Innocence

Title: Innocence
Author: Kalika
Summary: Zadei, a high school drop out, meets a young man named Tetius one night on his way home from work.
Warning Codes: Yaoi, AU, H/C, Language
Pairings: Zadei/Tetius
Authors Note: This chapter wasn’t going to ba a part of the original story, but I felt that after mentioning Clive so many times, I should probably resolve the issue before the end. Plus, I’ve made poor Tetius so weepy in this story I felt he needed a chance to be defiant.
Disclaimer: Characters owned by You Higuri. I wrote this simply for my own entertainment.

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Chapter 9

Tetius sat at the tiny writing desk in Zadei’s apartment. Well Zadei’s, and his apartment now. After Tetius’ grandmother had passed on he just hadn’t been able to stay in that old house. There were to many memories in that place, and Tetius just did not feel comfortable there anymore.

So, for now, he was staying with Zadei. It was a bit cramped in the tiny apartment, but neither one of them minded. Maybe someday, they would get a bigger place. Tetius had more than enough money to buy them a much larger apartment (he had inherited everything that his grandmother had owned), but for now they were happy here.

The desk had been a gift from Zadei, so that Tetius would have someplace to do his schoolwork. Currently, he was working on a report for his literature class by the desk light. Tetius found that as long as the apartment wasn’t fully lit it didn’t feel quiet so cramped. He had just finished writing out the conclusion to his assignment (he would type it up at the library the next day) when the door was kicked in.

Tetius jumped in surprise, knocking over his chair. The man in the doorway was huge. He was well over six feet tall, and his body was thick with muscle.

“Where is Zadei?”

Tetius trembled as the monstrous man spoke. He didn’t think he had ever been so terrified in his life. Was this what his parents had felt when their home had been broken into? What was going to happen to him?

The man moved faster than Tetius would have ever though possible. A large hand closed around his throat, and the young man clutched uselessly at the steely arm.

“Tell me where Zadei is. I know he lives here”

Tetius was frightened. He didn’t know what this man would do to him if he didn’t tell him where Zadei was. But at the same time Tetius knew that he would never be able to live with himself if Zadei was injured because he was so scared.

“No.” His voice was barely a whisper, but the other man was so close that he heard it anyway.

A sharp punch to Tetius’ right cheek, knocked the young man to the ground. His head was still spinning as he felt his hair caught in a firm grip and he was pulled up to his feet.

“What did you say?” The enormous man was practically vibrating with rage.

Tetius took a deep breath to strengthen his resolve. He wouldn’t put Zadei in danger. When his voice came out it was much stronger than the previous time, though it did crack a little. “No.”

A fist to the stomach caused Tetius to tumble to the floor again. He barely had time to register what had happened before his face was pressed down into the carpet. The man must have been kneeling beside him now as he leaned down to whisper into Tetius’ ear. “Tell me where he is and I’ll stop hurting you.”

There was no way in hell that Tetius was going to allow this man to touch Zadei. Who knew what he would do to him? Maybe, if he could get away, he could warn Zadei to get out of town again. With this thought in mind Tetius jerked back quickly. The man must have thought that he was going to stop fighting because his grip had been easy to break. Tetius was almost certain that he would be able to get away when a strong arm latched onto his wrist.

A vicious pull and Tetius suddenly found himself falling against the edge of the moonlit bed. Before he could try to stand the man had grabbed hold of his throat again, pressing him back against the covers.

“It’s really too bad I’m not into guys. You’re really quiet stunning.”

Tetius glared up at the man above him in fury. How dare he?

“Calm down.” Large fingers stroked against Tetius’ cheek bone, and he tried to hide his disgusted flinch. The fear that he had felt before was still present, but his anger was starting to push it’s way forward. The man’s condescending tone of voice did nothing to help. “Just tell me where Zadei is and I’ll leave you alone.”

“Don’t you dare touch him.”

The man’s eyes widened in surprise before narrowing in anger. “You little bitch.” Tetius didn’t even see the limb that backhand him across the face. The ringing in his ears drowned out any cry of pain that he may have emitted.

“I will find Zadei. I still have a score to settle with him.” The hand on Tetius’ throat tightened to the point where Tetius could barely breath. Cruel lips pressed against his own and Tetius had to fight back the urge to strike out. “It’s really to bad that you’re a guy. I’ll bet you’re a great fuck.”

The man pulled him up and hurled him against the writing desk. Tetius felt his spine catch against the edge of the desk before he fell to the floor. He watched through teary eyes as the man left, stomping over the door that had been broken off of it’s hinges.

Maybe there was still a chance. If he could just get to Zadei before that man did…. Tetius tried to stand, only to collapse with a cry at the pain in his back. He slumped back against the wall as tears of pain rolled down his cheeks.

xxxx

Zadei had just closed up the gas station for the night. It was late and all he really wanted to do was get home to Tetius. He was thinking so deeply about his lover that he almost didn’t notice the man waiting for him as he came around the side of the building. Shit. He turned to run, but stopped when the other man spoke.

“I’m not going to do anything to you right now, Zadei. I’ve already had my fun tonight.”

Zadei didn’t like the sound of that. Anything that was fun for Clive was usually painful for someone else. And why would he bother to come and see Zadei if he wasn’t planning on doing anything? “What do you mean?”

The man chuckled, cracking his knuckles menacingly. “That sweet piece of ass back at your place entertained me.”

Zadei clenched his hands in fury. If Clive had done anything to Tetius…

“Don’t do anything stupid. He’ll be fine eventually.”

Zadei had to force himself to calm down. Making Clive angry would only end in pain for himself. But the thought that Clive even knew who Tetius was frightened him. “What do you want?”

“Just reminding you of what you still own me.” The man walked up to Zadei and ruffled his hair lightly. “I’ll be back to get your payment some other time.” And with that he walked off.

Zadei didn’t even wait until he was out of sight before he took off for home as quickly as he could.

xxxx

Zadei rushed through the broken down door. His eyes searched the dark room, trying to find his lover. It took him a moment to notice the dark figure sitting against the wall next to the writing desk. He moved forward taking note of the nasty bruise forming on Tetius’ right cheek.

As he knelt in front of his lover, the other man opened his eyes. Zadei was certain that the relief that he saw in those eyes was mirrored in his own.

“Zadei. Thank God you’re all right.”

Not able to speak, Zadei reached out, pulling Tetius into a tight embrace. There was a soft gasp as arms wrapped lightly around his waist. “Zadei.”

The pained voice that spoke his name broke the dam that had been keeping Zadei’s words at bay. “Shh. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I didn’t think that he would come here. I’m sorry.” He stroked his lover’s hair gently. “What did he do to you?”

A shudder passed through Tetius’ body before the younger man answered. “He hit me when I wouldn’t tell him where you were. I was so frightened that he would do something to you…” The voice trailed off with a weak sniffle.

Zadei wasn’t satisfied with that response. He had to know, no matter what the answer. “Did he… did he… touch you?”

“He just hit me. Well… he did kiss me. But why?”

Zadei couldn’t contain the sigh of relief that escaped him. Thank god. “It’s just… he kind of implied that he had forced himself on you.”

“No. I’m all right.”

Feeling much calmer Zadei let his hands wander until they were stroking his lover’s back. The choked cry that Tetius gave nearly frightened him to death. “Teti? What is it?”

The pale young man groaned in pain. “My back. It hurts.”

“Let me see.” Zadei pulled back and undid Tetius’ shirt. He slipped the material off of his shoulders and moved so that he could see the pale skin. He had to bite back a vicious swear at the sight of the hideous bruise that marred his lower back. “I’m going to move you over to the bed. Sorry, but I think this is going to hurt.”

He slipped his arms under Tetius’ shoulders and helped the younger man to his feet. Moving slowly, they made there way to the bed. Zadei lay his lover down on his stomach. “I’ll be right back, Tetius.”

Moving to the door first, Zadei picked it up and placed it back into it’s frame. The damn thing wouldn’t lock, but it didn’t really matter. Zadei wasn’t planning on getting any sleep tonight anyway.

Next, Zadei went into the kitchen and pulled two ice packs out of the freezer. He grabbed a couple of dishtowels to wrap them with and moved back to his lover’s side. He placed one pack on Tetius’ back and the other on his cheek before settling down on the edge of the bed.

“Thank you, Zadei. I’m glad that you’re not hurt, but who was that man? Why was he looking for you?”

Zadei let out a sigh and began to talk. “Remember when we first met and I told you how I became involved with some bad people when I was seventeen. Well, that man’s name in Clive. He’s a bookie.

“I had a couple of friends that I though were pretty close. They came to me one day with this bet. The assured me that it was a sure thing, no way that we could lose. Problem was they’d run afoul of Clive before and they needed someone else to make the bet for them.

“We were each going to put in $6000. The odds were 10 to 1 but they said that they had inside information and the $180 000 was practically ours.

“Of course, it didn’t work out. $6000 was basically all of the money that I had. And my ‘friends’ skipped out on me. They refused to give me the money and because the bet was in my name Clive came after me.

“I tried to explain what had happened and why I couldn’t pay him the other $12 000. He wouldn’t listen of course, but he offered to let me pay him back overtime. I was so sure that he was going to break my legs or something, but he said that if I had no way to work then he wouldn’t get his money.

“I’ve been paying him off slowly for the last two years. Every now and then he drops by, threatening to kill me because it would be more entertaining then waiting for the money. If he was in a particularly bad mood, he would beat me. But in the end he always left. With rent and food I can barely pay him back anything at all. And like a good bookie he just keeps adding interest onto the total.

“I’m so sorry that you had to get mixed up in all of this, I never thought that he would go after someone close to me.” Zadei knew that he would never be able to forgive himself for being the reason that Tetius was hurt.

“It’s all right Zadei.” Tetius was quiet for a moment before continuing. “Why don’t you let me pay him back for you? I have all of the money that my grandmother left me.”

Zadei tried to refuse. He wanted to take care of this on his own, not have his lover bail him out.

“Zadei, what good in having money if I can’t use it to help someone I love. I don’t want you to be hurt by that man. Please let me do this for you.”

In the end, Zadei relented. He couldn’t risk Tetius being caught in the middle of this again, but he vowed to himself that one day he would pay Tetius back in full.

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TBC