Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Into The Void ❯ Fractured Relations ( Chapter 21 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

By: MellyN

XxXxXx

Into the Void

By: Melissa Norvell

Chapter 21: Fractured Relations

XxXxXx

Rubio and Valentino sat in opposite sides of the room. The ex-terrorist was left tending to his wounds as the other male watched him as he bandaged himself up.

"You didn't have to do that, you know," Rubio finally spoke up after a moment of silence.

"I didn't want you getting hurt. You wouldn't be useful then," the assassin told him emotionlessly.

The man turned back to the other male with a look of irritation. "Look, I don't need two people telling me I'm useless, okay?" He didn't need Valentino, on top of his other problems at the moment. Everything was building up and he wasn't sure that he could handle it if things got much worse.

"…"

"Oh don't start with that quiet act!" Rubio warned. Valentino's silence only caused his irritation to grow.

"…"

There it was again, that eerie silence that filled the air with tension. "Why did you kiss me?" The aggravated man narrowed his eyes as he glared at the assassin.

Valentino slowly and mechanically turned his head as his red eyes caught glimpse of Rubio. "Kiss you? You kissed me," he said it so simply, as if the situation were so minor.

"…I know…" Rubio looked down at his hands, as if he were submersed in deep thought. He seemed quite defeated by the accusation, mostly because it had been true.

"You mean, you're not going to deny it or make an excuse as you normally would?" The dark man glanced over to Rubio.

"I'm not that way all of the time," the other male retorted. Valentino really didn't think too highly of him, did he? How much faith did he even have in him?

"…"

After the silence carried on for a good five minutes and Rubio had thought carefully about his situation at hand, he decided to question further.

"You liked it, didn't you?" The silver-haired man looked back at the assassin.

"I did but it doesn't matter to you," the assassin told him before his eyes widened slightly. Valentino then felt a large hand on his chest as Rubio neared his face at an alarming speed. It was so much so that he thought he was nearly going to be kissed. The man let out a small gasp.

"Yes, it does," the other man smiled.

"R-Rubio-sama…" Valentino stuttered as he felt his heat slam in his chest. He didn't know why Rubio had decided to get so close to his face now but he felt transfixed on those light colored eyes, so full of emotion. He almost wanted to believe that the other man had felt something for him at that moment in time.

"I used to think that you were a real jerk but you'll have to forgive me. I was hurting and so are you," Rubio looked down, his expression was crestfallen. He was transfixed on his hand, which lay on Valentino's black-clad chest. "That's why you killed Angora- you couldn't stand to see me with her." Rubio's other hand ran through his silken, unkempt hair gently. "You want something- somebody to love."

"Why are you being nice to me now? I thought you hated me," the assassin was still a little skeptical.

"I did at first…I hated what you did to Angora and how you've ruined my life, but now…now I see things a little differently. The more I'm around you, the more attracted to you I am. You grow on me. I've come to a couple of conclusions along the way," Rubio's voice seemed different and somehow more seductive than it was before. He wanted to blush but held himself back. After all, now was not the time to be blushing like a timid schoolgirl.

"What are those conclusions?" The assassin asked as he concentrated on his expression. He had to silently admit to himself that the silver-haired man's touches felt good on his skin. It was nice to be in the company of another, instead of being alone.

Rubio moved even closer to the other man's face and caressed his ivory cheek with his hand. "You are far better than Angora."

"Wha-" Valentino tried to speak but found a finger placed to his lips as the other figure told him to hush in what seemed like a whisper.

"I like you more than that; actually…you said that love has no gender, right?"

The assassin nodded slowly, unsure of what he where he was going with that statement.

"Could you consider loving another guy?" The look on Rubio's face looked so serious. "I know you must have issues with women but what about me? Could you consider it?"

"You?"

"Yes, I love you. Vincent was right about the fruit cake joke. I never knew I could feel this way about another guy, let alone a guy in general," Rubio admitted, his face seemed sincere and an odd feeling shone in his eyes. Dare Valentino even think that it could be love? His breath was caught in his throat and he couldn't speak. Rubio gently said his name in a voice full of love. All the red-eyed man could do was stare into his eyes and try to decipher the cryptic emotions that weren't spoken.

A moment of silence was shared between the two men as they stayed in their trance-like state.

"Now isn't the time to be silent," Rubio looked a little irritated. He had just admitted that he was homosexual and all the other man could do was stare at him without a word of recognition or doubt. He grabbed Valentino's slender shoulders. "Please tell me." His voice was now stronger and more intoned then before.

"Tell you what? What do you want me to tell you?" Valentino asked.

The silver-haired man frowned. "Fine then," he turned away. "If you won't answer then I'll leave, besides, I'm tired of you making me feel like a jackass." What kind of question was that? What did he want him to tell him? As if it wasn't obvious! That sounded like a rejection to him. Rubio might as have left and saved himself the heart ache. He couldn't believe that he had just dared to get close to Valentino like that.

What a mistake…

"You make yourself look like a jackass," the assassin commented.

"I'm sorry that I ever said any of that to you," Rubio took a step forward before an arm reached up swiftly and grabbed him by the lower bicep, right before his elbow. "Huh?" Was Valentino trying to stop him?

Valentino leveled him with a serious look. "Look, I know that you're hurt and you suffer a lot. You probably didn't have to be put through all of this stress, especially one thing after another like this. Are you sure that this is something that you want?" His hand slid down to gently hold Rubio's in a reassuring way. "Because if it is, I can at least try to love you."

"At least?" Rubio commented in disappointment. Is that all he could say? At least?

"It's hard after what I've been through," the killer gazed down at their hands. He seemed a little afraid to be close to him. Rubio understood where he was coming from and turned around to face him.

"It was hard for me too. I was jealous of you and that's why I hated you…because you really were my hero…so I am sorry for taking it back. You were right. I was cruel to do that. I know that you don't get that said often," Rubio admitted.

"Yes but it doesn't matter," Valentino replied.

"Then let me repay you," the other male told him as his face continued to get closer to his hero's.

"What are you saying?"

"That you don't have to worry about not missing anything that Angora got…because I'll show you what she got…and more," Rubio leaned forward and gently kissed his new found lover. Valentino soon found himself melting into the kiss and returning it with equal fervor. The kiss lasted about three minutes before they broke and Rubio spoke once more. "Let me show you that I can care for you. Also, I can treat those wounds a little better," the silver-haired men told him as he ran his hand along the assassin's chest and drug it at a slow, antagonizing pace. It was enough to send chills of pleasure down his spine. He placed his lips softly on the bandages that bound him.

Valentino reached up and ran a pale hand through Rubio's silver strands. They felt like liquid silk beneath his fingers. "What about being a fruit cake?" The assassin asked as he closed his eyes and let the waves of passion overtake him.

"I don't care about what Vincent thinks. He's a jerk anyway. He's just jealous because he can't have you," he lightly planted a kiss on his forehead and then captured his lips once more as they shared a passionate kiss. After the kiss was broken Valentino nestled his head into the other man's hair.

"Your hair is beautiful," He murmured.

"I prefer black myself."

"Rubio…"

"I like the sound of that (1)," Rubio rested his head on the side of Valentino's and smiled. For once in his life, he felt truly happy. He ran his hands along the slender man's body and began to undress him. Clothes of black and red hit the ground as the two men slowly and sensually stripped each other and hands began to roam over pale skin and through hair of light and dark.

Soon, Valentino felt himself gently be laid backwards on to the soft futon below as Rubio slowly pulled up the sheets around the both of them.

XxXxXxXx

In a dark room with evenly spaced yellow, round lights, Captain Aeris stood, her mid-section was bound by heavy braided ropes and Shigeki and Esta stood close to her on either side. They both looked ahead to the darkened figure of Ibuki, who stood a few feet in front of them. Aeris glared at the shadowed figure. She knew who he was but what she didn't know was what he wanted from her. She would not show him weakness.

"Why have you captured me?" The pirate asked sternly. "This makes no sense. I'm just a pirate. I have no part in this," she then glared at Shigeki, who stood on her left side. He said nothing to her, even though he felt her gaze upon him.

Esta looked over to him and seemed deep in thought. 'That's my question, actually. What does Ibuki-sama want with her?'

"You know too much," Ibuki informed as he stepped out from his shadowed area. The illumination from the various lights melted his shadowed mask off to reveal his identity.

"I don't know anything."

"You and your crew have been snooping around."

"So what do you plan on doing with me?" Aeris asked, defiance shown in her cold, red eyes.

"You see…your little friend Bosnia decided to go to a certain group I'm after, asking for their help," Ibuki explained.

"So you need me to get to them. It gives them a reason to come here," the pirate responded. She saw what the terrorist was trying to achieve. It wasn't good for Bosnia and she had hoped that she and those she sought help from would stay away from this place but she knew that they most likely would not. It was inevitable that they would come there to free her.

"Of course," Shigeki smirked.

'So that's why she's here…To draw in Udo and the others…' Esta thought as she still concentrated on Shigeki's form.

"Well, aren't you an impressive bunch of scum bags?" Aeris smirked. "Congrats, you've graduated from scum bags to slime balls." As soon as her sentence was completed, she felt a sharp blow into her stomach. Esta had enough of her negativity towards the organization and decided to elbow her in the stomach to keep her quiet. She closed one eye and fell to one knee as she grimaced in pain. Her long, black ponytail followed her body in its descent.

"Oh, shut up!" Esta complained as she held her elbow. "You're so annoying!"

"So," the injured woman coughed a little before continuing, "What will you do to me after you find them?"

"I'll execute you," Ibuki stated.

"I could have figured that much," Aeris looked down in disappointment.

"As long as you're here, you belong to us," Shigeki looked down at the stern woman with a smirk. "We'll do what we please."

Aeris glared in insubordination.

"We already know where they are, Ibuki-sama. We've been spying on them the whole time," Esta informed.

"What?" Captain Aeris looked surprised and snapped her head towards the blonde.

"We knew about Udo and Zidane."

"Zidane?"

"Do you know that scar-faced idiot?" Esta asked with a look of revulsion at the very subject. "He didn't know what he was dealing with!"

The pirate then wore a look of nostalgia and revelation crossed her face as memories from long ago flooded her senses. It was a time of pain and love for her with the man who wore so many scars…

Zidane sat on a wooden stool shirtless. His body only had half of the scarring that it currently holds and the bald man held a fresh wound on his shoulder blade on the right side of his torso. Aeris placed fresh gauze with white bandaging tape around it over the wound to keep infection out. She smoothed out the tape so it would stick to his skin firmly. She didn't want it to peel off under his clothes.

"You look pretty bad and you've been here a week still. You're getting better though," Aeris said as she cast a sympathetic look towards his deeply scarred back.

"Just hurry up with that," Zidane said uncomfortably.

"I'm done," she told the bald man as he quickly pulled up his coat and shirt. He didn't like feeling exposed for too long, he tended to feel stared at and it made him rather irritable.

"Shame is a sad thing, you know," Aeris admitted lowly, which made the bald man pause momentarily, then his head lowered as he put the rest of his clothes on and buttoned his shirt and coat up. When he got to the third button of his coat, he felt a feminine hand rested upon his own.

"Huh?" His head shot up and the man glanced over into a sea of crimson.

The pirate smiled. "You're not ugly, Zidane," her words were gentle as she placed her hands on his chest. "I wish that you could see that. We've spent two months together now, ever since you almost died and I found you on my way to the docks. I know it's nothing to be proud of but please don't beat yourself up…People count on you to be strong but they also want you to be happy. The people who truly matter to you; I think you look good…no matter what your body looks like and I think your handsome no matter what's on your face, Zidane." The woman couldn't help herself, she found herself leaning in for a kiss but then she stopped herself and turned her head away in disgrace, for she had just tried to kiss the lips of a man whom was taken.

"Aeris, you know that I have a girlfriend."

"I know…" the woman seemed as if she were about to cry. "I just wished that it could have been me…"

"Aeris…" Zidane seemed a little sympathetic towards this woman, after all, she seemed to really love him no matter what he thought of himself. "You're a good person to see me as something good-looking," he smiled a little. "But we can settle for friends," He placed his gloved hands on both of her shoulders. "Right?"

"Right…" She smiled sadly.

'I've loved him ever since…I can't let them reel him in like this…I've got to do something…'

XxXxXxXx

Rubio and Valentino lay beneath the sheets, their nude bodies touched each other's as they lay close together. Rubio lay on top of the dark-haired male with his head on his chest. Valentino, for once, had a kind smile on his face as he placed a hand on his shoulder and another on his upper back. The assassin breathed heavily and flushed a deep crimson. His eyes were closed in bliss.

"Hey, Valentino," Rubio finally spoke against the skin of his upper chest.

"Yes?"

"Was it good for you too?" The man asked.

"Yes…I haven't felt anything like that in a long time. It's made me think about how lonely I've actually been since I lost my son and my wife," Valentino reveled in the moment. He had been more then appreciative towards Rubio and his skilled touches.

"I don't even care about Angora anymore, or the fact that you killed her," the other male admitted. "I guess it's ironic in a lot of ways that the two of us are like this." Now that he had thought about it, it truly seemed more like fate and less like hell on earth.

"True, no one is going to believe this."

"Let's not tell them," Rubio suggested. "Let's let them figure it out by themselves."

"Alright…Rubio?"

"Yes?"

"Do you love me?"

"I do. I've fallen for you over time and apparently, you don't care, right?" The silver-haired man shot Valentino down about his earlier comment.

"It was you that I wanted, only I didn't know it," Valentino admitted.

"Oh," Rubio lifted his head and looked at his lover in question. Then he had noticed that the other man was hurt and here he was, lying on top of him. "Here, let me make you more comfortable," he offered and rolled over to where Valentino was on top. It would be better for his injuries if there was no pressure on them. "You should be on top, you're hurt."

"Thank you, Rubio."

"I'm tired," the light-haired man closed his eyes. He felt drained. Even if someone walked in, he doubted that he would care about their situation.

"…"

"Valentino?" Rubio questioned after a long pause of silence. He opened his eyes a little and looked down to see that the assassin was fast asleep on his chest. He soon felt himself drifting off to sleep and uttered good-night to his new lover.

In the next room, everyone had questions of their own regarding the strange silence. Any moment, they had expected Rubio and Valentino to cause some sort of uproar but nothing ever came. It was an enigma and no one could really figure out why they weren't fighting and at the same time, they were thankful because that meant that they would hopefully sleep quietly for the rest of the night.

"Man, Valentino and Rubio are really quiet in there," Sari spoke as she looked at the door.

"Maybe they've already torn each other apart. Usually they can't stand to be around each other for two seconds, let alone the rest of the night," Loreli commented.

"Yeah…Talk about weird but maybe they are both asleep," Yaritza told the two girls, as she sat against the wall, leaning with her back against it and her elbows behind her head.

"I'm glad that SOMEBODY is getting sleep," the spunky girl said loudly. If they were asleep, she wanted to wake them up just to hear the comment.

Zidane casually lit up a cigarette in the corner of the dark room. All that could be seen was a red-orange glow and the faint smell of smoke polluted the air.

"Do you always have to smoke those things?" Sari wafted the smoke away from her direction and laid in her futon.

"It takes the edge off," the scar-faced man commented.

"You always smell like smoke," the girl retorted.

"Shit happens."

"Ugh…We should all go back to sleep. If Udo and Dork wad are still around in the morning, then we can get a move on," Sari getting irritated because of her lack of sleep and the fact that she'd been riled up earlier didn't help her situation any.

Yaritza lay down on the floor and told everyone goodnight. Loreli also told everyone good-night as they all began to slowly drift off to sleep.

XxXxXx

Outside, Udo and Vincent sat on the ground asleep. Udo had his weapon attached to his back and Vincent slept with his gun over his shoulder. It was late at night and each had assumed the other was on guard duty so they both ended up falling asleep.

A short distance away, a robed figure stood and held what looked like a folded up piece of paper. The figure wore a long robe with a hood and white cloth belt. The only thing that could be made out was the lower half of their face, which seemed like a young unisex person with mid-waist black hair that was as straight as a board.

'I have finally found them…I'll give them this. It may be their only chance,' the figure then sat the note in Vincent's hand and departed before they could be spotted by either he or Udo. They could only hope that the information in the letter would be of some importance to them.

To Be Continued…

A/N: Also, there will be a sequel to Into the Void called Into the Void II: Dirge of Kujaku, look for it!

NOTES:

1. The loss of honorific means that the person has permission to refer to the address them in a very intimate way.