Chapter Three
Jimmy Z sat on his bed, rubbing his hands back and forth over his hair. He couldn't help but think the worst of the situation, and when he did he remembered Chris; those nights he had spent curled up beside him when he couldn't sleep and didn't need to pilot the Tortuga, or the days when Chris would get all excited over some creature or other and his brown eyes would light up and a smile that could rival a supernova would decorate his face.
And then he would think of Martin; the eldest of them but acted like he was no older than his brother; the nights he sometimes spent on the roof of the Tortuga naming off constellations with him, looking at him and becoming near breathless at his slightly tanned skin and beautiful, honey-colored illuminated by the moonlight with the stars reflected in those gorgeous blue eyes… That was one of the nights he had first kissed him. He smiled and chuckled lightly at the thought.
-FLASHBACK-
They had been on the roof like before, laying down on a blanket Martin had brought up when he caught him staring at him. "See somethin' you like?" Martin asked. He blushed and stumbled over his answer.
"Ah, uh, n-no, I just-um-"
Martin laughed, making Jimmy Z blush a little deeper.
"I was just messing with you Jimmy, no need to get all embarrassed. Besides," he turned his head to the sky, "I'm used to it."
"S-so you've noticed the other times I've stared at you?"
"No, but thanks for telling me."
Jimmy Z turned a shade darker, looking up at the stars. They were silent for a while, until Jimmy Z turned to him and asked, "You said you were used to it… What'd you mean by that?"
Martin turned to him as he answered, "I'm used to people 'secretly' staring at me. I would get it all the time. I still do. Chris gets it as well."
He looked down shyly. "Oh." He felt Martin looking at him. It was a shock when he felt his hand under his chin lifting his head up. He blushed deeper. "You don't have to shy around me," Martin told him. Jimmy Z didn't know what to say, and the next moment Marti n kissed him, right on the lips. His eyes went wide, but they slowly closed as the kiss deepened.
They kissed for a couple of minutes until Martin pulled away. "Don't be shy," he told him.
That had been three nights ago. Martin had acted like his usual self, sending him a smile every now and then while Chris sent him rather sad expressions. Chris' eyes hadn't sparkled like they used to and he hung around his brother more than usual. At first he hadn't noticed, but one night after everyone had gone to sleep and he was heading to his room, Chris had been waiting for him, leaning against the wall on one side of the corridor doors with his arms crossed over his chest.
He hadn't been wearing anything other than green pajama bottoms hung low on his hips, and his hair hadn't been gelled up. When Jimmy Z noticed he was there, he stopped. "Hey Chris, do ya need something?" He asked. Chris looked up, sadness evident in his eyes. "Can I ask you something?" He asked in answer, pushing off from the wall and uncrossing his arms as he went over to him. "Yeah, sure." Jimmy Z answered.
"Did he kiss you, or did you kiss him?"
Jimmy's stomach lurched. Crap.
"Uh, I'm not sure what you mean."
Chris stepped into a beam of moonlight coming in through the skylight up above just as Jimmy had said the last part of his sentence, and he was able to see the red-rimmed and puffy eyes and the tearstains on his cheeks.
"Please just answer me,"
Jimmy Z nearly gasped. Gosh he looked depressed. "He kissed me," he answered.
Chris visibly paled. He looked like he was about ready to cry again. "How did you find out?" Jimmy Z asked.
"I went looking for him and heard voices out here, and when I looked up you two were kissing." Chris answered. There was silence for a while, until Jimmy Z asked, "Why are you so upset?"
Chris turned and walked toward the corridor doors. "I wouldn't expect you to understand," he answered, stopping when they opened. "If you can't sleep, my door is always open," and with that disappeared into the darkness of the corridor.
The memory was still fresh in Jimmy Z's mind, especially Chris' face when he had stepped into the moonlight and what he had said. "'I wouldn't expect you to understand,'" he repeated. He fell backwards onto his bed and rolled onto his side, the memories playing over and over in his head. 'I wonder where they are now,' he thought.
"Martin? Martin?" Chris shook his brother, who had been asleep when he woke up back in the dungeon. His brother opened his eyes quickly when he heard Chris calling him and shaking him. "Chris?" he asked. Chris nodded.
"Yeah it's me dude. How you feelin'?" He questioned.
"Me, what about you? What did Mordecai do to you?"
Chris' hands began to shake as fear overtook him. "N-nothing… Nothing." He started unlocking martin's shackles on his ankles. "Where'd you get the key?" Martin asked.
"Mordecai must've given it to me for… something," Chris answered. Martin stared him down as the shackles on his ankles were unlocked and Chris began working on the one on his left wrist. He softened the look. "Chris, please tell me. What did he do to you?"
The last lock came off, and when it did Martin wrapped his arms around his brother, feeling him shake as he started to cry.
"He raped me… He RAPED me…" Chris cried. Martin clutched his brother tighter at his words. "It's okay… Everything's gonna be okay…" He mumbled into Chris' neck. Chris' breath hitched at the contact.
It didn't go unnoticed by Martin and caused a flashback to the night before last.
-FLASHBACK-
Martin was sitting on his bed, reading something on his laptop when he felt someone watching him. He looked up to find Chris standing in his doorway, wearing nothing except for green pajama pajama pants hung low on his hips. "Hey Chris! You need somethin'?" Martin asked in his usual cheery voice as he looked back down at his laptop.
Chris walked into his room, not saying anything until he was next to him. "Why didn't you tell me?" He asked, emotion choking his voice. When Martin heard it he looked up in surprise.
"Chris?" He questioned.
"Why didn't you tell me about you and Jimmy Z?"
"I don't know what-"
"Please don't play dumb. You know what I'm talking about. Why didn't you tell me you two kissed?"
Martin stared at him in surprise. Why was he so upset?
"I didn't think it would matter that much," Martin answered as he set his laptop off the side and stood up. Chris' face was one of hurt. He looked down and whispered, "It matters to me,"
Martin looked down at his brother with a loving look. He wrapped his arms around him and buried his face into his neck.
"I'm sorry Chris. You're right, I should've told you." He apologized. Chris' breath caught in his throat.
"It's OK Martin, I forgive you," he managed to tell him with a normal voice. Martin pulled back and smiled at his brother. "I gotta finish up here, so…" He motioned to his laptop as he spoke.
Chris nodded before turning to walk out. "'Night Chris!" Martin called.
"'Night Martin." Chris called back.
-END OF FLASHBACK-
Martin pulled back and looked at Chris. "Hey, I gotta ask you something," he told him. The addressed nodded. "Sure, what?" He asked.
"Why were you so upset that night when you asked why I didn't tell you that Jimmy Z and I kissed?"
Chris looked down. "I can't tell you, Martin. It's not that I won't, it's just I don't know how to describe it, exactly." He explained. Martin frowned briefly.
"Describe what?" He asked. Chris lifted his head to look at him.
"This feeling I get, I just… I don't know how to describe it."
Martin looked down at him. He analyzed Chris' words over and over in his head, until a solution popped up. "Maybe you're jealous." He suggested.
Chris frowned, cheeks darkening slightly. "Of whom?" He asked.
"Of me! Maybe you like Jimmy."
"O-oh yeah, o-of course, but I don't think that's it."
Martin shrugged. "Whatever. We can figure this out later, right now-" he turned around and ran his fingers over the concrete brick walls "we gotta find a way outta here."
Chris hesitated before joining his brother, looking for a weak spot in the bricking that they could bust out. It hurt to move, but Chris ignored the pain in his ass and hips, not wanting Martin to worry. Unfortunately, he forgot that the pain made him walk funny, which Martin noticed. He looked at Chris' hips with a frown. "Uh Chris, you OK? You're walkin' kinda funny."
Chris didn't stop in his actions.
"Yeah, it doesn't hurt that much," he winced, immediately regretting his words.
"So it does hurt." Martin said, more of a statement than a question.
"Yeah, but not that much," Chris restated. Martin walked up to him and stopped him.
"Sit down, Chris. You can help later, when you feel better," he instructed him.
"Alright," Chris groaned with a slight pout as he walked a little ways away and sat against a wall. Martin smiled.
"You're adorable sometimes, Chris." He chuckled. Chris felt his cheeks heat up. He immediately whipped his head away from Martin, thankful that it was dark where they were.
Martin didn't notice the blush on his brother's cheeks, but he did notice the head turn, so he went over to him to check if he was alright. "Somethin' wrong, Chris? You're actin' a little weird," he asked.
"Yup, I'm good Martin; you can go back to checking the walls." Chris answered a little too quickly. Martin knew right away something was up. "Hey, when I suggested that maybe you were jealous, you asked 'of whom?'. Why? Most people would've known right away who." Martin quested.
Chris shrugged. "I needed clarification," he mumbled in answer. Martin wasn't buying it.
"Don't lie to me, bro. It doesn't suit you," he replied. Chris sighed.
"I really don't wanna talk about this right now. This isn't the time or the place," he told him. Martin shook his head.
He sat next to the brunette as he demanded in a stern voice, "No, you're gonna tell me why right now." Chris rubbed his face with his hands in exasperation. He really didn't want to tell his brother the truth. What if he freaked out and never talked to him again? The thought made Chris's eyes water.
But he had to tell him. It would get out eventually. He lifted his head and took a deep breath. "Okay, here's the truth:" He closed his eyes. "Martin, I'm in love with you."
A/N: Don't you just LOVE cliffhangers? No? Me neither XD. Review, and I'll give you an INTERNET COOKIE(get it? 'Internet cookie'? I'm such a nerd)!
