I'm baaaaaaack! Miss me? No... no one ever does. Oh well, at least I've returned with another chappy. Miss me now? Yeah... I just bet. Anyhow, enjoy!
nothing important: Happy and sad in the same chappy, huh? Then I'm doing my job! Thanks for reviewing!
alpha2nd: Heh, imagine if everyone had told me to make Eyes leave. Who knows what would have happened? It's down right hilarious to see Kanone tripping over his words, but you're right, it is Eyes after all, who can keep their cool? I'm not sure if they're going to tell everyone or not. Probably not Callia, seeing as how I like having Kanone alive, but maybe the others. I'm not sure, I do know Chase will find out, but I don't even know how he'll react to it, yet. You're welcome for the update, thanks for reviewing!
CeTe: Yep, I was going to send him to Chase. Their last meeting was pretty much why Eyes decided to go there. He figured that Chase wouldn't hurt him like Kanone did, and who knows if that's actually true? Maybe Chase just has something up his sleeve...Yeah, you were right that Eyes needed to knock some sense into Kanone; I'm just not sure it was enough! I think Kanone's suffered enough, so I gave him Eyes back. I didn't really know what to put down for Kanone's little speech, I just knew he had to give one. Yep, I winged it like crazy (but don't tell anyone!). Yeah, right... they all know, anyway. Thanks for reviewing!
polaris18: Yeah, that was the basic idea, them starting over and all. There won't be a whole lot of fighting, but Eyes will be leaning away from Kanone and towards someone else (hmmm, who could that be?). Thanks for reviewing!
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Two sparkling, blue eyes opened at the sound of breakfast being cooked. He heard the bacon sizzling, and wondered why Kanone had gotten up so early. It couldn't be much past 7, and the latter never got up before 8 on a normal day. Standing up, Eyes shivered as his feet hit the cold floor, and went off in search of some socks, first. After claiming his prized possession, Eyes headed down the stairs, to see Kanone standing in front of the stove, but something seemed off. Walking up to his boyfriend, Eyes studied his face, and saw that his once full of life eyes had lost most of their spark, "Kanone?" Eyes asked, a little worriedly.
Said boy glanced up, and smiled at the other, "Hello, Eyes, are you hungry?" He asked, turning the stove off.
Eyes nodded, now completely freaked out, Kanone wasn't acting normal at all. Well, he wasn't acting normal for Kanone, "What's wrong with you? Did something happen?" He remembered the last time he asked these questions, and remembered that night didn't end well.
Kanone just shook his head, and yawned, "Nothing wrong at all, I just woke up early, and decided to get a head start on breakfast. Everyone's been getting up earlier so they can get their work done soon, and not have to work in the dark."
Eyes studied Kanone's face a little more, "Did you sleep at all last night?" Kanone looked like he had stayed up all night, and been to hell and back during that time.
Kanone hesitated, but eventually shook his head, "No, I couldn't sleep." He confessed, "I tried to sleep at one point, but kept having these horrible nightmares, so I decided it was better not to sleep."
"Nightmares?" Eyes asked, curious. He had been lucky in never having many nightmares, but the ones he did have were horrid, and after he came to Kanone's he loved that Kanone was always there to talk to if he woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat.
Kanone nodded, "About what I did." He whispered, "I feel so horrible about that, Eyes, and I can't help but feel that you're still a little resentful against me for it." Eyes stayed silent, unsure of what to say because Kanone was right. He had hoped to avoid any of these akward confrontations, though, but now realized that was near immpossible. Seeing that the younger one was going to say nothing, Kanone continued, "I don't want you upset with me, Eyes, and I'll so everything in my power to make sure that never happens." The thing Kanone didn't say was hoe powerless he felt around Eyes, "I'm not certain there's anything I can do except give you time to forgive me, though. If, that is, you can find it in your heart to forgive me." He added.
Eyes swallowed hard, and found it very hard to be upset with Kanone when he saw how much the other was suffering. He then realized that him being cold towards Kanone was only hurting them both, and that he was feeling guilty about making Kanone pay because he was still madly in love with the other boy. Rationally, Eyes really had nothing to complain about. Sure, Kanone raped him, and it was definitely something he shouldn't have done, but look at everything Kanone had done for Eyes. He had given him a home, a name, security, love, he even gave him his mother back, and he rescued him from certain death at Chase's. Yet, in all their time together, Kanone had made this one error in judgement, this one to everything he had done for Eyes, it seemed so unimportant, so insignificant.
Eyes smiled at Kanone, and pulled the latter close to him, "Of course I can forgive you, Kanone." He whispered, "I'm only lying to myself at this point by sayng that I'm still upset with you, and that I don't love you. You're everything to me, and I can't stand to see you suffer anymore." Eyes wasn't about to apologize because, in reality, Kanone did deserve to pay for what he did, but Eyes never liked reality much. No, he much perferred the world that he and Kanone created whenever they touched. He felt safe in that world, and knew nothing could ever hurt him there.
Kanone smiled down at the boy, "You're sure?" He asked, almost not wanting to for fear that it would make Eyes second guess his decision. He wanted the boy to be sure, though, so it was for the best.
Eyes nodded, "I've never been more sure in my life." He replied, pulling Kanone into a kiss.The latter quickly took control of the kiss, and only broke when they heard giggling.
The two turned their attention to the younger one's mother, "I see you two made up." She commented, walking past them to grab a plate, and started piling food on.
Kanone froze, and looked to Eyes. The latter only shook his head, letting Kanone know he hadn't told his mother about what happened. Confused, Eyes turned to his mother, "How did you know we were fighting?" He asked, trying to get the information out of her.
Callia turned to her son, "It was very obvious." She informed them, "Unless you sleep on the couch every night for fun." She said to Kanone. Eyes shook his head in disbelief, mothers really could find anything out. He just hoped she didn't pry for a source of the fight. That could prove to be fatal for Kanone, and the older one knew that as well. When he told Callia Eyes had been raped at that club, she got upset with him because he wasn't there to protect Eyes. Kanone didn't know how she would react to learning that he himself had hurt the boy this time, but he didn't want to. Instead of asking a million quesitons like she wanted to, Callia sensed it was better to stay out of this one, "I don't know why you two were fighting, and I don't really need to. As long as you're back together, that's all I need to know."
Kanone smiled greatfully at her, "We are, right?" He asked, looking down to Eyes for confirmatin.
The smaller one leaned his head on Kanone's chest, "Definitely." He whispered, closing his eyes. Callia just smiled at the two, and went to set the table for breakfast.
After inhaling a plate of food, and eating two more at a more reasonable pace, Eyes was stuffed. He threw his dishes in the sink, and rinsed them off, then went back to reclaim his seat at the table. Kousuke amd Rio were having a fork battle when he left, and he wanted to see who won. Taking his seat next to Kanone, Eyes redirected his attention back to the battle. There were several shouts from the others, mostly encouraging Rio, which made Kousuke glare at the shouters. Rio saw the opening, and took it, knocking Kousuke's fork from his hand, and onto the table, "Damn!" Kousuke shouted, then turned to the people who had distracted him, "This is your fault." He muttered.
"Watch your language," Kanone told him, "and don't blame them for being so easily distracted."
"Whatever." Kousuke said, dismissively, as he picked his fork back up, and began eating again.
Eyes smirked at the redhead, but soon a knock on the door grabbed his attention. He saw Kanone start to stand up, but beat him to it, "I'll get it." He said, getting a weird sense of deja vu. Kanone got it, too, but knew that it couldn't be the same outcome as last time, and nodded. Eyes opened the door to reveal none other than, "Chase?" He asked, his deja vu and paranoia getting the best of him, "What are you doing here?"
Chase smirked, "Don't worry, I'm not here for you this time. Well, actually, I guess I am." Eyes took a step back, and glared at Chase. If the man had shown up two days ago, he probably would have walked out the door with him, but not anymore, and he'd be damned if Chase was going to take him again. The older one saw this hesitation, and laughed, "Don't worry, I'm not going to take you away again, I just need to talk to you."
Eyes was about to respond, but was cut off by another voice, "Eyes, who is..." Kanone trailed off as he saw who it was. He instinctively put his arms around Eyes in a protective manner, and glared at Chase, "What do you want?"
Chase laughed, a bit nervously, "I just need to borrow your boy here for a few minutes." He explained, "I'll give him right back, I promise." He added, a bit jokingly.
Kanone, however, saw no joke in this, "No way in hell." He growled, tightening his hold on Eyes.
Eyes, though touched by his very protective boyfriend (he couldn't even say overprotecive seeing as who it was), slipped out of Kanone's grasp, and turned to him, "It's okay." Eyes assured him, "I'll be back in a minute."
Kanone looked back and forth between the two. He wanted to believe Eyes more than anything, but with what the younger one told him (that he was planning on going to Chase's), he couldn't help but suspect that something was up. Still, he trusted Eyes, even though he hated being left in the dark; especially in a situation like this, and nodded, "Alright, but hurry back."
"I will." Eyes promised, and followed Chase outside where they could talk in private. Once they were alone, Eyes turned to Chase, "What did you need to talk to me about?" He asked, though he already had a pretty good idea.
"Jack." Chase confessed, "Ever since I told you about him, and I saw him the other night, I haven't been able to get him out of my head."
"What do you expect me to do about it?" Eyes asked. Even though he felt sorry for Chase because he had his heart broken, he couldn't forget that Chase chose his own path, and pushed Jack away himself.
"I want you to teach me." Chase said, "Show me how to be like you, so that I can change...for him."
"Teach you?" Eyes repeated, dumbfounded by the request. He had expected Chase to ask him to talk good about him to Jack, or try to "reason" with Jack, and make him see the good in Chase. He'd never expected this, though. Besides being totally caught off guard, Eyes had no idea what answer to give Chase. If he truly wanted to change, then Eyes wanted to help him, for everyone's sake, but he had no idea how to go about such a thing.
When Eyes said nothing else, Chase looked up at him. Only then did he register the bruise that was covering the boy's left eye. It had happened a couple of days ago, so it was in it's prime right now, and Chase didn't know how he had missed it before, "What happened?" He asked, genuinely concerned, brushing his thumb across the bruise.
Eyes stopped himself from flinching, but still pulled away, "Nothing." He muttered. Chase didn't need to know what Kanone had done.
Chase, however, wasn't about to let it go, though, "Who hit you?" He demanded, angered. He wasn't sure why he was being so protective of Eyes, he just couldn't help himself. Considering how horrible the boy's life had been, and how much he had suffered, Chase figured he deserved no less than to be protected. He had to take care of himself his entire childhood, and now it was only right that someone else do it for him. Since Chase had been the one responsible for all of his pain, it only seemed right that he be the one to protect the boy. Noticing Eyes' silence, Chase figured it was someone that he didn't want to get into trouble, "Kanone?" He asked, though he was sure it was from Eyes' actions. Very slowly, Eyes nodded, not sure if he should be saying anything to Chase; he still wasn't sure if he could trust him, "Why?" Came the next question.
"He was drunk." Eyes admitted, "I don't want to talk about this anymore."
Chase was about to object, but decided against it. He was here for the boy's help after all, he didn't need to piss him off, "Alright. So, will you help me?"
Eyes looked back up to the hopeful face, and decided that maybe Chase was telling the truth. So, he nodded, "Alright, but I don't know how much help I'll be."
Chase smiled, "That's okay. I just need to know how to act, I've lived my whole life like this. Well, ever since Jack left, and I really don't know any other way. I've always been out to get the best deal, and never cared who got hurt, as long as I was happy."
Eyes nodded again, "Jack's almost the exact opposite of that. He's completely selfless, and goes out of his way to help people. He doesn't care whether or not he benefits from it or not, as long as everyone else is happy. Though, I think seeing others happy, and knowing that he helped them, makes him happy in turn."
"How do I become like that, though?" Chase wondered out loud, "I don't know if I can be that selfless."
"Sure you can." Eyes said, encouragingly, "Start out small, though, don't push yourself. It'll take some time, but it is possible." Chase questioned him with 'how?' once again, and Eyes continued, "Just think of all the things that you're doing to make others miserable." He suggested.
"What, you mean my slaves?" Chase asked, a little confused.
Eyes winced at the term, "Perhaps you should start by not calling them 'slaves'. Try learning their names, and calling them by that."
Chase was about to say that was impossible, but nodded, "Alright, but I'm not sure I can do all of that alone." Eyes assured him that he would help, and Chase smiled, "Great, what else?"
"Think." Eyes told him, "I can't hand you all the answers. What else could you do to better their lives?"
"I suppose I could feed them more." Chase said, looking to Eyes, who nodded.
"Buy some better food, too." He said, "I know you've got the money, so don't complain." He added, stopping Chase from doing just that. Then the younger one continued with a list, "Provide them with new clothes, let them live inside, and don't work them so hard." He told Chase, "Believe it or not, if you're nice to people, they'll do things for you if you ask them. Most importantly, don't hit them. Despite what you may think, force isn't the best way to get someone to do what you want."
Chase listened quielty, nodding every now and then, "So, basically, do the opposite of everything I've been doing?"
Eyes thought about it, "Yeah, pretty much." Chase sighed, and looked up as Eyes placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know it's a lot, but if you want Jack, you're going to have to make sacrifices."
"I know." Chase told him, "I just hope I'm strong enough to do all of this."
Eyes smirked, "If I can be the person I am today, even after all I've been through, then you can become someone you want to be, too."
Chase smiled faintly, and pulled Eyes into a gentle hug, "I'm sorry." He whispered, "For everything I put you through."
Eyes tensed at the hug at first, but relaxed into it, "I know you are, and that's why I know you can change." He replied, leaning into the embrace. From the kitchen window, a very jealous and suspicious Kanone watched the entire scene unfold. Even though he couldn't hear their conversation, he had seen enough.
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These two just can't get a break, can they? Hmm, perhaps this will all go over smoothly? Not likely! Let's see, Cahse rapes, beats, and starves Eyes for 10 years, and Eyes forgives him just like that. Kanone hits him and rapes him once, and Eyes has a grudge for two days and is found hugging Chase. It's not looking good, even though Chase did have a better excuse...(and I'm not saying I understand of condone his actions!). Review!
