The Face With Two Skeletons

by Tropicwhale

disclaimer: Not mine

Author Talk: I LOVE YOU ALL...Man, I was really hoping for some angry review for the last chapter...well, maybe this one? (I wonder when I developed the perverse pleasure of rankling people? I blame Joss Whedon, I've been studying his story making skills. He is the Master...just not in the creepy cannibalistic serial killer kinda of way. More in the Yoda type of way)

Chapter Forty-Three:

Zack stretch out his wrists and stared at his surroundings. They were in a warehouse of some kind, on the ground floor, sunlight streaming through high, broken windows. He could smell marsh air and diesel fuel. There were sheets of corrugated metal and Plexiglas stacked against the east wall of the building and stacks of cardboard boxes creating an alcove which had a portable heater, an overturned crate acting as a table and the mattress where Zack sat wrapped in a comforter across from which was the support beam he had woken up against. Zack stared at his kidnapper who was standing with his back to Zack digging a cigarette and a lighter out of his jacket pocket. He and Zack were both completely naked. He lit his cigarette and moved back to sit next to Zack. Zack wrapped the blanket around them both and stole the cigarette.

"Hey!"

"You shouldn't smoke, Bradley." Zack said after he exhaled the smoke.

"Jerk," Bradley leaned into Zack and opened his mouth just enough for Zack to put the cigarette into his mouth. He inhaled and Zack pulled the tube away from him and took another drag. "I missed you." Bradley whispered and kissed Zack on the temple.

"I missed you, too." Zack reached his arm out of the folds of the blanket to tap the ash away from the mattress. Bradley cuddled into Zack's shoulder. They passed the cigarette back and forth between them.

"You're mad at me."

"Yes, Bradley. I am. You didn't have to kidnap me, you could have called or wrote a letter or something...anything. I thought you were dead."

"I'm sorry."

"I know...it doesn't make me less mad at you."

"I know."

"You didn't come back for me."

"Did you want me to?"

"Did you keep abreast of the case?"

"Yeah."

"What do you think I wanted?" Zack genuinely wanted to know. He wanted to know why Bradley found it so easy to abandon him to the shame and guilt of those first few months without him. It stirred something in Zack's mind, made his chest hurt, his shoulders ache.

"I'd thought you'd...I don't know..I gu-guess that you-"

"You guessed." Zack reached out and snuffed out the cigarette. Zack pushed Bradley away. He hunched in on himself, thinking.

"Zack, I'm sorry. I thought you'd be happier if I stayed away. I checked in on you. Made sure that you were happy."

"What do you mean?"

"You were in the newspapers. Got to DC, looked in on you. You had friends, a family that care about you. I didn't wanna...ruin that for you. Kinda ruined stuff in Michigan...by the time the shock wore off I...you built this new life for yourself….after what happened, didn't think you'd want me around...I was afraid I'd mess things up for you...then Hector was in jail and I…."

"Bradley..."

"Doesn't matter now. We're together. Again. Finally. That's what matters, right?"

"Yes, I suppose. You still kidnapped me."

"You were staying with a federal agent. I was suppose to be dead. I couldn't think of anything else."

"Get my clothes."

"You can't leave!"

"I'm cold."

"Oh. Yeah. I suppose you're not used to this sort of lifestyle." Bradley's smile was sheepish and sweet. It made Zack's heart ache. He wanted to curl into his best friend and never leave again...but he was still angry at him.

"Also? Next time you decide to kidnap someone? Try not to rape them."

"Wha...?"

"You could have told me who you were before trying to have sex with me. Leaving me to figure it out was...well, you creeped me out. Your voice is different."

"Oh, sorry. I was banking on you being you and figuring it out...and I didn't know how to tell you...I thought I was being romantic and mysterious...But then...I...sort of went crazy and needed you naked and oops!" Bradley scooted closer. "You were just so hot...I-you know what? won't be a next time. No more kidnapping you. I'll get your clothes...well, maybe just your boxers." Zack looked at Bradley like he was crazy.

"I don't wear underwear, Bradley."

"Exactly." Bradley flashed that grin of his at Zack and Zack found himself smiling back. It was easy, slipping back into the mindset that he had before that night that Bradley..disappeared. Here they were, picking up where they left off. What more could Zack ask for?

"Go get my pants, Bradley."

"Okay. Okay." Bradley stretched out and snagged the pants from the floor, tossing them over his shoulder at Zack. Zack pulled on his jeans as Bradley watch him.

"Where were you all these years?"

"Around. I'd check in on you...on my mom...on Hector" Bradley and his father never got along. Bradley had always called his father by his given name when the man wasn't around. He had always said that it helped distant him emotionally. "I was glad when they locked him away for my murder. He tried to kill us, he meant to kill us both….he should be punished for that."

"But him going to jail for a crime he didn't commit?"

"He escaped, didn't he? Mom packed up their stuff and they just drove off, hit the state line before anyone knew that they were missing. Took me a bit to track them down. He….that stupid town believed him. Just like everyone always believed him...Zack..."

"It's ok, Bradley." Zack pulled his friend into a hug as he cried.

"I'm just sorry it hurt you…" Zack shrugged. "What people were saying…"

"I didn't really take notice...I was too busy grieving." He wanted to tell Bradley that he had loved him. Zack wanted to tell him that all these years, believing him to be dead and he never stopped caring. "I was in shock for...I don't know how long. My mom had to force me to eat. When your dad was telling reporters how he caught us. They kept asking me how long we were together. What was the exact nature of our relationship, who was on top, how long had I been gay...I just sort of…"

"Started to lie. I saw. Telling people we had always been in love."

"Well, it was true...sort of…You were my best friend…and he killed you. As much as people wanted to hate me for being gay...they were happy to punish someone who had destroyed young love...I wanted him to be punished. He had killed you and I did my best to make sure he was put in jail for it."

"You shouldn't have lied. You're better than that...them…"

"I did love you."

"You don't believe in love, Zack."

"Quantified data-"

"I loved you. I've always loved you and when my life was over? You were the only person that I thought about. I could of gone everywhere. I kept coming back to you. With everything about Hector and stuff coming to light...and that you were in the thick of it again I...overreacted...and here we are." They looked at each other. "Stay with me? You are all I need. I know I'm asking a lot but...I can't watch you go through that circus again. Run away with me?"

Author After Notes: Will he or won't he, folks? Stay tuned. Working on the last story chapter and then the epilogue left...I am trying to make sure I have a bumper crop of chapters to post before I post the ones that I do. It also mattered that chapters 40-50 reflected each other. I needed to make sure they were ready. So now that I am at 54, I can post 44, yah know?

-Tropic