Also note that this fic is set in England because the Immigration and drug laws are too strict in Japan.
Advert; I'm looking for someone to nag me so that I actually write, I have been rather distracted lately and need to get back into the swing of things.
Chapter 3 Empty Vessels
It was sad, he thought as he filled out all of the relevant forms, sad that they always involved the children.
They were in the customs detention office of Heathrow Airport, he was processing their latest residents.
The man, the boys father he supposed, would be fine. They would X-ray him and see if he was carrying any more drugs and then deport him or stick him in jail.
But the child…
The child had a British passport…but he could find no trace of any family in the country. They had checked for forgery but it had come back negative.
The poor little boy, Kai, he was not sure what they were going to do with him.
He looked at the boy again and felt his internal organs twist with guilt, as long as you worked there you never stopped pitying the kids.
Still at least he wasn't carrying they'd already had him x-rayed and things had been fine.
It worried him that the boy was so quiet. He had been sitting across from him for three hours, and in all that time he had not said a word.
It could be shock, in this line of work god knew he'd seen enough of that. But the boy seemed perfectly calm. His breathing was even, he wasn't shaking and if anything he seemed bored
Odd he was ten years old which these days seemed old enough to know at least some of what was going on…
His partner came back and handed the boy a cup of tea, he had been offered soft drinks but had declined. He was a strange child.
But that wasn't any of his business.
He'd have to call child services, see what they could do with a British passport…there was little chance they'd be sending the child back to Russia.
A real shame.
The boy was dressed in a blazer and tie, looked like he had been pulled right out of school, a kidnapping maybe…
…But the boy had insisted that the man was his father…maybe he'd been threatened…maybe he'd been bought…
The boy sipped his tea and watched him with his red eyes, it was starting to make him nervous…the lack of any normal feeling making him unknowable, making the company almost oppressive.
He called his partner and muttered a few choice words. The partner, Ben, walked over to the boy and gestured towards the door.
He watched them leave and then picked up the phone.
"Hello, Child Services?"
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
The police talked to me and Tyson about what had happened.
I found out that Kai had told them Tyson's uncle had attached him and tried to rape him and that he had defended himself.
Everyone had gone along with this story, the bruises on Tyson's face were enough to prove that the man was no saint. And our fathers were all too scared to speak up about anything that contained Kai and sex.
I watched through the glass window as they interrogated Tyson. Every time his mouth moved I would remember the kiss that he and Kai had shared.
I wanted to break his jaw.
When it was my turn I contemplated telling them that it was Tyson, that Kai had been covering for him. I could imagine them dragging away a confused Tyson and booking him for murder.
I didn't change the story.
Tyson's uncle had slapped Kai harder than I had originally thought. When he was released from custody their was a bruise swelling half his face.
There would be a trial. Kai, a minor who had been acting in 'self defence' would probably get probation.
I contemplated going back to the police station, turning him in and telling the truth…all of it.
I didn't.
I still loved him after all.
Days passed and weeks.
Kai continued to disappear during the night, during the day. Never learning his lesson.
He had not touched me since he had killed Tyson's uncle.
From the lost and distraught look on Tyson's face I could tell that he had not touched him either.
I think we both wondered who Kai had set his sights on now, whose insides he now intended to rip out.
We could have teamed up to beat the new foe…but we would have just turned on each other. Tyson was already looking as desperate as me and as we all know to the victor go the spoils.
One nigh, so late that Kai was actually in his bed I woke him up
Even in the dopiness of waking his eyes looked cold.
"What?" he asked. It came out was a half yawn. He had a split lip. I wondered how I hadn't noticed it while I had been watching him sleep.
"Do you love Tyson?" I asked, it had not been what I meant to say, it was not a question I wanted to hear the answer to.
"Who?" he asked his eyes drooping slightly. He was usually a much lighter sleeper than this. I felt a swift cut of jealousy disembowel me when I wondered who had been keeping him up.
Then it hit me. "Tyson. You killed his uncle."
He didn't even know Tyson's name.
"Oh. No." It was short and simple and heart wrenching and emotionless.
If he did not love Tyson then what had he been after? A challenge?
"Do you love me?" I couldn't stop myself from asking it.
He smiled at me but the answer was the same. "No."
"Do you love anyone?" even now I was hoping, if he didn't live anyone then maybe I had a chance.
"No." he admitted sitting up and looking at me.
"I love you." I couldn't believe I'd said it, I wanted to tare out my own tongue.
He'd never touch me again.
"No you don't" he said, looking at me with something suspiciously like pity.
"I love you", I repeated digging my grave deeper, trying to make him understand.
"No" he said, "You can't love me. You don't even know me."
My mouth opened and closed.
"You'll get bored of me sooner or later, everybody does. You'll get bored of me and you'll understand."
"I love you…you can't know that…you don't even know what love is!" I was raising my voice. God I hoped my parents were asleep.
"Why do you love me?" he said looking at me like a maths teacher asking me to solve and equation.
"I don't know," I admitted, "I wish I didn't."
"Then don't" you say with a finality that frightens me.
"It doesn't work like that," I said and wondered how he could understand so little.
"You don't really love me." he repeats, "you don't know anything about me. Don't worry, you just think that you love me because of the sex. It was your first time and you haven't learned to separate the ideas of sex and love yet. You'll hate me soon enough and then you'll move on."
It sounded rehearsed. Like he repeated ten times a day.
"Then why don't you charge me?" I ask moving my weight to sit properly beside him. "Why? If I'm just like the rest of them."
"Because you're beautiful," he said and stroked my cheek, "Because you're perfect. Because I wanted to hurt you."
The first two complements melted into me like butter on warm toast. You thought that I was beautiful, you thought that I was perfect…you wanted to hurt me?
I didn't understand.
"Why would you want to hurt me?" I asked knowing that in that statement he got his wish.
"I don't know," he admitted his gaze never leaving mine.
I nodded like I understood, maybe part of me did.
"And Tyson?" I asked wondering if I would have to remind him again.
"I wanted him to want me." he looked down and then up at me defiantly.
"Why?" I asked genuine curiosity lacing my tone.
"Because he didn't" So very simple.
I wondered if there was something more that he wasn't telling me, something sordid and emotional, something real that I could hold on to and hate.
"You're empty" I don't know if I was asking him or telling him.
"I know."