Chapter 9: A Break before the Storm

"Loving someone does not mean you want them. Being in love with someone means you can't imagine spending a second without them." ~Unknown

After he hung up the phone Chris brought Piers in for a hug. Chris had been called a furnace before and wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Judging by how Piers pretty much melted into the hug, Chris figured that for once one of his nicknames was a good thing for him. Piers was still shivering in Chris' arms, even though his skin was hot to the touch. Chris wasn't sure how long this could drag on, Piers was pretty complacent just sitting there in a warm embrace and Chris would be more than happy to oblige him for as long as needed.

After what seemed like an eternity in his mind Piers stopped shivering. For some odd reason, a shock passed through Chris unexpectedly and Piers all but yanked himself back from Chris, averting his eyes and turning red while starting to violently shake again.

Piers was stuttering like a madman when he tried to speak to Chris, "S-s-sorry C-c-Chris, I d-d-d-didn't m-mean t-"

Chris moved closer, putting a finger to Piers' mouth and hugged him. It was obvious that Piers had just scared himself more than he did Chris because he was still shaking like he was about to blow open like a soda can. Hope had gotten off of the couch and was now lying down on the other side of the room, watching both of them as they continued their little chat. Chris tried to calm Piers down. He began stroking the back of Piers' head slowly, it worked somewhat. Piers stopped shaking so hard but his body was being wracked with silent sobs and Chris was starting to get worried.

Chris started whispering to Piers as softly as he could, "Shh… it's ok Piers. Stop being so scared everything is going to be fine. Do you need to talk about it at all honey?"

Chris waited for a while, still stroking Piers' head slowly. Piers started to slowly stop his silent sobs, just coming to be nothing but a bare shiver through his body once in a while. Chris pulled back from Piers, watching him for a moment as closely as he could. Piers slowed himself down even more, and Chris could see a trail of tears going down from Piers' left eye and down his cheek. Chris wiped it away with the pad of his thumb.

Piers looked up at Chris after feeling the pad of his thumb against his face. Chris could see that his bottom lip was still quivering just a little bit. Chris pulled him in as closely as he could; getting lost in his memories from the last time he had held someone like he was now.

Claire had still been a kid when they had lost their mother to cancer. Claire and their dad took it hard and oddly enough though Chris seemed to take it the best out of everyone in the family. He had been closer to her than anyone else even though most of them never realized it. Chris had admired her sense of duty and selflessness, always putting herself last and everyone else in her life first. Even when she was at death's door she never let it show, never let anyone but Chris know how bad everything really was, the night she passed away, Claire and their dad had broken down.

Chris had held Claire for hours, telling her everything was going to be ok, that she didn't need to worry about mom anymore. Nothing really seemed to work as far as words were concerned. After a while it seemed that the only thing that would give Claire some comfort was his presence next to her.

Then, their father started to try and drink his pain away. He used to be caring but their mother's death coupled with the drinking he tried to drown it out with made him despondent and they all drifted apart from each other. So, their dad continued to drink his problems away and pretty soon he drank so much that he even forgot who Chris and Claire were all together.

Chris had promised himself to never be like their dad. Unfortunately for him whoever, he was never able to keep it all in like his mother had and broke down just like his father. You could say that in a way, Chris was the highs and lows of both of his parents. He had the selflessness and sense of duty of his mother, but the way of dealing with problems the same as his father. Lucky for Chris though, he had someone who was able to break him out of his drunken stupors and stop him from drowning himself in booze for the rest of his life. Chris had Piers, and Piers still had his parents, although Chris couldn't figure out why Piers was so scared.

Chris was jostled from his memories when he heard some quiet mumbling and a tug on his arm. Chris opened the eyes he hadn't realized were closed and looked at Piers. His lips were still moving with no sounds coming out while he was still tugging on Chris' arm meekly. Chris pulled back from Piers and gave him a little bit of breathing space. Chris took another look at the man he had come to know and love. Chris couldn't imagine spending another second of his life without Piers, not since that day he had found him again, after so much depression and fear of what would happen next in his miserable life.

Finally some sound came out of Piers' mouth, "…Why…?"

Chris was utterly confused at that single word he managed to understand. He scrunched his eyebrows, wondering if he had heard correctly. No other sounds came from Piers who was lazily looking up at Chris for an answer. He still had the goggles on, shocking the shells over his eyes every so often. Chris moved over next to Piers, wrapping one arm around him and bringing him in closer to his shoulder.

"Why what?" Chris asked bewildered.

It took a moment before he got a response from Piers, "… Why me Captain? Why are you doing all of this just for me?"

Chris was shocked, could Piers really not see why Chris was doing all of this? "What do you mean, Piers? Why wouldn't I do all of this for you?"

Piers snapped back a response almost immediately, "Why would you even bother to help me, what makes me so special Captain?"

Chris had to mentally rein himself in after Piers' surprising outburst. Chris thought he had been getting through to Piers but it was obvious that the call from his parents somehow cut deeper than what he had even first suspected. Chris sighed to himself, it was definitely going to be a very long visit.

Chris spoke as calmly as he could but with astounding conviction in his voice, "Piers… this goes back further than you know. The last time I held someone like that… it was Claire, after our mother passed away from cancer. Our dad drank his problems away, but he didn't have someone to drag him back from all of that. I did have someone… I had you, Piers."

Piers turned from his focus point he had found somewhere on the floor below them to look at Chris. Chris started back at him, not wavering in the slightest. Piers seemed to weaken under Chris' gaze. Chris pulled him in close for a hug and Piers began telling him everything Chris had been silently wondering about since the phone call started.

Piers took a few deep breaths before starting, "S-sorry Sir… my parents never really approved of me joining the B.S.A.A. My dad wanted me to stay in the U.S. and work in the military. The second I had a chance at the B.S.A.A. you know, something greater than just serving the U.S. military, I took it, and we haven't exactly been on the best speaking terms since then."

Chris absently stroked the top of Piers' head. After another hour or so, Piers slowly slipped away into sleep, his head falling against Chris' shoulder with a silent thud. Chris slowly slid Piers down so his head was rested on the arm of the couch and went into their room, grabbing a blanket and pillow. He draped the blanket over Piers and slid the pillow under his head so Piers stayed comfortable.

Chris walked over to where the phone was sitting and picked it up while looking out the front door. The sun was setting again, a waxing moon appearing in the sky. The moon and sun had the sky filled with a mix of colors between blue, green, and purple.

It was a peaceful night heralding an incoming storm.