could have?"

"No, not all. Train was never held against his will by Mr. Diskence. The bonds victims form with their captors are usually considered irrational in light of the danger or risk endured. Train has never been in danger with Mr. Diskence." He made sure to finish his definition of Stockholm syndrome so he could make his point that Train did not have it.

Mako walked towards him. "But you've only known Train for four days. How do you know what their relationship was like before all this? Or what his mental state was before those four days? Do you have records of Mr. Heartnet's previous mental conditions?"

Micah glared at him a little, but made sure to keep his voice calm and professional. "Based off their interactions and Train's regard for Mr. Diskence. The only records I have for Mr. Heartnet were from his childhood when his parents died. He was not diagnosed with anything at the time."

"But he was a young child and only had one session with a therapist to see if he was fit for trial, correct?"

Micah nodded his head, but decided not to fight him on this.

"That's even less time than you've had with him. Makes sense they couldn't come to any rash conclusions." Mako continued trying to make his point, ignoring the irritated man on the stand.. "Isn't part of Stockholm syndrome the victims hold their captors in high regard? Just as you stated Mr. Heartnet holds Mr. Diskence?"

Micah did not answer his question verbally, but he nodded.

Mako continued. "And don't they also fail to cooperate with police or other authorities when it comes to holding their perpetrators accountable?"

Again, no verbal response, but the therapist nodded his head.

"They also make little or no attempt to escape, is that true?"

When Train saw Micah nod his head again he wanted to stand up and yell at the lawyer. He even felt himself moving from the chair a little, but was kept put by Creed's hand. His husband looked at him sadly and shook his head.

"If you react negatively you're only going to prove his point. Stay calm, Love. You'll have your chance up there."

Creed's whispered words made sense to him and he nodded and took a deep breath. Train grabbed his partner's hand for strength and kept his eyes on him for a second longer before turning back to his therapist on the stand.

"And you're saying after only spending four days with Mr. Heartnet, you were able to decide what the nature of their relationship is and that the prosecution's client only has PTSD?"

Micah leaned back in his chair. "If Train was experiencing some kind of stress due to being held captive by Mr. Diskence, it would have shown earlier. It's really hard to believe all his friends would have never picked up on the toxic relationship."

"Well, if you heard their testimony, you would hear there were some details about their relationship and Mr. Heartnet's life that they did not know about." He paced the room again, putting his hands behind his back. "Did you know that Mr. Diskence paid for Mr. Heartnet's rent when they were in high school?"

Micah blinked. "No, I did not. But I fail to see how that is pertinent to this situation."

"Because it is the defense's belief that was when the abuse began. Mr. Diskence may have never locked him away, but he held him hostage financially." Mako looked at the therapist to see his reaction to the accusation.

"That doesn't sound like something Train would have accepted." Micah was able to gather the cat could be quite stubborn just from their short time together.

"You're right, it doesn't. However, people will accept help from strange places when they are desperate."

Micah did not respond to that statement seeing as it would not have been productive to do so.

Mako noticed he wasn't going to respond to that, so he continued. "Mr. Diskence also stalked him for several years and wormed his way into being part of his life on every level. He even went so far as to threaten anyone who tried to get close to Mr. Heartnet which isolated him from his friends. This abuse continued until Mr. Heartnet had no choice but to accept Mr. Diskence's affection or face homelessness and loneliness."

"I'm sorry, but are you a licensed therapist? Did you know them before all this?" Micah decided to use his logic against him. "That is a wild accusation to make when I'm pretty certain you've never had a conversation with either of them outside this courtroom. You also have something to gain by dismantling their relationship whereas the witnesses who have testified gain nothing by helping Train stay hostage as you so firmly believe he is."

The courtroom was quiet at that. Micah had made an excellent point and they were looking to Mako to refute it. The lawyer stared at him for a minute, then smiled.

"Or maybe Officer Edo is the first one to take a stand at the situation and I simply want to help a poor, tortured man."

Micah didn't like how he was trying to gain sympathy from the jury and hoped they were able to see right through his fake charm. However, he kept his mouth shut, knowing his point was made and it was up to the jury to make the call.

"Let's backtrack a little to Mr. Heartnet's memory. You say it has gotten better?"

"Yes." The therapist made sure his answer was short so he didn't have more to work with.

"But, again, you've only known him for four days. Has it really improved that much in four days?"

"Yes. He is remembering conversations he's had with doctors and nurses much easier now." His eyes never left the lawyer when he answered his questions.

"But he remembers everything Mr. Diskence does or says?" Mako turned his back to him and pointed at the silver man sitting at the prosecution's table.

"Yes. His memory seems to be a steel trap when it comes to his husband." He smiled, knowing it was absolutely true.

Mako nodded. "Well, I mean, couldn't that possibly be due to fear? Maybe he's so worried about what Mr. Diskence will do if he forgets something that he said or did?"

Micah rolled his eyes. "This is all just a crazy conspiracy theory."

"Does the name Jason Bow ring a bell to you? What about Jessica Anderson? Or Mary Stuart?"

Micah nodded grimly. "Yes… They are all cases of extreme Stockholm syndrome."

"Oh, great! Then you can tell their stories to the court?"

"Objection." Sephiria stood. "What does this have to do with the case?"

"You're honor, we're trying to show how extreme Stockholm syndrome can get and therefore this isn't just a conspiracy theory."

The judge nodded. "Overruled. Answer the question, Mr. Torres."

Micah took a deep breath. "Jason Bow was eleven when he was intentionally hit by a car. The driver took the boy hostage and kept him there until he was a teenager."

Mako smiled. "And what happened when he was found?"

Another deep breath. "The boy said he had gone freely shopping with his captor, had a girlfriend, and generally led a normal life. When asked why he didn't try to escape, Jason said he was threatened with violence multiple times by his abductor which created a psychological barrier."

The lawyer nodded. "Sounds like that matches to Mr. Heartnet's story. What Jessica Anderson?"

"She was taken captive from her father's house and held for ransom for twenty-nine hours. When they were captured, Jessica said she had been very well cared for and her abductors even bought her flowers and other gifts." Micah didn't want to, but knew that he had to tell the story.

"Yes, and she had extreme guilt and many breakdowns when she had to testify against them. She's actually still friends with them to this day. Does that sound like a wild conspiracy theory to you, Mr. Torres?"

He didn't answer because he knew what the lawyer was trying to accomplish and he was doing it well enough on his own. Mako didn't need the extra help.

"Last one, Mr. Torres. Mary Stuart. What was her story?"

Micah rubbed his forehead, but answered the question. "She was taken from her bedroom by a man who walked her into the woods until they reached a campsite where his wife was waiting for them. The man did a rudimentary wedding ceremony with the young girl and sexually assaulted her on a daily basis." He did not want to go into detail what that assault entaled, but he didn't think it was necessary.

Mako nodded. "And what would happen if she tried to disobey?"

Micah glared at him again. "She would be met with violence."

Another nod. "And she eventually became a model prisoner and even accompanied them to town to pick up supplies. She was even seen by a police officer during those visits, but she did not say who she was or try to get help. Is that true?"

"Yes…"

Mako paced the room again. "That story involved a marriage as well. Also similar to Mr. Heartnet's situation."

Train was about ready to explode, but kept his cool when he reminded himself of what Creed said. He leaned into his husband, hoping that feeling him against his body would help calm him down. Creed wrapped an arm around his waist and held him close.

"You'll have your chance, Love. Stay strong." Creed whispered in his ear and his voice helped soothe the angry cat.

"None of those situations included the manipulation of all of the victims' friends and family. Train has kept constant contact with his friends and they are heavily involved in their relationship and their lives. It would be impossible for Mr. Diskence to convince so many people to go along with the story."

Mako looked at him. "Mr. Diskence did not convince them. Mr. Heartnet did. You're right, it would not work if Mr. Diskence was the one telling them all this. That's why he needed to get Mr. Heartnet to properly convince his friends that he was happy."

"That's elaborate…" Micah said, refusing to give in to the man's theory.

"Yes, it is. But we've already established how obsessed Mr. Diskence is and how extreme Stockholm syndrome can get." Mako walked away when he said this and stood in front of the jury. However, he made sure to look at Creed quickly and smile.

Train had to restrain a growl and looked at his partner. Creed looked upset, but in very much control of his emotions. He didn't know how his husband did it. They were saying such awful lies about him, but the silver man barely batted an eye.

That's right, he has to remain calm. If he reacts negatively, they're going to jump on him in an instant.

The cat suddenly felt guilty. This whole time he was worried about his own mental state, but Creed must have been going through a lot as well. He had been so respectful and loving towards Train's feelings and boundaries his whole life. Creed waited years for Train to even notice him let alone love him. To have all those years of adoration and reverence brought to a simple obsession and Stockholm syndrome must have hurt beyond belief.

Not to mention how insecure he has been about our relationship being real. This must be nearly impossible for him to endure.

Train brought his husband's hands to his lips and kissed them gently. Creed looked at him suddenly and Train was able to see the silver man was holding back tears. The cat decided it was his turn to whisper words of comfort.

"It's not true, Creed. I love you. You're not forcing me to feel that." Train rubbed his knee for emphasis.

Creed let a tear fall, but smiled happily. "Thank you, Train…"

"And to top it all off, Mr. Heartnet's memory problems complicated everything. No one was there when he woke up except for Mr. Diskence and we have no idea what he said to him during those few minutes. There could be a key phrase he created that triggers Mr. Heartnet and reminds him that he is captive in this sick relationship. Something that Mr. Diskence drilled into his subconscious before this all happened."

"Again, that's very elab-" Micah was cut off as Mako finished his statement.

"No one can say for sure and will never be able to say. None of us were there. Only Mr. Heartnet knows the truth, and this is his moment to tell it since Mr. Diskence never will."

Micah wanted to say more, but he knew he would just be interrupted again. Mako looked at him and thought about questioning him on the nightmare, but he figured he'd leave that for when Train took the stand.

"No further questions, your honor."

Train glared at the defense lawyer as he took his seat next to Edo and Clark. The one good thing about hating that lawyer so much was it made the cat forget about his anxiety or stress. Again, he wanted to stand up and yell at the man that the truth will come out when he's on the stand, but he stopped himself. As Creed said, acting out in anger would only give credibility to Mako's story and hurt their case. The defense lawyer had created a scenario in which defending his partner could be used as proof to his non-existent disorder.

I also know he's going to try and twist my story as well. I just need to be as convincing as possible.

He looked at his partner who was doing his best to keep it together, but the golden man knew he was having a hard time. Train really wanted to fast forward until it was his turn to take the stand so he could openly declare his love for Creed under oath, hoping that would cement in his husband's head that everything the defense was saying wasn't true. It was upsetting his word wasn't enough for the silver man, but he understood why. After so many years of pining for Train's love and finally having it, Creed probably felt like it was all a huge prank or there was some kind of catch. It was like the law student was constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop, and Train was going to do his best to make sure he knew that was never going to happen.

Train wiped one of Creed's tears away with his thumb and smiled at the man. He wanted to get as many opportunities as he could to study his partner's face since Sephiria made it clear to him once he was on the stand he couldn't look at Creed at all. If he did, the defense would jump on it and say he was looking to his captor for answers. Because of this, the cat wanted to memorize the silver man's features so he could keep his face in mind when things got dicey while he was on the stand.

And they are indeed going to get dicey once I'm up there…

Creed smiled at him passionately and Train made sure to sketch the image in his head. He caressed his partner's cheek one last time before looking at Sephiria as she called her next witness.

Neither Train nor Ceed recognised the woman that took the stand. She was older than them both and had an air of authority about her. The cat knew the aura surrounding her was that of a police officer. However, he had never seen her before, so he wasn't sure why she was there. The couple shared a confused glance as the woman was sworn in, not sure what was going to happen.

Sephiria approached the woman. "Could you please state your name for the court?"

"Aimi Hata." The woman stood tall in her chair and looked the lawyer in the eyes.

"Could you tell us a little about yourself?" Sephiria held her hands behind her back and smiled at the woman.

"I am an ex-police officer. I used to work in the same precinct where both the defense and presecution's clients are currently employed."

Sephiria nodded. "What do you do now?"

"I'm in real estate now." She crossed her legs. While she came off as a powerful figure, there was a hint of unease hidden in her eyes.

"Are you happy in your new career?" It seemed like Sephiria was trying to create a good rapport with her and hopefully relax the ex-cop.

"Yes. It's much better than where I was." She glanced at Edo, then looked away quickly.

Sephiria looked at her curiously. "Would you mind explaining?"

She took a deep breath and nodded. "I was sexually assaulted by Officer Edo."

There were mumbles throughout the courtroom and Train felt his heart stop. It was almost as if the floor was about to give out under him, but he was unable to fall through. He was floating in a sea of anxiety as he felt his blood begin to pulse again, much faster than it was before.

Creed, feeling his cat's grip tighten on him, rubbed his thumb against the back of Train's hand. He kept doing it until his beloved calmed down, but made sure he was still focused on the woman behind the stand.

"Objection, your honor. What does this have to do with the case at hand?" Mako stood and pointed to the woman who refused to look in his direction.

"I thought that was clear after what Ms. Hata just said. Officer Edo has had more accusations made against him than just my client. She and others are here to establish a partner of abuse the officer has exhibited." Sephiria looked at the judge when she spoke.

The judge eyed her wearily, but nodded. "Overruled. Proceed, Ms. Arks."

The tall blonde smiled and eyed Mako for a quick second before turning back to the woman behind the stand. Sephiria asked her to tell her story, and while it was difficult, she was able to get through it. The situation was similar to Train's, but not nearly as violent. After the attack happened, she explained how she tried to press charges, but nothing ever came of it. She had no witnesses and, unlike with Train, there was no video evidence either. Because Edo was such a respected officer and she was the first to ever file a complaint about him, her case never even saw the inside of a courtroom.

"And how long ago did this happen?" Sephiria's voice was calm and kind as she leaned on the stand to hand the woman a tissue.

She denied the tissue, refusing to shed a tear in front of her attacker. "This was about ten years ago. I had just joined the force and Officer Edo had already created a name for himself. No one believed me."

Sephiria nodded. "Thank you for telling your story. No further questions."

Mako jumped up quickly and began asking her questions that would hopefully make her seem unreliable or insincere. However, as hard as he tried, there was nothing in her story he could poke holes in. She had already established she did file a complaint and even tried to get it to court and he couldn't find a way that it was her fault Edo was never charged.

As the lawyer examined her, Train felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, expecting to see Sven or Eve, but noticed it was a man he did not recognize. This man was also older than him, but not as much older as the woman behind the stand was. Train put him in his late twenties, while the woman currently being examined was probably nearing forty.

He smiled at Train's confused look. "In case I don't get a chance, I just wanted to say thank you for speaking up."

Train simply stared at him, unsure of what to say. Seeing the cat wasn't going to respond, the man continued. "Ms. Arks contacted all of us to testify against Edo. We've all been victims of his violence…"

It started to occur to Train what he was talking about. The golden man knew Edo had sexual assault allegation made against him in the past that never went anywhere, but he never thought he would ever meet any of those people. Train smiled and patted the man's hand.

"Of course. We can't let him get away with this." He spoke quietly, but made sure he was heard.

Creed's ears perked at the conversation and simply glanced at the man behind them. He wanted to know what was going on with Aimi and with his love, so he did his best to listen to both.

"No, I don't think you understand how much it means to me…" He paused and looked over at another woman who had been glancing at them as well. "You're the only other man that he attacked… I thought I was alone. You're giving me the strength to speak up again." He squeezed Train's shoulder and held back a sob. "From the bottom of my heart… Thank you."

Train smiled when he said this and looked at the woman who was glancing at them. She gave the cat a kind, but frightened smile and Train realized she was another victim. He looked between the two of them and felt a certain kind of joy overcome his heart. This feeling gave him more strength and determination. Now he knew he could face the man head on. Any doubts, anxiety, or insecurity he had before were gone.

This isn't just about me and Creed anymore. This is for anyone else who was victim to that bastard's sick desires.

The golden man turned around when his new friend leaned back in his chair. Train smirked when he saw Mako dismissing her from the stand in frustration. Sephiria was already up and calling the next witness who was the woman Train had seen looking at him. After she was sworn in, her eyes scanned Train briefly and nodded. Although the gesture was quick, Train knew what it meant. Now that he knew how he was connected to these people, he felt safer. As if he had someone else to share his pain in.

Yes, he knew he had Creed as well. His husband had experienced the same traumatic encounter, but now they weren't alone. They now both had other people who had been through it as well. Train wasn't sure why, but that thought was comforting and when Creed clenched his fingers assuredly, he knew his partner felt the same way.

This woman's name was Emma, and she was just a little bit older than him. Probably only by a few years. However, she had no affiliation with the police department. In fact, her attack had happened in the city when Edo had attempted to arrest her.

Again, while the officer's actions were violent, more violent than they were on Aimi, the assault did not reach the level of Train's. The biggest difference seemed to be Edo's determination to get what he wanted from Train, and his brutality had not reached its peak when he went after the women. Emma's attack happened after Aimi's, and it seemed to point to a pattern of the man's behavior growing more violent.

Once more, Mako tried to tear this witness's testimony apart. It was a little easier this time since it had happened when she was being arrested. Emma made sure to point out he stopped her while she was simply walking home from work late at night.

Mako pushed her to say what she was stopped for, but she insisted she didn't remember. What she remembered was it not being a big deal and it even sounded like she had repressed a bit of the memory of that night. This did not bode well for the poor woman, but her story about the actual attack was so specific, it was hard to believe she made that up. At the end, she wasn't taken into the station. Edo left after she punched him in the face and ran off. He made no attempts to follow her and she did not press charges.

"Why didn't you press charges?" Mako asked accusingly.

"Because I was scared and he's a cop. I was only twenty at the time and had two kids at home. I just wanted to go home to them and forget the whole thing ever happened." Her voice choked as she spoke and she furiously clutched some tissues in her hand.

Mako stared at her intensely. "How old were your kids at the time?"

She paused, then answered the question. "My son was two and my daughter was three."

"So you were seventeen when you had your first child?" Mako's voice was very judgemental, which made Sephiria stand up.

"Objection. The witness' private life is not on trial here." She glared at Mako who ignored her.

The judge nodded. "I'm inclined to agree with Ms. Arks. Keep it moving, Mr. Mako."

He growled quietly to himself so no one else would hear and straightened his tie. Mako only kept the woman there for a few more minutes before he dismissed her. She was easiest to make appear unreliable due to her early pregnancies and minor criminal record. While Edo did not arrest her that night, she had been charged with petty theft in the past. It didn't matter that her situation was similar to Dante's in that she was just a single mom trying to feed her kids. Emma also didn't have the history of being a police officer, and Mako made sure to mention she had always worked dead end jobs and had no real career prospect due to her poor life choices.

Train's heart went out to the woman. While he could sympathize with her trying to make ends meet, he couldn't imagine what it was like trying to get through high school with two kids you were raising on your own. It made sense she dropped out and worked as many part time jobs as she could.

Then Edo saw her weakness and took advantage of it…

His rage boiled, but now he was able to channel it towards his determination to take the officer down. Train even looked over at the older man who felt his golden eyes on him and stared back. The cat gave him the same glare he did the night of the shooting and the attack in the locker room and enjoyed seeing Edo squirm and look away. He smirked, knowing he had regained control. It was easier fighting for someone else than himself. And now he knew he wasn't fighting just for Creed, but for all these other people as well. He knew nothing would keep him down.

Next to testify was the man Train had spoken to just moments ago. He looked nervous as he walked to the stand and was sworn in. He glanced at Edo every so often which only seemed to scare him more. Train tried to lock eyes with him, praying that the man would see him and feel comforted. Finally, he met Train's gaze and smiled. The cat nodded at him and watched as he took a deep breath and looked at Sephiria.

His name was William Garcia. His story was interesting because it turned out, he and Edo were actually friends at one point. William was never a part of the police force. However, he was a social worker, so he had many different interactions with the police. This was how he built a friendship with Edo.

At some point, the officer had confided in him that he felt an attraction to men and since William was very open about his sexuality, Edo felt comfortable telling him. At the time, William was flattered he felt relaxed enough around him to tell him such a private detail in his life. However, that quickly changed when the officer attacked him a few days after the confession. This attack was far more similar to Train's, but still not quite at the level of violence the cat had experienced.

No gag was used and they were at Mako's house so it was not in a public location. What stuck out to Train the most is what Edo had said to William. It was eerily similar to what the officer had said to him and it gave him chills to remember it.

"Could you please tell the court what Officer Edo said during the attack?" Sephiria's voice had been calm and kind as she spoke to all these victims.

William sighed and made sure he kept his eyes on the tall blonde. "He said I belonged to him after that. As if I was his property or I owed him something. It was like because I'm attracted to men, that meant I had to be with them."

The woman nodded. "And how did you handle that?"

"To be honest, I didn't. He left me several scary messages after the attack, so I blocked his number. Then, he started stopping by my house. I finally decided to move so he would leave me alone." William glanced at Edo quickly, then looked down at his own hands.

"Did you go to the police?" Again, Sephiria's voice was calm.

He nodded. "Yes. They didn't believe me because he is the police. I even tried showing them the messages he sent me and they didn't care. They said I was misinterpreting his texts and voicemails because they all believed he was only into women."

Sephiria gave his shoulder a friendly squeeze and stepped away. "No further questions, your honor."

Once more, Mako stood quickly and tried to take his story apart. He used the same tactic he did with Train by saying William and Edo were in a relationship. William denied it over and over again and stated they had only ever been friends. He said many times he never had any romantic or sexual feelings for the officer, but Mako insisted that he did.

William sighed. "My sexual orientation doesn't mean I'm attracted to every man I meet. It also doesn't mean I owe it to every man who shares my tastes or is attracted to me to be with them. I didn't owe anything to Officer Edo."

Train was really proud of how the man was handling himself. He had several years to wrap his mind around what happened and it looked like he had built up a confidence he refused to let Mako take down.

Despite William's bravery, Mako was determined to do his best to break him apart. "To me, it sounds like the timing of Officer Edo's supposed attack on you synced up with around the time Mr. Heartnet joined the force."

William blinked. He wasn't aware of how closely his and Train's attacks were to each other. "I don't see how that's relevant to what happened to me."

"Oh, I think it is, Mr. Garcia. I think Officer Edo tried to end his relationship with you after he met and fell in love with Mr. Heartnet, and you didn't take it well."

The man gawked at him "Excuse me?!"

Mako frowned deeply. "Officer Edo told me he was in a relationship with another man before he met Mr. Heartnet, but he said it did not end well and you had accused him of sexual assault."

"That's ridiculous! There was never any consenting relationship between us!" He slammed his fist on the stand when he spoke to stress his point.

Mako ignored him and continued his demented story. "When Officer Edo seized contact with you, it was so he could be with Mr. Heartnet instead. You didn't like that so you went to the police station to file a false report."

"I seized contact with him! And again, there was no sexual or romantic relationship between us." He stopped to glare at the man, then a thought occurred to him. "There are now two men who deny having any relationship with him that he insists happened. Doesn't that qualify as a pattern of lies?"

Mako shrugged. "I think the only pattern it shows is Officer Edo makes poor choices in his relationships. While you turned out to be a jealous ex, Mr. Heartnet is in the unique and unfortunate situation of being in a separate abusive relationship." He then went to his desk to retrieve pictures. "Mr. Garcia, could you explain these pictures to me?"

William took the pictures with a shaky hand. "Yes, it's me and Edo hanging out together."

"But you said you were not in a relationship?" Mako handed copies of the pictures to the jury as well.

William shook his head. "We weren't! These are not romantic pictures! We were friends. Friends take pictures together."

Mako turned to face him. "There are some with Edo's arm around you. Would you describe that as a friendly picture?"

William cocked an eyebrow and flipped through the pictures to find the ones he meant. He then rolled his eyes and slammed the pictures down. "Yes, that is a friendly picture because we were friends. Can friends not put their arms around each other? Or is it because I'm gay that I can't embrace another many without it being something more than friendship?"

Mako chuckled and brushed his words away. "No, not at all, Mr. Garcia. But the way Officer Edo is looking at you shows there was something more."

William squinted at the picture and rubbed his eyes. "I can't control the way another man looks at me…"

The lawyer took the pictures back then turned to Sephiria. "You have the pictures, correct?"

She glowered at the man, but nodded her head. She showed the pictures to Train and Creed and the two men agreed that there was nothing more than friendship in these pictures. After all the intimate pictures they had taken, they knew what it looked like when a couple in love posed together.

Mako only asked William a few more questions before he dismissed him. The man stormed across the room and took his seat again hotly. Train turned to try and relax the man, but before he could, Sephiria stood and called her last witness.

"Your honor, I'd like to call Train Heartnet to the stand."

The cat looked at the woman whose fierce eyes were staring forward. He stood then looked at Creed one more time, knowing this was the last time he could look at him until his testimony was over. The silver man smiled warmly at him and the cat felt himself smiling back. He rubbed Creed's cheek with his thumb, taking these last few seconds to burn his partner's eyes into his skull then walked away quickly.

As he was sworn in, he glared at Edo and Clark. All the stress and anxiety he felt before was gone. His sights were set on kill and the officers were going to be his victims this time. Every negative feeling in his body was replaced with courage, determination, and most of all love. He wasn't going to let them get away with what they did to him or what Edo did to the others. When the bailiff stepped away, Train sat and smiled brightly at Sephiria.

"So, you're finally here, Mr. Heartnet." Sephiria smiled back at him, but stayed at the table and next to Creed.

The cat nodded. "Yup, I made it! I heard it's been quite a party and I didn't want to miss it. I also certainly didn't want everyone else to miss out on the main event."

The jury laughed and Sephiria smiled. Creed was right, the golden man was very charming, so it was going to be pretty easy for him to win them over. Afterall, Train had left a long string of admirers behind, it made sense people felt drawn to him.

"Before we start, I have to ask. How are you feeling?"

Train locked eyes with her, knowing he had to occupy his vision with something other than Creed the whole time. "Much better after seeing the strength of these other victims."

Sephiria nodded. "They were quite brave, weren't they?"

"Yeah, it's not easy to talk about something so terrible and I hope everyone heard the sincerity in their testimonies. However…" He looked at Edo and narrowed his eyes. "I'm here to close the lid on this whole fiasco."

The woman smirked at the determination in her clients eyes. She was glad to see he was back to normal. "Well then, let's begin."

Sephiria went through the whole night of the shooting with Train first. He went through it step by step and insisted that Creed was never there. When asked why he was calling Creed's name if he wasn't there, Train elaborated.

"I was seeing my life flash before my eyes. That tends to happen when you're shot four times, ya know?" He said the statement matter-of-factly, but his tone of voice was still playful which made a few people in the jury laugh again. They stopped quickly realizing it was probably not appropriate.

Sephiria, however, enjoyed hearing them laugh. It meant the cat's magic was working even when the subject matter was tense and serious. He was able to make the whole room feel at ease with his presence.

"Yes, that does make sense. But why do you think you saw Mr. Diskence and not anyone else?"

Train smiled and wanted to look at Creed, but didn't. Instead, he contented himself with a mental image of the man. This was the moment he was waiting for. To tell the court how he really felt about his husband under oath.

"Because I love Creed." He allowed a moment of silence after he said that, making sure he spoke the words loud enough that they echoed against the walls of the courtroom. "Creed is the most important person in the world to me. At that moment, I thought I would never see him again. In my near death state and my desperation to see him, my subconscious showed me our lives together."

Again he paused, letting those words sink in to the jury and the rest of the court. "When I was being taken away in the ambulance, I called Creed because I wanted him. I wanted nothing more than to be with him, to see him one more time because I thought I was a goner. To be honest, I didn't even feel any pain at that point. I was numb everywhere except for my heart. And all my heart wanted was Creed."

The silence that followed his statement was deafening. Train wanted to look at Creed so badly, but he didn't. Everything he had just said was so heartfelt and true that if he ruined it by looking at his partner, he would never forgive himself.

Sephiria did look at Creed. The man was crying silently, but his face was the most peaceful she had ever seen. He was staring at Train with such adoring eyes she was worried the silver man was going to rush to the stand and embrace him. If that happened, the whole testimony might be thrown out, so she sighed in relief when she saw Creed was staying put.

She looked back at Train and smiled again. "That was beautifully said, Mr. Heartnet. I'd like to move on to your relationship with Officer Edo."

"What relationship?" Train said instinctively, then smirked sarcastically. "Oh, you mean the one where he called me derogatory terms and sexually assaulted me in the locker room? Yeah, it's a wonderful relationship, don't ya think?"

A few jurors laughed again, but stopped almost immediately, again realizing they shouldn't be laughing at something so tragic. It was just amazing the golden man was able to take such a traumatic event and find the strength to make a joke.

Sephiria nodded. "That's the one. Mr. Heartnet, could you tell me where you were on April 13th last year?"

"My birthday a year ago?" Sephiria nodded her head. "Creed threw me a surprise party. Sven and Eve were there and Saya video called in."

"How long were the festivities?" She paced in front of him, slowly.

"Pretty much all day."

Sephiria nodded again. "Were you with Mr. Diskence all day?"

"I'd say so, yes. There were probably a few times when we were apart to use the bathroom or something, but it's not like we're handcuffed together. Like Micah said, Creed has never forced me to do anything I didn't want to or hold me captive." He then pointed a thumb at Edo. "That guy did, however."

She smiled. "Speaking of Officer Edo, did you see him at all that day?"

Train cocked his head. He was actually kind of confused by these questions. "I was off duty that day. Creed convinced me to take off so we could spend the day together. Why would I have seen Edo?"

"Officer Edo claims you went to his house after the party and that was when your relationship started."

The cat laughed loudly at that. "Seriously? That's ridiculous! I just joined the force a little bit before that. Why would I go to someone's house I barely knew?"

"Just telling you his story, Mr. Heartnet. I thought it was odd too." She stopped in front on Train and looked at him. "Have you ever been sexually attracted to Officer Edo?"

"Ew. No." Train had a look of genuine disgust on his face.

"What about a romantic attraction?" Sephiria looked at Edo when she asked this question. She wanted to see his response.

"No." Train said it loudly and confidently, also looking at the older man when he spoke.

The officer grumbled something to himself which warranted an angry look from Mako. Clark, however, had turned his body away from the whole scene. It was clear this conversation made him very uncomfortable.

Sephiria smiled and looked back at Train. "Then why does he insist there was a relationship?"

"Because he's insane? I thought that's been made clear throughout this trial." Train raised an eyebrow when he said this and crossed his arms.

Again, a few snickers from the jury that stopped rather quickly.

"Well, the defense would have us believe that your husband is the crazy one. What do you have to say to that?"

Train chuckled. "Creed can be a little weird, but so can I. His weirdness is one of the things that made me love him. It's a very endearing personality trait." Again, he wanted to look at his partner, but stopped himself. "Besides, who wants to be normal anyway? That sounds boring."

The blonde lawyer smiled. "I think a lot of people in this room can relate to that." She looked at the jury for confirmation and couldn't help but notice some of them were smiling slightly.

Her demeanor changed from charming to serious as she turned back to her client. She knew this next part was going to be hard. "Mr. Heartnet, I would like to talk about that day at the police station, if you're ready."

When Train saw the look in her eyes, he knew what was coming next. He took a deep breath, shutting his eyes for a second so he could picture Creed's face. Once he felt himself relax, he opened them back up and faced Sephiria.

"I'm ready, Ms. Arks."

She smiled sadly at him then turned to a television that was next to the witness stand. "During Officer Edo's testimony, the defense broke the video apart piece by piece and had him explain what was happening. Officer Edo claims everything that happened was out of consent, and it was just something you were in to."

Train shook his head. "If he's insinuating that was some kind of BDSM, he couldn't be more wrong. Saying what happened was anything other than assault is disrespectful to people who willing partake in those activities."

Before she started the video, she turned back to Train. "What do you mean?"

The cat sighed. "I told him no and to stop several times. It was not a game and I was being very clear in my refusal. While I don't know much about the BDSM world, I do understand no means no."

Sephiria nodded. "I agree. Mr. Heartnet, in response to the defense's tactics, I'd like to break apart the video so we can hear your side. Is that okay?" She held a remote in her hand, ready to hit play once the golden man gave her the go ahead.

Train once more took a deep breath and closed his eyes so he could picture Creed's face again. He also imagined Aimi's, Emma's, and William's words and felt strength surge within him. The cat rubbed his hands on his thighs, then opened his eyes and nodded. Sephiria returned the gesture and hit play.

The golden man watched himself being thrown against the lockers, lifted in the air, and slapped across the face. After that happened, Sephiria stopped the video and turned to Train.

"Officer Edo claimed every session you had with him started like this. Is this true?"

Train shook his head roughly. "No. He and I have never had a 'session' before and if even if we did, I would never be okay with being pinned down and slapped in the face. That's the money maker." It was an instinct to use humor to get him through difficult times, but he could tell his fear was breaking through his jokes.

Sephiria frowned as she watched the cat rub his cheek and try to smile. She could tell he was remembering what it felt like to be hit that hard. Train also gripped at his wrists anxiously, as if he could still feel Edo's hands wrapped around them.

Next, he watched as Edo forced his lips against his own. He grimaced at the memory and the video. Train could still feel the older man biting his lips, slapping him several more times, and felt himself spitting out blood. Sephiria stopped the video again and turned back to Train once more.

"What happened here? Officer Edo didn't look too happy." Sephiria folded her arms across her chest as she spoke.

Train shook his head again. "I bet he wasn't happy. I bit his tongue pretty hard." He tried to sound proud of himself, but even he could hear the disgust in his voice when he told that part of the story. The cat could still feel the unwanted appendage slither down into his mouth.

Sephiria pointed to the screen. "I also can't help but notice your legs are kicking the air quite wildly. Officer Edo said it was excitement. Is that true?"

"Absolutely not. I was trying to get away. I was hoping if I kicked my legs hard enough I would make contact with him and he would let me go."

The woman nodded and frowned, then let the video continue. Train now saw Edo choking him and talking to him. There was no audio to the video, but he remembered what the man was saying. He then watched as he spit in Edo's face and said something back to him.

Once more, the video stopped and Sephiria addressed Edo. "What did Officer Edo say to you while he was choking you?"

Train felt his heart racing, but it was with rage, not anxiety. He glared at the man and spat his words out. "He told me to give in. He told me I wanted this and the more I struggled the more excited it made him." He clenched his fists at the memory and kept his deadly eyes on his attacker. "He even had the nerve to call me kitten."

Edo rolled his eyes and spoke. "That's a pet name, you know that! The whole precinct calls you Kitty!"

"The sun will burn out before I ever let you give me a pet name…" Train's voice was a growl and he dug his nails into his own leg.

Before Edo could say anything else, the judge banged her gavel and called for them to calm down. She gave them both a warning and told Sephiria to continue. The tall blonde put a strong hand on Train's shoulder, bringing his eyes back to her. When she smiled, Train took another breath in and leaned back in his chair.

"I then spit in his face and told him to eat shit." He crossed his arms as he spoke and grinned proudly at his past self.

"Sounds like you weren't having as much fun as the defense led us to believe."

"Zero fun was had that day." Train touched his lips as he looked at the video. "He bruised my lips. When I tried to kiss Creed later that night, it hurt. I couldn't kiss my own partner because of that bastard…" He gave the officer one last angry look, then turned back to the video Sephiria had started again.

He watched in horror as Edo forced a gag into his mouth and grabbed between his legs harshly. Train felt the pain return to his groin and winced a little. Seeing Edo punch him in the stomach and smiling at his pain made the rage boil inside him again and he had to grip his stomach to block out the memory and the feeling. He felt like throwing up watching Edo talk to him again, remembering what the man was saying to him.

Sephiria stopped the video again and turned back to Train. She noticed he was gripping his stomach and had a sick look on his face. The lawyer frowned and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you okay, Train? Can you keep going?"

Train closed his eyes and saw Creed's blue ones and nodded his head. "Yes. Ask your questions."

He kept his eyes shut, but listened to the woman's voice. "What did Edo say to you then?"

He took another deep breath, but kept his eyes closed. "He said he was going to own me when he was done. He called me his property."

The cat's ears perked when he heard a loud gasp. He could tell it came from William and the man had just realized how similar their attacks were.

Sephiria's voice said their thoughts out loud. "Just like Mr. Garcia…"

She gave Train a minute to calm down and open his eyes. Once he did, he nodded at her and she finished the video. Train watched as he started to slip out of Edo's grasp and the man removed his hand from his pants to get a better grip. However, now that the gag had been dropped and the officer was using his hand to cover his mouth, Train was able to bite down, then get a good punch in and escape his grasp. He watched himself run out of the room quickly, stumbling as he did so.

When the video ended, the room was silent. Watching it, Train didn't know how anyone could see that as anything other than an attack. He turned to Sephiria, knowing he still looked sick as he spoke. Train decided to speak his thoughts out loud so everyone knew how he felt.

"I don't know how anyone can twist that into something that I wanted…"

Sephiria smiled kindly and squeezed his shoulder tenderly. "I don't either, Train…" She used his first name to make him feel more comfortable since she knew he didn't like the formalities they had to use in court.

"This next part is going to be easier." The video changed to one of him and Creed. It was the one of them dancing at Sven and Eve's wedding.

Train smiled unknowingly at the video, feeling the pain of his memories beginning to pass by like a bad dream as he watched him twirl his partner on the dance floor. Sephiria smiled at his innocent look, knowing the cat had no idea how adoringly he watched the video.

"Mr. Heartnet, when did this take place?"

"At Sven and Eve's wedding." His voice had changed too. It went from angry and frightened to blissful and loving.

Sephiria nodded and changed the video again. "And this?"

This was the video Train took before the assault. He had forgotten he took this video, and felt his heart warm at the memory. It was nice that Sephiria planned this after he watched Edo attack him. She clearly wanted to end with happy thoughts, not negative ones.

"This was me messing around with Creed. He hates when I sneak up on him, so naturally I do it every chance I get."

The jury laughed at his adorable response and Sephiria knew in that moment they got them on their side. The video changed to a picture of Train carrying Creed bridal style, making the cat on the stand laugh loudly.

"What's so funny?" Sephiria asked with a smirk.

Train pointed at the screen and smiled. "Saya took this picture a few nights before Sven and Eve's wedding. I was trying to explain to Sven how he needed to enter every room with Eve after they got married, so I picked Creed up and Saya took a picture so we could send it to them as a reminder of their sacred duty as a married couple."

More laughs came from the jury and Sephiria couldn't help but chuckle a little as well. She stopped herself and changed the picture again. "And this?"

"This was me feeding Creed a terrible meal I made. I know I'm not the best cook, but Creed finally found the courage to tell me I suck, so I got my revenge by making him eat it." Train smiled at the picture. "I didn't make him eat the whole thing. He might have gotten food poisoning if he did. We threw it out and Creed cooked instead. He's much better at it than I am. He makes pretty much all of our meals."

Sephira nodded and changed it a few more times. Train had a story for each picture, and the stories he told were too endearing to ignore. He spoke with so much fondness in his voice, Sephiria knew there was no way the jury didn't notice it. Finally, the last picture was one of Creed sleeping. Train smiled warmly at this picture and answered his lawyer's questions before she asked it.

"I took this picture. It should still be the background on my phone. I haven't seen my phone since I woke up, so I assume it still is." Train looked at Sephiria instead of the screen this time.

The tall blonde nodded. "It is. Why did you make this the background on your phone?"

Train blushed a little, then scratched his cheek to cover it up. "Because I thought he looked cute…"

The lawyer smiled and nodded at him. She wanted to ask that specific question last, because it pretty much summarized the strength of their relationship. However, after that nurse's testimony, she couldn't help wanting to mess with the man a little.

"Is it true that you and Mr. Diskence engaged in a sexual activity while you were hospitalized?"

The cat's blush grew and he gave Sephiria a small glare. "Yes…"

She smiled, enjoying embarrassing the man to no end. "And who started that encounter?"

He sighed and pointed to himself.

The lawyer nodded. "And how often were the two of you laying in bed together and embracing during your stay at the hospital?"

Now the golden man smiled. "Every second we go. The medical staff was getting tired of having to pry us apart so they could give me a check up."

"Why did you do it so often?" She knew the answer, but wanted Train to say it.

"Because we missed each other." His response was simple, but true and undeniably cute.

Sephiria smiled widely and turned to the jury.

"From the words of the man of the hour himself. Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, how can you look at these images-" She flipped through all the pictures and videos again quickly, then finished her sentence. "-And think my client was in love with this man instead of Mr. Diskence?" She paused on an image of Train being strangled by Edo.

She turned off the television and stepped towards the jury. "You heard Mr. Heartnet's words, you saw his face when he spoke about Mr. Diskence and Officer Edo. Ask yourself, which man made him sound happy? Which man made him sound angry? Which man gave him a look of love, and which gave him fear and disgust?"

She smiled at Train, then turned to the judge. "No further questions."

As she took her seat, Train remained where he was. He was dying to look at Creed, but still knew he couldn't. After that whole testimony, he wasn't going to ruin it by indulging his selfish wants. Instead, he looked at Mako, ready for the man to do his worst.

"Mr. Heartnet, it's a pleasure to meet you. Officer Edo has told me a lot about you." Mako didn't look at him as he spoke as he was too preoccupied with his own notes.

Train rolled his eyes and realized it didn't hurt his head. In fact, his head didn't hurt throughout any of that. The idea made him smile confidently and address the man proudly.

"Wish I could say the same. And all good things I hope?" He made sure his voice sounded flat so there could be no misconstruing what he really meant with his statement.

Mako looked at him above his glasses. "He mentioned you were a bit of a smart ass." He grinned when he said this, trying to sound sincere in his friendliness.

"I prefer quick witted, but I'll accept smart ass. Just not from him." Train tossed a heated glance at the officer, making sure he could hear the anger in his voice.

"I'm sorry to hear that. It sounds like Mr. Diskence has gotten to you again. Hopefully we can bring you back around in this testimony." He smiled kindly which made Train gag noticeably.

"I'll gag myself with a rusty spoon before I ever admit your story is true."

Mako shrugged his shoulders. "Let's see what we can do about that. Officer Edo misses you dearly."

"I don't think you know what that word means. Would you like me to define it for you?" Train smirked at the lawyer and leaned back in his chair, enjoying the few chuckles he got from the jury.

Mako was getting frustrated by Train's smart remarks and moved on. "Mr. Heartnet, do you believe Mr. Torres' diagnosis is accurate?"

Train nodded. "Yup. I'm no expert, but what he says makes sense."

"Even though he made that diagnosis after just one session?"

"Yeah, Micah's a good guy and a professional. He doesn't gain anything by making it up." Train wanted to find the therapist in the seats, but was worried if he looked away, Mako would accuse him of looking to Creed for an answer.

"I'm not arguing he's a not good man who's bad at his job. I'm just saying he's human and humans make mistakes, would you agree?"

Train nodded again. "No doubt, no doubt. I make mistakes all the time, but Creed is not one of them."

He knew Mako didn't ask any questions about Creed, but he couldn't help sneaking that in there. Every time he talked about his relationship with Creed, Edo would grow angry and Train thought he might be able to get another outburst from him and close the lid on this case for good.

Mako ignored what he said about Creed and continued. "What did you think of Stockholm syndrome?"

"Those stories Micah shared were very sad and I feel sorry for those people." Train made sure his eyes were locked onto the lawyer in front of him.

"And you don't see any similarities to your situation?" Mako tried to push the point on to Train.

"No. That's such a dumb counter argument. I can't believe you think it's true. Aren't lawyers supposed to be smart? Didn't you go to school for like a million years to get your degree? I know my husband is working his ass off in law school and he's a genius."

He noticed Edo clenched his fist and growled at Train's words. Clark didn't seem to care about anything Train said. It was as if he had checked out of the whole trial.

Mako nodded. "Yes, there is a lot of work involved in law school and I learned quite a bit, which is why I believe it's possible you are suffering from Stockholm syndrome."

"Law school doesn't give you a degree in mental health." Train rebuttal and looked at his fingers arrogantly.

Mako was getting frustrated. "Remind me what your degree is in?"

"Oh, nothing. I wouldn't have even made it through high school without Creed's help." He didn't look at Mako as he found his fingers much much more entertaining than the man.

"Then maybe you should take the advice from someone who is educated." He tried to sound calm, but Train was getting on his nerves.

"I am. You're the one that doesn't believe what Micah's saying." He sounded a little cocky as he spoke since he knew he was getting under the lawyer's skin.

Mako sighed and tried a different tactic. "You're a smart guy, Mr. Heartnet-"

Train interrupted him. "Am I? That's not what you were insinuating earlier."

It infuriated him more that the people in the courtroom found Train's antics funny. "No, I did not. What I'm saying is you're not a stupid man. Are you telling me that you really don't think it's possible you are experiencing Stockholm syndrome?"

"I have a feeling I might after this examination is over…" Train mumbled his words, but made sure Mako could hear them.

"What was that?" Mako questioned, even though he knew what he said.

Train gave him a cheeky smile. "Just being a smart ass again."

The lawyer rubbed his eyes in frustration. "Just answer the question Mr. Heartnet…"

"Which question?" The audience laughed, but he was actually only half kidding. He honestly forgot what the question was.

"There's that memory problem again. We'll get back to that in a minute." Mako looked Train in the eyes and smiled as best he could. "Do you think it's possible you have Stockholm syndrome?"

"No. That's ridiculous." Train stared back at him and made sure the man saw the honesty in his eyes.

Mako stepped away from him. "Did you know part of Stockholm syndrome is denying you have it?"

"Did you know the 'Ms' in M&Ms stand for 'Mars' and 'Murrie'?" Train gave him a curious look when he said this, as if he genuinely wanted the man to answer the question.

Mako blinked at him. "What?"

"What? Oh, I'm sorry." Train laughed and brushed his words out of the air. "I thought we were sharing random facts that had nothing to do with the case. That's the only reasonable explanation as to why you brought up a symptom to a disorder no one in this room has." He stopped and thought about his words. "Actually, I don't know everyone in this room, so I apologize if I triggered anyone's disorder." He leaned over the stand and said his last sentence a little louder so people on the back could hear them.

The lawyer stifled a growl as more laughter was heard at the cat's joke. "Mr. Heartnet, can you please take this seriously?"

"I'm as serious as a cucumber." He gave the man another cheeky smile.

Mako rubbed his eyes again and stopped his pacing, once more restraining his annoyance at the people who continued to be amused by Train's frustrating behavior. "That's not even the correct saying…"

"Whatever. I'm not very smart. Did I say that already?" He thought again, then nodded. "Yeah, I think I did."

"You seem to be in good spirits for a man who is supposedly traumatized." Mako thought he'd be able to get him now, since Train was showing to be acting very happy for someone who claimed to have been through so much.

Train shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? Seeing all these brave people stand up and testify against that monster gave me hope. I've also had my life put into perspective after seeing an old friend." He glanced at Baldor who stood in the back of the room and smiled, the other man returning his gesture. "Besides, aren't you also arguing that I'm traumatized? Just that I'm traumatized by someone other than your client?"

Train crossed his legs and arms, smirking as the man cursed to himself quietly. "Kinda shot yourself in the food with that one, buddy."

Mako clapped his hands loudly to get the court's attention off Train and onto him and also let out a bit of his anger. He couldn't believe this man was making him not only lose his cool, but also frustrated him enough that he was making rookie mistakes.

"Mr. Heartnet. I'd like to talk about that dream you had that your doctor claimed caused your seizure."

Train nodded. "Okay, what do you want to know?"

"Everything." Mako said as he leaned his back on the table that held his clients.

The cat sighed and imagined his partner's face again, letting the words of his fellow victims ring in his ears. "After Creed left earlier that day, I had trouble settling. I couldn't sleep before I spoke with Micah, but after the conversation it was harder. Especially without Creed there."

"And why wasn't he there?" Mako folded his arms across his chest.

Train glared at him. "Because you all seem to think he's so obsessed with me that he would never leave me in fear that he would lose his control over me."

Mako tilted his head in confusion. "Does he have control over you?"

"The only control he has is the control I've given him by loving him." Train's lips were smiling, but his eyes were still glaring.

"And that love is real?" Again, he mimicked confusion, but the cat knew he was just trying to get to him.

"Yes, wasn't that obvious by the nurse's story? Doing that was my idea, not Creed's." Now the cat was smirking, seeing Edo didn't like how that kept being brought up. "Do you want to hear about my nightmare or not?"

Mako gestured for him to continue.

"We were outside the Goto house. I was… chained to a street light and Clark held a gun to my head. I didn't see it happen, but Creed was on the ground, dead. The assumption I came to was Clark had shot him." He stopped and took another deep breath so he could continue. "Edo then approached me and repeated the attack at the station except this time… It was more violent."

The lawyer stared at him for a minute before speaking. "Is that it?"

Train gawked at him. "Is that it? Is that not enough for you?"

Mako shook his head. "No. Mr. Diskence could have planted that story in your head."

The golden man actually laughed at that idea. "Yeah, okay. That makes sense." His voice was caked in sarcasm.

Mako shrugged his shoulders. "That or Mr. Diskence had you change the narrative. Is it true that you saw him at the scene of the crime?"

"No, that's not the entire truth." Train shook his head, but kept his eyes on the lawyer.

"The paramedics said you were calling him."

The cat rolled his eyes. "I'm pretty sure I talked about this before, but I guess that wasn't enough for you. I called him because I saw my life flashing before my eyes and I wanted to see him. That want was so strong my mind created the image to help soothe me into the sweet, welcoming arms of death."

Mako brushed away his dark words in favor of his own. "To me, this sounds like a story Mr. Diskence planted in your head as a way to get out of him being there. The nightmare is just the icing on the cake. The seizure was most likely caused by seeing my client earlier that day and feeling the ache at wanting to be with him, but knowing Mr. Diskence would retaliate as soon as he left. The real reason he left you alone in the hospital was to have time to think of a new strategy to manipulate you."

Train rolled his eyes. "Do you know what happened just before Edo showed up?" He didn't wait for a response as he smirked and pointed at the nurse in the audience. "She does. Do you want her to come back up here and retell her story? Or shall I?"

Mako walked away from the table and towards Train. "That won't be necessary and I don't see how it's relevant to the seizure or nightmare."

The golden man shrugged his shoulders. "It's not. In fact, if Creed had stayed I would have had something to distract me from the bad dreams." He had the audacity to make his voice sound a little seductive.

Mako choked back a growl then changed the subject completely. This was just another round he lost to the cat. "Mr. Heartnet, let's talk about your memory problem."

Seeing as Train was going to continue making him look like a fool for suggesting he had Stockholm syndrome or his seizure and nightmare were caused by Creed, he decided to move on. At this point, it was up to the jury to decide what they believed his disorder to be.

Train nodded. "Yeah, my brian hasn't been working at full capacity since… Ever, I guess. That would really explain a lot about my schooling…"

A few more laughs came from the jury and the audience and Mako chose to ignore it. "Mr. Heartnet, do you remember what you had for breakfast?"

"Nope. Based on my stomach, not enough." Train put his feet up on the stand and leaned his head back into his hands. "When's lunch?"

Mako pushed his feet down and walked away. "Please respect the courtroom, Mr. Heartnet. I can see why you were in trouble a lot at work for disobeying authority."

Train frowned and leaned forward, pointing at his captain in the seats. "Hey, it's not my fault those uniforms are uncomfortable and they have so many rules and no sense of humor! At least I never hurt anyone."

Mako turned to him. "How do you know for sure you've never hurt anyone?"

"Facts." Train shrugged his shoulders and leaned back in his chair.

"You don't think you're hurting Officer Edo at all with this trial?" Mako folded his hands behind his back.

"Pfft, yeah, okay That guy gritting his teeth and growling is certainly a victim of my terrible jokes."

Sephiria was grinning wildly in her chair. This was going far better than she ever imagined. Train was a lot to handle and control. She was hoping he would dance circles around the defense and get them off track often with his playful and laid back attitude. On top of that, she was hoping the jury would see it's not easy to control Train, so the notion that Creed was able to when even a seasoned lawyer couldn't was absolutely absurd.

Mako took another deep breath and brought his thoughts back to where he wanted them to be. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why his man was able to get under his skin so easily. He'd dealt with people far worse than Train Heartnet, yet there was just something about his mocking personality that made him flustered.

"My point is, how are we to expect you to properly remember the night of the shooting if you can't even remember what you had for breakfast this morning?"

He shrugged his shoulders again. "Must have been an uneventful breakfast." Seeing Mako was a little confused, he continued. "As Micah said, I can recite the conversation me and Creed had this morning because it was important and he's important to me. But, I can't tell you if I had pancakes or eggs or both because it doesn't matter." He smiled and leaned back in his chair some more. "Do you want to know what me and Creed talked about?"

Mako waved his hand in the air in frustration. "No. We would have no way of verifying if it's the truth."

Train thought about that, then nodded. "Fair enough. Next question?"

"Mr. Heartnet, how was your memory before the shooting occurred?"

Again, the cat thought about that, then moved his hand back and forth as he frowned a little. "Meh?"

The lawyer had to hold back another annoyed sound. "Meh? Care to elaborate?"

"Well, during high school my friends pointed out a lot of things to me that happened when we were kids that I just forgot. That was before I had any kind of brain injury."

Mako smiled thinking he had the cat. "So it's possible that you were suffering from PTSD or Stockholm Syndrome before the accident?"

"Don't get all excited, now. I've always had a hard time retaining information. Remember how I said I'm not very smart?" Again, he thought. This time he did remember saying it, but he wanted to mess with the lawyer a bit. "Wait, did I?"

Mako could hear the sarcasm in his voice and shot him a quick glare. "Memory loss is a sign of Stockholm syndrome. Sounds to me like when Mr. Diskence entered your life in high school, his manipulation began very quickly."

"The only thing Creed ever manipulated in high school was his schedule to match mine." Train was still leaning back in his chair, but he drummed his fingers on the stand. "Memory loss is also common among people who have experienced severe trauma and depression. Did you know that?"

Mako turned away, but looked at him from the corner of his eye. He didn't answer the question, but offered one of his own. "Who told you that? Mr. Diskence?"

"Actually, yes he did. But, so did the internet." Train put up his hands in defense. "Yes, yes, I know the internet can lie and you don't trust Creed. That's why I had Micah confirm it. Creed and I have had conversations about my terrible memory before any of this happened. Actually, before we even started dating we talked about this. My friends liked to make fun of me for it, but Creed was nice enough to explain to them all that trauma can cause memory issues. Then, in private, we had a discussion about how depression can cause it as well and we did the research together."

"So, Mr. Diskence guided you to this conclusion?"

Train sighed in exacerbation. "Did you listen to anything else I said? I have three sources that say it's true."

Mako smiled sneeringly. "Unfortunately, I don't trust any of those sources."

"Well, that sounds like a you problem. The internet is full of lots of information, some right some wrong. This was the former kind of information." Train mimicked the attorney's smile.

"So, what you're saying is on top of the memory issues you're having from the accident, you have inherent memory issues?" Mako walked away from him and towards the jury.

Train narrowed his eyes. He didn't have a smart remark to that. "I guess…"

"Then that doubles the problem. How can we believe your story if we have nothing to go off of other than your troubled and damaged mind?"

The cat sighed. "Because this is all so ridiculous…"

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't quite hear you." He could tell the cat was annoyed and wanted to see if he could push his buttons a bit more.

"This-" He gestured around the whole room. "-Is all so ridiculous. You have no proof that there was ever a relationship between me and Edo and if you're trying to use that video as evidence in favor of a fake relationship, you're screwed because no one in their right mind would ever believe that was a welcomed encounter."

"Are you suggesting the jury is incapable of making a sound decision?" He knew Train had won over the jury, so he was hoping he could get them back with this question.

"I ain't suggesting shit, don't put words in my mouth." Train pointed a finger at the man and the judge banged her gavel again.

"That's strike two, Mr. Heartnet. Watch your tone and language."

Train took a deep breath and nodded. "Sorry, your honor." The cat rubbed his head since it started to hurt a little when he snapped at the lawyer. "Side effects of a concussion: irritated easily."

She nodded. "Don't let it happen again."

Mako was happy to see he was able to gain some control of the conversation. He looked back at Sephiria to see her reaction, but the woman still seemed content. The golden man had made enough of an impact that she figured a little snap here and there wasn't going to hurt them.

"I'd like to hear more of why you think this trial is ridiculous." Mako stood in front of the jury as he let Train have the floor.

The cat eyed him wearily, sighed and made sure to be careful with his words. "Everyone has been waiting for me to wake up to tell my story. Now that I am awake and I'm telling my story, it feels like it's not enough. But, why?"

Train looked at the jury now as he spoke. "Why is my story not enough? Because I got hit in the head and don't remember things so good no more?" He said his sentence incorrectly on purpose, not wanting to miss a chance to get a laugh.

"Or is it because my husband's word isn't enough? Again, why? He's been top of his class every school he's attended and at every grade level. He had a hard past too, did anyone even think to mention that without using it against him? How his mother treated him? How she tried to sell him when we were in high school? The trauma he went through? The attack he endured? We keep talking about trauma, but the defense likes to conveniently forget I'm not the only victim here. Do I need to remind you of Edo's other victims as well?" He crossed his arms. "I shouldn't have to. Afterall, I'm the one with the memory problems."

He glared at Mako. "I can say this with one-hundred percent certainty. I'm not the victim of the man I know I love. Creed never forced anything on me that I didn't want or ask for. He showed me nothing but love and compassion his entire life and our entire relationship. It's not his fault I'm so blind I didn't see him sooner. That's my fault. And he waited fifteen years for me and gave me the space and time I needed to fall in love on my own."

Then he looked at Edo. "This man wants you to believe that Edo, the man who really broke my brain, is, what? Actually in love with me and we had a secret relationship? You waited to hear what I have to say, so here it is: Everything the defense has said is a lie. You wanted to hear my story? Here is it: I love Creed Diskence." He pointed his index finger on the table with each word.

"At no point in our relationship with each other has he ever made me feel uncomfortable or scared. He has never held me against my will. You know who did?" He pointed to Edo. "Officer Edo. He forced himself on me. I thought I was going to die that day, and the night at the Goto house."

He choked back a sob and took another deep breath. "And when I thought I was going to die, I saw the man I actually love: Creed. But is that enough? No. They want you to believe I saw Creed because he was my tormentor. Because I am such a weak minded person I would allow someone to control me to this crazy extent. To the extent that my oldest friends don't even see it."

Train pointed to the television. "Did that video with Officer Edo look like I was willing to let anyone control me? Did you see a man who has no free will? Or did you see a man who was desperate to get away?"

He clenched his fists, happy no one had tried to stop him in his speech. He needed to get this all out and he looked Mako square in the eyes, noticing the man was at a loss for words. "You twist stories, put words in people's mouths, and refuse to accept any professional opinion or credible evidence. And why? Because they're cops. Because apparently cops can do no wrong. Society has a blind eye to them because they are held up as heroes. Well guess what?"

He leaned forward a little as he spoke calmly. "I'm also a cop. If you can take their word at face value, then you should be able to take mine. They're not the only 'heroes' in this room." Train sat back and smirked widely. "And just in case I haven't made it clear enough. I love Creed. He is my husband by choice and I want to spend the rest of my life with him by choice. And if I never say Edo again… It would be too soon."

The room was silent at his speech. Mako wasn't sure why he didn't try to interrupt him. There was something about those golden eyes that demanded he be heard. There was a certain tenacious abandon in his free spirited soul that insisted he speak and he'd be damned if anyone tried to stop him. He would be heard, whether the defense liked it or not.

Train looked at the dumbfounded man and smirked wider. "You don't by chance have a mic I could drop? That or any other questions?"

Mako gaped at him for a few more seconds before shaking his head and walking away. "...No further questions."

Train slapped his hands on the stand in front of him, pushed up, then jumped over and onto the floor. The adrenaline running through his body gave him back more strength than he realized he had after his recovery and he wanted to let it show.

Sephiria saw his good spirits and decided to reward it. She flattened her hand for him and put it out to the side. It was a lazy gesture, but the woman knew Train would appreciate it. The cat smiled cheekily and gave it a hardy high-five then took his seat next to Creed. Sven and Eve were behind him again, patting his back and telling him good job. Creed immediately grabbed his arm and leaned against him. Train then realized he could look at his husband now, but didn't have the chance as the judge called for lunch while the defense prepared their witnesses.

Train took this moment to turn to his partner and smiled brightly. Creed's cheeks were stained with streaks of tears and his eyes were wide with so many emotions. He was joyous, sad, scared and loving all at the same time. Creed's hands shook as he gripped Train tightly and kissed his shoulder repeatedly. His legs were also vibrating wildly, but his lips were curved in the biggest smile the golden man had ever seen. It was a wild trip seeing the other man showing so many strong emotions at once and it seemed like he didn't quite know how to handle them all.

Train laughed as Creed moved his kisses up Train's shoulder to neck, then cheek. The silver man then wrapped his arms tightly around Train's neck and began crying violently, yet quietly. It was hard to decipher all the feelings that came out in those tears, but Train could feel the overarching warmth of love behind his embrace.

The cat wrapped his arms around Creed's waist and pulled him against his chest. He wanted to kiss his partner, but since Creed had settled firmly into his neck, Train didn't think he could move the man if he tried. Instead, he contented himself on holding Creed in his arms and let him get all his emotions out.

They remained like that as the rest of the room emptied for lunch. Even Sephiria left, giving the men a moment to be with each other before the next part began.

"It's the home stretch, Silver Dollar. We can do it."

Creed nodded into his shoulder and took a bright, shaky breath in. His tears weren't quite done yet, but he still wanted to let his beloved know how he felt. "I love you… so much…"

Train chuckled and ran his fingers through his partner's hair. "And you just heard me testify under oath that I love you, too. I hope I finally cemented that fact in your mind."

Again, Creed nodded and squeezed his love as tight as he could. Train pinched him on the shoulder, making sure his husband knew this wasn't a dream before he could ask. He felt the silver man pout a little at the gesture, but his hold on Train never wavered.

The cat laughed again. "You insecure idiot." He kissed Creed on the cheek, then pulled his partner's head back against his neck.

---

Sephiria watched as Train and Creed walked back into the courtroom after their recess. She smiled when she saw them holding hands. "Well, I hope you're proud of yourself."

Her question was addressed to Train, so the cat pointed to himself and gave her a confused look.

"Yes, you. Thanks to your testimony, I had to spend the entire recess re-writing my closing statement. Did you read my notes or something?"

Train blinked, then laughed. "Like I'd remember what you wrote anyway. I was just speaking from the heart."

The lawyer smiled wider. "And you did awesome. And the best part is, Mako doesn't have many people to call. In fact, one of the people he described as his 'prime witness' to Creed's violent and possessive personality wants to back out."

"Really?" Train took the seat next to Sephiria this time. Creed was clinging to his arm tightly, still filled with so much joy over Train's very dramatic declaration of love.

Sephiria nodded. "Yes. It's probably too late to back out now, so he will most likely have to testify. However, I have a feeling it's not going to go well for them."

Train was about to ask who it was when the judge re-entered the room and they had to rise. The cat pulled his partner up when he realized Creed wasn't paying attention. The silver man looked embarrassed, but still held on to Train's arm vehemently.

When they sat, Mako remained standing and called his first witness. Train couldn't help but notice he still looked flustered and angry. Either the break wasn't long enough for him to get over Train's testimony, or he was upset about his 'prime witness'.

Or both. Been a rough day for the guy.

He looked at the man clinging to his arm and smiled. He kissed the top of his head and turned his eyes to the witness stand. Creed had not let go of him since his testimony was over and Train wasn't going to complain. That was a tapestry of emotions the cat can just woven and his partner probably went through so many different feelings he needed Train to be close while he gathered his senses again.

If he ever gathers them again. I think my arm is starting to fall asleep.

The golden man decided not to say anything. If something happened and this trial went south, Creed may not get a chance to latch onto him like this. That thought worried Train and he put his unoccupied hand on his husband's knee and squeezed tightly.

Creed purred at the gesture and snuggled closer. He didn't know what was going on with the second half of the trial and right now he didn't care. Even if they lost and he was about to be locked away forever, he knew he'd be able to survive with Train's love giving him strength.

Mako called a few more people from the precinct to the stand and they're testimonies were generally the same as their co-workers before them. However, there was a lackluster attitude in their statements that no one in the court could ignore. After Train's testimony, they all seemed to feel a bit guilty. As if they were doing the wrong thing. Even Mako had lost a bit of his fire. Edo was furiously shaking at the table and Clark again looked like he did not care.

When it was Sephiria's turn to cross examine them, she either chose not to, or kept it brief. It was easy for her to tear apart their stories, since they were obviously lies. None of them put up much of a fight at all. Mako was so desperate he even recalled some of the prosecution's witnesses, hoping he could get something more out of them. He didn't. None of them changed their story.

Once when Mako turned to call another witness, he briefly made eye contact with Train. The cat smiled widely at him and raised his hand, as if he was asking to be called back to the stand. The lawyer ignored his obvious wave, but Train couldn't help but hear a few jurors had caught the interaction and were giggling.

"Next witness, Mr. Mako?" The judge asked as she flipped through her notes.

The man sighed and rubbed his eyes. "My next witness doesn't want to testify anymore."

The judge raised an eyebrow at that statement. "Really? Why is that?"

"He just said he doesn't want to testify against Mr. Heartnet."

The judge leaned back in her chair and tapped her pencil on the desk in front of her. "Is he physically or mentally incapable of testifying?"

Mako shook his head, but did not verbally respond.

"Then tell him to come out anyway. I want to hear what he has to say."

The lawyer sighed and duly called the name of his next witness. "The defense would like to call Oliver Jones."

This brought Creed's attention up, but he still did not release his hold on his beloved. He watched wearily as Oliver was sworn in and took a seat. The nurse looked like he was either trying to hide his face or not make eye contact with Train and Creed. While Train felt betrayed at his initial willingness to work with the defense, Creed felt angry. It didn't matter that he no longer wanted to testify against them, the fact that he ever wanted to in the first place was what hurt.

Mako had the small man explain who he was and how he knew Train and Creed. The lawyer then had him describe his relationship with both men, and Oliver hesitated.

"Well… Mr. Diskence was my patient and Tra- Mr. Heartnet was…"

Mako tried to finish his statement. "Your partner?"

Oliver blushed and shook his head wildly. "No! That never happened." He glanced at Train quickly, then looked at his hands. "I… I had a crush on Mr. Heartnet."

Mako nodded. "Did Mr. Heartnet ever show signs of returning these feelings?"

The nurse shook his head again rapidly.

"Did you ever feel like you had a chance?"

"No…" His voice trailed off and everyone would hear the hurt in his voice.

"Do you know why?" Mako stayed in one place. He knew this wasn't going to go well, but he decided to try his original tactic anyway.

Oliver sighed. "Because of Mr. Diskence…"

Mako raised an eyebrow. "Are you saying Mr. Diskence threatened you?"

Oliver shook his head and waved his arms in the air wildly. "No! Never! That never happened."

"Did you feel like Mr. Heartnet was being threatened by him?"

"No." It wasn't originally what he was going to say, but after seeing how much Train loved the other man, he couldn't throw Creed under the bus like that.

Mako sighed. "According to both of their testimonies, they weren't in a relationship at that time. How did Mr. Diskence prevent Mr. Heartnet from returning your feelings if they weren't together at that time?"

Oliver twitched and kept his eyes down. "They're relationship was… Complicated at the time. I didn't understand it at the time because I was too infatuated with Tra- Mr. Heartnet. I didn't want to see how close they were because I wanted to be with Mr. Heartnet…"

"Didn't Mr. Heartnet give you his number?"

The nurse nodded. "Yes, but only because I pretty much blackmailed him. I used his relationship with Mr. Diskence against him and told him I would back off and only contact him if it was about Mr. Diskence." He sighed. "I didn't. I asked him out almost every day."

Mako ignored the guilty thoughts the nurse said out loud and he added at the end of his sentence. "Again, according to testimony they did not have a relationship at that time."

"Like I said, it was complicated. But… It was made clear after they left what they really were…"

"How so?" Mako felt like he was going to regret asking that question, but at this point he didn't have anything more to lose.

Oliver looked up at the man, letting him see the sadness in his eyes. "They kissed at the hospital doors when I was saying goodbye to Mr. Heartnet one more time." His eyes fell on Train and he smiled. "I've never seen two people kiss with such passion before. That was when I knew I had no chance."

Train could tell by the way the nurse was looking at him he was saying this as an apology. He knew siding with the defense was a betrayal to whatever friendship they may have had.

Mako watched the nurse behind the stand uneasily. It was obvious this wasn't going anywhere helpful, but he decided to try one more question. "Who kissed who?"

"They kissed each other." Oliver looked back at the lawyer as he spoke.

"Who initiated the kiss?" Mako furrowed his brow. His head was starting to hurt from the frustration of his case.

Oliver looked at him curiously. "They both engaged in the kiss more than willingly and Mr. Heartnet stopped responding to my messages after that."

Train couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt at his sad statement. He knew he didn't own the small man anything, but he probably could have been a little nicer about letting him down.

The nurse seemed to read the cat's thoughts and gave more of an explanation. "Mr. Heartnet had turned me down kindly so many times before that and I should have gotten the picture sooner. I was just too eager, I guess."

Mako sat down and brushed his hand in the air. "No more questions."

Sephiria stood and walked over to the nurse. She vaguely remembered scolding him back then about leaving Train alone while she questioned him about Creed's case, but other than that she really had no recollection of who he was.

"Mr. Jones, do you still have feelings for Mr. Heartnet?"

Oliver looked at Train, blushed brightly and nodded his head.

"Then why did you agree to testify against him in the first place?"

"I changed my mind! I didn't want to after today." He covered his mouth at the volume of his voice, then looked at the judge apologetically.

Sephiria smiled. "That's okay. Just tell us why?" She was pushing the point because she wanted the jury to see the effect Train had on people, hoping they would be reminded of how he had affected them.

Oliver took a big breath, then answered the question. "...Because I thought if I did I would have another chance with him. I know it's selfish, but…" Now he looked at Creed and the way the silver man clung to Train. He remembered how the silver man had shined brightly whenever the cat entered the room, and the nurse knew all too well how that felt. "You don't know what it's like falling for him…"

Train smiled pitifully at the nurse. He knew pity is not what Oliver wanted from him, but it was all he could give.

Maybe now that he understands what Creed is to me, we'll be able to start a real friendship.

That wasn't important right now, but Train nodded at the nurse as he stepped off the stand. He smiled at the cat when he passed them, his face as red as always, then took his seat behind them. The courtroom was silent for a while with Mako leaned his head in his hands.

The judge cleared her throat to get his attention and the man stood quickly. "No more witnesses, your honor."

She nodded and addressed the rest of the court. "Then it's time for closing statements."

Train wasn't really listening to what either of them said, but they both generally summarized their points with passionate emphasis. The cat looked at his partner who was still holding his arm and smiled. He ran a finger through his hair which made Creed smile and lean into his gesture. Their eyes locked for a minute, then the judge's voice brought their attention forward.

She was now addressing the jury. "The jury will now be dismissed and given time to deliberate. We will reconvene once their decision is made." She banged her gavel and the jury was ushered out.

Train turned to Sephiria. "What do we do now?"

Before she could answer, Train felt himself being tackled by something large. Baldor had locked his arm around the cat's neck and squeezed tightly. The gesture was definitely a friendly, but Train was not ready for it.

"Wow, Cat, I didn't know you had it in ya! Well, guess I shouldn't be surprised after all those years of putting me in my place."

Trained yelped and pulled tried to pull himself out. "Yeah, that's great, I'm awesome, but can you let me go?! I'm not fully recovered yet!"

Baldor let go and apologized, but Train turned to him and grabbed his old bully in a noogie as well. He laughed when the large man sputtered, but knew Baldor saw the humor in it. Inwardly, Train was thankful to see he was able to actually hold on to the man long enough to give him a noogie. While he forgave Baldor and knew he was a changed man, it was somehow comforting to know if it came to a fight, Train would be able to hold his own.

He let Baldor go then felt Sven jumping on his back. "That was amazing! I don't see them taking long to deliberate at all!"

Sephiria's voice interrupted their conversation. "Don't get your hopes up just yet." Their eyes fell on her as she packed up her items. "I've seen cases where the friends and family of a victim got way too excited and ended up losing. Train did a good job winning them over, but you still need to keep in mind if there is even one juror who sympathizes with cops, we could be here a while."

Train growled. "But I'm a cop."

The lawyer nodded. "Yes, but you're a cop that shows mercy to criminals. The defense made that point very clear. To some people, that makes you a criminal."

The cat sighed and felt Creed hug him from the side. Train put his arm around his partner and rubbed his head. "Right, whatever. How long do we have?"

"I'd say you have a few hours." The woman looked at her watch as she spoke. Then picked up her briefcase. "To answer your previous question: Go home. You live close enough and you haven't had a chance to settle back in. I think some quiet time in your own home with your husband will do you some good."

Train smiled at her and nodded. He couldn't deny that sounded really good right about now. The lawyer then turned to the rest of his friends who were all wondering the same thing.

"The rest of you should do the same. I have all your numbers and I'll call you when they're ready for us."

Sven stretched and yawned. "Not gonna lie. A nap sounds really good right about now." He offered his arm to his wife and smiled. "Care to join me in our charming motel room?"

She rolled her eyes and took his arm. "I still don't understand why we couldn't get a hotel."

"It was last minute! What do you want me to do?!"

Jenos punched Train in the shoulder and Rinslet smiled at him proudly. "Great job out there, Cat. We're gonna take the Vollfied's lead and head back to our room to take a nap."

Train smiled his friends and felt Baldor pat his shoulder strongly. "I think I'll go for a walk. We can catch up later, I think your lawyer is right. You should rest."

Their ex bully walked away and waved without turning around. Train smiled at his back and thanked the man silently in his head. Then, he saw Oliver sitting in the back, looking very ashamed and depressed. The cat frowned and removed Creed from his body.

When his partner frowned, Train kissed his forehead. "I'll be right back."

As he approached Oliver, William stopped him to thank him again. Aimi and Emma were next to him as well, both women accompanied by a man. Train smiled politely at them and told them he would talk to them later, he really wanted to get to Oliver before they left.

Oliver felt someone standing next to him and stood quickly when he saw Train looking down at him. He stared up at those golden eyes he adored and was about to apologize when the cat grabbed him in a tight hug.

"Thank you." Train's voice was quiet, but Oliver could hear him loud and clear. "I know how hard that must have been, and I just wanted to let you know I appreciated your honesty."

The nurse froze when his crush hugged him. That didn't last long as he buried his face into Train's chest and wrapped his arms around him tightly. He knew this was never going to happen again, so he wanted to enjoy it while he had it.

"Any time… Train…"

Train pulled away and smiled at him. Oliver's heart broke as he watched the golden man grab his partner and leave the courtroom. He waved at the nurse one more time before he left, leaving Oliver to watch the closed doors sadly.

---

"Oh God, my bed!" Train fell face first into the bed and held the pillow tight to his face. "Uuuhhh, it's soooo comfortable!"

Creed giggled as he watched his cat roll around the bed. He decided to join his love and laid down next to him, curling up as close as he possibly could. Train rolled over and wrapped his arms around Creed, pulling the silver man up so he was against his chest and Creed stared at Train's face.

Despite knowing his cat was tired, Creed felt like he hadn't touched Train in so long he couldn't stop himself. His hand trailed up Train's shirt and against his stomach. He traced his muscles gently and smiled to himself.

"Thank you for everything you said today, Love."

Train looked down at him curiously. "Why are you thanking me? I just told the truth."

Creed nodded against his beloved and moved his hand up to Train's chest, massaging the muscles there. "I know… But still… You didn't have to be that dramatic with it."

His cat laughed. "Since when are you against being dramatic?"

The silver man frowned and pinched Train's nipple. When his love gasped loudly, Creed giggled. "That's what you get."

"Oh I don't think you know what you started."

Train pulled Creed over so he was on top of him. The silver man knew exactly what the consequences for his actions were going to be and he was ready. Creed immediately wrapped his legs around Train's waist and kissed him deeply. Train returned the kiss and ran his hands up Creed's back.

The silver man broke the kiss momentarily so he could take off his shirt and Train did the same. They were back on each other in an instant, realizing now might be their last chance to be with each other if the jury's decision didn't go their way.

Creed moaned heavily against his love's mouth, wrapping his arms around Train's neck and pulling him close. Train dug his fingers into Creed's back and pushed their chests together. Their tongues twirled against one another eagerly, wanting to taste as much of each other as they could, memorizing the curves and crevices of each other's mouths.

Without breaking the kiss, Creed moved his hands to undo Train's paints and the cat copied his motions. The separated momentarily as the undressed each other fully, but locked their lips once more as soon as their clothes were properly disposed of.

Creed ran his hands against Train's upper body as much as he could while keeping his lips against his loves. He moaned as Train squirmed underneath him, feeling his partner's member growing against his own. Creed knew he was the moment Train laid on the bed.

"Train…" He moaned between kisses, not stopping his lips or his hands from what they were doing. "It feels like it's been so long since I've touched you like this…"

Train didn't respond, but Creed felt him laugh against his lips. His beloved was running his fingers through his hair and back eagerly, pushing his lower body up into Creed vehemently. Feeling Train's member brush against his own he groaned loudly and applied pressure of his own.

As they moved their bodies against each other, they realized it was not enough to satisfy the heat in their bodies. After being unable to be with each other like this for so long and Train learning how he really felt about the man, this small gesture didn't seem like it was enough to express their love.

Creed reached between Train's legs and pumped his shaft earnestly. His love gasped against his lips and then moved his lips to Creed's neck. The silver man moaned at the feel of his cat against him, then reached over to grab the lube he needed to get the job done.

When Train felt the lubricated hand against him, he moaned again and mimicked his partner's motions. Once his hand was properly greased up he took hold of Creed's shaft as well. The two moved their hands against each other wildly, feeling the heat boiling inside them, but still unsatisfied. They wanted to be closer to each other, so Creed finally stopped and moved himself down Train's body.

He began sucking his partner off hungrily and Train felt himself thrusting his hips unknowingly. Creed pinned his partner's hips down angrily, then continued what he was doing. Hearing his cat's moans of pleasure and feeling him squirm under his mouth gave him such a rush of heat he didn't know how to contain it. This still didn't feel like enough. As much as he was enjoying having Train in his mouth and as good as it felt, Creed's body ached for more.

Creed stopped and removed his mouth from Train. The cat moaned unhappily, then looked down at his partner to see why he stopped. He noticed Creed was positioning himself strangely above his hard member. Before he guided Train to his entrance, Creed looked up at the cat as if asking for permission.

Train sat up a little and nodded vigorously. The idea of being inside his husband was exactly what his body was craving. Creed smiled and slowly lowered himself onto his beloved. He shut his eyes tight as he felt Train pierce through him. The lube definitely helped, but it still hurt immensely.

The golden man saw his pain and sat up fully so he could hold Creed against his chest. He kissed his neck and face tenderly, hoping that would help with the pain.

"Creed, you don't have to if it hurts." Train tried to sound caring, but the more he entered Creed, the better it felt and he could feel his voice crack with lust. The tightness of his partner was the most incredible thing he had ever experienced, but he didn't want to hurt his husband.

Creed still had his eye shut, but shook his head wildly. "No. I want this just as much. And I've wanted it longer, so I'm getting it even if it kills me."

Train laughed at his melodramatic statement and kissed him again. "Now who's being dramatic?"

"Be quiet and let me concentrate." He almost had Train all the way inside of him and he needed to adjust to the feeling. Once his cat was fully inside, he caught his breath and clung to Train tightly. "Oh my God, you're too big, Train."

His cat laughed again and wrapped his arms around Creed's back. "I've never heard you complain about that before."

"That was before you were inside of me. That took forever." His voice was still strained and breathless as he spoke. He was trying to get used to the feel of his cat inside of him.

Creed sat still as he waited for his body to settle. The silver man cuddled his body up against his love's and curled his hands against his chest. He wanted so badly to let Train make love to him freely, but he needed a minute. He could feel his love throbbing inside of him and moaned at the sensation.

"Oh, God, I've wanted this for so long." He nuzzled his head into Train's neck and concentrated on catching his breath again.

Train smiled and kissed his husband on the head. He held Creed against his chest lovingly and massaged his back affectionalte. The primal side of him wanted to start thrusting in and out of his partner frantically, but he wanted to make sure Creed was okay before he let that side take over.

The cat must have moved out of instinct since he heard Creed whimper a little. "Sorry…" He said as he kissed the man again. "I'm trying not to hurt you."

Creed gave his cat a strained laughed. "That seems impossible with what you've got going on down there." He leaned against his husband and felt his body beginning to relax.

"That didn't sound much like a complaint that time." Train tickled his partner's back and tried to concentrate on not moving. It was hard since every impulse in his body screamed at him to do the opposite.

Creed shook his head and kissed his love's neck. "Not complaining at all. I could never complain with you inside of me." His breathing had slowed down and his pain was beginning to subside. As he breathed in his cat, he smiled and kissed his chest. "You feel so good, Train…"

Train eyed his partner curiously when he said that and decided to test the waters. He moved his hips slightly. Not enough to cause Creed pain, but enough to gage the man's reaction. The silver man gasped quietly, then moaned when Train stopped. The cat did it again, which earned another gasp, this one louder than the last. He did it a few more times and moaned a little himself. The tightness of his partner made it almost impossible for him to control himself, but he knew that he had to if they were both going to enjoy this moment.

He thrust inside Creed once more before pulling him away from his chest and looking into his eyes. "Are you ready?"

Creed's eyes were glossed over and his face was dazed, but he managed to nod his head. When Train thrust into him again, Creed gasped loudly and lost himself in Train's eyes. The silver man wrapped his arms around his cat's neck and pressed their foreheads together. He didn't want to break eye contact with his beloved as Train moved in and out of him.

Train moved in and out again, watching Creed's face to see if he hit any particularly pleasurable spots. Each thrust he made Creed cried out, but it wasn't the reaction Train was looking for. He decided to adjust himself a little inside his partner and moved in and out again. Creed moaned loudly and kissed him wildly, but it was still not quite the right spot.

"Are you okay?" Train kept moving in and out of Creed as he spoke, but a little slower now as he wanted to make sure his partner was still okay.

"Yes… Move a little to the left." Creed's voice was quiet, but sweet. He was enjoying how Train felt, but he knew his husband was trying to find a certain spot.

When Train adjusted again, Creed screamed loudly and gripped his back so hard he felt like his skin was going to break. The cat smiled as Creed caught his breath after that thrust and did it again. The silver man had the same reaction and nodded his head robustly.

"That's it... Right there, Love..."

Train was happy to oblige and hit that spot once more. Creed screamed even louder this time and Train left himself there for a few seconds. He clawed his fingers against Train's back and panted fiercely. Again, Train moved against his sensitive spot and Creed shouted out his name.

"Oh, Train!" His voice was shaking as Train poked the area again, looking deep into his eyes, wanting to remind himself who was making him feel such wonderful ecstasy.

Train was also feeling the intense pleasure and really had to work hard to control himself. He had never done this before and neither had Creed, so he was following his instincts and responding to his partner's body and voice.

He moved in and out of his husband a few more times, the heat in his groin building to an almost incomprehensible level as Creed said his name over and over. Train moved his hands to Creed's hips and started to bounce him up and down quickly, making sure to aim for the same spot he had discovered.

Creed felt like he was in a dream and Train's eyes were his guiding light back to reality. The heat that was pooling in his stomach was inconceivable. He had imagined doing this with Train so many times, but the dream of it was nothing compared to reality. As Train bounced him up and down his member, Creed cried out his name as loud as he could, not caring if anyone heard him.

"TRAIN!" He shouted and kissed his cat furiously.

Train returned the kiss and felt himself ready to explode inside his partner. His breathing was fast and his heart was pounding loudly in his chest. While Creed had been waiting his whole life for this moment, Train had never even thought about it. But now that it was happening, he couldn't believe it had never occurred to him to do this. He didn't think something could feel this good and he didn't think anything in his life would ever compare to this moment.

The cat knew Creed was almost ready too. He was actually surprised the man on his lap hadn't already exploded. Based on Creed's reactions, he was in heaven and didn't want the time they were joined as one to end. However, they both knew this couldn't last forever, so Train decided to give in more to his primal instincts.

Train left one hand on Creed's lower back and leaned back on his other one. This gave him more leverage to push back against, while his other hand was able to keep Creed moving up and down against him. When Creed saw his beloved moving back, he followed him and continued their deep kiss.

The golden man moaned loudly and moved even faster inside his partner. Creed was showing much less restraint than Train in his cries, but that was because the cat was trying to concentrate. He wanted this to feel good for himself and for his husband, so he needed to make sure he hit Creed's soft spot with every thrust while also enjoying the friction the man created against him.

As Train felt Creed's lips against his and heard his partner calling out his name between those kisses loudly, he moved even faster, breathing heavily and gasping loudly. He started to say Creed's name as well, which set the silver man's heart on fire.

"Oh, Creed…" He moved even faster, not aware he was capable of moving that quickly. "Creed… You feel so good…"

Hearing his beloved's voice and feeling him hit that spot over and over again at such a fast speed was too much for Creed. He felt himself reach his breaking point and finally burst onto Train's stomach. The silver man screamed powerfully when he released onto Train, but his kisses didn't stop and neither did his gratifying feelings as Train continued to move in and out of him.

After seeing his partner had finished, Train decided he didn't need to hold it in anymore and exploded inside of his partner, screaming Creed's name vociferously as he did. Even when he finished, the thrust inside Creed a few more times slowly before finally stopping and swallowing heavily.

Creed fell against Train and curled up against his chest. The cat wrapped his arms around the silver man's small frame and began catching his breath. Creed could feel his cat's heart beating against his cheek and frowned as he looked up at his beloved.

"Are you okay, Love?"

Train looked down at his partner's virtuous blue eyes and blinked. "What? After that? Of course I am…" His voice was a whisper as he tried to talk in between gasps of air.

Creed smiled and kissed his chest tenderly. "I just wanted to make sure we didn't accidentally hurt your head with all that excitement."

The cat thought about that, then laughed. "I guess it hurts a little. But there were too many good feelings to block it out, I'm not sure if it hurt during."

Creed giggled and kissed his cat again. "Good."

He was still trying to catch his breath as well, but he was also feeling very tired. The silver man nuzzled his head into Train's neck and shoulder and shut his eyes. He curled his hand into his love's chest and sighed peacefully.

"I can't believe it finally happened." He pointed a warning finger at Train. "Don't pinch me!"

Train laughed breathlessly and pulled Creed tight against his chest. "I can't believe this never occurred to me. No wonder people enjoy it so much."

Creed smiled as he shut his eyes again. "It wouldn't feel as good with someone else…"

He could feel his cat nodding his head in agreement, then kiss the top of his head as he held Creed a little closer. Train rested his cheek on top of his partner's head, finally catching his breath and shutting his eyes as well.

As he ran his fingers through Creed's hair, he realized that he was still partially inside of the silver man. After exploding he had gone soft, so it was harder to stay inside of him. Train pulled Creed off him, much to the man's displeasure, and moved him against the bed.

The cat laughed when Creed pouted up at him. "I can't stay there forever, Creed."

His pout didn't leave his face. "Says who?"

"I don't know. Biology?"

Seeing that wasn't a good enough answer, Train leaned forward and kissed him lovingly. The cat laid next to him and shut his eyes. Creed immediately rolled over so he was on top of Train again and cuddled as close as he could. The golden man smiled and wrapped his arms about Creed.

They shut their eyes and fell into the most peaceful slumber either of them had ever had.

---

Train's head shot up when he heard his phone ringing loudly from his pants.

He cursed and jumped off the bed, realizing he didn't know where they had fallen to. By the time he found them, he missed Sephiria's call and grumbled to himself.

Unlocking his phone, Train saw she didn't leave a voice message. Instead, she texted him. Before he checked the message, he noticed it had been four hours since they left the courtroom. Train felt his stress level rise at that thought, wondering if they had missed an important call.

He pushed that thought aside and read his lawyer's message:

"Jury is at a stalemate. We're reconvening tomorrow afternoon."

Train locked his phone again and looked at Creed who was just barely awake. However, when he saw the worried look on his cat's face, he frowned.

"What's wrong?"

Train threw him his phone so he could read for himself. Creed felt his heart stop and looked up at Train in a panic as he reached out for his beloved. The cat complied and crawled back on to the bed and next to his husband.

He pulled Creed against his chest and kissed his forehead fondly. Train sighed when he realized the man in his arms was actually shaking a little and buried his face deep into his chest.

The cat pushed him away and moved his face up so it was facing him. He smiled cheekily, knowing that gesture never failed to work on his husband.

"No matter what happens, don't forget that I love you. You got that?"

Creed nodded and gazed lovingly into his eyes. Train kissed him deeply one more time before trying to go back to sleep.