OMGLOLWTFBBQ.
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One week earlier.
Kevin's POV.
Silence. The thick stone walls surrounding me are absorbing whatever small sounds it can. It's really cold down here. Cold and damp. Why would anyone build a place like this? There are chains on the walls, clamps and locks and bars and stone. There's a teddy-bear only a foot away from me. It's missing an eye, its arm is half torn off, and its head has a split in it that's slowly spewing out dirty cotton. Numbly, I lean over and pick it up by its torso before curling back up in the corner of the cell.
It looks so sad. So forgotten. The last remaining comfort to the children who were once punished by being locked in here. And now it has become my last comfort.
Help me.
I wrap my arms around the poor tattered thing and hold it against my chest tightly. I pull my knees up higher before me and press my forehead against them. I'm shivering, hurt, hungry, alone. Scared as all hell. That's when a clunk echoes passed me. It sounded as though it started far away, probably by the thick wooden door into the cellar. I flinch and hold the stuffed bear tighter.
Footsteps, growing closer. I flinch with each echoing knock of feet hitting the floor, until I feel a shadow fall over me. Someone is standing on the other side of the bars, looking in at me. Slowly, with tears in my eyes, I look up.
Bryan. He's got his hands in his pockets, casually, as though nothing is strange about this situation. His face is blank, his eyes never blinking. I close my mouth and clench my teeth, not knowing what to say or do. I drop my head back down onto my knees slowly, ignoring the sounds of him moving and unlocking the door to the cell. He pulls it open and steps it. Don't flinch, don't twitch, and don't whimper. Please maintain composer, don't let him know you're afraid of him.
"Hey babe. You look good surrounded by chains."
I whimper into the teddy-bears head. Shit. He paces closer and squats beside me. Don't look up, and he won't touch you. Please don't touch me Bryan, for the love of God, don't.
His hand is on my upper back, stroking it gently. It shifts around to my far shoulder and pulls me into him, and I push away helplessly.
"Come on now, don't be like that. It's what got you down here in the first place."
A few tears break away as he pulls me back into him. The stuffed-animal is still in my grasp, but it offers no comfort. He uses his other hand to stroke my hair slowly.
"I've been thinking."
Oh no, don't think. When you think it always ends up with me being hurt.
"I want you to do something for me, okay?"
I shake my head. I won't do anything for you, never never never. You're scary and mean and you hurt me and I hate you, Bryan, I hate you.
"I want you to eat dinner with me."
I blink. He can tell I'm surprised by this.
"Nothing more. Just you and I, sitting down and eating dinner. I'd bet you're pretty hungry, huh?"
I don't move. I stare ahead, not knowing what to think or feel. I was nervous now, anxious about what this meant. I didn't want him to change his mind half way through the meal and hurt me, but I don't want him to hurt me now by saying no. Fearing the consequences, I wait until he asks me the third time and then numbly nod my head.
"Good. Wonderful. Come on then."
He scoops me up and stands, and I feel the bear slide from my stomach onto the floor. Only momentarily do I think that I want to take it with me; it probably wants to get out of here just as much as I do. I reach back for it and Bryan stops, half-turning, looking from me to the bear curiously.
-x-x-x-
Bryan's POV.
He… He's like a little kid right now. I mean, he is literally little, and he isn't exactly an adult, but the way he's reaching back for that small bear is so pathetic and cute that I have to fight not to cuddle him.
He's been down here just about two days. He's probably in a bit of a stupor from not eating and having little water supply. But hot dog this is the cutest thing I've seen him do yet. I hesitate and then move back toward the bear, lowering him to the ground enough for him to scoop it up suddenly. I watch him squeeze it against his chest as I stand back up, and for some reason, I don't want him to know that I'm looking.
I keep moving out of the cell, and along down the tight hallway passed other barred entrances into cells. His eyes are closed tightly, the lower half of his face pressed against the bears head.
Poor thing. Delicate thing. Beautiful thing. Why is this such a mystery to me? Why can't I figure out why this kid means so much to me? I want parents like his, I want a life like his, I want to be happy like he was before I showed up, but for some reason those don't sound like the reason for my obsession.
I found a few fan-sites for him and his team. I've read into them and tried to analyze him for who he is as a person, and not just my toy. He's actually pretty nice. A little rude, perhaps even annoying, but I think over all he's a sweet kid. Or he was. I've probably ruined that by now.
I glance down at him again as I begin up the tight stone staircase up to the rest of the abbey. His eyes are still closed and he's still cuddling into that bear. I wondered how many times I had been locked in that cell and used the same toy for comfort.
-x-x-x-
Present time, at the Loft.
Kevin's POV.
A thump, from behind me. I jump, turn, and stare.
Tala stares too, for a minute. Until, of course, he recognizes that Bryan is in the room, close to me, and then rage takes over.
"Son of a bitch!" He spits, pulling himself into the loft with startling strength and speed. My attention flies around to Bryan, who has jumped to his feet not in defense, but in panic.
Tala charges forward, ready to pounce, when something strange over comes me. It's like the dizzy, but different. Things slow down, and the room comes to a stand-still. It's just Tala, Bryan, and me in between. Before I can think, I'm on my feet and bracing against Tala with my hands firmly on his shoulders. He stops awkwardly, nearly knocking me over and falling onto me, but as he recognizes what I'm doing, his eyes widen in even further surprise.
"You're… you're defending that bastard?!"
Well, to be honest, I have no fucking idea what I'm doing, Tala. I stand there with my hands on his shoulders, eyes on the floor, mouth hanging open just slightly. I feel my lower lip quiver. Get a hold on yourself, dumbass, or sit back down.
"You can't kill him, Tala." I whisper. "You can't."
The red-head blinked thrice and stared down at me wide-eyed. "And why the hell not?"
Bryan is behind me, standing still, just as shocked as Tala and I. My ankle hurts.
"Because you can't."
"That's a shit reason, kid. Get out of the way."
"No." I breathe.
"Kevin, have you forgotten what this prick has done to you?" Tala nearly yells. He's about to shove me aside and I can't let him.
"Because," I say, snapping my head up to look him in the eye. My eyebrows have suddenly furrowed. I'm glaring at him. "You can't become him!"
Surprised at my response, Tala falters and stares at me. Then, slowly, up at Bryan. I let my hands drop off his shoulders once I'm sure he's not going to run after Bryan, but it was a mistake. The second my hands swung down to my sides, Tala grabbed me by my shoulders and shoved me down onto the bed, darting passed me toward Bryan.
"No!" I shout, rolling frantically onto my back and pushing up into a sitting position. I manage to get up in time to see Tala slam a fist into Bryan's face before the dizzy engulfs me with such force that I fall back onto the blankets in a haze.
-x-x-x-
Bryan's POV.
Shit!
I stumble backwards into the wall and duck out of Tala's range. We've fought before, but I'm really not in the mood right now. Kevin's kiss still lingering on my lips, I dodge everything Tala throws at me until he's got me in a corner, and I have to start defending myself. I don't want to hurt Tala. Okay, maybe a little, but not as much as I did twenty minutes ago. I wish he had never come up. I should have been quieter.
I slug him across the face. Take that, you pussy. He growls and recovers quickly, throwing one back at me, but I catch it and push his fist away. I punch him again. Little bitch, he can't even take me when I'm in such a fragile mental state-
Ow, god damnit! I feel his foot crashing into my shin with profound force. Little cheating prick!
"Fuck off, Tala, I'm not hurting him!"
He clenches his teeth and swings with his left, then his right, and then left again. I dodge the first, feel the second pelt into my shoulder, and then stumble backwards as the third collides with my head. Good thing I'm thick skulled, eh?
I catch myself against the wall. Tala has momentarily stopped the oncoming fists. He's a few feet away, fists clenched, taking deep seething breaths.
"You're hurting everyone just by being here, you fuck!"
"No! I came to say goodbye you arrogant little man slut, I'm not trying to hurt anyone!"
"Man slut?!" Tala roared, diving for me again. Ah, now it's like our old fights. I would pick on him about Kai, he would bring up some bullshit of his own, and the next thing I knew we were both holding ice-packs to various places on our bodies. Heh. Like that time I kicked him where the sun never dares to shine. His voice got so high-pitched, it was hilarious.
But now it's not funny. Tala faked two punches, delivered the third, and brought me to my knees before him with a kick to my right knee. Shit, Kai is teaching him well. I look up hurriedly, hoping to avoid his next hit, but there isn't enough time. His fist is high above his head, his arm pulled back, and I can tell by the way he's flexing his muscles that this is going to be one hell of a hard hit. It's swinging toward me with astounding speed, and I'm too stupid to even close my eyes for impact.
That's when Kevin swung in between Tala and I and caught both of Tala's shoulders in his cute little hands. I blinked, startled, but I wasn't as startled as I was about to be.
-x-x-x-
Kevin's POV.
No, stop, don't kill him Tala! Please sto-
AAAHHHHH!! I can't breathe! The pain, holy fuck, help me! I gasp for breath, eyes widening in pain and shock as Tala's fist pounds into my stomach. I can feel his knuckles dig into me with horrifying strength, and as he looks at me with complete shock and surprise, I fall to my knees awkwardly and let my eyes drop to the floor. My arms wrap around my stomach.
I can't breathe, I can't breathe, I can't breathe. If I don't take a breath in the next twelve seconds, I'm going to pass out. I feel something thick sliming up my throat and lift a hand to my mouth, before coughing into it twice. I can feel the blood splattering against my palm. Everything tilts and swirls around me. Specks fly into my peripheral vision. I'm going to die. Reeling, I tip back into something, or someone. Bryan. He catches me carefully. Tala is still shocked. I curl into a ball without thinking about it and close my eyes so tightly that it hurts. I cough again, and blood flies out of my mouth.
No one knows what to say. I press into Bryan, not thinking straight. I slept where pasta? No, siccors beats paper with Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle. Huh? Tala falls to the floor beside me, landing on his knees. He tugs me away from Bryan and I bark in pain.
They're not fighting anymore. I achieved something, then, by doing that? I didn't want Tala to do that. No one dies, salad on the side. What's that? Honey mustard please.
"Shit, shit, oh shit." Tala murmurs. Bryan helps him lie me down. No, I want to curl up, it doesn't hurt as much, fish taco. Glahh, twenty dollar whore photo-shoot. What?
Am I going to black out? I have blood on my shirt, all over my hand. I curl my fingers up tightly and feel the slime. Like blubber, or glubber, or whatever that little green thing was called. Flubber? Blubberglubberflubber. Heehee. Shnarkibarkilarkifart.
"He's blacking out."
Fuzzy wuzzy was a bear.
"Fuck, Tala, why did you do that?"
Fuzzy wuzzy had no hair.
"I was aiming for you, you dumbfuck! I didn't know he was going to do that!"
Fuzzy wuzzy wasn't very fuzzy, was he?
"Stop yelling, it's not going to help."
Hehe. I love that rhyme. My skittles – no, grandmotherfish – no, my Oma – taught it to me. Said it always used to make me laugh like a kettle fish. Except for that last part. Kettle fish are silly but they don't laugh. I'm too disoriented to tell what Lee and Obama, no, Lee and Rei? No, Tala and Bryan. That's it. I can't tell what they're saying.
Hey… look at all those little stars! They're all sparkly. Why is everything getting darker? Is it nighttime?
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Bryan's POV.
"Do something!"
"Why me?!"
"Because A, you're the one that punched him, B, you're the one who was protecting him, and C, you don't want me touching him!"
Tala glares at me a moment before sighing, defeated. He looks down at Kevin. The corners of his eyes are tight with pain. Tears streak across his temples. He's gasping for breath, losing consciousness, and… oh, look, he just coughed up even more blood. Great.
"Oh way to go, you probably ruptured his spleen or something." I say, ignoring my more recent comment and leaning over Kevin. I reach for his hand, and Tala slaps my arm away. I glare up at him.
"You want me to help with this or what, because it sure as shit looks like you could use the hand of someone who's better and first aid then you."
He blinks, and then continues to glare at me, but leans away. I reach again and pick it up carefully, uncurling his little fingers. Blood, crimson and sticky and warm. Tala, you motherfucker, look what you did to my baby. I glance behind me and find a roll of paper towels on the other side of the room, sticking out of a tattered brown box. I tell Tala to go get it, and after a moment of him wallowing in his pride and resentment, he does.
I tear a piece off. Okay, two for good measure. I clean off Kevin's hand and tell Tala to wipe his mouth. He's out cold now, eyes closed, as though he were sleeping. Tala collects three pillows from the bed and we use them to elevate him so that he doesn't drown. But the bleeding seems to have stopped, and he's breathing is getting back to normal; shallow and a little quick, but closer to normal then I thought it would be.
I reach for his stomach and hesitate. Tala's eyes haven't left my hands since I caught hold of Kevin after Tala punched him. I need to see what kind of external damage Tala did.
"Lift his shirt up."
"What? Why?"
"Because I want to see how bad the bruises are." I said slowly, and a little agitatedly. Tala set his jaw.
"If you try anything, you pervert, I'll-"
"I'm not going to do anything to him, dumbass, now lift up his shirt!"
Tala complied, glaring at me. I returned the look of burning hatred until my worry and curiosity got the better of me, and I let my eyes fall down to Kevin's stomach.
I fought the nausea. Purple, black, red, pink, and after only a few minutes. Tala, how the hell you did that I will never know. I can tell that there's internal damage. This kid needs a hospital.
Or the sweet old lady a few doors down. If she can pull a surgical performance on Ian's upper leg after Boris stabbed him with a rusted iron poll, she could help Kevin. I tell Tala.
"Yeah, she's still there. Still strong as an ox. You think she can help?"
"She's the only one who can."
"Okay." Tala took a deep breath and looked down at Kevin sullenly. "Fuck, why did he do that?"
I sighed. "I don't know. I can to say goodbye so I could die knowing that he wasn't still horrified of me, and when I told him I was going to kill myself, he… He pleaded for me not too."
Tala was staring at me, I could feel it. But my eyes were trained on Kevin's gentle face.
"You were going to kill yourself?"
"That was the plan, yeah."
"Hn." Tala slowly looked down at Kevin too. The little neko-jin was shivering slightly. There was a long moment of silence where we both just looked at him before Tala broke it.
"You go. I'll watch him."
"Tala, I can't go out in public. If I'm seen I'll be arrested, and then they'll comb the area and find you with Kevin – unconscious – and arrest your ass too."
Tala opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened. He was defeated and he knew it, but I understood his dilemma. I wouldn't leave Kevin alone with me either, if I were in his shoes. Finally, after serious hesitation and a lot of swearing at me, Tala stood and made his way to the hatch. Every step he took, he shot a glance back at me as if expecting me to molest Kevin the second his back is turned. With astounding reluctance, Tala pulled open the hatch and slid through, casting me one last warning glare before he pulled it closed.
And now, I'm alone with Kevin.
What feels like a long time slides passed. I stroke Kevin's hair, gently caress his cheek, hold his hand, but I want another kiss. I want him to kiss me again. Finally, I lie down next to him. I rest my folded hands on my stomach and place my head beside his on the pillows. He's breathing slowly now, in soft rhythm. At least he's stopped coughing up blood.
More time passes. I let my eyes close and stay like this for a while, until I hear Kevin's soft mewing. I think he's moaning, but it makes me smile. How cute, he's like a little kitten.
My fixation with his size, ethnicity, and appearance will never cease, I suppose.
I roll over and sit up carefully, catching hold of one of his hands. It's swallowed by my hand, huge in comparison, and I'm hardly squeezing and I don't think he notices. His eyes open slowly, and the second he gets his bearings, he tries to sit up.
"Gaah!" He barks in pain and falls back onto the pillows, gasping for breath.
"Wow, wow, calm down. Relax your stomach muscles or you'll stay in pain." I said hurriedly, forgetting the situation I was in and focusing on stopping his pain. Confused, he does as I've told him to do and slowly relaxes, and the look of pain melts away from his puppy-face. I swallow.
"You okay?"
Kevin coughed a little. "Am I?" He whispers, glancing around. He's looking for Tala. I exhale quickly through my nose and reach up with both my hands to rub my eyes.
"Tala went to get help from a friend of ours. She's a really sweet old lady, she's going to take care of you."
"Mrs. Barshai?" He said softly, eyes closing again. He flinched a little because of some distant pain.
"Yeah," I say, confused, "How did you know?"
"'Cause… 'Cause Ian was telling me about her, and how she helped you guys when you were… were hurt 'n stuff."
"'N stuff." I repeat with a vague smile. When Boris raped Tala, it was Mrs. Barshai who helped him get back on his feet.
"… Can I ask you a question?" Kevin mumbled. Or maybe he slurred it. Mumbleslurred.
"Ya." Eh, Russian accent. It gets the better of me when I'm not thinking about what I'm saying.
"Why didn't she help you guys, if she knew you were being hurt?"
I blink. She did help us, I thought you understood that. But as I think about it more, I realize that that's not what he's asking. He's asking why she didn't adopt us and report the Abbey.
"Well," I start, awkwardly. I don't know how to really explain this to myself, let alone Kevin, "The Abbey had everyone in this city scared of it. Horrible things happened there, and everyone knew it. But… Well, the police were influenced by their corrupt chief for a long time, so they didn't help, and no one wanted the people at the Abbey to know they were helping the boys because it put them in danger, and most people around here are pretty poor, so they can't really take care of us anyone, and-"
"Bryan…" Kevin mumbleslurred.
"Yeah?"
"I get it."
"Oh… Are you cold?"
"Y… Yeah…"
"Okay, hold on."
I stand and retrieve a few blankets, and help him get comfortable. Finally warm, Kevin closes his eyes again. Why is he doing that? Does he trust me or something? There's a pause before he starts talking with his eyes closed, and I guess now I was wrong to think that he trusted me enough to sleep with me there. Damnit.
"Are you gunna go to jail, Bryan?"
I blink, and remain silent for a long time. So long that he cracks an eye open to look at me, and I swear to god if I don't hug him within the next two minutes I'm going to get wood.
"Yeah, probably."
His face sinks. He's sad, or maybe just tired of all this drama. I sure am. And that's about when I decide to lean in and hug him. Engulf him, actually. He's that small. So I lean in and engulf him with my arms, careful not to move him so that his stomach wouldn't hurt. He made a soft 'umph' noise as I hugged him, closing my eyes and breathing in his scent, feeling his warmth and smallness.
"Three words." I whisper.
"Wha?" He sounds a little uncomfortable and scared. I loosen my grip, but I don't let go.
"Three words that describe me, in your opinion."
A long silence. For some reason, this is the simplest, most obvious way for me to understand how he feels. Before I'm ready, he speaks.
"Scary, confused, and misunderstood."
Okay, I could do without the first, but they all sound accurate. I don't think he wants to hear my three words about him, but after a minute of nothing, I say it anyway.
"Beautiful, forgiving, and… and loved."
"Hush now boy, zchat ish no vay to talk to a baby."
A woman's voice, old and withered, sounded from across the room. I jumped into a sitting position and found Tala standing behind Mrs. Barshai, his arms crossed over his chest. He's glaring at me. The old woman, short and hunched in the back with white hair and dangling metal bangles on her wrists, hobbled over and shooed me out of the way with slow painful waves of her hands.
"Now lets see." She said, kneeling down carefully beside Kevin. "Vhat ish it joo vant me to do?"
Tala crossed the wooden floorboards quickly and knelt on the other side of Kevin, shooting me a quick glare before lifting up Kevin's shirt.
"Lord almight, vhat in ze name of Ghod did joo do tah heem?"
And off she went in a slur of Russian, complaining about how the poor baby must be suffering. Her voice, though so calming at times, was harsh and surprisingly venomous. Tala attempted to defend himself, also speaking in Russian, and when he told her how it had happened she smacked him gentle. The bangles danced up her wrist and fell back down as she leaned over Kevin and changed characters.
"Darhaling, vhere does it hurt?"
Gentle, she began to massage Kevin's stomach and each time he flinched in pain, she would frown, tsk, and shake her head. Finally, she sat back.
"Joo need doctor, baby." She said softly, stroking his hair. "My, vy ochen' krasivy."
Kevin blinked, confused. "Eet means joo are very beautiful, dear."
And he smiled faintly. I smiled because he smiled. Tala glared because I smiled. I glared back at him.
"Madame, we can't use the doctor, it's one of 'those' times."
"Ah." She mused, sitting back on her ankles. "Vell, dat eez problem."
"Yes." Tala replied a little tiredly. A long silence.
"Vell, ve shall have to figure dees out den. Perhaps he just needs some rest."
We all exchanged glances before looking down at Kevin. His eyes were closed. Finally, we all agreed to move him to the bed and let him sleep. Of course, Tala did the lifting; I wasn't allowed to touch Kevin and Mrs. Barshai was too old to lift anything, really.
She said she would return in an hour, and left.
Just great, now I'm left to deal with Tala and a sleeping ex-sex slave. What fun.
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Yeah, I'm sorry, I'm just really tired and I don't want to keep writing. Besides, this chapter is getting long anyway. So here's an update. I'm hoping it will wrap up in the next few chapters, but I'm not entirely sure what's going to happen. We'll have to see.