Thank you for your reply, Village-Mystic.
Why write this story: I like the dark side of Methos. I wanted a story about Death; so, I needed a good reason for Death to come out and play. I thought that Methos must surly have known Darius and that he must have heard of his murdering.The whole story was first not planned the way I have written it: the whole Darius/Methos flashbacks for example haven't been planned. And at the end, I wanted the Horsemen to ride again.
To your other question: No, I have not planned something in this direction, but who knows?
PS: I have corrected the mistakes (change/ chance), thanks again to you
Methos sat in his easy chair and stared at the list in front of him. From his bedroom, he could hear quiet sounds of the sleeping child. Methos sighed deeply; he would take care of the child later, now he had another urgent problem to solve. Pushing his thoughts about the child away, he forced himself to focus on the list again.
There were only two names listed that hadn't been crossed out already: Sean O'Brien and James Horton. Methos stared at the first name and sighed in discomfort. During the last weeks, he had met O'Brien several times because he had planned to build a relationship with him. He had thought that he could so sound some information about the other hunters out of him.
The problem was that the plan had backfired at him: as he had come to know the other man, he had also begun to like him. O'Brien had not shown any signs of a reckless and brutal killer, instead, he seemed to be a very gentle and nice guy, who cared deeply for the people around him; a guy Methos really liked and wanted to have as a friend.
A killer and not a nice guy, Methos had to force himself to remember. It was fact that the he had helped kill Darius, and would probably kill other Immortals if not stopped.
Closing his eyes for a moment, he wished himself to another place, a place where he was free of any problems. He remained in silence for a second, his eyes closed while he listened to the sounds the boy made in his sleep. Yesterday, he simply would have killed the O'Brien without even blinking and then continued with Horton; but the boy had changed everything. He was tired of killing, of the blood on his hands, the expression of horror he had seen in his victims faces. He only wanted to continue with his life, no killing, no problems, no mind games, only pure simple life. But he was aware that this was not possible; Horton and his companions had to be stopped at any costs, Methos owed that to Darius.
Three days later, O'Brien's house
Three days later, Methos had been invited by O'Brien to supper. Although both men had met during the past weeks several times, this was the first time Methos had been invited to O'Brien's home. After showing Methos his house, both men sat down in the living room and ate supper.
After having finished, they talked a bit about Mary Shelly's "Frankenstein" as they settled down in front of the fireside with a glass of red wine. Methos would have felt very comfortable if he didn't have to confront O'Brien with Darius's murder later. Not really liking to speak about that subject, he postponed it again and again until it was late.
Finally, he took heart and looked O'Brien directly in his eyes. "Sean, do you like me?" he asked with a very calm voice.
"What?" the other asked, confusion shown in his voice and face.
"Do you like me, Sean?" Methos repeated seriously.
"Of course I like you, Adam. You are one of the most interesting and fascinating people I ever met," O'Brien answered.
"Would you consider me a friend?"
"Yes, I would consider you a friend, Adam…more than that. I'm an old man and I will never have children, but you are the son I ever wanted, Adam…But I don't understand, what is this all about?"
Methos took a deep breath, then said with a calm voice, "I have to tell you a secret, Sean…I am not like other people; I'm different…I have been called several ugly names, the last was ' abomination '".
For some seconds there was silence, Methos could see the Sean's mind working to make sense of his words. Then, a warm glimmer appeared in the other's eyes and he smiled very gentle. "You are gay," he guessed. Without giving Methos a chance to correct his assumption, he continued with a friendly smile on his face, "don't be afraid. I'm gay myself, and I know how difficult that is. If there is anybody who is able to understand you, it's me."
For a moment, Methos could see a flicker of pain at the other's face, pain mixed with sadness. "Yes," he quietly whispered to himself, "I know exactly how it is to be called abomination because you are different, to be expelled by society and to be avoided by your so-called-friends. " O'Brien spat the last words in a bitter tone.
He was silent for a moment while he stared at the floor. Then, he became aware of his surroundings again and looked up at Methos. Forcing a warm smile on his face, he explained with a gentle voice," I was caught with my lover at watcher academy." He laughed mockingly. "It was a scandal, a disaster…You must know that my father was director at the time - a director with a gay son… He was totally ashamed of me; he told me face-to-face that I was a disgrace to my family, that he would prefer any other son, a normal son, not a freak like me - my own father called me a freak!" O'Brien shook his head in disbelief while Methos could see the hurt Sean still was feeling.
"He arranged for my lover to be moved to another HQ and forbid me to have contact with him again. After that, we never talked about it." He took a deep breath before he continued with an angry voice, "but this was not the worst. As the news spread, others avoided me, I was persona-non-grata. My former friends no longer wanted to have anything to do with me…it was hell, my own private hell."
Looking into Methos's eyes again, he smiled very a very gentle smile and took Methos's hand. "But times have changed, Adam. You don't have to be afraid. I will be there for you; if anybody calls you an abomination, come to me and I will take care of him."
When Methos looked into the gentle face and heard the friendly words, he had to force himself to say the next words. "I'm not gay, Sean…I'm Immortal." As he said the last words, he watched the other man's reaction very closely. He had decided to give the him a chance, but if he failed he would have to kill him – he would have no other choice.
O'Brien's face showed disbelief first, followed a second later by amusement, "Good joke, Adam. For a second I almost believed you…But you shouldn't make this joke in front of Hor…"
"This is no joke," Methos interrupted him very seriously. "I am Immortal, Sean." To prove his words, he took a dagger out of his jeans and sliced his palm open. Then, he held his bleeding but already healing hand in front of the other man's eyes, which were wide with confusion and total disbelief.
"But," the other man stammered while he shook his head in confusion. "This can't be, this is a trick."
"No," Methos whispered very sadly, "this is no trick, Sean… I'm Immortal."
"No," O'Brien refused to accept the truth. "No…you are a watcher. Watchers aren't Immortal…You are NOT Immortal."
"Please," Methos pleaded, "let me explain."
"No, I don't want to hear your explanation," O'Brien shouted still in denial, anger now rising in his voice. "I want you to go, leave my house immediately… Get out!"
"Please," Methos once again tried to reassure him.
"No, get out." O'Brien grabbed Methos by his shoulder and tried to push him out of his living room.
"Is this the way your father treated you when he heard the truth?" Methos asked bitterly. "Did he throw you out? Was this the moment he called you an freak?"
At the last words, O'Brien froze as if something had hit him. "I," he stammered, "I…" Suddenly, he sank back into his chair. He breathed very quickly and his face had gone very pale while his eyes were wide and unfocussed. "I…," he once again tried but wasn't able to continue.
"Do you remember the hurt, the pain you had to suffer because you were different?" Methos continued with a sad voice. "You never chose to be gay, it was the way you were born…I never chose to be Immortal, I was born this way, too…You said you like me, that you almost consider me a son. I have not changed because I'm Immortal, I'm still the man you came to like…Do you want to abandon me now the way your friends abandoned you? Do you call me an abomination now? " Methos looked directly into the other's eyes. "Do you want to kill me now as you killed Darius?"
For a moment there was only silence. The other man stared at Methos. Then, he finally looked down at the floor, and Methos could see that he had reached him. O'Brien 's face softened and he closed his eyes. Methos noticed the sound of a sigh. When the he finally looked up again, there was understanding and regret showed on his face.
"No," Methos heard the sad whisper. "No," O'Brien repeated. "I don't want to kill you, Adam…You are right, you are still the same person, you haven't changed…You are still my friend, and I don't want to make the same mistake my so-called-friends made…But you are different, Adam. You are not like the other Immortals I know, you are still human. But they are not, they are killers." O'Brien continued with a more forceful voice. "They want to rule mankind, Adam, they have to be stopped."
Methos shook his head very sadly. If he couldn't convince the him, he would be forced to kill him. "No," he pleaded, "you are wrong. Immortals don't want to rule the world…We are like you, Sean. Most of us only want to live in peace as you do. …Look at the chronicles of Rebecca, can you truly say that she is evil, that she wants to rule the world? There are good Immortals and bad ones, but there are also good mortals and bad mortals…please, Sean, please understand."
O'Brien stood up and walked to the window. Starring out, he remained in silence while he considered what he had heard. A few minutes later, he turned and faced Methos. "I understand, Adam, I really do…You have risked a great deal by revealing your secret to me – I have to honour that. I give you my word that I will tell nobody…Please go now, Adam, I need some time to consider the rest, the things you said about Immortals. When I'm ready, I will let you know what I decided."
Examining the other man very closely, Methos could find only sincerity there; he truly meant what he had said. Although the survivor in Methos screamed to simply kill him and eliminate every threat to him, another voice asked him to let the other man live. Methos sighed deeply but decided to listen to the second voice; he would give the him a chance. Nodding to O'Brien, he left the house.
