"Brother..."

It was a cold night then, maybe that was the reason, why his voice sounded so muffled, obstructed by a sore throat. Whenever the child would open his mouth, the breeze would spike into his trachea like an awaiting snake... He did not mean for that word to come out at all.

Louis rubbed his neck, briefly hiding it under a blue ragged scarf like Willliam had shown him one day, nearly imitating the movements of his brother's hands. It did not help as much... No, it was obvious, this won't help at all. The boy hid his chapped hands behind the stray blanket. It could barely cover him, thus his legs remained freezing out in the open. He tried not to mind as much... It will pass... He just had to wait for William to return. Once again these ordeals continued to baffle him... Why did brother leave him alone under this rundown flight of stairs? It made no sense. Furthermore, the back entrance of Whitechapel's infamous bakery stared down at him from a nearby corner. It was tempting and yet brimming with horrid memories at the same time... They had attempted to beg for scraps there – the owner had pried them off, as if the pair had been rotten pests.

Louis frowned for a moment, before diverting his eyes elsewhere.

He saw the bare outlines of an alley. It had ended with a crossroad to a more populated street. No lights could be visible, only darkness bloomed in all glory. Not even the police patrolled this maze of Whitechapel. The slight rustling and the pattering of raindrops from the pipes caused a dissonance of sorts. Its rhythm broke, when Louis heard light footsteps. His eyes widened in hope, whilst one of his hands impulsively reached out for a pocket knife. His numb fingers clutched the handle needlessly.

That was William. A dampened linen bag swung heavily by his dragging feet. One could have assumed, that the swaying bulge was leading the boy not the other way around. Louis sprang up a little bit waveringly.

"Brother... Where were you?"

"I got us some food."

Louis' eyes widened, he took a step back. William's hair was matted with mud and his clothes were freshly torn in places. The latter smiled, despite Louis's worried expression. An ugly bruise was revealed down his jawline then, Louis could see another one hidden behind the hairs above William's eye. Eventually, the older brother chuckled at these observations.

"You don't need to worry for me, Louis."

"But brother..."

"I cleaned the wounds already. They will heal soon enough."

"You're not bleeding, are you?" Louis still pestered. William reached out to tap at his forehead. A short flinch and he shook his head. That could have served as a sign, since Louis instantly looked around their shared bedding in the corner. "Perhaps I could find something to cover those wounds."

"Don't trouble yourself."

"That's..." Those words stung like needles. He turned around on instinct only to see a bitter smirk, plastered on his brother's face. Even if Louis' heart struck heavily with guilt, in the back of his mind the boy knew, worrying won't bring him any answers. When his brother was set on hiding something, he would carry it to the grave... This ordeal was something different then, something William wholeheartedly wished to leave his brother out... As Louis came back to sit under the stairs, William joined him, friendly bumping his shoulder with his brother's, before long he settled, keeping the sack in-between his knees. Oh-so-easily the previous matter was buried... The older brother drummed on the linen cloth, licking his chapped lips.

"Are you hungry?"

Louis shook his head. William pouted, still his hands dug into the contents of his bag without much prompting.

"Just one bite." Louis rubbed his throat, absentmindedly at that. "We ate a day ago... I can't believe for you to be all that well."

"You need your strength too..." Louis muttered, pulling the knees closer to his chest. He intended to stay quiet, but his tongue had already begun tousling around his teeth. "I don't..."

"Hm?"

"You don't need to treat me like this... because of my health... that I'm sick..." The fingers were clutched and the boy shook his head, biting back anything else, that might rise up. Quiet stood between them like a wall, sprawling out, caging them. Afterwards William fuddled in the sack with his gaze downcast. A few minutes slipped away.

"Louis... I'm sorry..." - came a choked reply. "I'm really sorry..."

Louis had no time to respond, once a cough broke his posture, forcing him to hunch his shoulders in return. It seemed, like the boy's ribcage constricted against him, sealing his lungs into a tight pit. He heaved; then before anything else could arise, buried himself inside the comfort of his propped knees. William's voice drifted in momentarily after, his hands trailed on his brother's convulsing shoulders too.

"Louis?.. Come here. You're cold..." William observed worriedly, whilst his digits ran over his brother's shoulders. Without a warning, Louis leaned into him and William pushed the boy to lie on his lap. The younger brother curled in on himself, deliriously perhaps like so many times before. His fingers kept tugging at the collar, attempting to free his scarf or tie it tighter haphazardly without much meaning. The fidget had been stopped soon enough, when William caught ahold of those rigid fingers, rubbing them gently.

"Don't do that... You'll make it worse..."

There was something inside the older brother's tone. The hushed voice lulled him, calmed the burns deep in his throat, as if pouring acid on those erratic demons. The irritating cough persisted, but not as bad as he had imagined it to be. William did not let go of Louis' hands even for a brief moment - a sense of security...

Louis nuzzled into William's knees, keeping his eyes half-lidded. Merely out of the corner he could see a protrusion inside William's trousers' pocket. The edge of a dull pocket knife shone through, smeared in blood... Those were the means he took to dispose of his previous pursuers... William did not outrun whatever chased him... But then, were they... Louis' attention quickly scattered at that. It began to gallivant through hazy corners, bumping and retracing its steps back to William's condition... Nothing new arose and the boy's mind was starting to dose off, due to endless fatigue. He was once again falling slave to its endless care.

"William..." He muttered one last time. The older brother gave him a peak. A warm smile graced William's cracked lips after. He pushed a strand of hair from Louis' forehead without offering a response, even though his mouth parted soundlessly... William's hands were ice cold... But as long as they were his...

The gnawing in Louis' stomach had oddly quieted down for a split second. That showed an upcoming cycle - a temporary bliss, as he had named this foul entity. It was just as Louis had thought... If he was together with William, everything would be okay...

He would not need anything or anyone else...