Ehehehee.... I did a little too much partying Devil's night (had it off) so I didn't bother updating yesterday, as I was a little.... Rough. Not much to say here. I didn't like this part. At all. it just sounds... Forced. So, two notes.

1. SIGN MY GOD DAMNED PETITION! XD;;;;; lol. seriously, people. 21 sigs to go! almost there! @.@ Please sign? And thanks to those who have!

2. Argh! More people need to review Bibly's new fic, 'Breaking You'. It's really, really good. n-n really good. So read it and let her know! ._. It's squintorific. Especially if you're a fan of Forte x Rock.

new A/N I doubt there'll ever be a chapter 3 to this, but you never know lol we'll see.

Trials and Tribulations

"It's really starry tonight, isn't it." Rock whispered softly to Forte, who was curled up on his right side, head resting in Rock's lap gently, so he could stare out at the room he was in. He played softly with his shock of violet hair, tucking it behind his ear, then twirling it around his finger and tucking it behind his ear again.

"mmm." Was Forte's only response as he traced designs in Rock's pajama bottoms, and stared out into the dark room, peacefully. How long had it been, now..? How many months, without getting caught? He sat up, suddenly, and stared sullenly out the window. 'This can't last much longer... It gets harder and harder to sneak out. I was almost caught tonight.'

He'd been just about to climb out his window when Wily had opened his door, poking his head in, and gave him an accusing stare.

"Sneaking out again?" He'd asked, shaking his head.

"I don't sneak." Forte had snapped back with. "If I go somewhere and you don't see, well.."

Wily crossed his arms, leaning on the doorframe. "I'm curious as to where you 'go' almost every night." His expression seemed to lighten however. The old man was in a good mood over something.

There are some items I need to... acquire, tomorrow, from somewhere. I don't want Rockman on my case, so I need you to distract him. Keep him busy. Understood?"

Forte nodded, feeling numb. 'Stop it! I knew this was going to happen eventually! We both knew...'

Wily grinned. "Good. And try not to make so much noise when you... 'go', this time. Wherever the hell it is you keep taking off to." He shook his head slightly, walking away.

Warm arms encircled him, pulling him back slightly, so he leaned against Rock's chest slightly.

" ... You're brooding again." He whispered, kissing his jaw gently. "Why are you so upset suddenly? Did something happen?" He rubbed Forte's shoulders gently. Nothing. Why did he always push him away like that?

Forte said nothing, simply shrugging Rock's hands off him and getting up. "I have to go. I think Wily's getting suspicious." He sighed softly, throwing his clothes on over his boxers. "I'll see you tomorrow, I promise."

Rock stared down at his hands, momentarily, before masking the hurt in his eyes. "A-alright." He murmured, getting up and walking over to the window Forte was half out of. "Goodnight." He leaned forward, to kiss him.

Forte leaned away, slightly, turning his head to the side slightly, keeping his eyes on Rock's. It was the longest five seconds of his existence. "Goodnight, Rock." He climbed down the side of the house, slowly, then walked out of site, before beaming away.

Slowly, Rock sank back down, on the bed. "... What just happened?" Curling up on his bed, it suddenly felt too big, and empty. 'Forte... What did I do wrong?' He sighed softly. A curse. That's what this life was.

"Hmm.." Forte went over his armor carefully, adjusting, enhancing. 'Why am I letting this get to me?' He thought, sitting down on a table in the lab, as Wily went about fixing a small glitch in his booster. 'It's not as though I didn't know this was going to happen. We're enemies, not friends. So what if we vent our.... frustrations, on each other. It doesn't mean anything. I don't love him.' He stared over at a small mirror which hung not too far from him, narrowing his eyes at his reflection, who was blushing back.

'Do I?'

He sighed slightly. How many times had he almost slipped those three words out, during the heat of passion. He'd always managed to stop himself first, however. Those three words.. Saying them, believing them, was far too painful. Who was he to think he knew anything about love? Who was he....?

'I don't deserve to feel love. '

He drew his knees to his chest as Wily went over to a cupboard, pulling out different wires, looking for one in particular he would need. '... That's why Rock hasn't said it yet. He doesn't love me.' He sighed, staring at his armored leg's cavity, which was pulled open, waiting for its wire. 'Rock... you idiot. You already know... What we do his meaningless...' He clenched his hand into a tight fist. No. It was his fault Rock had no feelings for him. It was his fault, not Rock's. Here he was, getting suited up to fight his lover, possibly destroy him, as Rock lay sleeping soundly in bed, thinking himself safe. And why? All so an old man, his creator, could get parts for something he wasn't telling him about to begin with.

'This is so messed up..'

Wily returned, replacing the wire in his leg with a new one, and looked up, seeing Forte's clenched fist. He grinned slightly. "Excited about the fight? Or is your arm acting up too?" He stared down at Wily, caught red handed.

'He knows I'm trying to stall him. Do something.'

"I'm just really looking forward to kicking Rock's ass, old man. Very excited. You've kept me penned up for far too long." He gave his best dark grin, stretching luxuriously on the table. "Ready when you are."

Wily simply shook his head. "Don't screw up! This is important."

"I won't." Forte grumbled, aggitated. 'I can't... Forgive me, Rock.'

>>>>>

Rock lay on his back, talking excitedly on the phone with Blues, who had randomly called that morning. Something rare for him, but he'd wanted to check up on Rock. He'd had a feeling something was going on the last time he was there, so he called, forcing the truth out of Rock.

"I'm sorry, did you just say Forte?" Blues' voice rang through the phone.

"Yes, Forte..... That's right." Rock ran on with, flipping through random channels.

"Rock...". He could hear the concern in his brother's voice. "It has to be a trap. Forte wants to kill you. There's no way he'd just walk up to you and-"

"No, it's not a trap..." Rock grumbled, bothered slightly by Blues' disapproval.

"How do you know he's not just sitting there, waiting for the right moment to attack?" Blues tried to explain.

"Because I can tell...." Rock replied with, slowly. Forte wouldn't do that, would he? Use him like that?

"You can't just tell something like that!" > Blues cried.

"Yes, I can." He sighed softly. Blues wasn't taking the news as well as he'd hoped.

"Just... Be careful Rock." A pause. "I should come back home, for awhile."

"Of course I'll be careful.... No, you don't need to come down here... I mean, you can if you want." He added quickly, not wanting to offend his brother.

"You don't want me back home? I'm just worried."

He sat up, rubbing his forehead. "No, I never said that." He snapped.

"Yeah you did. You don't want me there."

"No I didn't! I do want you around, I just don't want you rushing down here everytime you think I'm in trouble!" He exclaimed, upset.

Blues could sense the anger in his voice, but his concern grew when he heard the word trouble. "So you are in trouble, then?"

"I'm not in trouble! Everything's-" He paused, hearing the doorbell ring. "I've got to go, someone's at the door."

"Alright... I'll see you tonight, then." Blues mumbled.

He jumped up. "You'll be here tonight? Where exactly are you?"

"Visiting Santa, Rock." Blues replied, a trace of sarcasm in his voice.

"You're WHERE?!" Rock cried, convinced he had misheard Blues. There was no way he could be all the way out there...

"Let's just say.. Really far North. It's out of teleportation range, so I'll have to make some of the trip another way." he explained. "Ja."

"Okay.... See you tonight, then. Bye." Rock stated into the phone, staring at the earpiece silently. That was strange.

He set the reciever down gently, and went to the door, opening it slowly. On the other side of the door stood Forte, in full armor, buster pointed at his face. Taking a step back, he stared at him, horrified. "... For.... Forte...?"

Forte stared at him, a trace of sadness on his hardened face. "Sorry, Rock..." He murmured, stepping forward. "It's business."

Rock closed his eyes, breathing deeply. "I understand." So this was why he had been so upset, the night before. With a small, incoherent mumble, his armor appeared on him, and he stepped forward again. "Let's do it, then."

Stepping back, slowly, Forte led the way out of the house. "I'd hate to destroy your place, Rockman. There's a field a few miles away. Let's go." Grabbing his arm, he teleported away, Rock in tow.

Rock couldn't help but snort slightly. He had never seen Forte actually worry about property damage before. Drawing back from Forte's touch slightly, he stood, poised to fight. "Let's make this quick."

Without the slightest hesitation, Forte pointed his buster at Rock and let out a barrage of shots, each one barely missing the agile bioroid. Jumping back, he dodged a charged shot Rock had shot at him, which shot past his face, missing by inches. 'He understands how serious this is... Just like I do.' He thought to himself, running along a fence, stepping post from post, as each post behind him was blown apart.

Rock looked around him, quickly, for something he could use to his advantage. He was doing good, for the time being, but the sun was behind Forte, making it difficult for him to see his opponent. 'Damnit,' he thought to himself. 'He was right... Blues was right. He's been using me! I'm nothing to him. Nothing!' He squinted and kept firing, barely missing Forte as he ran along the fence. 'That's it! If I shoot just ahead of him...' Recalculating his shots, he fired one slightly ahead of Forte, which hit him straight on, knocking him off the fence.

Forte let out a cry, feeling the familiar burning sensation of Rock's blaster. 'Why? Why am I throwing the match? I don't have to win this time, but I have to keep going until the old man tells me to stop!' Reaching around behind him, his hand fell upon a twisted gnarled tree branch, around 30 centimetres long. Snatching it up, he hopped back over the fence and shot a few distraction shots at Rock, who blocked most of them, crying out when a few met their target.

Rock grit his teeth, and jumped back, to avoid the last two shots. God Forte's shots hurt. Unlike Forte, he had no chest plate, leaving him with about half the armor he had. He had little time to react to the shots before Forte lunged at him, tackling the smaller boy, and both tumbled down a hill which steeped drastically as it went along, finally becoming a small cliff-side.

They landed seconds later on the jagged rocks of the beach, further down from where they used to meet, Forte beneath Rock, taking the damage the rocks had to offer. He growled deeply, trying to get up, to attack, but several rocks stuck into his lower back and sides deeply, making it difficult to do much of anything, besides moan in pain.

Rock stared fearfully down at Forte, as he tried his hardest to get up, seeing the blood pooling slowly from the side of Forte's mouth. He was furious, yet the harsh words and taunts he usually spoke were absent. 'He's not playing with me, like he used to. He's serious. Really serious. Why, Forte?!' He opened his mouth, prepared to reason with him, to ask why he was doing what he was. "Please, Fo-" He was cut off as something sharp, and jagged tore into his synthetic flesh, stopping only when it reached his metallic skeletal structure, protecting his mass of circuitry.

He was thrown aside, as Forte struggled to get up, fighting the swarming in his head. Slowly, he crawled over to Rock, who was trying to pull the branch out, face contorted in pain, tears in his eyes. Forte loomed over Rock, staring down at him, face tortured. Straightening his arm, he allowed it to turn into his buster, before pointing it down, at Rock's face. "I have to..." He whispered, something between self loathing and bloodlust in his voice. "I'm going to..."

Rock, in turn, did the same with his weapon, aiming right between the eyes. "Not if I do first." He growled, as he struggled to hold his arm steady, ignoring the pain. He didn't shoot, however, noting Forte's sudden hesitation. 'He's forcing himself to do this! He doesn't want to... Maybe he does care..' Nothing was spoken between the two for several moments. Suddenly a voice came in, small and distant both bioroids could hear.

"Forte, your job's done. What's your damage? Is it even worth repairing you?" The voice was mocking, yet had a hint of humor in it. The speaker wasn't serious.

Forte stared down at Rock, face slowly turning from one of torment to one of immense relief. "Nothing my auto repair can't handle... I won't be able to make it back tonight, though. I've been immobilized."

A moment of silence. Alright... Make it back as soon as you can. I have work for you.

"Alright." He flipped off his communication device, staring up at Rock, eyes burning with tears he wouldn't allow to spill. Not just yet. "Rock... I... I'm sorry.." Slowly, he allowed his arm to shift back into his hand, then reached down to Rock. "Hold still." He murmured, jerking at the branch he had just impaled Rock with. Tossing it aside, gently, he sank down onto Rock weakly, face pressed into his chest, slightly. "I'm so sorry..." the burning sensation was so intense, but he fought it, not wanting to spill tears in front of Rock.

Rock stared numbly at him, before drawing his arm to the side, allowing it to turn into his hand, which immediately went for Forte's hair, stroking it gently, as he stared back at Forte, his own tears streaking his face. "Forte... I would have.... You.... We would have killed each other..." He whispered, leaning up and kissing him softly on the lips. "I never want to fight like that again... Tell me next time... Tell me, because I thought you were serious... I doubted you..." He held onto Forte tighter, feeling Forte's hand slide down to his wound, pushing on it, to hold the bleeding in.

"I'm sorry..." He repeated in a hushed whisper, reduced to a sobbing mass. He kept his hand on Rock's sighed, trying futilely to stop the bleeding, to will the injury away. He'd hurt him, badly.

Rock wiped at Forte's eyes gently. He'd never seen Forte like this, so damaged. he'd never seen him spill a single tear. It hurt, far worse than the hole in his stomach. ".. I'll never doubt you again." He whispered, kissing him deeply. He resisted the urge to gag, the rusty taste of blood almost enough to make him sick. Finally, he pulled away, unable to take the taste anymore, and simply cradled Forte's head, stroking it lightly. "Let's go home and get cleaned up." He soothed softly. "No one's there, it'll be just the two of us."

Forte nodded slowly. "... Alright. I'll bandage you up. You'll have to take me there... I really am immobilized. And there's no way I could focus enough to teleport." He closed his eyes, feeling the familiar lurching sensation which accompanied teleportation, as Rock handled it.

Forte lay quietly on his stomach, as Rock took his turn in bandaging Forte, who had several deep puncture wounds wherever his thick armor was absent. ".. Thank you." He sighed, as Rock's small, skillful hands worked their way over wound after wound.

Rock smiled softly, as he set the warm, moist cloth aside and began to wrap Forte's wounds gently. "Just returning the favour." His own stomach and chest were wrapped in a few places. Hmm. Clumsy, yet with good intentions. Finished with his ministrations, he settled down next to Forte on the bed, wrapping his arms around him, cuddling close.

Forte kissed Rock's forehead gently, closing his eyes drowsily. 'This life is a curse... But am I really unhappy?' he thought to himself. The answer was rather straightforward. No. For the first time that he could remember, he felt complete. "Goodnight, Rock." He whispered. He was going to add 'I love you', but he wasn't sure how Rock would react. 'Best to not ruin a good thing.'

Rock mumbled something which sounded like "night" back, muffled against Forte's neck.

Silently as a wraith, Blues slipped into the house, shutting the door behind him quickly. He knew Rock was up to something the last time he had visiting. He was so quiet, for start, and he kept disappearing, sometimes for hours. 'I hope you know what you're getting into, Rock.'

He walked up the stairs quietly, opening the door to Rock's room, upon reaching the top. Standing in the doorframe, he took in the sight of Rock and Forte, silently. Both had been torn up, badly, most likely from each other, yet they were... Cuddling. He shook his head slightly, resisting a laugh. Forte. And Rock. Cuddling. To anyone who had seen them just months earlier, it was both a baffling and disturbing scene.

"Well, aren't you two a sight?" He mumbled, shutting the door, and shuffling down the hallway. He'd tell Rock he had arrived in the morning.