Riley tried for the eighth or ninth time to get a hold of Gen but all of his calls went to voicemail and his texts weren’t even seen. Kelly was on the phone with Kana, telling her what had happened at the park. She was pacing back and forth in their living room, her hand to her forehead, tears running down her face.

“He had this huge knife,” she was saying, “and those guys wouldn’t back down, not at first. But eventually they all ran off, looking scared as hell.”

“What did they look like?” Kana asked.

“Um, they were uh, average, a couple of them were a little taller, one was blonde and I think Gen called him Bryan or something?”

“You’re sure he said ‘Bryan’?” Kana asked.

“I think so,” Kelly nodded. “I couldn’t hear everything Gen said, but I think I heard him say something about them ruining his life and that he’d kill them if he ever saw them again.”

Kana’s breath hitched in her throat. “Goddammit, it’s them,” she said. “Bryan Winters and his gang of assholes.”

“You know who those guys are?”

“Unfortunately, yes,” Kana said, an edge to her voice. “They’re the pricks who abandoned my brother in the woods when they were kids.”

Riley shook his head, landing heavily on the couch, as his calls and texts to Mika also failed. “I can’t get a hold of either of them,” he said. “Where could they have gone? I’ve never seen Gen like that before!”

“Mika’s with him?” Kana asked.

“Yeah, they’re together. They got in the truck together and Gen just tore out of there like his ass was on fire. Do you have any idea where they could have gone?”

Kana sighed. “Yeah, I have a pretty good idea I know exactly where they are.”

Kelly stopped pacing and went to grab her keys, Riley jumping to his feet to join her. “Where? We’ll go get them and bring them home right away.”

“Don’t bother,” Kana said gently. “Mika’s still safe, I promise.”

Kelly and Riley exchanged a glance. “But, Kana, you didn’t see Gen…he looked…”

“Evil? Demonic? Full of rage?”

“Yeah, exactly all of that,” Kelly said slowly. 

“I’ve seen him that way a couple of times. But his anger isn’t directed at Mika and he won’t hurt him in any way, trust me. If anything, he needs Mika and he knows it.”

“Kana, where did Gen take Mika?”

“There’s a place he goes to every now and then to get away and be alone, though I don’t know why he insists on going there.”

“Where is that?”

“It’s the woods on the outskirts of town where those fuckers left him seven years ago. Like I said, don’t bother going after them. The state he’s in, the only person that can bring him back, is the only person he trusts to do so.”

“Mika.”

-*-

The farther they walked into the woods, the more Mika’s anxiety began to rise. He had never been here before, had no way of finding his way out if he had to. Gen still wouldn’t turn around, still wouldn’t say a word since they had crossed the treeline. Mika, for his part, was also nervous to say anything. It wasn’t that he was afraid of what Gen might do, he knew Gen wouldn’t hurt him, even with how he was now. He just didn’t know what he could say, or if he even should. He was being brought here for a reason, one he didn’t quite understand just yet. He just had to trust Gen, it was all he could do.

After about ten minutes of walking, Gen’s pace finally slowed until he stopped in front of a large old tree covered in scars and deep cuts. There was nothing else remarkable about it, or even the area where they were, outside of an old log that was set against it like a bench. It, too, had several marks in one spot closer to the tree. He assumed that’s where Gen would sit whenever he came here.

“Twelve years old,” Gen said, his low voice hoarse and cracked. “I was twelve years old when my entire life ended. My mother left us, and then kids I thought were my friends left me here to rot. I haven’t trusted a single person since then. I isolated myself, developed mental health and social problems, and became one very angry teenager.” He paused before asking, “How much has Kana told you?”

“About what?” Mika said, haltingly.

“About when I was in high school.”

Mika gulped. I promised… “She didn’t tell me much–”

“Bullshit. Don’t bother trying to protect her, you’re the only one I’ll allow her to spill any of my secrets to. I know she told you what I did back then, I’m not that fucking stupid, Mika so don’t bother lying.”

Mika’s hands shook at his sides. He did not like this side of Gen at all…he was mean and cold, entirely different from the Gen he knew. He lowered his head, chewing nervously on his bottom lip.

“So, she told you everything, then?”

“Mhm,” Mika said, not doing well at hiding his fear. Gen heard it and tensed but didn’t turn around.

“You know what the statistics say about kids that come from broken homes and have bad mental health? They develop anger problems, turn to drugs and alcohol, get into fights, and often end up in jail. The only thing I didn’t do out of that list was jail.”

Mika said nothing. He knew there was nothing for him to say or do right now but listen.

“That day I went snowboarding, I told you I had crossed a line in protecting someone, remember?” Mika didn’t respond. “The person I was protecting was Kana. The guy I beat half to death was her boyfriend. He was a sack of shit, much like Seth, maybe a little worse. He got a kick out of scaring her, berating her, and smacking her around. He made the mistake of calling her a slut and a whore in front of me. He never even got the chance to hit her, I stepped in so fast.” He paused, swallowing, his fists clenching hard at his sides. “I don’t remember all of it, just the feeling of his face breaking under my fists, and his body going limp before I was done. I do remember standing there, blood dripping off my knuckles, and Kana staring at me like I was a monster, she was absolutely petrified of me.” 

His head lowered and Mika saw his hair shift from side to side as he shook his head. “I was fifteen years old when that happened, Mika. I was fifteen, loaded on so many pills I didn’t even know my own damn name, and I nearly killed some guy for calling my sister names and hitting her. It was the one and only time my father pulled strings with the department to keep me out of jail. He told me later that if I ever did anything like that again, he’d let me sit in a cell to consider all my future life goals.”

He reached behind him and Mika saw him pull something out of the waistband of his cargo pants. His eyes widened and his chest tightened when he realized it was a small knife. “Gen–”

“The only thing about that incident that I hated…that I still regret to this very day…is that I scared Kana. I made my own sister fear me and I hated myself for it.” He inhaled deeply, his breath shaky. “Just like I do now!” In a flash, he had flipped the knife and plunged it deep into the trunk of the tree. Mika took a step forward, a gasp catching in his throat. Gen’s body slouched forward, and his hand slid down the tree as he lowered himself to the ground, turning at the base to sit before it, facing Mika, who stared wide-eyed at him, his lips parted slightly.

“Those guys at the park are the assholes who left me here when I was a kid. Those guys ruined my life and they were going to hurt you, without even knowing I was there. That fuck, Bryan, the guy who kept stopping you from leaving, was the kid I had confessed to. I was going to murder them, Mika, because they touched you. I’m not saying it to say it, either. I was literally going to slice their throats open for what they did to you, and yes, for what they had done to me back then.” He put his face in his hands, his body beginning to shake as the force that had been driving him began to dissolve, the demon within him receding back into where he dwelt within Gen…his Gen. “When I say I would kill for you, I mean it literally.”

He looked up at Mika, his face twisted with anguish, the rage completely gone. He had returned completely to himself, and his heart was shattered for what he had done.

“Mika, if you feel like you’re not safe with me, knowing all of that, I don’t blame you for wanting to leave me.”

Mika stiffened. 

“You’ve dealt with enough fear, enough pain, you shouldn’t have to feel like you will get that from me, too. I swear to you, with every fiber in my body, that I will never, never hurt you. And I know a lot of assholes say that in DV situations just to make their battered and terrified partner stay, but that’s not me. I’m not that kind of guy.”

Mika slowly walked toward Gen as he spoke, his fear gone, his body relaxed.

“You are my reason for not going on a violent tirade or getting into fights just to make myself feel better, not anymore. You have to believe that, Mika. I never meant to scare you, never meant for you to be afraid of me. You are the last person in the world I would want that from. If the whole world fears me, I don’t care. Just not you…not you, Mika. But if you are, and you can’t allow that for yourself, then I understand if–”

Mika dropped to his knees before Gen, took his face in his hands, and clapped his mouth tightly over Gen’s, the latter too stunned to do anything, his eyes wide with surprise. After a moment, Mika pulled away, gazing into Gen’s eyes.

“Gen Parker, you’re stupid if you think I would ever leave you.”

“But–”

“Yes, I was scared, terrified, in fact. But not of you. I was scared of what you were becoming, of how reckless and idiotic you were behaving. You could have killed both of us driving the way you were. You’re right, I do come from a house of fear. I come from a place where I was taught to fear a man who was bigger and stronger than me, who could hurt me in every way possible. I was afraid of him and what he was capable of.” He moved his hands to the sides of Gen’s neck, the latter still staring at him, too stunned to utter a single sound. “I’m not afraid of you, Genya. I’ve never been afraid of you, and I never will be. You are my shield, my warrior prince, my strength, and my life. Why would I give that all up just because some assholes decided I was too pretty to ignore?”

Gen’s teeth clenched and his brows knitted together, his eyes darkening. “They deserve to die.”

“No, they don’t.”

Gen tensed.

“They deserve to get the shit beat out of them and to live miserable lives, but they don’t deserve death. That would be too kind. Besides, I think you scared them sufficiently enough they won’t ever bother us again.”

“I fucking hope so,” Gen said, dropping his eyes to the side.

“Tell me something.”

“Hm.”

“If this place holds such awful memories for you, why do you keep coming back?”

Gen’s shoulders finally relaxed, all his worries and doubts fading away. The side of his lips twitched in a small smile. “Not everything about this place is bad,” he said. He stood up, helping Mika to his feet. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen them, and it might be too late, but, if we’re lucky, maybe a few will make an appearance.” 

Mika’s eyebrow twitched. “What will?”

Gen smiled down at him. “The fairies.”

Mika was about to say something, when something glimmered in the corner of his eye. A second later, a second small light flashed. He walked a few paces toward the flickers, his eyes going wide as he realized what he was seeing. He watched as one of them lit on the end of his nose and then flew away, leaving Mika with a wide smile on his face. 

“Lightning bugs!” He exclaimed.

Gen smiled as he watched a halo of his little fairies appear around Mika’s head, his face filled with wonder. To their great surprise, a few butterflies appeared, one of them landing in Mika’s outstretched palm.

“This is incredible,” Mika breathed. “I didn’t know lightning bugs lived around here.”

“They’re not supposed to,” Gen said, taking a step toward him. “Something about the ecosystem is supposed to be incompatible to their survival, however this species seems to thrive in this area. They don’t come out very often but when they do, it’s pretty magical.” He reached out and took Mika’s hand, drawing him close. He looked into Mika’s eyes, once again astonished at how lucky he was to have such an amazing person love him the way Mika did.

“I’m really sorry I scared you, Mika. I never meant to, honestly.”

Mika’s arms went around Gen’s neck and he stood on tiptoe to kiss him lightly on the tip of his nose. “I know, Genya,” he said gently, the name rolling off his tongue like an embrace. “And, if I’m honest, what you did back there, at the park, was kinda hot.”

Gen’s hands went up Mika’s back, a sly grin on his face. “Is that so?”

Mika nodded, his lips gently moving to Gen’s neck, goosebumps appearing on his skin. “The way you beat them up for me, how you saved me, definitely a turn on.” He nipped at Gen’s throat, the tip of his tongue tracing the bottom of his chin.

Gen inhaled deeply, pulling Mika in tighter, his head dipping to take Mika’s mouth with his own. “You know,” he said, his voice rough with desire, “there are other ways to make this place less painful.”

“Like what?”

“I can think of a few…” Gen took Mika’s tongue into his mouth and sucked on it, as he laid Mika down and created a whole new memory beneath the tree he once despised.

-*-