"Rite of Passage"

by HonestlyCynical

Pairings: Baird/OC, Marcus/Dom, Other pairings may apply.

Set: Post Gears of War 2, up to Gears of War 3

Warning(s): Slight M/M YAOI, LEMONS, SPOILERS, Blood, horror, Oral, Maledom, D/s, Character Death, and other warnings apply.

A/N: Well, this story seems to be doing good so far. I've been battling writer's block for a while now, so there may be a delay in the chapters. Sorry guys!

Disclaimer(s):I do not own Gears of War. This is fanfiction. Simply put, the only thing I own is the ideas I place here. I do not preside over the existing characters that are implied in this story, nor the GoW elements and it's franchise. Any detail, titles, names that may be similar to that of other fiction or fanfiction, (unless cited) is strictly coincidental.

Chapter 4: Recovery

Everyone heard about what happened Rex the next day. The kid had lost too much blood, so in order to give him a chance at survival, all the soldiers that had his blood type gave some blood. Even still, Rex didn't show any signs of waking up. The atmosphere around the base was gloomy. However, Dom seemed easily angered as of late. Even Marcus gave his friend personal space. He knew better than to mess with the guy when he was angered.

Baird could be heard talking to Mataki. "I told you I didn't know, Granny. All I saw when I got there was Dom and Marcus risking their lives for the kid. Sure, the grubs were surprising, but I think they're the last ones. After all, they didn't call for any backup when we were killing them. What was even more surprising though, was that they stripped the kid of his gear. I've seen what they normally did. Normallythey would torture their victims by whipping them, and leaving them to wonder when they were going to die. But I have not seen them strip a soldier of his gear. Taking weapons is one thing, taking a man's armor is entirely different." the blond mused.

Bernadette listened to her Blondie speak. "I see. Blondie, I know you were taken by the grubs before. After all, you told me about it. But if what you said is true, then I'll need to speak to Dom. The problem is, he's been so damn touchylately, I can't even speak to him." the female soldier said. Baird gave her a look when she mentioned Dom's name.

"Him? Yeah, he's been in a bad mood ever since he saved the kid. Don't now why though. From what we know, he's only known the kid for two days, counting today." the blond said, crossing his arms. Bernie looked at the sarcastic man from the corner of her eyes. "Sounds like someone's jealous." the Sergeant replied. Baird scoffed at her, thinking of what to say. "Uh, no. You're the second person to say that. Why the fuckis everyone saying I'm jealous?" he asked, getting aggravated.

Mataki snickered at Baird's expense. He loved to get under people's skin, yet when someone did it to him, he would act like a little girl. "Listen Blondie, we got work to do. Get to it." the female gear replied. Baird grumbled something, then turned his back to Mataki. "If you're looking for Dom, he should be at the kid's side. He's been going there non-stop today." the corporal mentioned.

Mataki nodded at Baird's statement. "Got it. Blondie, you're needed at the garage though. Seems the Centaur Marcus used needs a tune up." she stated, remembering a message she had to pass on. Damon cursed under his breath. "All right Granny, I'm on my way."

Harper and Snow were talking to each other in the Mess Hall. "I don't know, Snow. All I know is that we had to give blood because Rexxy boy needed it. According the the medic, he had lost too much blood for his body to replace on its own. Then, that Dom guy wouldn't leave his side at all. Apparently he stood up all night just watching our friend. Rumor has it that Rexxy and Dom did it, and that's why he won't leave Rex's side." the male whispered.

Snow was looking at Harper as if he were a moron. "Okay, Harper. Just because someone besides us caresfor Rex, it doesn't mean Rex has slept with him. If anything, Dom was just looking out for a teammate. Nothing more." she replied curtly. Harper rolled his eyes at his friend. "Trust me Snow, I know what I'm talking about. You weren't there in the showers yesterday. I was, and I saw what happened. There's no mistaking what I saw." he said nervously.

Snow crossed her arms and glared at Harper. "You're a real moron, you know that? Dom broke up a fight between Marcus and Rex. It's a good thing he did, because Marcus would most likely have beaten him to a pulp. If Dom were to have had sex with Rex or Marcus, we would most likely notice the tension between either of the three. Not to mention that Dom had a wife, dip shit. No man that had a wife would have sex with another man." the female replied in a sarcastic tone.

Harper once again rolled his eyes. "They would if the man's wife had died. So shut up, because you can't say that Dom, Rex, or Marcus didn't do it by now. Why else would he run away from the base? He had no reason to until those two got to him." he replied, looking the female in the eyes. Snow knew she couldn't argue with that. Rex didn'thave any reason to run away before meeting Dom and Marcus. At that moment, Dom and Marcus had entered. Dom looked completely worn out, and Marcus was supporting him, his friend's arm around his neck. Dom glanced at Harper, as if he knew that they were talking about him.

Harper swallowed nervously. He turned his head, urging Snow to do the same. "Snow, don't look. He knows." the male said nervously. Snow shook her head in disgust. "Come on, Harper. I'm a girl, and I have more ballsthan you." she replied. She gave her friend a stern look. The next thing she knew, Dom was being helped into the space next to her by Marcus. "Dom, I'll get you some food." the man said, his voice dangerously low. Dom nodded in response to his friend. "Okay Marcus. I'm not going anywhere." the man said, his voice quiet.

Snow looked at Dom, and saw he was sad. However, she also knew that he now angered quickly, due to the incident. She waited until Marcus had gone before speaking to Dom. "Are you the one that found Rex?" she asked the bigger man, watching him turn his head towards her. Dom nodded and sighed. "Yeah, I am. Not to be rude, but who are you, and why do you ask?" he asked in return.

Snow looked the man in the eyes. He seemed sad, and his eyes revealed he was. Snow stuck out her hand. "I'm Brandice. Everyone just calls me Snow. I'm one of Rex's best friends. So is Harper here." she said, pointing at her companion. He was trying to act like he wasn't paying attention. "We've known Rex since we were children. I just wanted to thank you for saving his life." she told the man. Dom looked at the female and shook her hand. "My name is Dominic, but everyone just calls me Dom. Also, don't mention it. It was only natural for me to rescue the kid. But I have to admit that Marcus, Baird, and Cole helped." the gear replied to the female.

She looked at his shirt, and noticed it was all bloody. It was dry of course, but it looked as though it hadn't been washed yet. No doubt that it didn't, seeing as how Laundry was to be done at the end of the week. Snow was curious, so she had to ask. "How come you're wearing a bloody shirt, and why is it so bloody in the first place?" she asked, catching the man off guard.

Dom thought of a way to answer the question without raising any suspicion. "I didn't have time to go change because I've been watching Rex since we got him back here. It's bloody because I had to give it to Rex to keep him from freezing to death." the gear replied. He looked at Snow, trying to see if she believed him. It was the truth after all. The man didn't have time to change because Marcus brought him to get food, and he did have to give his shirt to Rex or else the kid would have frozen to death before bleeding out. He decided not to tell her how they found Rex stripped and tied chained to a tree. If he did, it would only worry his friends, and he didn't need anyone else worrying.

Snow looked into the man's eyes once more. "All right. I think it's a nice thing you did, Dom. Not everyone would risk their life to save a kid they barelyknow." she replied. Dom was caught by surprise. What she said was true. Dom didn't know the kid, and yet he did rescue him. But he already explained to Cole why he did, so he nodded in response. Marcus walked over, and handed Dom his rations. "Eat up, Dom. From here you have to shower and change." the bigger gear said, sitting next to his friend.

Marcus looked at Snow and Harper. He didn't say anything to them, and began eating. Dom began to eat, yawning after consuming some of his eggs. When both men finished, Dom got up, putting his plate in the cart where all the dishes went. Marcus finished his food and put his plate away. Dom waved good bye to Snow. "See you around." he said, leaving the Mess Hall.

At 1300 hours, Harper and Snow went to the Medical ward. "We're here to see Rex." Harper said, looking at the receptionist. The female looked at her chart, then back at Harper and Snow. "Don't expect a chat. Rex is still in a coma, and he's heavily stitched. If you can handle how he looks now, then by all means, go."

Snow and Harper nodded before walking to Rex's room. Apparently, he was in such bad shape, that he had to be in his own room. When Snow and Harper grew closer to the room, they could hear the beeping of machines. Stepping into the room, they saw their friend sleeping. He was covered in stitches. The longest cut being on his chest. There was a chair by his bed that looked as thought it had been sat on recently. The two gears began to talk to their friend, as if he could really hear them. "Rexxy boy," began Harper. "You need to hurry up and get better, man. Your dumb ass ran away, and almost got yourself killed. Why the fuckdid you decide to abandon this place? You're lucky your squad rescued you when they did you dumb fuck." the male said, his hands clenched into fists.

Snow couldn't look at the pitiful state her friend was in. "Harper, we need to go. When he wakes up, we'll yell at him then. Until then, let's just make sure he's fine." she said, turning away from Rex. Harper nodded when Snow left the room. He followed after her, closing the door behind him.

Damon Baird walked to Rex's room after using the restroom. He sat on the chair next to the bed. "How did Dom ever talk me into this?" he mumbled to himself. He noticed how Rex's room was warmer than the rest of the area. Baird assumed it was because Rex was too stitched up to use blankets, so in order to make him comfortable, they just turned the heat on in his room.

The blond gear looked at the soldier's face. He had stitches under his eye, and above the eyebrow. Baird examined the kid's body. He had stitches that seemed to zigzag downwards. Damon didn't even dare to see anything below the kid's belly button. All the gashes and cuts that the grubs had given him were deep, and there was a lot of them. The nineteen year old's hair covered his face. Baird got a strange feeling in his gut just watching the kid. Something compelled him to hate the kid, but another part actually wanted to likehim. The blond shook the thought out of his head.

He still didn't know why the grubs stripped the kid of his armor, and tied him to a tree naked. Perhaps he wasn't their target after all. Maybe he was just a victim of unfortunate timing. Either way, Baird couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Rex, who was in a coma, started to twitch. The motion caught Baird off guard. He noticed the kid was trapped in a nightmare, and he was making too much noise. "Dammit, kid. Shut the fuck up!" he hissed. However, the kid's face grew red, and his mouth shot open. Baird was fed up with the noise. "Goddammit." the male said, closing the blinds to the room.

Baird stood up and moved over to Rex. "You leave me no choice." the blond mumbled to the kid. Baird put his mouth over Rex's. He put his hand on the side of the kid's face and closed his eyes. 'God, this kid better not remember this when he gets out of the coma.' the gear thought. Almost immediately, the comatose Rex attempted to close his mouth. Something in Baird didn't want it to end yet, so he kept the kid's mouth open. Baird explored the soldier's mouth, tasting everything that he could. He wasn't making it gentle either, the part of him that enjoyed this was asserting its dominance. He could taste some of Rex's blood. 'Dom didn't do a good job at removing the blood from his mouth.' the blond thought.

Which was true. Dom only bathed the nineteen year old for the nurses. That was the only way they would let him see Rex. After a few second of kissing, Baird pulled away. Rex had stopped moving, and seemed to appear content. For all Baird knew, the kid was dreaming of a girl. Baird walked over to the sink, and for the second time in his life, spit up blood that wasn't his. "What is it with other people's blood finding its way into my fucking mouth?" he mumbled, scrubbing his tongue with the hot water.

Baird sighed before shutting off the sink and walking back to the chair. 'Well, it's to be expected when you kiss an injured man.' the gear thought to himself.

Cole was patrolling the area like usual. He hadn't told anyone about Rex, because he promised Dom he would keep the truth from the others. The black gear was trying to cheer everyone up. The mood had been so depressing since Rex caused a scene. Even the enthusiastic gear didn't feel as happy as he usually did.

If anything, this event proved that the COG was more than what they were made out to be. When one of their soldiers were out of commission, eventually the entire machine wouldn't work correctly. With Rex in his condition, the gloom spread like a wild fire. "Fucking grubs." was the statement everyone would say.

The day seemed to go by slowly. Dom was rarely seen, except for the times Marcus would force him to eat. Baird informed Dom that he would no longer watch Rex for him, although he never specified why. Cole was always busy with his own thing, so that left Dom to ask Marcus.

"Marcus, go check on the kid for me." the gear said, not looking away from what he was doing. Marcus looked up from the newspaper he was reading. "Dom, You checked an hour ago. He wasn't up then, he won't be up now. It's not guaranteed that he willwake up either. Even if he does, he's going to be put through psyche evaluations just to see if the whole shit traumatized him. So again, if he does wake up, you'll barely see him around until the evaluation is done. You'll also have to deal with him most likely never talking again because of this." the male replied, looking back down to what he was reading.

Marcus hated talking to Dom like that, but the overly sensitive attitude he had, was taking its toll on the man. Dom stood silent for a long time after that. When someone spoke to him, he would nod at them, then carry on as if everything was okay. Dom called it quits early that night. Normally he would head to bed before Marcus, and then the two would talk for an hour or so. Not that night though. That night, Marcus walked into his room and expected Dom to greet him. The soldier was laying on his stomach, fast asleep.

The Sergeant sighed. He hated himself for going off on Dom like that, and was going to apologize, but it seemed like it would have to wait until morning. Marcus undressed in the dark, setting his armor in a corner. He took off his boots, and set them at the end of his bed, throwing his socks and undershirt into the clothes basket. The gear decided to leave his pants on, and climbed into his bed. Before he forgot, he removed his bandanna, setting it under his pillow. The gear yawned and closed his eyes, finally drifting off to sleep.

The next morning, Marcus woke up to find that Dom had already left. 'So much for apologizing to him.' the man thought to himself, stretching his arms and cracking his knuckles. Marcus suited up, slipping on a clean undershirt, clean pants, and clean socks. He put his boots on, and adjusted his chest plate. It was then that a noise at his door caught his attention.

"No, goddammit. I'm not doing it again. I told you before, it was a one time deal, so just stop asking already." came Baird's voice. Marcus opened the door, only to see Dom and Baird glaring at each other. "You're so full of shit, Baird. When will you get your goddamn head out of your ass, and quit the tough guy act? It gets real old, real fast." Dom replied, anger in his voice.

Marcus looked at the two soldiers closely. They were about to rip each others throats out. "What the fuckdo you ladies think you're doing? Cut your shit, or I'll need to deal with this myself." came the man's cold voice. Baird and Dom turned to face Marcus. "How much did you hear?" they asked in unison.

Marcus glared at Baird, then at his friend. "Enough to know that you're both on the verge of killing each other. Now cut the shit out, or I'll make sure you two get friendlywith each other." the man replied, his tone telling them that he was serious.

Baird glared at Marcus and Dom. "Fuck this, I'm needed in the garage anyway. Someone's gotta work on the vehicles." the soldier growled, walking away from the two men. Marcus rubbed his forehead. "Dom, I'm sorry for yesterday." the gear said, his voice calm. "However, I don't know why you're so angry, but you have to cool it. I can't have you attacking Baird just because of something he did, or didn't, do." the man said, turning to walk down the hall.

Dom reached out and grabbed Marcus' hand. Marcus stopped in his tracks, and turned to face Dom. He saw that Dom wasn't looking at him, but at the floor. Without saying a word, Dom dragged the Sergeant into the room, and closed the door behind them. "I'm not angry..." the Corporal finally said. Dom looked at Marcus, his brown eyes peering into the bright blue eyes of his friend.

Marcus knew where this was heading even before it happened. Dom inched closer to his face, just enough to give Marcus time to react. The man was frozen in place by the events. His body refused to move, yet his mind was against what was going on. Dom moved in and pressed his lips to Marcus' own.

After around three seconds, Dom pulled away, panting for air. Realizing what he had done, Dom was starting to head out the door. "Sorry Marcus. I didn't mean to..." the gear started. However, he had been cut off, when a hand pulled him back. "I really wish you hadn't done that." Marcus said, bringing his face closer to Dom's. Within seconds, Dom found himself pinned to the door, with Marcus' mouth over his own.

Dom closed his eyes, his hand closing on the other man's free hand. Marcus' kiss wasn't gentle, nor was it brutal. It was more than that. Dom could tell Marcus had wantedto do this for some time, how long he did not know. Marcus licked his friend's lips, to which Dom opened them. The other man slid his tongue deep into Dom's mouth. When Marcus pulled away for air, Dom spoke up, "Marcus, what..?" the gear tried to ask. Marcus put a finger over Dom's lips. "Shut up, Dom. I can tell you wanted this, and it wasn't because you kissed me first." the man replied, stepping away from Dom.

He glanced down, and saw that his friend was unaware of how much blood had migrated south. Marcus grinned and looked up at Dom. "Dom, you might want to take care of your little problem." the man said, brushing a spec of dust off of his own chest plate.

Dom glanced down, and saw what Marcus was talking about. "Oh... shit." he mumbled as the man laughed at his expense. "Shut up, Marcus." was all he could say. The man hurriedly went away from his friend. "Just go away, Marcus." he said, hearing the door close behind the sergeant. Dom unbuckled his belt, and began stripping down. 'Damn you, Marcus. How can you just leave me like this?' the gear thought, addressing the problem he had.

A/N: At first, I was against doing this type of thing this early in the story. However, my friends (that I have read this beforehand and critique), insisted that I address this issue earlier. Don't get me wrong, there will be more in the future. But that depends on you guys. As always, leave your comments, feedback, and other things, and I thank you for reading this story!~ Until next time!