yooo... so it's been about three months since i updated this bitch, but i managed to find my muse for this fic and write a chapter!

Instead of ambushing Wales Reynolds in the middle of a bar and risking a scene, Ryuga and Kyoya waited until the next morning to head over to the man's apartment.

"Hope he's not in class," Ryuga commented as they stood outside apartment number 203.

"According to his advisor, he's not," Kyoya replied, as he raised a fist and knocked on the door. At Ryuga's look, Kyoya smirked, "I called and got his class schedule."

There was a moment of silence, and Kyoya knocked again. This time, there came a rustle of movement on the other side of the door, before a lock clicked and the door opened.

The first thing Ryuga noticed was the headphones dangling around the ginger's neck, only because Green Day's Boulevard of Broken Dreams was playing at full blast. The second thing he noticed was that the Wales Reynolds that stood in front of him… was not the Wales Reynolds that Ryuga was familiar with at Chris' bar.

Wales at the bar was dressed well: good jeans, a dress shirt, the occasional blazer or good jacket and dress shoes. He looked put together. The Wales in front of the two detectives looked on the opposite end of the spectrum: ripped jeans, studded bracelets, belts, a band t-shirt, earrings and dark smudged eyeliner around his eyes.

Ryuga glanced over at Kyoya. His partner looked thrown for a loop too, so Ryuga cleared his throat.

"Wales Reynolds?" Ryuga asked, just to be sure.

"That's me," Blue eyes raked up and down the two other men. "And what do I owe the pleasure of two of Birmingham's finest visiting me?"

"We're investigating a case… your name came up," Kyoya said, easing into the conversation.

Wales' brow furrowed, and he crossed his arms, leaning against the doorframe, "Crime related?"

"… Victim related," Kyoya answered.

"Can't say I know anyone who's recently been attacked or hurt," Wales shrugged. "You sure you got the right guy?"

"Actually, the victim in question would be about twenty five now," Ryuga interrupted Kyoya's attempt at being gentle in the delivery. "Your brother, Lucas. We've got reason to believe he's alive."

Wales' expression went slack, but the grip on his own arms tightened. Ryuga recognized the reaction as one of disbelief and hope.

"You… you're serious? How-" Wales choked out, "When?"

"The most recent sighting was about two years ago," Ryuga admitted. "But, we'd still like to ask you a few questions, mainly about your father."

"Can't say I can give you much on him," Wales sighed. "But I'll try. I was six when it all happened."

"That's fine. Anything is better than nothing," Kyoya consoled him. "Would you care to do this somewhere else?"

"… There's a café I go to a lot down the street," Wales said. "Let me grab my stuff."

"It wasn't until after Lucas was born that I started noticing the abuse," Wales said, over a mug of mocha frappe. "Mom would get bruises, and she'd come up with some sort of story to cover them up. Even as young as I was, I didn't really believe the stories. Lucas was two when I got the full picture." He took a sip of his drink, eyes distant, "Dad tried to drown him in scalding water."

… If Ryuga ever met Caspian McKandless, he was going to send that man straight to hell. From the look on Kyoya's face, he'd help.

"Mom filed for divorce and custody over the both of us, then. I became Lucas' protector, in a sense," Wales continued. "I hated going to school because I would be away from him, so mom started homeschooling me. I think she was more relieved of it than I was, since she could keep a closer eye on me."

Kyoya was jotting stuff down in his notepad. Ryuga kept the conversation flowing.

"What happened on the day of the park?" Ryuga asked, taking a gulp of his tea.

Wales inhaled deeply, and chewed on his lower lip, "Not a day goes by I don't remember the whole thing in vivid detail. I mean… I was right there. I should've been able to do something…"

"You were six," Ryuga pointed out, even though he knew Wales had lived with this guilt for over twenty years now. A single statement wouldn't change the fact that Wales felt like it was his fault, for what happened to Lucas.

"I know that, logically, but… Lucas wasn't just my brother. He was… is… my best friend," Wales sighed. "We were playing tag hide and go seek. There was a little wooded area in the park, and I was It. I was giving him a head start, since he was only almost four. I was counting to fifteen, and I had got to seven when I heard him scream, but it got cut off. By the time I got there, dad was almost out of the park with him. I went after him, and he tried to take me too, but I just… I kept fighting, screaming. I was biting, clawing, kicking, everything I could think of to get him to let Lucas go or just get someone's attention…"

Wales faltered. Ryuga watched as he picked at the black nail polish he sported. He was still getting over the night and day differences between how Wales held himself. But then again, he supposed he could understand it. Put on a touch, unapproachable front so no one could get close. So he wouldn't risk caring too much and then getting hurt again.

"He shoved me to the ground. I hit my head on the sidewalk. Before I could get to my feet, a van pulled up and he was gone," Wales whispered. "Lucas was gone."

The three men were silent for a few moments. Kyoya frowned, as though he were trying to remember something.

"Did you get a look at the driver of the van?" Kyoya asked.

Wales shook his head, "No. The best I got on any of that was the van was white and had sliding doors on the sides. It was like a delivery van."

Kyoya made a note, and then shut his book. He picked up his coffee and took a few gulps of it. He set it aside to address Wales, "Has anyone ever asked you to do a cognitive interview?"

Wales blinked, "What?"

"It's an interview where we ask you to remember the day of the crime," Kyoya explained. "We ask you questions as you recall the events. Sometimes, eyewitnesses remember things that they initially don't when they're first interviewed."

"But… the whole thing happened twenty-two years ago. I don't see how I could remember anything useful, now?"

"You'd be surprised," Kyoya told him. "The fact that you remember so much even now leads me to believe that there's a lot more you remember, but you either shut it out because of how traumatic it was, or because it happened so fast you didn't have time to process it."

Ryuga nodded, "Kyoya's right. Most eyewitnesses don't remember much even a year after a crime. You're going on two decades with a lot of details."

Wales still looked unsure, "You… think it'll help find Lucas?"

"We're going to keep searching for him for as long as we have reason to believe he's alive," Kyoya said. "The fact that he was seen alive in the last two years means there's a reason your dad kept him alive."

Wales' eyes flickered down to peer into his mocha, slowly turning to icy slush with how little he had touched it and the warmer temperature of the café.

"He's been in some sort of hell for nineteen years," Wales whispered. "I've never stopped looking for him… never stopped believing that he was just… gone." He closed his eyes and swallowed, "Yeah… I'll do it. If it gets my brother back, I'll do everything I can to see him again."

Christina was mad, at first, that Chris had tricked her into therapy. But now… she was sort of glad he'd forced her to go.

Platina Triton was a nice woman, and she didn't push. She simply asked a question, and then let Christina talk. She listened, which was nice, and she didn't belittle or berate, but rather offered advice and an outside perspective on Christina's issues.

And, apparently, Christina had a lot of them. PTSD, anxiety, and a guilt complex to name a few.

Platina told her that their sessions be like peeling an onion. Go through each layer of an issue, face the emotions that came with it, and have Christina either solve or accept them, before moving on to the next layer. Eventually, they would come to the core of it all and figure out the entire reason for the problems Christina had.

"So… are you still mad at me?" Chris asked, on the drive to town. Christina had decided she wanted to go through some stores, to figure out the theme of the flat that would soon be hers. Chris agreed to her suggestion, though Christina suspected he was trying placate her.

"Not as bad as I was," Christina sighed. "Still a little irked."

"Fair enough," Chris relented. "Did you get into anything deep and gritty today?"

"… Not really," Christina frowned. "We just introduced ourselves, I talked a little, and she told me how we would address everything. Is she married to that cop friend of yours?"

"Uh, no? Not that I know of? Kyoya hasn't said he's married, at least."

"She wears an engagement ring and there's a picture of the two of them on her desk, is why I ask," Christina shrugged.

Chris' eyes stayed on the road, but he was pouting. Christina bit her tongue, waiting for his response. He delivered, prompting Christina to erupt into giggles.

"If Kyoya's engaged, I hope to hell I get an invite."

I absolutely hc that Wales went through an emo phase. His hair and choker are evidence enough.

Platina belongs to my good friend Warrior!

Hope ya'll enjoyed this chapter and will leave a review. Until next time, ciao!