M.e.M.o.R.i.E.s.O.f.M.e.A.n.D.y.O.u.

a.U.t.H.o.R. Y.u.U.k.I.

Warning : AU

S.u.M.m.A.r.Y Hwa Zhu Lei and Mei Zhou are brothers. Despite the three years age difference, the brothers have always been extremely close.  One day, Hwa Zhu Lei, age 10, and Mei Zhou, age 7, decide to go to the park to meet with some of Lei's friends. While there, Lei becomes immersed with his friends and leaves Mei Zhou on his own on the swings. Bored, Mei Zhou catches sight of a beautiful butterfly and being the curious little boy he is he follows the butterfly away from his brother. However, when Lei finally notices his brother's absence, it is already too late; Mei Zhou is no where found.

Will they ever reunite?

r.A.t.I.n.G PG

~*~

C.h.A.p.T.e.R.o.N.e.P.a.R.t.O.n.E – brotherly love

~*~

The sun shone brightly upon the city of Taipei, reflecting light off the tall glass buildings. People crowded the streets under the Sunday afternoon sun, and cars overflowed the streets as usual. The adults, taking a day off work, wandered the street walks of shopping stores and down the alleys of markets. The children gathered with their friends before windows, gazing lovingly at the displays of sweets, and before food stores, buying their treats with the money that their parents gave them.

One particular pair of children stood from the crowd. A boy of ten, wearing a clean pair of jeans with a white polo shirt, walked down the street walk, holding tightly to the hand of a seven year old boy wearing matching jeans and a green polo shirt. The younger of the two as being gently pulled by the older boy gazed with wide dark brown eyes at all the stores and people that passed by. As he passed by, one store caught the young boy's attention.

"Gu-gu!" he called, pulling the older boy to a stop.

The older boy turned around to look at his younger brother. "What is it, Mei Zhou?"

Wide eyes gazed up at the older boy as he points at the window before him. Lei turned his head around to see what had intrigued his younger brother. Before them inside the window pane was a whole display of different arrays of candies. Each one could make a child's mouth water in desire for the taste of the exotic sweets. However, one candy in particular had captured the eyes and apparently tastes of the young boy. The swirling rainbow colors twisted around the wooden stick stood proudly out from the rest as its colors blinded and entranced those who had laid eyes upon it.

"I want it," said Mei Zhou as he pointed to it.

Lei glanced back at his young brother as he was crazy. "Mei Zhou, it's huge! Are you sure you can finish it?"

Mei Zhou pouted. "Gu-gu, I really want it. Mama won't let us eat any sweets at home; therefore this is the only time I can eat it. Besides! I know you want to try it, too. We can share!"

Lei glanced warily at his younger brother and then at the candy and back again. Mei Zhou was right; he did want to try the candy as well. Coming from a rich family, one rarely try any of the food for the average people; and in his mother's case, that included sweets.

Sighing in defeat, Lei pulled his brother towards the entrance. "Come on," he replied a bit reluctantly. "Let's get that candy."

Happily, Mei Zhou followed his older brother into the store, and once inside, he broke from his brother's grip and ran towards the candy to bring it to the counter. Lei only smiled at his young brother's antics and followed him to the counter to pay for the candy.

~*~

After they had paid for the candy, the two brothers headed towards the city park and sat on the swings, passing back and forth the candy, savoring between each lick until the candy disappeared. With their tummies full from the yummy treat they had just finished, they quietly sat on the swings next to each other, swinging back and forth, just enjoying the presence of the other.

Lei leaned back, eyes closed as he relished the sensation of the back and forth movement of the swings. With his eyes closed, he could hear far better. From the distance, he could hear the cars driving on the streets, the joyful glee of children playing soccer in the nearby field. Everything was at peace.

"Ne, gu-gu," whispered Mei Zhou softly, breaking the trance.

Slowly, Lei opened his eyes and sat back up to look at his younger brother. Mei Zhou had his head down, his tiny feet barely touching the ground below as his swing swayed back and forth with the wind.

"What is it?" asked Lei, worriedly. But he was surprised when Mei Zhou lifted his head to show his dazzling smile.

"Thank you," replied Mei Zhou.

Lei blinked and furrowed his brows in confusion. "Thank you for what?"

"For being my gu-gu," answered Mei Zhou softly. He gazed up lovingly at his older brother. "I wouldn't exchange you for anything."

Lei blushed lightly at his brother's praises and turned his head away, hiding his blush. "Don't worry about it."

"I love you, gu-gu," came the immediate soft reply.

Lei snapped his head around at the quiet declaration that had been carried to him by the slight breeze. The other sibling's head turned away in shy embarrassment. From his seat, Lei could see the slight blush upon the other's cheek; the corners of his mouth tugged into a slight smile.

"I love you, too, Mei Zhou," replied Lei in equal tone. His young brother gracefully turned his head to face him, tilting his head slightly. He smiled and nodded his head sharply in confirmation.

"That's good," he chirped. Extending his small arm, he lifted his tiny pinky finger and gazed intensely into Lei's brown eyes.

"Forever together?" he questioned in perfect English.

Lei smiled widely as he linked his finger around the tiny one. "Together forever!" he replied in same.

Then suddenly Lei launched towards Mei Zhou and started tickling the tiny boy's sides.

Mei Zhou's gleefully childish laughs echoed through out the park.

~*~

c.H.a.P.t.E.r.O.n.E.p.A.r.T.t.W.o. – the incident

~*~

O.n.E.m.O.n.T.h.L.a.T.e.R

"Mei Zhou! Hurry up!" called Lei from outside the door. He received no reply from his young brother. Frustrated, Lei pounded the door. "Mei Zhou! What are you doing in there?! Priming yourself?! We're going to be late meeting A-shi and Xi-men at the park!"

"I'm coming!" snapped Mei Zhou from inside. Inside the bedroom, the tiny boy quickly chose a yellow shirt from his drawer and slipped it on before rushing to the door and opening it before his older had the chance of knocking it down.

Glaring down at the short boy standing between the doorway, Lei scolded, "What in the heck were you doing in there?"

Mei Zhou sniffled a little in annoyance as he pushed past his older brother. "I was getting ready."

Lei only raised a single eyebrow at the statement. "It took that long????"

The younger sibling shrugged, "I didn't know what to wear."

Sighing, Lei followed his young brother; sometimes, Lei believed that his younger sibling had been born into the wrong gender. He took longer time to get ready than their mother!

"Really, Mei Zhou," reprimanded Lei, "sometimes I believe you should be a girl by the amount of time you take to get ready everyday."

Mei Zhou only ignored his brother and replied instead, "Sometimes I believe you want me to be a girl."

Lei blushed at that comment and muttered under his breathe. Mei Zhou smiled lightly: point for Mei Zhou.

Walking out the door, Lei informed their Guan Jia where they were going just in case their parents ever asked about their whereabouts. Right as they passed from any eyes, they began to run across the huge expanse of the Hwa Zhu estate. Just as they neared the mansion gate, Lei unexpectedly pulled Mei Zhou's shoulder back, halting him. Mei Zhou stopped and glanced curiously up at Lei.

"What is it? I thought you said we were going to be late," said Mei Zhou confused.

Lei bit his lip nervously and gazed away. "Yeah, I know. But I want to give it to you now."

"Huh?" replied Mei Zhou, rather unintelligently.

Reaching into his back jean pocket, Lei pulled out a velvet blue rectangular box and handed it to Mei Zhou. Glancing up at his older brother and back down at the box in his hand, Mei Zhou didn't take the box but questioned, "What is it?"

"I got this a few weeks ago for your birthday," explained Lei as he gazed at the velvet box in his hands. "I was going to give it to you this Tuesday on your birthday but I couldn't wait so…" He paused uncertain what else to say; he lifted his eyes to gaze into the other boy's huge eyes. Extending his arm again, Lei continued, "Well, here. Happy early – birthday!"

Immediately, Mei Zhou's face brightened at the prospect of an early birthday present. Reaching out, he took the box from Lei's hands and opened the box. He gasped at the sight. Snapping his eyes back and forth from his present to his brother, Mei Zhou could only gap like a fish.

"Wha-?"

Lei smiled at his brother's reaction. Helping him, Lei reached out and took the jewelry from the case. "Here. Let me put it on for you," offered Lei. Dumbfounded, Mei Zhou turned around as his brother reached around the small boy to place the necklace in place. As the necklace was placed upon his neck, Mei Zhou could feel the slight coolness of the silver chain and the slight weight of the cross against his chest. Finished clasping, Mei Zhou glanced down and carefully lifted and observed the silver cross that seemed gigantic laying upon the small boy's chest.

"You like it?" asked Lei, observing Mei Zhou's profile.

Mei Zhou gazed up, smiling. "Un! I like it a lot! Thank you, gu-gu! You're the best!"

Lei smirked. "Of course."

~*~

"Hey, Lei! Over here!"

Lei smiled and waved at the two boys standing by the swings. Turning over to his brother, he gestured for Mei Zhou to follow. Once they reached the two boys, Lei shared a semi-complicated handshake with his friends, causing Mei Zhou to scrunch his eyes up in utter confusion and cuteness.

"I don't see why you guys make up such a complicated way of greeting," stated Mei Zhou truthfully. "Couldn't you guys just give high fives? It would be a lot simpler."

The boy in the red t-shirt scoffed at the suggestion. "Simplicity is simply not how it's done. The complicated handshake separates us from the rest of the other groups out there."

Mei Zhou only stared at the boy in confusion. "Huh?"

The boy sighed. "You're too young to understand."

"Hey!" exclaimed Mei Zhou indignantly. "I'm not young! I'm almost eight years old!"

"Whatever, kid," replied the boy offhandedly.

Angered by the display of indifference, Mei Zhou made a lunge towards the red-shirt boy to punch him only if he weren't stop by Lei.

"Mei Zhou!" cried Lei as he wrapped his arms tightly around the small boy. Although his young brother seemed small, whenever he becomes incensed his strength becomes incredible.

"Mei Zhou! Stop it! He didn't mean it!" cried Lei as he continued his struggle to hold the smaller boy back.

"Let me go! I want to hit him!" growled Mei Zhou as he flung his arms towards the laughing boy before him. "Gu-gu! Let me hit him!"

"Come on, Lei," chided the smirking boy. "Let him go! Let's see what he's got!"

Lei snapped his eyes furiously at the smirking boy. "Shut the hell up, A-Shi!"

"Oh, come on, Lei! You can't protect your brother all the time," reasoned A-Shi. "He's got to learn how to defend himself sometimes!" Turning his attention back to the smaller boy, he continued his taunt. "Come one, little kid! Show me what you got! Show me that you don't need your older brother protecting always, you prissy!"

At that comment, Mei Zhou broke through Lei's grip and landed a solid punch on A-Shi face, causing the poor boy to fall back on his behind. The younger boy was about to land another punch but Lei quickly grabbed onto the other's body, pulling him close to him.

"Stop it, Mei Zhou!" ordered Lei. "He's already got what he deserved."

Although Mei Zhou relaxed in his brother's arms, his eyes still flashed like lightening at the boy upon the ground.

"Hey, A-Shi, you okay?" asked the other boy who had been silent; he kneeled besides A-Shi and gently touched the bruise and winced at the color. Then he smirked evilly. "He's got you good."

"Shut up, Xi-men," drawled A-Shi as he stood up from the ground, his eyes forever on the boy trapped within Lei's arms. He slowly approached Mei Zhou, eyes daring the other to look away. Lei only tightened his grip around Mei Zhou as the older boy approached closer.

After a few seconds of staring, A-Shi finally smiled and held out his hand. Suspiciously, Mei Zhou glanced at it and asked, "What is it?"

A-Shi gave a short laugh. "A handshake, stupid! A sign of friendship or truce between us," he explained.

Anger disappeared from the small boy's eyes as curiosity replaced them, making his round eyes vivid with a sense of innocence. Stepping out from his brother's protective embrace, he stepped closer towards the offered hand, thought for awhile, before he latched onto the hand in a firm handshake. He smiled dazzlingly up at the older boy.

"Friends!!"

Lei and Xi-Men both sighed in relief.

~*~

Whatever's A-Shi's definition of friends might be, it seemed to comprise sitting on the swings by oneself doing nothing of interest. Actually, A-Shi did invite Mei Zhou to join them but the idea of hanging out with girls, nonetheless, turned Mei Zhou completely off. Thus, he decided to sit on the swings, waiting for the others to do something more useful and fun.

Laughter filtered through from the distance, and Mei Zhou glanced up through long eyelashes at the girl that seemed complete immersed with his older brother, Lei. He had met the girl a good amount of times to know that her name was Shan Cai; also, he had met her good enough times with the others to know that she was liked by both Lei and A-Shi. However, unfortunately for the latter boy, Shan Cai seemed to take interest in Lei. Although she seemed nice enough, Mei Zhou did not understand why his brother even bothered with her.

First and foremost, she was a girl and girls got cotties! Second, she wasn't all that pretty; she didn't even seem to be rich like they were! Lastly, she was a girl- a girl that took Lei's attention away from him whenever she showed up. Even though he knew that she does not do it on purpose, Mei Zhou couldn't help but feel a bit of detestation towards her. It was not like he never tried to be friendly towards her; he did many times! But no matter how much he tried, he couldn't stand her (cause she's a girl); even if Lei wanted him to, he couldn't. For Lei, Mei Zhou would do anything; being the older brother that he was, Lei had always protected and shielded him from danger, and as a return favor, it was his duty, at least that was what Mei Zhou believed, to repay him with anything he's got.

However, being nice to Shan Cai could not be on the list. Mei Zhou just could not accept her. Instead of hanging around her whenever she's around, Mei Zhou always locked himself in his room whenever she comes over to play with Lei; he never seemed to be missed. He didn't want to take the chance of saying something he would regret later and having his older brother mad at him. He couldn't ever stand it if Lei was angry at him.

Sighing, Mei Zhou turned his head away from the scenery to settle observing the people who walked before him. Several children ran passed him playing some kind of ball game with a golden retriever happily chasing after them; glees of laughter could be heard as the dog ran through the small group and caught the ball between his mouth. A family, a mother and father, strolled along the walkway under the shade of the tree, talking pleasantly with one another as the mother pushed the stroller. Within the stroller, Mei Zhou could make out the tiny shape of a baby girl dozing happily as the gentle movement of the stroller lured her sleep.

This is so boring, thought Mei Zhou as he lazily swung with the wind.

Absently, he reached for his chest and his fingers encountered the hard shape of the cross under his shirt. Smiling lightly, he reached into his shirt and took out the silver cross. Lightly, he traced the intricate details of the body of Christ and the design of the cross itself, the tiny bumps grazing gently over his fingertips. Raising the cross for a closer inspection, Mei Zhou turned it over and noticed the smoothness of the silver engraved with an inscription. Squinting eyes, he carefully made out the words.

 'Together Forever,' it read. 'Love, gu-gu.'

Then suddenly something from the corner of his eyes caught his attention. A yellowish brown butterfly landed on the swing next to him. It gently fluttered its wing, bringing Mei Zhou closer towards the creature. Leaving his swing, he quietly approached the creature and kneeled besides it, entranced by its beauty and delicacy. Just as he was about to reach out and stroke the butterfly, it took off. Training it with gleeful eyes, Mei Zhou cried out to it, "Hey! Don't leave! Come back!"

Quickly, he stuffed his necklace back under his shirt and ran after the butterfly. Busy with his friends, Lei never noticed as Mei Zhou traveled farther and farther away.

f.E.w.H.o.U.r.S.l.A.t.E.r.

"Mei Zhou!" called Lei as he glanced around the playground for his brother.

The hour was getting late, and his friends, including Shan Cai and her friend Xiao You, had already left. At first when Lei couldn't find his brother, he wasn't that worried, thinking that Mei Zhou had just run off somewhere nearby to play. However, as his searching continued, the worrying became real as he desperately searched every area of the park; he found no trace of Mei Zhou anywhere.

After searching the park and asking every person he came upon and still finding no trace of his missing brother, Lei ran out of the park and began looking for Mei Zhou out in the streets.

"Mei Zhou! Mei Zhou!"

He continued his call, weaving through the crowd.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he interrupted politely, "but have you seen my younger brother? He's about this tall and was wearing a yellow shirt and jeans."

The woman sadly shook her head in apology. "I'm sorry. I haven't seen such a boy."

"Are you sure?" asked Lei a bit anxious.

Seeing the anxiety in the small boy, the woman took pity and smiled gently. "Why don't you go to the police station and ask them? I'm sure they will find your brother for you."

Straining a smile, Lei nodded his thanks before taking off at bolting speed towards the police station.

Mei Zhou, hold on! Gu-gu is coming for you!

A.t.P.a.R.k.

The park that was previously filled with people now seemed abandoned as the sun slowly sets in the horizon. Only a few trickles of people were left but they were making their way out the park. Few minutes later, the park appeared deserted, and the sun disappeared as the lights blinked on. Silence fell over the land except for the distanced hum of traffic. Every once in awhile, a person could be seen walking through the park, alone or with someone else. None of them were children; they had all gone home after a long day's activity.

Nonetheless, only one child didn't leave. Deep within the darkness of the trees, a young boy of seven or eight years old in a yellow shirt and jeans laid on his back, unconscious, upon the cool grassy earth; a thin line of blood trailed from his mouth.

v.o.c.a.b.u.l.a.r.y.

*gu-gu : 'big brother' in Chinese